Wiki organization discussion - Reference, Calibration

#1) I'm trying to get a handle on the structure and organization of the Wiki. Please help me understand how it should be organized!

When helping members, I would of course like to be able to point them to a Wiki page that contains the info they need.
So far, when I do not find a page, I've created one (like the Shifted Layers / Offset Layers / Missed Steps page with 29 causes, effects, and solutions) and linked it in Reference -Troubleshooting.

Other pages I have tried to send people to could not be found through the Wiki page hierarchy, like the Gcode page. Since Gcode clearly is "Reference" material, I added it to the Reference category... Isn't this how it should be done?

#2) There is one other competing reference area - the Development Index. If someone wants a wiring diagram for a Ramps board for instance, that's not in the Reference section, and searching for it brings up too many items. They would need to burrow 4 levels deep in the Development Index to find it. I how could be made better?


#3) The Calibration Page
I'm approaching calibration from the prospective a new user would have. *

This category was hard to find! I added it to the Reference and Tutorials categories a while ago.

There are multiple issues with the Calibration page. This information is crucial to all new users, it should be up-to-date.
- it is mostly Skeinforge specific. This leaves a great many users completely out, and contains some obscure and confusing information.
- it has: "for the latest up-to-date guide please take a look at Triffid's Guide."
- it uses an all-on-one page approach, where sub pages would be more appropriate - for instance for: Setting stepper motor current, Bed Preparation/First Layer Adhesion. The sub pages could cover different hardware more easily, with photos, etc., and links to various hardware pages if those have already been created.

I think as a start the following should be done (and I'm willing to do much of it, but I'm seeking your input!)
- Merge the updated info from Triffid's guide for setting e-steps per mm etc. This needs to be firmware specific.
- For Extrusion fine tuning there should be links to individual pages using the various slicers.
... Because this clearly cannot be done on one page - it would be unreadable and the terms used are incompatible. I'm proposing creating pages like:
- Extrusion Fine Tuning with Cura
- Extrusion Fine Tuning with Skeinforge
- Extrusion Fine Tuning with Slic3r
- Etc. Some of the individual pages will need other experts with those slicers to create/update them.
- Link to a page for Bed Preparation/First Layer Adhesion (there may already be one? or move the info there.)
- Link to a page for Recommended Layer Heights and Extrusion Widths for different nozzle orifice diameters. I can create this.
- The page needs to contain (a link to) some sane defaults for new users for acceleration, print speed, travel speed - for them to use when starting the calibration process. It probably needs to have separate values for different basic printer models. They do not know that the defaults in firmware are likely invalid for their hardware, or what values to use in their slicer.

I know there are also Commissioning and Reprap software tweaking guide pages. These are not linked from Reference or Tutorials, I'm not sure how people would find them without a specific search term.. These pages have a small mount of information that can be consolidated during this process - however most info there is 5 years old and discusses obsolete printers and electronics.

So I'm seeking input on these issues! Do you approve of my approach?

Thanks!
Paul

* A little background: I'm a System Developer, I've been working with user interfaces and n-tier systems for over 30 years - the user's experience is important to me.

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My printer: Raptosaur - Large Format Delta - [www.paulwanamaker.wordpress.com]
Can you answer questions about Calibration, Printing issues, Mechanics? Write it up and improve the Wiki!

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Paul Wanamaker
Other pages I have tried to send people to could not be found through the Wiki page hierarchy, like the Gcode page. Since Gcode clearly is "Reference" material, I added it to the Reference category... Isn't this how it should be done?

Sure, it doesn't hurt to add pages to appropriate categories. To be honest though, if I ever need to find something on the wiki I just use a search engine. The Gcode wiki page is the top result if you type "reprap gcode" into Google...

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Paul Wanamaker
If someone wants a wiring diagram for a Ramps board for instance, that's not in the Reference section, and searching for it brings up too many items. They would need to burrow 4 levels deep in the Development Index to find it. How could it be made better?

I suppose we could add "popular" or "mainstream" pages likes Ramps to the Reference category. But then every vendor in the world will want their particular item listed on the "Official Reprap Wiki Reference Category" and people begin to argue. So I don't know if that would really be effective. Again, if I really want to find something on the wiki I use a search engine. The Ramps wiki page is the top result if you type "reprap ramps" into Google...

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Paul Wanamaker
#3) The Calibration Page
...
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I think as a start the following should be done (and I'm willing to do much of it, but I'm seeking your input!)

Your proposal sounds good to me, but it also sounds like a huge amount of work. If you think you can do it, please go ahead!

Matt,
Thanks for your reply.

There are many pages that will never ever be found by people that need them, as they either do not know the secret phrase (they may be nubes after all), or assume the page doesn't exist if it isn't linked. So I think it is important that pages be find-able by browsing the Wiki structure.

I agree with you on #2, let's not go there.

As for the search - ah, you used the Force...
However if you search for Ramps Wiring Diagram in the Wiki Search, and not Google, you will not get good results at all. This is the same for other searches - the Wiki Search doesn't return the popular/best page near the top. Perhaps Google Custom Search would be better. Ad free starts at $100/year.

I will proceed incrementally on the Calibration topic.

Thank you.