Pipestone.brainstorm

Goal: A better UX enabled by a better skin and javascript framework.

Readers empowered by consumption tools created by power users.
 

Readers: Easy to use and consume content

• Notifications/RSS, meta information, well organized and curated

because

Authors: Easy to author and manage content

• Text, tags, attachments, organization, collaboration, key functionality easy to get to

because

Developers: Easy to build tools

• RAD environment, guidelines, using languages they know

Better Skin

Generalized sidebar - key to merging content and meta-actions/functionality

• Move us away from "just a wiki" into a viable app platform
• The difference between editing tags where you are vs. jumping to the bottom b/c "that's how wikis do it".
• How are we different from Wikipedia / MSDN? Here's how.
• We can't expect authors to create and curate quality content without the right tools (manual tagging/organizing many pages painful)

The difference between photoshop and a picture viewer -- where is our toolbar to manipulate the content you see?

Better Framework

Javascript is language of every webdev (backend: ruby, python, php, ASP.NET...)

Build javascript plugin support so simple, powerful apps can be made.

• We have DekiApi(), can extend storage model
• Provide simple hooks (sidebar tabs) to add functionality in a simple manner

Better Ecosystem

As we refine the framework, encourage sharing of js modules. Provide standard locations for new items to install. Develop the ecosystem.

Sample features

General

• User hovercard: mouse over username to get info
• AJAX search autocomplete (all js)

Editor

• Sidebar to drag & drop image files, uploads, etc.

Viewing

• Sidebar for page stats (chart of ratings, usage, etc.)
• Tag management
• Inline search results
• View history/diffs inline (mouse over previous versions for a live preview)
• Comment stream to you
• Admin-only notes for a page
• List of recent pages / searches
• Organization tools (like email management -- drag and drop, bulk operations... gmail for MindTouch)

Other gripes

Deprecate editing support for the older browsers and non-js (read-only mode)

* Viewing (Admin)

 * Show charts of ratings, usage, etc. (from special: reports)

 * Better tagging

 * Other pages / inline search...

 * View diffs/history inline

* Accordion it out

* Jump between recent pages you've visited

* Comment stream (see your comments, send messages, etc... no matter what page you are on).

* Admin-only notes on a page? See admin-only comments.

* Quick preview of other pages: mouse over and see the page load in. Neat idea I think. Get other info at a glance.

Why: Huge differentiator vs. other products, far easier/faster development for everyone

Goal: Enable all the meta actions, meta information that should be

1) Visible when needed

2) Easily visible/hidden

3) Outside of page flow

To build this we need:

* Better Skin framework (unified skin)

* Better javascript support (libraries, dekiapi, etc.)