Forum OpenACS Q&A: Glaring UI problem with openacs.org

Posted by Michael Feldstein on 05/19/01 01:48 AM

In the past few weeks, I have had four people complain to me
that they couldn't figure out how to register on the OpenACS.org
site. Just today, I had somebody tell me that he thought the
community was "closed" because there was no clear place to
register. This site desperately needs a prominent and
easy-to-identify login/register widget that is marked for first-time
users as well as return users.

2: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Don Baccus on 05/19/01 02:39 AM

Well ... you don't have to log in or register to visit most of the site.

Is the problem with the message that the bboard coughs up if you try to post and aren't logged in. That message is confusing, as it says "you can login as someone else if you want" after saying that this section of the bboard's restricted to members of a particular group or authorized users.

It should probably just go straight to the login page, and the wording on the login page could be improved, too, if necessary.

Would that solve it?

I kind of hate to put a login box on a site that's largely available to unregistered users ... it would seem to imply that you need to register to use the site.

3: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Michael Feldstein on 05/19/01 03:03 AM

That would help, but people who are used to participating in
other online communities *expect* to have to register. It never
occurred to several of the people I talked to that they should even
try to post without registering first. No, I think the site needs a
prominent registration entry point. You can add a note with it
saying you don't have to register in order to read, though.

4: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Tom Jackson on 05/19/01 08:40 AM

Part of this is the philosophy of Philip Greenspun: don't ask people to do anything they don't need to do. Probably the common header should always have either a login or logout link, and some detailed explanation on the login page. But there is no end to how people unfamiliar with a site can get confused. People don't like clicking on links if they don't think they can predict what is going to happen.

5: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Sam Snow on 05/21/01 02:31 AM

There also needs to be a link to the file storage area from somewhere.

Maybe as part of this the info that is presented on the https://openacs.org/pvt/home.tcl page could be spruced up a little with some added links to other part os the site.

6: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Ben Adida on 05/21/01 07:19 AM

I have added a link to log in in the header. The header changes
depending on whether or not you are logged in. Let me know
what you think. I will think of where to add a link to file storage.

7: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Michael Feldstein on 05/21/01 01:58 PM

I'm not seeing the link, Ben. I flushed my cache, too, so I don't
think it's me.

8: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Vinod Kurup on 05/21/01 03:56 PM

Hmmm... I see it. The rightmost link on the header line says 'Login'
if I'm not logged in or 'My Workspace' if I am.

9: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Michael Feldstein on 05/21/01 04:02 PM

Ah! I didn't see it because I was already logged in.

Two problems here. First, the people who are already registered
generally know how to get around the system. The people who
aren't registered, however, will have no idea that they can
register by clicking on "Login." We need an explicit link for first
time registrants.

The second problem is that when I tried posting as a
non-registered person, I got a "not authorized" error message
with a small link asking me to log in "as another user." If a
non-registered person (or even a registered person without
much savvy) saw this message, s/he would never figure out
what to do in order to register and complete the posting
operation.

10: Response to Glaring UI problem with openacs.org (response to 1)

Posted by Ben Adida on 05/25/01 10:32 PM

The header problem is now fixed. The link says "Log In / Register" and
the instructions should make the process easier. I've also killed some
stomach-turning bboard access hacks that were in
ad-custom.tcl.preload, which was giving us that nasty "Access Denied"
message. And, since we're talking about improving the interface, I've
begun to revamp the OpenACS 4.x project page, with links to all the
useful documents Don and Dan have been putting together.

Enjoy, and please send comments!