LEDE Showcase page

Absolutely, 100% on board. I've had a different vision on how much (more) compact the "why use lede" section on the start page should be, so decided to focus on a longer stand-alone page from which you guys can pick what you deem the most important reasons (and however many of them).

I'll try to beat you to it by brushing up start2 wording.

Good. I started to work on the Showcase page, with the intent that the "Why Use LEDE" bullets on the start2/home page could point to those major headings.

OK, in spirit of $do_it, I've removed some hesitancy in the message which has been gnawing at me from start2 and added the QoS sentence. :wink:

I'll look into information provided @bobafetthotmail to do a better link for international versions and try to come up with a decent description for uhttpd-mod-ubus after you're done.

I like the new look you've created for the LEDE Showcase (proper paragraphs for sections). Makes way more sense for the standalone page.

I like the work on start2. I made a couple wording tweaks, but no significant changes. Thanks.

re: Showcase page at: https://lede-project.org/playground/why_use_lede_full_lis

  1. Please review the headings and bullet point items

  2. I vote we change the page name/url from "why_use_lede_full_list" to "showcase" (Or is there a better "short name" for this page?)

  3. How shall we handle the (non-existent) pages cited in the Extensibility section? My suggestion would be to create placeholder pages in the :docs:howto directory that say,

    This page is a placeholder for the XXXXX topic. You can read the original OpenWrt page for this feature at http://wiki.openwrt.org/howto/XXXXX

    As we have the spirit/energy/time to verify the info from the OpenWrt site, we can update the placeholder page to show accurate info that someone from LEDE has checked.

Update: I created a :docs:howto:sqm page to see how it would read. Looks OK to me, for now.

Outstanding job @richb-hanover!

@tmomas -- very neat link for localized resources for luci-base.

Thanks!

I'm about to send a note to the lede-dev list asking for comments on the (draft) new home page.

I will invite people to comment in a new topic at New LEDE Project Home Page

Non-existent pages are easy to track and find: They show up automatically in the "wanted pages" overview.
Placeholder pages are not that easy to find.
Placeholder pages do look exactly as ugly as non-existent pages, IMHO.

-> I wouldn't necessarily create placeholder pages. They suggest more info, which isn't there after following the link.

I'm no native speaker and "showcase" is not in my everydays vocabulary, therefore I always need to think what "showcase" means.

"Why use LEDE?" however is clear as can be, and is a stimulus for me to read on, because that's what I want to know, why I should use LEDE, and a page beginning like this certainly explains the reasons.


User: "Can somebody please explain to me why I should use LEDE?"

Answer A: Link to "Showcase"
Answer B: Link to "Why use LEDE?"

Which one would you click without hesitating?


Regarding "showcase": If I translate showcase to german (and then back to english), I get "shop window" or "display window". This just looks wrong to me, hence my difficulties in understanding the meaning...

Regarding https://lede-project.org/playground/start2

Section "Why use LEDE?"
Can we replace this

LEDE is a complete replacement for the vendor-supplied firmware for many home and small-office routers and embedded devices. It is superior to the vendor-supplied firmware in the following areas:

by this:

If you are happy with your current system, you should probably stick with what's working.\ But... if any of these following ​reasons resonate with you, consider using LEDE:

Reason: The first block kind of repeats what is already written above:

The LEDE Project is a Linux operating system based on OpenWrt, targeting a wide range of wireless routers and non-network devices.


Item "Performance": I miss Access a wider range of Dynamic DNS (ddns) providers than stock firmware (which would fit under "Extensibility")


Item "Security":

Many of the older devices are supported by LEDE and can enjoy security LEDE brings, long after vendors stop releasing firmware updates.

I'm missing something like "(as long as RAM/Flash of your device can accommodate new releases)"

@tmomas, I don't think it's a duplicate. The first paragraph explains what LEDE is, the first sentence in "why use lede" explains that LEDE is a replacement for the stock firmware. If you believe that repeating "home and small-office routers and embedded devices" is a bad idea, in the second instance we can call them network/embedded devices.

I would also oppose the "If you are happy with your current system, you should probably stick with what's working." -- the whole point is that "what's working" is crap, LEDE is bee's knees and the start page should leave no doubt in a reader that they should upgrade to LEDE at the first opportunity.

