Comments

• 

  Micah

  Posts: 894 March 2008

  It's becoming clear to me that OP is pretty complicated to use, and it must be daunting to new users. They have to learn Textile (or our bastardized version of it), how to wiki-link to things, and now we're adding a "new teaser tag":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/forums/3/topics/58.
  
  Unfortunately, Ryan and I are not really experts in usability. We try to make things easy, but we have to strike a balance between tweaking for usability and adding new features. Further, we have absolutely no time to write documentation (as you can see by looking at the paltry tutorials).
  
  The end result is that the site gets more and more complex (in a good way), but harder and harder for newbies to figure stuff out.
  
  So, is there anyone here who would be interested in putting together some tutorials or newbie help guides? The qualifications for the job are a good understanding of the site's features, plus knowledge of HTML.
  
  Note: Don't start writing yet! Just let us know (in this post) if you'd be interested. We'll pick someone (assuming anyone is interested) and get in contact with them at that point.
  
  Things to cover:
  * Creating a campaign
  * Inviting your players
  * Creating characters (PCs vs NPCs)
  * Basic Textile syntax (bold, italics, lists, etc.)
  * Use of the new more tag (teaser)
  * How to link to other wiki pages and characters/items
  * NPC tags and how/why to use them
  * Uploading maps
  
  Other things for a more advanced guide:
  * Adding images to your posts using CSS / Textile
  * Suggested wiki organization
  * Claiming your Adventure Log on "Technorati":http://technorati.com/
• 

  DarthKrzysztof

  Posts: 132 March 2008

  I think I'd be interested, if I can make the time. The Technorati thing I would have to have explained to me tho. ;)
• 

  Charsen

  Posts: 85 March 2008

  I can work on something in addition to Darth K, I'll post in a bit when I'm taking a break from writing grad apps. :p
• 

  FemmeLegion

  Posts: 521 March 2008

  I've had to write help guides for web-based applications before, and I'm already having to walk some of my game-buddies through how to post to wiki, so yes, I would be willing to help with some of the basic topics.
• 

  Pok

  Posts: 8 April 2008

  While I'm no code wiz, I like to think I can document in a reasonably simple fashion It'll be a good idea to trawl the forums for handy info to add to a tutorial, as well.
  
  I'm in. :)
• 

  Micah

  Posts: 894 April 2008

  Thanks for the responses, and I haven't forgotten! We're trying to get a few features in order, then we'll re-prioritize and see about getting some more tutorials in.
• 

  dcampbez

  Posts: 3 June 2008

  Any of these availible anywhere yet?
• 

  Micah

  Posts: 894 June 2008

  No, and it's my fault. Several people have volunteered, but I can't set aside the time to make a place for the tutorials.
  
  Still, it's on my todo list as soon as I get some free time.
• Exmond

  Posts: 3 July 2008

  If you need more hosting I can provide a website to use. I
• 

  Calion

  Posts: 144 May 2011

  Okay, this is from three years ago, but I haven't seen these tutorials in place. Is this still in progress? Perhaps if I find the time I'll just write up a tutorial or two and post the link in the Forums. If you love it, you can move the link to the main site and give me some free months :)
• 

  ChainsawXIV

  Posts: 530 May 2011

  There are a number of guides, tips, and so on available in the "FAQ thread":http://forums.obsidianportal.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=1114&page=1#Item_41.
  
  Also, this thread craves brains.
• 

  Calion

  Posts: 144 May 2011

  Well, yes. But the topic is still salient. I realize the FAQ thread has useful stuff, but it's fairly hard to find for newbies, and the quality is here and there. I think official help and tutorials would be very useful.
• 

  arsheesh

  Posts: 850 May 2011

  Micah and company have created some pretty helpful introductory videos that cover allot of these basic sorts of activities. When you create a new campaign, or join an existing one, these video tutorials should automatically appear within each of the main navigation tabs. While they are not all that detailed, they do seem to serve well for the intended purpose of introducing newbies to the core features of OP's wiki system. If you want to go beyond the basics, that's where Chainsaw's FAQ page comes in handy. So I'm not sure that there really is a need for a further set of tutorials covering just the basics; though I could see room for tutorials on "Advanced" site design.
  
  Cheers,
  -Arsheesh
• 

  Dungeon_Master_Loki

  Posts: 358 May 2011

  I've written online style books and tutorials for several jobs and clients. I'd have no problem throwing this together if they can make the time to get in touch about it.

  Game Designer, Pro GM, multiple ENnie Award winner

  GM of Planejammer: The Spelljoined (Pathfinder 1e) Campaign of the Year 2011 and still going strong!
  
  GM of The Planewalker's Guild (Pathfinder 1e) 

  Need a GM? Book me today!