STEP:State of STEP/2017-02-3: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:52, February 19, 2017

Template:State of STEP

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 === Front-end Design ===
-We're going to redesign the front-end of the project! For quite some time we have wanted to move away from just being a forum and wiki. Therefore, we're going to move the project into the modern age and build a front-end website which will house much of what the wiki houses now. The STEP Guide and various other guides on the wiki will be our first targets to move to the front-end and off the wiki. News releases and articles such as this State of STEP article will also be produced and released on the front-end rather than the wiki. Much of this will be done with the goal of eliminating unnecessary processes taking place on the wiki which are better suited for other platforms. Our platform of choice for the front-end design is Drupal. We will be designing what we need from the ground up using Drupal as our framework.
+We're going to redesign the front-end of the project! For quite some time we have wanted to move away from just being a forum and wiki. Therefore, we're going to move the project into the modern age and build a front-end website using a content management system (CMS), which will house much of what the wiki houses now. The STEP Guide and its various other integrated, functional, logical components will be first targets in designing what we need from the ground up using Drupal CMS as our functional-management framework. News releases and articles, such as this State of STEP, will also be integrated and managed by the CMS, and this presents new options for integration of forums, wiki content, media, and so much more. This will eliminate much of the process and memory overhead demanded by the wiki as it is currently purposed as a psuedo-CMS.
 === Mod Picker ===
-Probably one of the biggest changes to our back-end will be to stop using the wiki for Guide development and releases. After much testing, we've decided to take Mator up on his challenge and use Mod Picker as the core framework of how we put together our Guide releases. No, this does not mean users will be required to have a Mod Picker account to use the Guide! Though this does come with two benefits. One being that the STEP Guide will be available via Mod Picker for the users who use that platform. The second being the framework taken off of the wiki will really lighten the load for the wiki. Through the magic of APIs, we'll be creating the Guides using Mod Picker and pulling them together on the front-end to present on our website. Mator has generously offered to help with this development and will be personally heading up most of it where the Guide and Mod Picker are concerned.
+Probably one of the biggest changes to our back-end will be to stop using the wiki for Guide development and releases. After much testing, we've decided to take Mator up on his challenge and use Mod Picker as the core framework of how we put together our Guide releases. No, this does not mean users will be required to have a Mod Picker account to use the Guide! Though this does come with two benefits. One being that the STEP Guide will be available via Mod Picker for the users who use that platform. The second being the framework taken off of the wiki will really lighten the load for the wiki. Through the magic of APIs, we'll be creating the Guides using Mod Picker and pulling them together via the CMS. Mator has generously offered to help with this development and will be personally heading up most of it where the Guides and Mod Picker are concerned.
 === Forum ===
-The forums will mainly remain in the state they are in now, however, we are going to try to get them upgraded to the latest software version. The "look and feel" may change depending on the design theme that we decide on for the front-end. This would only be to bring the forums, wiki, and front-end into a more unified theme across all three platforms.
+The forums wil not change too much; however, we will upgrade our forum solution to to the latest software version, which should also open up possibilities for enhanced integration with other site components. The "look and feel" will be further integrated along with these functional enhancements to result in a more unified theme across the entire website.
 === Wiki ===
-Like the forums, the wiki will not change much. We will update the software to the latest version and possibly update the theme to match the rest of the platforms. Certain aspects or feature of the wiki will change, however. For example, the CSS extension which allows for the inclusion of external CSS via a special wiki page will be removed. The main use of this feature has been on third-party guides hosted on our wiki such as Skyrim Redesigned and Fear & Loathing. The elimination of this extension is to keep the theme of the wiki consistent. Inline CSS will still work for users who feel the need to change elements on their user pages and templates can be set up to replace some lost features, upon request and review. Other systematic processes will also be eliminated to bring the wiki into check, but this is mainly back-end stuff which users never see or get to play with. The last thing which has already started taking place is the removal of images hosted on the wiki which are better hosted elsewhere or are not being used at all. Users wanting to post images to the wiki are encouraged to use a third-party hosts such as [https://postimage.io/ Postimage] for their personal use. Images meant for guides and community knowledge pages are okay and should be uploaded to the wiki so they can be retained over time.
+Like the forums, the wiki will not change much. We will update the software to the latest version. Certain aspects and feature of the wiki will change, however. For example, the CSS extension which allows for the inclusion of external CSS via a special wiki page will be removed. The main use of this feature has been on third-party guides hosted on our wiki such as Skyrim Redesigned and Fear & Loathing. The elimination of this extension is to keep the theme of the wiki consistent. Inline CSS will still work for users who feel the need to change elements on their user pages and templates can be set up to replace some lost features, upon request and review. The last thing which has already started taking place is the removal of images hosted on the wiki which are better hosted elsewhere or are not being used at all. Users wanting to post images to the wiki are encouraged to use a third-party hosts such as [https://postimage.io/ Postimage] for their personal use. Images meant for guides and community knowledge pages are okay and should be uploaded to the wiki so they can be retained over time.
 === Redesign Project Timeline ===