@paulakreuzer I still like your proposal. We might want to add a new category for the upcoming integration of the forum with the blog and the comments. Or do you think that the newly created blog articles should be created in #fairphone-road-map?
I guess thematically some blog posts would fit into #fairphone-road-map, but some into other categories. So one new (sub) category for all of them is probably more clear.
And that could be #news or so?
What about #blog? 
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 182 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
Really impressed by what @Stefan did to the #austrianfairphoners topics I am currently working on a plan to put similar structure into pinned posts, guides & wikis.
Once I have a working draft I’ll introduce it in a new topic.
But first I need to know what to work with and I think the current structure of categories simply doesn’t work for my plan
One thing I think we need for better structure would be to not have so many different places to go if you need help.
Currently we have:
- FP1 Help
- FP2 Help
- Software (for help with apps)
- Android 4 (for software help on the FP1)
- Android 6 (for software help on a standard FP2)
- Open OS (for software help on an FP2 with Open OS)
- Lineage (for software help on an FP2 with Lineage)
- AltOSes (for software help on an FP2 with another OS)
- Hardware/Repair/DIY (for help with hardware)
I think we should have one help category with the sub-categories:
- FP1 (which would incorporate all non-general topics in Android 4 + FP1 hardware)
- FP2 (which would include almost all of Android 6, Open, Lineage, AltOSes & hardware)
-
Apps (which would be most of the non-sub Software topics)EDIT: or maybe help topics for apps could simply go into the Help-super-category along with every other help-topic that is not specific to either phone model.
and then we would have a category for Operating Systems with sub categories for each, which would only include general posts on how to install, update/upgrade, use & modify the OS.
The hardware category could be dropped.
The Roadmap I think should either be expanded (with sub categories for blogs, (regular) AMAs, …) or integrated into Community (Roadmap = wishes & dreams of the community to the company and announcements of the company to the community).
The rest I’d leave as is (except the Dictionary needs fixing - too many broken tags).
PS: One downside I see with a help-super-category would be people posting there (instead of in a sub category) and not mentioning whether they have an FP1 or an FP2.
PPS: Oh and for my plan it would be ideal if we’d have an even number of categories in the end.
1 Like
Iiuc that would reduce the number of categories quite drastically. Besides the effort of recategorizing my main question would be if a Help “super” category would still be helpful for filtering and searching. If 80% of all posts would then be in the “Help” category, that would IMHO render the categories useless.
Just my 2 ct.
Thank you for starting a discussion about this. 
Here is a (in my little head) well-thought-through alternative proposal:
| Super-Category | Sub-Category |
|---|---|
| Community |
|
| Technologies |
|
| Help (mostly individual requests) |
|
| Market |
|
| Meta |
What would it mean for some real-world topics?
Recommendations for MP3 player apps that display album art? (individual request, now software) → Help
Is SailfishOS ready for daily use? (individual request, now #software:alternative-oses) → Help > AltOSes
Microsoft "goes Open Source" (= acquired GitHub) (now #community) → Technologies
🇩🇪 🇬🇧 Aktuell | Austrian Fairphoners (now #community) → Community > Local
✏ List of Fairphone 2 Resellers + prices (now #community) → Technologies > Fairphone
Sailfish OS 2.1.4.14 alpha6 release (now #software:alternative-oses) → Community > Developing
✏ FP2 modem firmware (now #software:alternative-oses) → Community > Developing (or Help > Guides)
Edit: @paulakreuzer I gave some more reasoning above.
Edit2: @paulakreuzer And I saw my mistake with the Is SailfishOS ready for daily use? topic.
I also posted a follow-up description here:
Okay, I see there is a lot to discuss.
I don’t get this one.
Wouldn’t that be Technologies > App Tips in your proposal?
Why move this out of AltOSes?
I think this would make more sense in market.
This is a release ready for use and the topic is not about developing.
