[wp-docs] "What's new in WP 2.5" doc?

[Dougal Campbell]

I don't have a lot of time to spare for this message, so forgive me if 
I'm terse.

 From comments I've seen on my blog an elsewhere, there is a segment of 
current users out there who are put off by the new admin interface in 
one way or another. For example:

"I just checked out the demo site, and I am sorry to say that I don't 
like it, why you may ask? Headaches! I have like 9 blogs to maintain, 
and due to being familiar with the old version, I can't see myself 
switching. What happens to to 40+ plugins I now use, will most of them 
be unusable? I never did find the options page, maybe I gave up to soon. 
Just please tell me this won't be a mandatory upgrade!"

While your or I might think that it's an extreme or frivolous response 
to not upgrade just because the interface has changed, it's obviously 
important to this person. Obviously we aren't going to change the admin 
GUI back to the old style, so what do we do?

I suggest the creation of a "What's new in WordPress 2.5" document, to 
be present on the main website and/or Codex, and included prominently in 
the distribution itself, and presented (at least as a prominent link) at 
the end of the upgrade process. This document should have twenty-seven 
eight-by-ten color glossy screenshots of the Admin GUI, with circles and 
arrows, and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what it 
is[1]. In other words, a nice guide for upgrading users (maybe for new 
users, too?) which says things like, "If you're looking for the old 
'Options' menu, it's now called 'Settings', and it's located in the 
upper-right: [img]".

Even it if it doesn't make it into the release distribution, it would 
still be a good article, which I'm sure would get plenty of prominent 
linkage, if done well. If I had time to create such a document myself, I 
would. But I don't. And furthermore, I suck at that particular sort of 
documentation, so it would probably be better for somebody else to do it 
anyhow. So consider this a call for volunteers. Any takers?


[1] Sorry. Obscure reference: 
http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/alices.shtml

-- 
Dougal Campbell <dougal at gunters.org>
http://dougal.gunters.org/