Talk:MediaWiki For Dummies
Add topicI think merging this article is a bad idea. It could be really helpful to have this article, and it is not duplicated by what is on wiki on a stick.
This page is a MUST
[edit]Considering the exceedingly complex nature of MediaWiki, I see a serious need for a "MediaWiki For Dummies" page(s). Looking over the hundreds of pages across the various MediaWiki manuals that is provided to a new user can be so daunting that it can easily drain a new user of the hope in even having a chance in creating their own "wiki". What I find to be the most complex & "seemingly" impossible for non-technically savvy users is the editing of MediaWiki to create a "unique" Wiki that is not the default variety.
For instance, I myself am trying to create my own "wiki" with MediaWiki & would love to do such simple customizations as editing the Navigation Panel, but what should be a basic & simple procedure is frustratingly tedious & completely ineffective. I have yet been able to successfully remove items from the Navigation panel, or even edit the title of the links in the Nav panel. Even after trying the methods in the provided "user manuals" I cannot even add my own link to the Nav panel. These things should be child's play, but are rather the opposite. Even with website coding experience that I do have, trying to edit MediaWiki is like quantum physics.
MediaWiki has the greatest functionality of any "wiki", yet the difficulty level is beyond anything I have ever seen.
Why So Hard?
[edit]Why is MediaWiki so difficult to set up? I am so lost and I have been building sites for over a decade. This is really ridiculous. You do not label anything as it should be. What is a namespace? How do I change the side navigation? Why is all of this so tedious and retarded? Is there no one who is normal that is in charge of user friendliness?