I’d like to see this from a forum visitor’s perspective:
- I need help with something → Category Help
- I want to discover new things → Community (for things that concern Fairphoners) or Technologies (for things that concern the electronics industry or the internet, etc.)
So when I need help with my SailfishOS installation, I go to Help > AltOSes. When I want to find out about the various OSes that I can install on my Fairphone (this is before the trouble starts 
) I go to the Community > Developing category. I wouldn’t see this category as solely for software in development, but also for releases (is software ever finished?).
Yep, and I hope that others also take a bit of their time and give their thoughts, so that we can reach a better result together.
I’m with you up until here.
I just think it makes more sense to say:
- I need help with an issue I already have → Help
- I need help with finding out how to install another OS or finding out whether it’s even what I want to do → Operating Systems (I wouldn’t look in Community for that).
- I want to meet, join or discuss something “off-topic” with the community → Community
I think it makes sense to keep topics where developers discuss the development in Developing and topics where users discuss the usage of the usable operating system in Operating Systems/Alternative OSes (whatever the name).
Be honest - you just want it to be an even number of categories! Joking aside, here is a proposal that takes into account your critque:
| Super-Category | Sub-Category |
|---|---|
| Community |
|
| Operating Systems |
|
| Industry Change (?) |
|
| Help (mostly individual requests) |
|
| Market |
|
| Meta | […] |
Ad an earlier proposed “Technology” category
@paulakreuzer You said you didn’t understand my proposal for a category called “Technology”. My aim was to give the #community category a sharper profile. Thus I’d like to find a new home for these and similar topics because they do not directly concern the Fairphone community*:
- Microsoft "goes Open Source" (= acquired GitHub)
- Other phones that are fairly fair? (e.g. Shiftphone)
- ✏ List of Fairphone 2 Resellers + prices
- Lush UK chooses Fairphone from Phone Co-op!
- Light Phone 2 (e-ink smartphone lasting 5 days)
At the moment they are just “parked” in #community because we put everything there that doesn’t fit somewhere else.
Ad Developing category
I’d like to make it more visible that the developers are also part of the Fairphone community. Thus my idea to move the sub-category to the #community category.
Ad Operating Systems
If we have Help categories for the OSes, we don’t need respective sub-categories in an Operating Systems category, IMHO. There aren’t so many general discussions per OS. Plus, unlike Help topics, in general the topics in the current #software category and its sub-categories are well-described in their title and it is clear which OS they are talking about.
Ad “Industry Change” (?)
Maybe we just have to define the #fairphone-road-map category a little bit broader to also allow for (smartphone/internet/electronics) industry related topics. Then we might not need a sub-category specifically for Fairphone. It wouldn’t hurt though, IMO.
PS.: Please also let’s not forget to revise the category slugs. They are inconsistent and also quite long in the present form: #fairphone-help vs. #fairphone2help etc.
* I see the #community category more like a “meta” category, where we discuss about the community, their work, their opinions etc.
1 Like
This makes no sense to me. What do apps have to do with Operating Systems?
Why a super category with only one sub-category?
This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either. Why do we need sub-help categories for the individual OSes? If there is a bug in an OS it should be discussed in the bugtracker, issues not caused by the OS can be discussed in a more general help category and if you just have an issue because you don’t know how to use a function of an OS it should go into OSes.
PS: I missed the lower part of your post.
That explains the super-category for roadmap/fairphone.
I just think there will always be topics that don’t fit anywhere else, so some kind of “off-topic” category should exist. I don’t mind that not being the community category.
In other categories there is the possibility to post topics without specifying any category. Maybe that would be an option for us too? At first I thought it looked strange, but I’ve gotten used to it.
I like the idea.
Yeah because the general discussion takes place in a few long topics instead of lots of short topics.
