Don Malcolm

This is my experience of installing and using Foswiki for the first time.

I am running Ubuntu, so I found the page on the public wiki at foswiki.org that explains setting up apt and using apt-get to install the packages.

I attempted to use apt-get to download and install the main Foswiki package. I got a message saying that apt could not authenticate the package.

I notice instructions for loading the key have been struck out. I then search for the key.

I attempt to look in directories where the package is located. I search the help pages and documentation. I make inquiries on IRC Chat. At first the discussions were polite if a little on the evasive side. I was informed that Sven looks after this area, and is presently away. Then someone else aggressively using put downs and attempts at humiliation, attempted to coerce me into abandoning the apt authentication.

Honestly, the authors of apt saw a need, and in their wisdom added the authentication feature to apt. I am not a total full on geek with apt, and am not in a position (nor do I wish to be in a position) to make a decision that breaks the designed usage of apt. The fact is that Debian packages authenticate, and Ubuntu packages authenticate. How do they achieve that? The bottom line is the user experience. Frankly, being roughed up to breach apt authentication is a bad first time user experience.

The goal of the Foswiki team should be to get their packages into the repositories of distributions such as Ubuntu. When that happens, the packages must be signed. No debate. No questions asked. Rather than feathering your own nest, look rather to the needs of the user, and the experience the user has with Foswiki. Especially for first timers, you really do want this experience to be a good one.

Well, if things started out on the wrong foot, things went from bad to worse. The next problem, and this one is really very scary, is that when I went to edit the AdminGroup page, the editor corrupted the page!!! Bad. Bad. Bad. No good at all!!! By comparing with another installation of Foswiki, I was able to restore some resemblance of something sensible for this key crucial vital to the system page.

And how do I turn off that user information box appearing at the top of this page. I did select the none option! If it is compulsory, then there should be no none option, or the none option should work. What else doesn't work? Foswiki? The user experience for this first time user is like walking through a mine field of bugs and encountering bug after bug after bug. In summary, as a first time user, the user experience is very bad indeed!!! Not the caliber of product I would unleash on the average user. While it is great to see a lot of activity. The Foswiki team really should put energy into making the user experience and especially for first timers who use only the core package, a good one.

My Links

• http://donm.net/ - My Website
• BeginnersStartHere - view a short introductory presentation on Foswiki for beginners
• WelcomeGuest - starting points on Foswiki
• UsersGuide - complete Foswiki documentation, Quick Start to Reference
• Sandbox - try out Foswiki on your own
• DonMalcolmSandbox - just for me *