What's Wrong With Elsi?, Low use rate Options

[dhns]

Dear all,

it appears that ELSI is not really used by users and developers - and killefiz.de is no longer being updated.

And killefiz.de says:

elsix.org is already operational - there are still some things that need to be done but it's already much better than ZSI ever was.

But if I look at the latest entries, I have the impression that elsix is not really being adopted and used. It e.g. appears that nobody uses the voting mechanism and developes use just the default branch. And there are just 2 new entries since 17th April.

What does that mean?
* is ELSIX not user friendly enough?
* is there no new Zaurus software development?
* is there a simple solution to fix?

My opinion is that Roy has done a great job in preparing ELSIX - but there was probably not really the need for all those new bells and whistles. It was just the need to have someone to approve project updates in the old killefiz (incl. style&layout). So we end up in great technology but low use.

Should we switch back to the killefiz database&scripts (just host it here) and find volunteers to approve projects (there is a lot of spam in the killefiz backlog)?

What are your opinions?

-- hns

[dz]

That could be a much easier job to do than modifying the ELSIX PHP code until it becomes successful (sorry, dz).
-- hns

Heh, you don't have to say sorry. You guys don't have to feel bad at all for wanting to ditch the elsi. I made the elsi to help the community, and if you guys feel that going a different route, than that's the route to go for the community.

elsi isn't for personal gain; it's for community gain.

[ken]

Heh, you don't have to say sorry.  You guys don't have to feel bad at all for wanting to ditch the elsi.  I made the elsi to help the community, and if you guys feel that going a different route, than that's the route to go for the community.

Of course that's not to say that there aren't good things about elsix:

1) resizing of images are automatic (I would just prefer a larger image size) + uploading from the local disk.
2) the ability to see a page of programs + images (that's great for browsing instead of having to go through each and every program to see how it's like - that probably would be a good option if you don't know what you want and are judging by the image + words) can be nice. Perhaps as one of the "views" that one can use, just perhaps not the only view.
3) it does allow for more data such as roms, etc (I just think the information should be "optional" rather than required)

As for having a 3rd rewrite? Not needed, I think.

Since most of the issues dealing with elsix deal with interface stuff, I don't see why it couldn't be redone to include the best of both worlds?

I'm not sure how it'll affect the images -- killefiz did it where the image name matched the database entry (ie: 0045_0, 0045_1, 0045_2).

[koan]

Since most of the issues dealing with elsix deal with interface stuff, I don't see why it couldn't be redone to include the best of both worlds?

ELSI is good but it just doesn't look "cool" enough.

If it was cooler, more people would use it. Maybe a different theme is all it takes ?

[dhns]

Since most of the issues dealing with elsix deal with interface stuff, I don't see why it couldn't be redone to include the best of both worlds?

ELSI is good but it just doesn't look "cool" enough.

If it was cooler, more people would use it. Maybe a different theme is all it takes ?

It is IMHO not only a matter of theming but of information density and number of clicks (incuding click-dragging the scrollbar). The fonts are in my opinion too large and too detailled information is shown on the home page - instead of giving an overview. That was much better on killefiz: open a bookmark and see what was recently added. Then look at the interesting entries for more details.

(BTW that is the most missing feature of the current OESF: show the 20 most recent postings on the home page - but I have found a workaround: bookmark the 'View New Posts').

-- hns