Re: CHECKSUM is not easily accessible on Fedora Download Page

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Tim:
>> So every time I do this, I have to look up instructions, and hunt
>> around for them and the right checksum file.

g:
> it would be nice if fedora site was setup so that everything,
> releases, iso files, software packages, new and archives, where
> accessible via a better, single, ftp layout. but then, it is difficult
> to *prettify* an ftp page, so why should they spend the time.
>  
> "http://archive.fedoraproject.org/pub/"; is pretty much 'straight
> forward'. so why can same not be done for *new*?
>  
> even better, set up an "ftp://fedoraproject.org/pub/";

As much as I dislike absolute step-by-step instructions, particularly as
they (usually) leave you in the lurch when you can't do one of the
steps, it's not that hard to make a page that says:

1. Download the files.  Here are some sources: <link to download page,
with list of mirrors, a seeding link for a torrent, etc.>

2. Check your download is correct.  Here are some instructions for
checking on Linux or Windows or Mac, and the checksums you use to check
the file with <link>.

   NB:  I think the checksum should probably only be on the main
        site, so no checksums are around for supporting hacked
        downloads.  It also provides a good metric for how many
        people do check the file.

3. Burn your ISO to disc, here are some instructions for different
burning software <link>.  Or, here are some instructions to leave the
ISO on a disc you can access in some way, and boot up and install from a
hard disc <link>.  Or, here are some instructions for installing over a
network <link>.  And here is a page going into more details about the
different ways you can install <link>.

4. Once installed, there's a few things you should probably configure,
straight away, here's a set of brief start up instructions that explain
the post-install steps <link>.

5. If you're a newcomer, you might want to read the starter's guide to
using Fedora <link>.

--------------------------------

Now, some of that stuff changes from release to release, so you'd had
links to pages within that release's notes (checksums, specific
instructions, etc.).  Other things don't, so you'd have generic notes
about, how to download large files from websites, how to burn the ISO on
Windows software, outside of the release-specific parts of the website,
for example.

A decent webmaster can write that up wrapped in appropriate HTML
sections so they can apply CSS to it, and re-style it every time they
want to follow the latest fad, without having to re-write all the
content.  i.e. They can pretty it up, without lousing up the
instructions that people need to see.

Or, the alternative of making the pages up from a database.  So that
pages insert <basic install instructions> or <explicit install
instructions> depending on the page needs.  Which, also, makes it easier
to have various different types of instruction pages, that all show
exactly the same instructions.  No confusion, no errors on one page that
don't appear on another...

I've seen it come and go, over time.  But there really needs to be a
one-page place to start the ball rolling, and it needs to be easy to
find (both from the homepage, and by search engines *).  You can link to
pages with more information, for those who need more information.  But
for those that just need reminding of the order of steps, the first page
might well do.  Likewise, "further information" pages can have a 5 point
quick outline of what to do at the top, and an in-depth coverage of all
those steps, below, for the same reason (some people just need a prompt,
others need full instructions).

* Most people find pages via search engines.  And that usually means
straight into a page within the site, not the homepage.  That only works
well when the site is authored well.  But can fail terribly when a site
has multiple similar pages, in some way, but where only one of them is
really suitable.  When building a site where you keep old pages, you
need to author them, right from the start, with prominent version
numbers, dates, and links to the current version.  Links that continue
to work when the "current version" changes.

e.g. On all pages, the current install guide link would always be
"/install-guide", whereas links between archived old pages are
"install-guide" (within the tree, not from the root).

-- 
[tim@localhost ~]$ uname -r
2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686

Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored.  I
read messages from the public lists.



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