I really like the new layout/design! I think it looks much more modern and attractive. My only feedback is that the header section should also state the problems that MediaWiki solves for the user (if we know this). In other words, If MediaWiki is the solution, then what is the problem? What does this software allow me to do that I wasn't able to do before? Does it do something for me personally or something for the business I work for? What do I need to do to solve my problem?
Topic on Talk:MediaWiki/Homepage improvements 2018
Doesn't the following page linked by the phrase "if MediaWiki is right for you" in the starting paragraph, answer that question?
@DBarratt (WMF) Thanks for the comment! Do you have a proposal how that could be summarized? (Looking at the current front page I don't see any text either which explains this and could be re-used...)
@AKlapper (WMF) @Kaartic Hmm, well I'm not entirely sure what the problem is we are solving, but I can take a guess. I think we should do research and discover who our customer is, but as a guess, what if we changed the intro from this:
==MediaWiki is a collaboration and documentation platform brought to you by a vibrant community.== The MediaWiki software is used by tens of thousands of websites and thousands of companies and organizations. It powers Wikipedia and also this website. It's powerful, multilingual, free and open, extensible, customizable, reliable, and free of charge. Find out more and if MediaWiki is right for you.
to something like this:
MediaWiki helps your organization collect and disseminate current, accurate knowledge to your employees, customers, and the world. The MediaWiki software is used by tens of thousands of websites and thousands of companies and organizations. It powers Wikipedia and also this website. It's powerful, multilingual, free and open, extensible, customizable, reliable, and free of charge. Find out more and if MediaWiki is right for you.
And also I think the heading is long and not really necessary. Basically the "problem" (as I see it) is that companies or organizations (like Wikimedia) don't have a way to collect and disseminate current, accurate knowledge to the people who need it. Adding this first sentence acknowledges what MediaWiki can do for them to solve that problem.
Thanks! Does "disseminate" mean "make available"? (I'm afraid I need simpler language.) How does MediaWiki itself make knowledge "accurate" and "current"? Isn't that up to whoever provides that knowledge? Could I replace "employees, customers, and the world" by "people"?
It means to "spread". I actually am stealing this from the Wikimedia Foundation's Mission (which, I think is easy enough to understand?). It doesn't do this on it's own, it only helps your organization do this. Just like how Wikipedia itself doesn't provide a free encyclopedia, it only provides a place to have that encyclopedia. I would assume that your organization would have that knowledge (or know how to acquire that knowledge). It's not like you can just setup a wiki and expect it to be filled with knowledge, you have to know who can provide that knowledge (and train them how to use a wiki for that matter)..
Umm, I think "your employees, customers, and the world" is correct (this is the way Wikimedia Foundation uses wikis). I mean it's really trying to say "the people who need it" but that doesn't make any sense to me... who are those people? Well it's the people who work for you, who "buy" from you, or (in the case of Wikipedia) anyone else who wants this knowledge. There might be a better way to say this, but I'm not sure what it would look like.
Again, this would be easier with more research, I'm taking this from MediaWiki's biggest "customer".
@AKlapper (WMF) To put it another way, if Katherine (or anyone on the C-Team) were to come to the site, it would read:
MediaWiki helps [Wikimedia Foundation] collect and disseminate current, accurate knowledge to [its] employees, [donors], and the world.
Which sounds about right to me and, as far as I can tell, is the problem that is being solved. The problem is "My organization needs help collecting and disseminating current, accurate knowledge." Again, this is a guess, I would recommend doing more research to determine if this is the case for all/most of our current & potential "customers".
Thanks for the explanation! I prefer simple English, so I went for "MediaWiki helps you collect and organize knowledge and make it available to people."