FreeBSD Revamped Look 'n' feel: Feedback appreciated!

[Roger 'Rocky' Vetterberg]

Mike Hoskins wrote:
> On Mon, 15 Sep 2003, Roger 'Rocky' Vetterberg wrote:
> 
>>Randi Harper wrote:
>>I work for one of the largest callcenter companys in Europe, and we
>>do have a significant number of FreeBSD installations. Still, I cant
>>help feeling we would rely more on FreeBSD if it just had a more
>>proffesional image.
>>Pie charts and blinking things only goes that far, being able to
>>show a good looking website would help alot, especially when youre
>>up against Red Hat or SuSe.
> 
> 
> first, if you've tracked the site at all, you'll know how far it's come
> over the years.  everyone involved with the web/doc project deserves a
> huge pat on the back and a few rounds.  the quality of content, number of
> examples, correctness, and layout (ease of navigation) of the site and
> documentation have improved dramatically over the years.
> 
> could it be better?  i don't know anything that' can't.  however, the last
> i checked, this was a volunteer effort.  if you really think the current
> site is so 'bad', come up with a new one that offers more content, easier
> navigation, faster load times, easier management, etc...  and get it
> approved through majority vote or community consensus.  now before you
> say "but that's what i tried to do" -- let me finish...  i like
> creativity, but i just can't help thinking that the arguments made here by
> some against the current website don't hold much water.  i looked at the
> mockup, and it was honestly pretty bad.  it would not present a
> professional image to anyone i know, even at the director and VP level.
> most directors, at least, have heard about (proper use of) CSS.  this
> thing has borders that only display in IE...  that's great for a free
> UNIX' homepage.  it has a body with a relative width but a header with
> fixed with...  i could go on, but the point is if you want to make
> suggestions of this nature...  at least look like you have a clue about
> webdesign/layout/presentation.
> 
> and again, it's a volunteer effort...  i may be completely off base, but
> i'm sure if anyone wants to convince a handfull of top-notch web designers
> from design firms around the globe to come in, brainstorm, and rework the
> site...  bringing everything up to the latest standards and making it
> quite "whiz bang" while also being fully functional...  not many would
> object to the free labor. ;)
> 
> -mrh

I agree that the mockup site was not good, but that was not my point.
What I was argueing against was all the "the site is good as it is" 
comments that followed the original post.
The site is great, content wise. Navigation is also very good. But 
the layout and design could be a lot better.
Someone steped up and wanted to make an improvement, but was meet 
with nothing but criticism, and not the constructive kind. Instead 
of shooting him down, someone could nicely have pointed out that 
even if the effort is appreciated, the site he made is not good 
enough, but keep working on it and it might improve.

Anyway, I feel like Im fighting a loosing battle here, so this will 
be my last post to this thread.

--
R