Okay here is my new proposal for super-categories based on what you want your intention is for posting/reading on the forum:
- you want to ask for help → Help
- you want to find guides → Guides (would include all guides, all topics should be 1-post-topics and it would be structured by cross-linking and tagging)
- you want to meet, join or contribute to the community → Community
- you want to talk about the company → Fairphone/Company/Roadmap/whatever
- you have a general questions → General
- you want to discuss something unrelated to Fairphone → Unrelated
- you want to buy/sell → Market
- you want to discuss the forum itself → Meta
That way there could be OS specific help-sub categories like you suggested while guides on installing/updating/using the OSes would be in Guides.
General would be for questions/discussions about the product (including all the “should I buy it?” and “does it have function x?” topics), an OS (“does x work on this OS?”, “is this OS ready for daily use?”) or any other general questions related to Fairphone.
General + Unrelated could also both just be uncategorized or joined with the Roadmap category in a super category.
2 Likes
In the early days (Nov 2015) the #fairphone-road-map category was called “Fairness” and the #community category was called "Fairphone Café.
What about a new Café* category alongside the #community category? I imagine it could work a bit like this**:
| Super Category | Sub-categories |
|---|---|
| Café |
|
Anything that’s not directly connected to any of the phone products (FP1/FP2), the company itself or an OS/apprecommendations would go into the super category.
Revised proposal
I’ll copy in a revised complete proposal:
| Super-Category | Sub-Category |
|---|---|
| Community |
|
| Café |
|
| Help (mostly individual requests) |
|
| Guides | |
| Market |
|
| Meta | […] |
Note that Repair, Hardware, Roadmap and Software categories would be most affected by this (I think 
).
Testing with real topics
Guides or HelpRemaining Questions (FMPOV)
- Do collections such as ✏ List of local repair shops that are familiar with Fairphones (by City) also go into Guides?
- Why is nobody else interested in such a big decision? @moderators should give their opinion, and I also invite @trust_level_4 and @trust_level_3 to share their views. Otherwise this happens (this is a threat! ):
*Actually something very Austrian: 
** Though I would avoid the namings “General” and “Unrelated” because they are not self-explanatory.
2 Likes
We’re getting closer (to finding common ground among just the two of us ).
I just have a few points of criticism left.
E.g.: I don’t feel the articles for the Café sub-categories. Especially “The Software”.
Why do you think we need this separate from FP2 help?
To avoid confusion (is this a guide or not?) we could make a super category for all wikis and a sub-category for wikis.
I fully agree with these. I think the rule should be: Fixing something that got broken → help. “Fixing”/Improving something that doesn’t work for everybody the way it is designed → DIY.
I also agree with the rest of your examples btw.
1 Like
Since you asked: I can’t make myself care about it enough to spend time on it.
3 Likes
Ok, thanks for the honesty! 
Im just worried that in the end people, who are accustomed to the status quo, are confused or point out inconsistencies that @paulakreuzer and me hadn’t considered.
1 Like
I don’t feel a need for change, but if you do, feel free to act, I’ll just adapt .
5 Likes
Do you want to discriminate the little article??? 
I’m not insisting on it, but at least for phone and company it would make it clear that the category is not about each and every phone, but about Fairphone’s product. I’m fine without it, too.
Oh, do you mean that we simply should have a structure like this, where issues with the Google-infected OS and with the hardware go into a “general” FP2 subcategory of help (like it is now with FP2 Help)? Visual:
| Super category | Sub-category |
|---|---|
| Help (mostly individual requests) |
|
I first thought that there should be one Android 6 category and one hardware category, but this setup is probably better from a non-technically-inclined FP2 user’s perspective (reason: how should one know from the first moment whether it is software or hardware failure?).
Since the ✏ List of local repair shops that are familiar with Fairphones (by City) is not a guide per-se, I’d put it where people in need would find it helpful: the Help category. The Help super category should host all such topics that aren’t guides, but are still relevant for both FP1 and FP2 (can’t think of many other topics atm).
Let me post another revised structure
| Super-Category | Sub-Category |
|---|---|
| Community |
|
| Café |
|
| Help |
|
| Guides | |
| Market |
|
| Meta | […] |
Please give feedback on the remaining question marks (?).
1 Like