>On PokerDIY (a social networking web-app) I am the only person who ever admins it so I don't mind about the installer, modules, settings etc. I want the end->user UI (login/sign up forms/edit profile/tooltips/help experience to improve)...
Normally for me that also applies on most of my client sites - however on a current job - a Qantas ex crew site I have several admins -page editors, link editors forum editors etc there is over 8 levels of admins most having their first time in admin functions. Generally admin functions are done by consultants and or programmers and I think that is reflected in the code and finish of the product - DNN needs to come up to the higher commercial product level in all its aspects especially now it has gone commercial. True one can change the tool tips from a short repeat of the actual label to a more detailed help decriptive of the label., It needs probably now to call a halt to the forward thrust of having every thing but the kitchen sink in it and look at the use and users of the product. Help text is still fairly outdated etc etc.
Maybe you find the dumbest user out there and sit him down and tell him to administer the site while you look on with a notepad. - even if you look back over the forums you will see simple mistakes being made over and over - mainly due it would appear not to no documentation but documentation that is not written for the true end user but the developer or programmer - even in these mission critical enterprises that will buy PE it still comes down to an employee that may have no programming knowledge or not be framework savvy to administer and use the package.
The best package in the world will suffer if it fails to handle the average end user - any one that has ran a software house will know that the most labor intensive task is to develop the UI and supporting docs to a level that meets the outside world. While we argue about the question of is DNN a CMS or is another package better then DNN the framework creeps on leaving the true end user well behind in his understanding of how to use the product.
DNN is not a cms it is a site builder at its lower level - probably the level most used by the mass of users out there - it is a programming framework for those that wish to delevep their own product or extent DNN into areas that the core team has no time or wants to go. It would be nice if it was a CMS
It is ok for the Corp to say that there are so many thousand sites out there using DNN - however how many are using out of the box DNN how many have had changes to the framework how many have had UI staff rewrite the help and tool tips or redesign the User Interface = with my clients I redesign the gui - in most admin cases you do only need to enter or change a small number of the entries on an admin page - so I have what we call the 'fast track' the labels of those fields that must be filled in are highlited with a yellow background to add a page you only need to enter 4 things - the ui is changed to bring those to the top of the page and they are highlited with the fast track color - this then covers about 90% of users who just want to create a new page. Same with module settings -basically only one section needs entry and that is the settings not for the module but for the type of module ie announcements
This is end user inter face design which in my opinion is not fully considered. These are not bugs they are simply redesign factors so putting these on the bug tracker system is not the way to go - maybe we need a sperate forum where end user interface can be discussed and suggestions can be put forward.
If such things as tool tip design was considered and end user interactiobn was sort on such a forum then it would be a benfit to the overall package and make it easier for us that make changes in our client packages to stay a lot closr to the out of the box framework especially when it come time to update the version.
Altho long now retired but my software house experience tells me that what a programmer thinks is a good end user GUI is usually a long way from what an end user thinks is a good GUI.