Personally, I think we need a better website. The current one is much too busy, and looks far too 'geeky' for the average user. We also need more documentation. Once the next version comes out with the improved plugins, we'll have everything we need to make b2evo the best blogware out. We just need a better 'face'.

I think you're on to something Graham, a new face on the website would be a help.

I think some fresh new skins would be good, too. It could only help b2e if there were more nice skin options for new 'customers'. My personal opinion is that most of the ones out for b2e are too busy. I'm working on getting a couple of the designs out, I hope to finish them sometime this week.

I also agree that the manual could use some updating. I'm willing to help with that. Its probably not very smart to start on that now, since a new version is in the works.

I love b2e, and I'm willing to pitch in to keep it current and move it forward. Someone shoot me a PM if I can be of assistance.

What is the website itself running on? Is it something like nuke or mambo, or something else entirely?

jj.

Walter and Graham are right: there is not enough "marketing" about b2evolution. The current site looks geeky and the whole blogging system does as well. To install a simple hack, you have to know HTML and PHP. With Phoenix, that should change a bit.

Moreover, most users don't need all the b2evolution features, especially multiuser and multiblogging. After installing the whole system, the newscomer is lost with all these options everywhere. What's an ALL blog? What's a LINK blog? I understand some of these features make b2evolution far better than other systems. However, there should be a way to install a simple blog easy to understand and to use...

There is a very popular blogging system in France: [url=http://www.dotclear.net/]Dotclear[/url]. It's simple, easy, quick, user friendly. This is exactly what I think when I open its [url=http://www.dotclear.net/]homepage[/url].

The website from b2evo is running on ... b2evo
cool, isn't it ;)

Hmm... well, since that fact isn't too obvious I won't feel silly for asking the question.

I was curious, since there is some discussion about redesigning the look of it.

jj.

Don't feel silly at all.
The fact that site is running on blogsoftware, is an example opf what you can do with the software, besides writing a blog...

I kind of like the website. I don't think it's any more busy than DotClear's. There are some good points in this thread, though. It will be much better when users can add funtionality and customize stuff without digging into the code. Phoenix is going to improve that.

I think the Blog All is a great feature, but it would be nice if it were installed as blog number 4 or something, so users don't start posting to it. There's only so many times that we should answer the question "Why are my friend's posts showing up in my blog" before we realize that there's something wrong.

I agree with almost everything on this page.

I'm too busy right now with getting the new release out to work on the site redesign but it will be done.

I think the area were everyone could help is spreading the word out: everywhere on the internet were someone says he can't do this or that with wordpress or movable type or dotclear or whatever, if it can be done with b2evo, it should be gently pointed out.

The Phoenix alpha will still look kind of geeky, but it's definitely in the plans for the finalk release to deactivate a lot of geeky stuff in the default options.

I've run into a couple of b2evo users that have just switched to WP ... there seems to be a rash of this going around.

I'm talking about Dan MacTough [url=http://www.yabfog.com]Yabfog.com[/url] and Graham [url=http://tin-men.net]Tin-Men.net[/url].

It's disheartening to lose such valued member of the community. Graham, of course, is still closely tied to b2evo and personally, I hope he continues to contribute (like Whoo). Dan is the author of the 'hide htsrv' perl script that I've just recently implemented on our site ... so he's no average blogger either.

I hope (and suspect) that Francois is listening to the comments these valued members have, because they can help steer b2evo back into a more popular stream. I think that we have a good community here and it's not necessary to be "the best" or "the most popular" (in fact, there's some advantages NOT being that).

I do, however, agree that a face-lift of the b2evolution.net website would go a long way to taking the "geek-i-ness" out of the software. Topanga says that using b2evo for the site is the right thing to do and I agree ... but push the envelope a little bit, so people can see that it's a tool with BOTH capability AND style (it's the "style" part that seems to be missing a bit).

As far as "marketing" goes ... why does one need to market an open-source product? It seems to me that "marketing" is done by the users on a word-of-mouth and look-at-this-cool-blog basis. If one wants to market, make cooler looking skins, easily edited skins, with lots of "must-have" and "innovative" features (stuff that "the other guys") don't.

My understanding is that Phoenix will address some of the skin stuff.

Built it and they will come! (Seems I've heard that before)! ;)

Anyway ... just my 2c (or 2p ... which is worth LESS!)

Cheers,

-stk

I suspect that the long-awaited release of Phoenix will turn the tide, but it's sad to see such active and beneficial members of the b2evo clan hang it up and move over to "the dark side".

At the current exchange rate the 2p is worth far more than your displaced 2c ;)

I must admit, I looked at WP for a single domain blog I'm starting, but I found it confusing now I've got used to b2evo (no criticism of WP I just don't have time to retrain).

