Graphik/Mapping Reconstruction
These are some rough notes on how I'd like our mapping information on this wiki to be structured conceptually. It's still in its infancy, so if you view it as pointless, incomplete or ill-thought-out wait a minute. Please do not edit, but feel free to comment.
Audience
There are two kinds of people who will use our mapping information:
- Newbies in the absolute sense
- Those looking to increase their knowledge
Information
Newbies will want a document or documents that brings them from no map to a map, and fairly quickly.
For the rest, a series of documents detailing various aspects of map design is in order. Exactly how to do this is undecided. Presently I'm thinking a series of lessons is the whole of what's needed for the already-acquainted, but there are those who disagree.
Our audience will include those looking for technical information and those looking for artistic information. How do these coexist? Perhaps we should have two indexes, technical and artistic.
Art is subjective; how do we teach it? Comments welcome.
Discussion
SuperApe: I agree, it's a good idea to get this organized before applying it to the page. The current incarnation of Topics on Mapping was the result of cleaning up the mess that was there, coupled with a serious attempt to organize the basic topics on mapping covered on this wiki. I'll list what I did (and what I think is still valid) and the rest is the mess I just mentioned, which I think is definately in need of organizational help.
Topics on Mapping
- Layout Design
- Construction
- Visual Design
- Bot Support
- Miscellaneous AI Support
As a hub page, I give the most basic description of the each of these points and their sub-topic links. The point of a hub is to provide the links. So, the remainder of that page, the lists of links (on Dynamics, etc.), were just re-grouped a bit but left as-is for the most part. This is the part of Topics on Mapping that needs re-organizing imho. [/$0.02]
Graphik: I dislike the large page size and number of links. It's not [The Giant Uber-Index of All Pages Mapping-Related]?. You can use Category Mapping for that sort of thing.
Graphik: I think Mapping Lessons and Topics on Mapping serve the same purpose to varying degrees of success. I think primarily there should be lessons, and links to more detailed information on subtopics when they arise in the course of the lesson.
SuperApe: (From the discussion on Topics on Mapping) ...One thing to note about (this) complaint: there is a difference of opinion on what a hub is. The current re-organization of (the [Topics on Mapping]) page was the result of a compromise between explaining the concepts of all these ideas (several volumes of text) and simply giving the needed links to the pages which go into detail about the various topics. Tarquin convinced me that a hub is just that: a list of useful links, related by topic heading.
The difference between a Category Page and a hub page is pretty stark. The Category Page lists links, so users see a list of every page title in alphabetical order. This is hardly useful to someone new to the topic. By contrast, a hub page is an organized list of links to pages that have stood the test of time, so users see a grouping of links with short descriptions that lead them from sub-topic to sub-topic within the main topic. This is far more useful as a reference to users from beginner to advanced (and editing the wiki). 
I think this point should be clear.
I do believe there is a place for Category pages, Hub pages, Class pages and Content pages. Category pages giving a raw grouping of the various Cateorgy topics available. Hub pages leading users toward the various Content pages and Class pages on the wiki, similar to a Table of Contents. Class pages being simple, clinical definitions of classes. And Content pages being those that contain further explanations, tutorials and rants on various topics. In my experience editing here on the wiki, I have not seen a sucessful attempt at combining Content with Hub or Class. True, sometimes Class pages include a little more description, but the typical attempt at making an all-inclusive page on a topic as large as Mapping, seems to lead to cries for revision. The Table of Contents analogy helps to explain this, if you think of working with a reference book on a complex topic that has no table of contents.
So, I'm all for re-organizing the Hub page into something that can be used to find the reference material you need on Mapping. But, I don't think it should (or does) look anything like the beginner's tutorial-like Mapping Lessons Content page.
I too dislike the large page size on Topics on Mapping, but I am more concerned with the disorganization of "the mess" I talked about above. From the random grouping of Dynamics and Tools to the "catch all" listing of links that make up the Troubleshooting/Documents section, this part definately could use some help. Unlike the sections I worked on, these seem to lump everything together as having the same weight and priority. When Karma is on the same level as Laser Trip Bomb, you can guess organization is needed.
