whenever I go to the wiki, I don't browse, I search. So searching for PXE and/or RAID does return the right information.
There are several ways people acquire information.
People do not intuitively "search" when they get on a site. Instead, they "browse".
Information should be acquired in a progressive manner. Since you "own" the information, people expect you to lead them. Besides, when starting from scratch, how could you expect me to know what to search for? You post assumes I now what PXE is! What's that?
Also, even if I pull the right pages from an excellent search (assumes I got lucky typing the right terminology and the articles actually use the same words), what tells me that I am looking at the right information, and not missing something? I can search if I know: searches are based on pre-existing knowledge. Incomplete, but never the less, pre-existing.
Have you noted this from twodogs:
I often find it easier to find wiki articles from a Google search "LinuxMCE black screen" or whatever. Good info on a particular piece of hardware might be found by looking at the main page of the wiki under "Hardware", but maybe the info is in "Tutorials/Guides" or the "User Manual", or the FAQ, or maybe its floating around in the wiki at large.
The frustrated user then asks a question in the forums, where a frustrated Thom complains (rightly so) that he has answered that question a thousand times.
When people have to navigate away from your site and use google to find what's on the very site they are on, I'd say you have a problem: searches don't work. They don't, because things are not organized. You can not find info in a folder by searching another...
If you want a larger user base, you can not make
any assumption. All blanks, including the "obvious" ones, must be filled. The best documentations are the ones that cover all user levels, from ignorant to creator.
Navigation is vital to a site. Most people get frustrated and quickly quit when there is no logical progression to follow, or when things are not simple, or when things are difficult to find. The reason why frequently accessed pages are included in shortcut menus is to give the most common starting points. People explore, and tend to take note of the related elements, and explore those also. That's why you make things available by sight.
I suggest some reading on the subject of information architecture, it will help the venture.
What about my requests?
