[pmwiki-users] yet another documentation suggestion ...

Joachim Durchholz jo at durchholz.org
Tue Aug 2 16:15:28 CDT 2005


Neil Herber wrote:
> That is what I suggested at the end of the posting - that many
> keywords could be added to the target page. That still does not
> provide the browseability of a FAQ unless the search results display
> a summary or teaser text from each page. For example, the hits
> returned for PITS pages are completely useless for deciding upon
> their merit. The results from "limit groups" are: PITS / 00010 00131 
> 00358 00417

I see the problem here... only that it's not a problem. PITS is a
repository for questions, not for answers - and a FAQ is (despite its
name) a collection of answers :-)

>> To keep the keyword lists reasonable, I'd suggest adding just the 
>> first verb that you used personally.
>> 
>> Here's a suggestion for the Search Results page: a text to be 
>> displayed if nothing appropriate was found (well, maybe this should
>> be given always):
>> 
>> "No topic found? Try some other keywords. NOTE: If you manage to
>> find what you searched for, consider editing the page and rewording
>> it so that the words that didn't find that page are on it, so
>> people who use the same keywords in the future will find the page."
>> 
> 
> This strikes me as completely unworkable (or highly optimistic!). 
> Entering a quoted phrase such as "limit groups" more often than not 
> produces no hits.

Most people won't put quotes around the keywords.

> If after several tries I finally get something, do you seriously
> think that I will be in a frame of mind to add (or even remember) the
> phrases that did not work and enter them on the target page?

That's the Wiki Way :-)

> On the other hand, entering the two words "limit" and "groups" gives
> lots of hits that have nothing to do with what I am looking for -
> the search is too broad.

I agree.

Now that's a problem that you have with any large body of text. The 
problem really isn't that PmWiki has no FAQ (actually the entire PmWiki 
group is one, from a certain perspective); the problem is that searches 
don't turn up the "most interesting" results first.

Regards,
Jo




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