Proposal for new categories

Hey everyone,

@frabrunelle and I are thinking it could be a good idea to reorganize the categories of the SAFE Dev Forum in the following manner:


{edited DG - removed outreach and community apps section after review}
{edited DG - updating after community feedback and discussion with @frabrunelle }


General

Technical discussion about anything that is related to the development of the SAFE Network or to the development of SAFE Network apps.

Beginners

A category for developers who are new to the SAFE Network. Feel free to ask any technical questions you have!

Support

Get help with anything related to the development of the SAFE Network or to the development of SAFE Network apps.

For support questions specifically related to the SAFE Network API, see the #api category and its subcategories.

Community

Topics relevant to the SAFE Network developer community.

RFCs

Topics about existing and potential SAFE Network RFCs.

Lounge

A category exclusive to members with trust level 3 and higher.

MaidSafe

Private category for MaidSafe staff. Useful for discussing drafts.

API

Technical discussion related to the SAFE Network API.

Web

Get help with anything related to the Web API exposed by the SAFE Browser.

Node.js

Get help with anything related to the SAFE App Node.js library.

C#

Get help with anything related to the SAFE App C# library.

Java

Get help with anything related to the SAFE App Java library.

Rust

Get help with anything related to the SAFE App Rust library.

C and C++

Get help with anything related to using the FFI API from C or C++.

Feedback

A place to give feedback about the SAFE Network API.

Apps

Technical discussion related to the development of SAFE Network apps.

SAFE Browser

Topics about the SAFE Browser.

SAFE Authenticator

Topics about the Authenticator component. On desktop, the SAFE Browser includes the Authenticator component.

Web Apps

Technical discussion related to the development of SAFE Network web apps.

Desktop Apps

Technical discussion related to the development of SAFE Network desktop apps.

Mobile Apps

Technical discussion related to the development of SAFE Network mobile apps.

CLI Apps

Technical discussion related to the development of SAFE Network CLI apps.

Core Libraries

Topics about the SAFE Network core libraries.

SAFE Client Libs

Topics about the SAFE Client Libs (SAFE App, SAFE Authenticator and SAFE Core).

SAFE Crypto

Topics about the SAFE Crypto library.

Self-Encryption

Topics about the Self-Encryption library.

Routing

Topics about the Routing library.

PARSEC

Topics about the PARSEC library.

SAFE Vault

Topics about the SAFE Vault library.

Crust

Topics about the Crust library.

Site Feedback

Discussion about this site, its organization, how it works, and how we can improve it.


By putting more emphasis on topics that are related to the SAFE Network API and by having subcategories for each language/platform, we think we will be able to provide better support to developers.

Also, by having less top-level categories, it should make it easier for developers to choose the right category when creating a new topic.

Please let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions :slight_smile:

3 Likes

That could work but perhaps is a SAFE-centric structure?.. that throws up a simple hurdle to understand the form before engaging?

I wonder developer-centric structure would appeal directly to skillsets, without then need for thinking and which then might help draw in noobs who know a little or enough to be useful.

Perhaps language orientated subforums, which perhaps also would be easy to link and overlap in other dev orientated forums, which tend that way. So, /java can link into Andriod with topics like Gradle and core focus on safe_app_java. /rust making use of devs interest in rust and engaging with safe_core etc. /node+javascript appealing to those with knowledge of those. Those could then be easily advertised in other of the same language forums and share kinds of problem more easily.

This with a thought the character of SAFE should eventually be transparent… so, just another developer forum, rather then the structure of the network.

If SAFE was just a product, then I’d opt for the OP but given its ambition to be everything, perhaps everything comes to the fore?.. or perhaps it can evolve from the OP to that over time as contributions help define the real areas of focus.

2¢

2 Likes

I agree there needs to be a logical place to start. I’d suggest a Beginners or Basics or HowTo category which could take in the /tutorials subcategory together with programming language-specific subcategories as you suggest. So that would be five categories instead of four. What about the top navigation bar? Are you planning on leaving as is?

2 Likes

I was just thinking the same thing. “Beginners” keeps with the same theme as the community forum, and it is nice to have consistency.

Similarity can also create confusion. For example, remembering which forum you saw a post on might be more difficult if both have the same categories, so “Getting Started”, “Basics” or something like that might also be worth considering.

3 Likes

Yes, very good. :+1:

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“Getting Started” is good. I think “Basics” is perhaps slighly better as a general-purpose place for prerequisites and essential info, but I’m not particularly bothered either way.

2 Likes

I think the naming subforums matters little, with the discourse forum presenting all core topics as one recent list. If there’s a way to suggest the intent or interest in usage of SAFE, perhaps that helps. The OP list then as good as any for now. Mobile applications; and network level; and other levels of focus, perhaps will arise over time relative to the posts and core threads.

1 Like

Hi all,

Hope everyone is enjoying their week.

@frabrunelle and I have came back to this after a little lay-off with another draft. We’ve taken the feeback into account and Francis has put forward some good suggestions as well.

We think this is going to cover the bases for all of us and will look to make the changes next week if there are no strong objections?

I know in the grand scheme of things there are bigger issues to worry about but a little house-keeping now and again tends to keep things nice and tidy.

Thanks,
David.

5 Likes