Thread: So I had an idea while shaving

Originally Posted by Wortmanb

What, and developing a new web app would be faster?

Most wikis are very fast. That's where the name came from -- "wiki" is a Hawaiian word for "fast".

I won't argue that some are rather cryptic, but if you're just adding to a page that's already there, it ought to be as simple as editing the page you want to add to, cutting and pasting an example, and modifying it to show what you want it to. Eventually, you'll get to where you can just create your own without the copy-paste-edit cycle.

Taking my software developer hat back off now and ... um ... going back to work developing software again.

Excellent points raised. I was thinking of a Ruby on Rails app. Cause it's massively database driven, which is what the database is. Plus you can implement search for "all framebacks from 1880 to 1900" or "All 5/8th heljestrands". something impossible in the current implementation, as those fields aren't database fields.

But again, I don't program. I just know programming concepts.....

Originally Posted by gssixgun

but I do know I rank fairly high on that [wiki illiterate] list... So when I tell you I managed to add razors and pics to that database that means it is pretty easy to do...

Well, yes, Glen, but let's be fair: You are a moderator here.

You've been around long enough that a.) you've probably bookmarked all the pages you need in order to do what you want to do, and, b.) you have a "feel" for how this all works. The new person doesn't have this experience.

I've done enough in the short time I've been here to feel that my modest efforts towards contributing to the improvement of the wiki thus far give me at least a tad bit of street cred, and I'm certainly new enough to remember how hard it was to "get" the navigation- especially of the search functions. So, if you're willing, let's put ourselves in the new man's shoes and take an honest look at what he sees.

1.) He goes to the Wiki page and in the upper right hand corner he sees "About this Wiki". The very title line invites him to "Please feel free to add relevant information or to make corrections to it."

2.) He's told to log in, learn how to write a wiki page, and then go to the SRP Chat room if he has questions.

And, that's it. (Really? He has to know about chat rooms to add a razor to the database?)

Wouldn't this be a good spot for an "Add your razor HERE" link? We do have an ez-peezy form to fill out. But you kinda-sorta-gotta know the secret password to find it.

(Just now, just for fun, I didn't hit my bookmarks button to get to Add a razor to database - Straight Razor Place Wiki. I actually searched for it. It took several clicks and a bunch of looking. And I knew where I was generally looking for it.)

So then, let's assume our new man does a search: He types "add razor" in the search box. He gets 20 hits, none of which is the form he needs. Okay, he sees the first hit is the FAQ! Eureka! Wait a minute... Crap. It's the faq for the website, not the wiki. And there's no info in that for adding a razor to the database, either.

So here's a new man, excited to add to our community, who has now tried some very reasonable attempts to contribute, and been left scratching his head at each attempt.

I understand why a new person around here would think it's "hard" to contribute. I thought it was hard at first but being the peckerhead that I am I just kept bludgeoning my way through until I figured it out.

But our new guy shouldn't have to.

Look, I think every once in a while some self-examination is a good thing. We do a lot of things really really well. Some things, though, we could use some improvement on. I think this is one of them.[1]


[1]"my2cents, imho, ime, ymmv, irs, m&m", etc...

I wasn't trying to be a dink or anything, and apologize if I came off that way. But since a lot of time and effort has already been put into the razor database I think Lynn has the right idea here: expand upon the existing model. As the OP suggested, members can post pics of their razors in the wiki section, especially for those models which supposedly have no pictures to begin with.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Now I am not quite sure who is the most computer illiterate person on the forum, but I do know I rank fairly high on that list...

LOL this coming from the guy who just uploaded (or is it downloaded?) several videos, complete with captions and all, onto Youtube and then to SRP.... Glen my friend, your rank is really not that high; by comparison I can tell you that it's lonely here at the top