A first repository

[Eliezer Israel]

Heya folks - 

We've got a first repository up at http://placepatterns.org.  

Right now, it's for us to play with.  Please take some time to explore.  

First thing to do is register.  Easy to do if you have a google, twitter, or facebook account.  No need to enter in your info, just give permission.  

After that, take a look at what can be done - viewing patterns, commenting on them, connecting patterns and place, writing new patterns and places...

Make a wish list - of how things should look, how things should work, what you'd like to see, and post it here or send it right to me. 

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Lev

[Eliezer Israel]

To goose along the conversation, here, I'm reposting some of Yodan's comments from an earlier version.  I've hidden the discussion by default because of this feedback.  We can take it much further, if we choose to.

Curious what folks think about the potential of the screen versus book here.

From Yodan:

I think it's too similar to the book format and doesn't adapt itself to the limitations and potential of the screen. 

I think the image should be to the side, particularly if it's small. Computer screens now are wider than longer, and it's important to get as much as possible within one screen with no need for scrolling.

[Michael Mehaffy]

Ward's idea is to have a handheld-friendly page unit, then be able to string them together on a desktop screen.  See attached...  First image is conceptual, the pages almost like trading cards.  The second, what they look like together when hyperlinked.  Each upper opens a lower, etc.  (And you can build up a network with overlaps.)

Cheers, m

--
Michael Mehaffy

Structura Naturalis Inc.

742 SW Vista Ave., #42

Portland, OR 97205

(503) 250-4449
www.tectics.com

[Theo Armour]

Lev

 

 

These comments relate very specifically and only to the immediate WordPress implementation at placepatterns.org

 

Please do not infer that the comments are about what could be or should be in the big picture of the project. OK?

 

**

 

Comments on Home Page User Experience

 

I would like to see a visible difference between what is a place and what is a pattern. The difference could be expressed using color, shape, pattern or whatever – it does not necessarily have to have the word "pattern" or "place" emblazoned on it. Maybe allow the user try to surmise what is going on

 

The text in the pop-up tool-tip is currently the same as the title. It might be nice if the text contained a ten to fifteen word description of the place or pattern.

 

It's always the same image in the same place. It would be nice if there were five photos of, say, attached houses from around the worlds and a random one was displayed each time you reloaded and at, say, thirty second intervals.

 

I guess what I am saying is that I would like to see a bit more flyover actions on the home page.

 

Another question is what gets elevated to the front page. Is it newest gets top left and the others slide down or is the front page curated?

 

When I click on the Scale choices I see different patterns. How do I get to choose different places with the same amount of granularity?

 

**

 

Is this the kind of commenting you are looking for?

 

Theo

[Eliezer Israel]

Exactly the kind of feedback I'm looking for.

As opposed to the year(s) scale conversations that we have, these are the day and week scale conversations that drive incremental improvement.  

Good stuff.

The point about how patterns and places are presented is sharp - you're absolutely right.  They need to be obviously visually distinct in how they're presented - in every place that they're presented.  We need a visual language that makes it clear what is shown, without asking the user to read and determine.

The front page is 'latest first'.  That can change, if we have a better algorithm. 

Currently, both places and patterns are categorized by scale and free tagging, and can be filtered by both. 

[Ward Cunningham]

On Jun 10, 2012, at 3:07 PM, Theo Armour wrote:

I would like to see a visible difference between what is a place and what is a pattern. The difference could be expressed using color, shape, pattern or whatever – it does not necessarily have to have the word "pattern" or "place" emblazoned on it. Maybe allow the user try to surmise what is going on

Each row on the front page should tell a story using patterns and places as words. Here is one, a sentence in the "language":

If you know what is and isn't "grammatical" in pattern language terms then don't show anything at this level that isn't grammatical.

[Theo Armour]

>> Each row on the front page should tell a story using patterns and places as words. Here is one, a sentence in the "language"…

 

Thinking out loud:

 

I am thinking about the coding paradigms Lev could use to make this happen in hours not weeks.

 

Could these be like "breadcrumbs" on a web site, but be visual rather than verbal?

 

Yes, possibly. But then again the thing on the right could have multiple parents.

 

So then there are multiple bread crumbs to get to the same place. Big deal.

 

Breadcrumb code is readily available. Already in WordPress if I remember correctly.

 

Then each time you load the home page, a random selection of ten lines of valid sentences appear.

 

Another way of getting there might be using tags plus check boxes (think of the selection criteria on the left menu in amazon.com).

 

As in show me something that is in both "common  land" and "green streets". If there are none, choose something else. If there's more than one, pick one randomly.

 

So it seems to me that Ward's thought experiment seems quite doable/codeable.

 

And, if so, could lead to further thought experiments such as: show me all the breadcrumbs than can get me to this Place…

 

Theo

 

 

 

From: pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com [mailto:pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ward Cunningham

Sent: Sunday, June 10, 2012 8:00 PM
To: pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com

[Ward Cunningham]

Yes, yes. We don't want to be rigid about what it means to be a sentence. A sentence that is a little off (in the minds of the pattern authors) might be just right to get some reader's creative juices running.

It might be nice to get a few more levels of details in the place patterns: the Swiss Driveway AND something about the driveway edge and fence. If each place pattern had a half-dozen details, choosing any one at random would be like a period (full stop) at the sentence's end.

<image001.png>

[Eliezer Israel]

Fun ideas!

I feel like following any of the current linkings (scale, tag, explicit pattern-place relation, or explicit pattern-pattern relation) could make plausible sentences... 

[Ward Cunningham]

On Jun 12, 2012, at 9:31 AM, Eliezer Israel wrote:

I feel like following any of the current linkings (scale, tag, explicit pattern-place relation, or explicit pattern-pattern relation) could make plausible sentences... 

Agree. A good approach might be to have a variety of templates for plausible sentences, pick them at random, and then fill them with eligible content while favoring the newest and/or best content that you want featured.

[Theo Armour]

Lev

 

>> Agree. A good approach might be to have a variety of templates for plausible sentences, pick them at random, and then fill them with eligible content

 

More agreement.

 

Also there could be some voting/community feedback/liking going on that would elevate the well-formed/well-liked patterns of patterns.

 

Theo

 

From: pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com [mailto:pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ward Cunningham
Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:19 AM
To: pattern-rep...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: A first repository (front page refactored)

 

On Jun 12, 2012, at 9:31 AM, Eliezer Israel wrote:

I feel like following any of the current linkings (scale, tag, explicit pattern-place relation, or explicit pattern-pattern relation) could make plausible sentences...