How can we fix the layout/components on an issue page so that it is easier to contribute and our discussions/collaborations are more effective?
Some big ideas seem to be:
1. Better issue summaries:
a) What is the actual problem that we're trying to solve here?
b) What is/are the proposed solution(s) and their pros/cons?
c) What are the contentious issues that need hashing through (if any)?
d) What is left to do on the issue before we can mark it RTBC? (and can I help?)
e) Who has contributed and how? commented, voted, following, written/reviewed code/designs etc.
some initial implementation ideas have included a wiki-style "issue summary" that everyone can edit, or the ability to "flag" one particular comment as being a useful summary of the state of things.
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showing related issues for context - this should happen on the issue page as well as in the issue queue index
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Separating Ideas from Commentary - a way to make it easier to get your head around what has been discussed by filtering out the big ideas/next steps from the general chit chat around these. Includes needing a way to agree without disrupting flow (voting, +1ing), possibly splitting/tab out chat from patches (and UI presumably)
Personally, I think there's a lot we can draw from Quora again including the way you can visibly vote on an issue (your name gets included when you vote an answer up), and the way they hide less constructive contributions (if the community votes it down on mass). Also the way each question hosts it's own discussion.
more ideas/thoughts/etc.?
Closing Issues:
- what's the next step? what's needed? how can you help?
- marking RTBC is scary - how can we make it less so? (perhaps participatory? - I would only do it if I see someone I trust saying something like "All that is needed before RTBC is..." and I can test and verify that it is done.), checklist for RTBC?