PS. Even tho this whole thread was started about the "Showcase" page and @richb-hanover made it look awesome, I totally get that it may not relate well to non-native english speakers. Either title should work.

PPS. What happened to links to mailing list and IRC and forums in Maintenance and Support?

...what LEDE is:

LEDE is a replacement for the stock firmware.

That's my point in calling this a repetition. Define what LEDE is at one point, and why to use it at a different point.

Sounds like hefty marketing speak: All others are crap, only our product is best in everything and more! Is this really LEDE's message? Just asking...

That's already on the contacts page.

The translation almost captures my sense of the word... It's a glass case (cabinet) where you "show your wares" - think of a jewelry store...

But... I get your point. Perhaps we should rename it to "Reasons to Use LEDE" to distinguish it from the "Why Use LEDE" section of the home page. (Otherwise, when someone asks, "Can somebody please explain to me why I should use LEDE?", and if they hear "Read 'Why Use LEDE?'", they may say, "But I just did...")

re: marketing speak vs namby-pamby reasons... It is undeniably true that people who use LEDE think it's better than the stock firmware. (It's a tautology - if you didn't think it was better, you wouldn't switch...)

This is one decision that we can we defer to a month or two after the first release ships... Let's not get hung up on this: we can pick one and see how we feel in March...

I think the page-formerly-known-as-showcase is the place to talk about ourselves broadly and deeply, with multiple points for each major item. I vote to add back the separate links for Forum/Mailing lists/IRC/Contact page.

Perfect!

I'm trying to implement the modularity thinking as early as possible.
Why separate links, when the contact page has already everything?

I added section includes to https://lede-project.org/playground/why_use_lede_full_list#maintenance_and_support

Would that be OK for you?

BTW: Under "Maintenance and Support" I find the support part... but where is the maintenance part?

I'm with Rich on that, if we're listing all the reasons to use LEDE, we should list all support options on the same page.

LEDE supports all compatible models for as long as their RAM/Flash can accommodate new releases.

PS. I think the way @richb-hanover had designed that section originally was the best. Now with big headings for Forum, Mailing Lists and IRC Channels it looks too big. Maybe move Zero Cost up and make the Maintenance & Support last section?

I compressed the includes a bit by removing the big headers.

I made them as separate bullets so they looked like "more".

(Short explanatory story: In the 90s (pre-internet), Macs used to ship with a dozen or so CDs - an encyclopedia, dictionary, recipes, games, travel info, etc. My understanding of Apple's strategy was that they wanted you to think, "There's so much in here, I'll never be able to use it all. I'm so happy I bought this Mac..." (Of course, no one ever used all the CDs, but I was still glad that I had them, "just in case..."))

The "Reasons to Use LEDE" page is our place for those (virtual) CD's. I do want to overwhelm people with good feelings about LEDE here. We list tons of reasons, even if most people won't use them all. We tell why LEDE's more secure. We talk about lots of packages. We point out all the places you can get help.

Ironically, making the items into paragraphs feels "like less" to me... While the rest of the page is bullet lists, the full paragraphs require reading.

I think it's because your eye can flit around a page, noticing bullet points that strike your fancy. If you see something that is relevant, you think, "Good!" If the next one isn't interesting/understandable, you skip on to the next...

But, when you're first trying to attract someone's attention, you want the message to be easy to digest, so they get hooked. (Or, at least, willing to spend another 60 seconds reading more...)

So... I still say we need to be intellectually honest and truthful, but we also want to help people become engaged. My two cents... Thanks!

Maybe some of these would translate better then "Showcase"

Usage Scenarios
Process Scenarios
Application Scenarios
Application Concepts
Business Processes

I had bullet points in a previous version: https://lede-project.org/playground/why_use_lede_full_list?rev=1483388462
Do you like it better with them?

I actually prefer the simple bullet list from https://lede-project.org/playground/why_use_lede_full_list?rev=1483367825

Or perhaps expand them to say:

I also took the suggestion to remove the <del>...</del> text and change the heading to "Reasons to use LEDE".

Yes, but I also want to use words that people will recognize apply to them.

I think "Reasons to use LEDE" is simple, clear, and pretty compelling for all readers, not just people looking for router software for their business...