As you know, I've been playing with Phoenix for a tad, and they've done an awsome job. Not only have they made Rasmus whimper by passing the [url=http://b2evolution.net/news/2005/11/13/b2evolution_passing_the_scanmus_test]Scanmus test[/url], they've made hacking almost a thing of the past with the new powers that a plugin has.

So, a challenge, why don't you skin the site for when phoenix is released? (A)

¥

My 14 dollars worth:

If you want to attract blogspot-level bloggers then dumb it down. I personally don't see the front door as geeky. Truth is way back in the day I felt b2evolution had a better front door than WP. That's not why I chose it - just my feeling way back when.

PHOENIX WILL ROCK YOU HARD!!!

Yabba has been helping me with a major problem I've had, but let me back up a bit. All I know about php and mysql I learned by tinkering inside b2evolution. The upcoming phoenix release has me a bit scared that my major hackage won't be migratable. I genuinely felt that I'd be stuck in .9.1 land forever.

Not true, as Yabba is making clear. EVERYTHING I do in my major personal hackage can be done with plugins. EVERYTHING! Just so's y'all understand how deep my hackage is check out a post in my flightblog that contains flight data. http://wonderwinds.com/flightblog.php?cat=31 The data is personally important to me, is part of b2evolution because of deep core-code hackage, and can be done in phoenix using nothing but plugins. It's currently a custom table and all appropriate hackage to admin the table from the back office, custom fields on the Write tab and matching fields in the posts table, and a hell of a lot of hackage to make it all work. BTW it will also work with multiple bloggers logging their personal data when they post. Never mind hang gliding: any hobby club can use b2evolution and a few plugins (or is it one?) to log and track and compare hobbyist performance.

Dig That! Now try it with WP...

Geeky? That's subjective. Complex? You betcha! An answer to the complexity? There are many, but one that did a world of good was to have the sample posts and default installation contain information the new blogger will want to have. If someone deletes it all then asks how come blog 1 is being blog 1, well, they'll either learn or sign up with blogger...

doh! :oops: I obviously handle cents conversions with the same non-sense that I handle time-zone changes (is it earlier or later?) lol! Didn't mean to pound on the pound. ;)

I figured that as soon as I suggested a cooler looking b2evo site someone would lay down that very challenge.

Alas ... I'm up to my neck in a bathroom remodel and more work following right on the heels of that. If/when I get more time to play, I *might* make a skin, for public consumption ... but I'm thinking that a b2evo site might benefit from several skinners, rather than sole tasking it to some poor, over-worked individual (wheter it be myself, or Francois, or anyone else, for that matter.)

Being responsible for a PORTION of the b2evo site might be an easier pill to swallow, rather than gagging on the whole thing.

Besides, it'd take me a while just to learn what "CVS" means, let alone how to use the bloody thing! Seems to me that you're much further along THAT learning curve ... and an accomplished artist and dahlia doodler, to boot! (Hint ... hint). :)

I seem to remember Francois showing a screenshot of a new skin for the front page somewhere. Maybe it was on the admin mailing list. Maybe I'm not even supposed to mention it. It looked shiny.

EdB and YaBBa, are there some docs in the work for making plugins? I've made a very basic one that adds something to the tools menu, but I really want to know how to add MySQL tables and columns from a plugin. If you've go the secret sauce, please share.

personman wrote:

EdB and YaBBa, are there some docs in the work for making plugins? I've made a very basic one that adds something to the tools menu, but I really want to know how to add MySQL tables and columns from a plugin. If you've go the secret sauce, please share.

You're asking me a smart-person question? Oh boy... :roll:

I have no idea if anyone is doing anything about documenting plugin stuff. I've offered and started a how-to page for making your current skin be phoenix-friendly, which has nothing to do with the depth of the flexibility of the code.

Being responsible for a PORTION of the b2evo site might be an easier pill to swallow

I'm sure François will be overjoyed at you volunteering :))

but one that did a world of good was to have the sample posts and default installation contain information the new blogger will want to have

You actually read them? 8|

EdB and YaBBa, are there some docs in the work for making plugins? I've made a very basic one that adds something to the tools menu, but I really want to know how to add MySQL tables and columns from a plugin. If you've go the secret sauce, please share.

I'm with EdB on this on, AFAIK there is no manual.

The best way you can find out what plugins can do is to tear the _test.plugin.php file to pieces and see what it can do (there's a few more hooks/events than it reacts to, but it's a good place to start).

If you make a plugin a tool (var $is_tool = true;) then you can add stuff to the tools tab in admin. I just display a link saying "click here to install/uninstall/modify/restore table" (depending on if it exists or not). It's not ideal but at this moment in time there isn't an install/uninstall plugin event to trap.

¥

As I said in the post on my blog, I've not left b2evo. It just happened that WP was better suited for my needs. I spent all my time hacking my installation to make b2evo do what I wanted, but it can call be achieved with a few plugins with WP.

I still use b2evo for projects that require multiple blogs, or better stats than WP can offer. It's all about using the right tool for the job.