Guide Lines for Linking to Third Party Distributions of TWiki

The Download Page for a specific TWiki version

On the download page for a specific release the top section including the blue rounded corner box can only contain links to the current release of fully GPL open source (built from only TWiki's svn) downloads that are hosted on TWiki.org.

Below the first section we add a section for Additional Downloads of TWiki

In this download section anyone can add a link to a download if the following conditions are met.

1. The links must be directly linking to - or lead to a page from where you can download a distribution of TWiki. Not just the generic homepage of your organization.
2. The distribution must meet one or more of the following criteria
   • The distribution adds additional extensions such as skins, plugins 3rd party programs which have been tested and confirmed to work with TWiki.
   • The distribution is a pre-configured version of TWiki for a specific OS or other purpose.
   • The distribution is packaged with an installer.
   • The distribution is packaged as a virtual machine.
3. A description of the source of the distribution is allowed. This can be text and one logo maximum WxH? 100x20 pixels.
4. The description must contain the exact version of TWiki that your distribution contains.

On the download page we additionally link to a generic page OtherTWikiDistributions on which the rules are more open allowing anyone to add an entire section with a short description of the distribution and several links to different versions and add reasonably sized graphics.

The OtherTWikiDistributions topic

1. The links must be directly linking to - or lead to a page from where you can download a distribution of TWiki. Not just the generic homepage of your organization.
2. The distribution must meet one or more of the following criteria
   • The distribution adds additional extensions such as skins, plugins, 3rd party programs which have been tested and confirmed to work with TWiki.
   • The distribution is a pre-configured version of TWiki for a specific OS or other purpose.
   • The distribution is packaged with an installer.
   • The distribution is packaged as a virtual machine.
3. Each provider can add one section headlined with heading level 2. A banner or logo of maximum 468 x 60 pixels (standard full banner). Must be plain gif, jpg or png with no animations or flash.
4. First come first served. First to add their link gets at the top. Next provider adds below.

-- Contributors: KennethLavrsen - 19 Jan 2008

Discussion

For TWiki.Net and Wikiring we know that both wants to be at the top. Kenneth will find a way to let the Goddess of Fortune settle who goes at the top.

-- KennethLavrsen - 19 Jan 2008

Rather than being portrayed to who are the distribution vendors, maybe it could be more appealing to end-users to know the focus of the distribution e.g. TracOnTWiki? , CommunityTWiki? , SoftwareManagementTWiki? , ContentManagementTWiki? , etc. regardless of who distributed it.

It'd be very fair to have it as such, IMHO, yet not neglecting who the distributor is from the acknowledgment(s) links. After all, end users' priority is not on who the distributor is, but on what the distro can do for them.

-- KwangErnLiew - 19 Jan 2008

In reality each 3rd party will have different focus. And it is my goal to give each 3rd party equal and fair exposure here on twiki.org.

The past days discussion about the history topic and the press release shows that publicly known and agreed guidelines are needed so that competition in future happens on the quality of the product and not based on power balance in the project. This ensures that each 3rd party can get their fair exposure under known and agreed guidelines. It does not prevent that we create additional topics here on twiki.org that indexes distributions in other ways.

When we make a guideline like this we should expect to redefine is at least annually. I believe the guideline above will cover well the need for a year to come and I do not believe we will see a large number of 3rd party distributions.

-- KennethLavrsen - 19 Jan 2008

Before we decide on this one, see additional idea in RevisitingDecisionNotToAllowLinkingToExternalTWikiDistros.

-- PeterThoeny - 20 Jan 2008

100x20 - text + logo? Logo only? 100x20 is 2000 pixels; could you use an 80x80 logo (only 1600) instead? If text is included, 100x20 is very small to get an adequate differentiating description into.

-- CrawfordCurrie - 21 Jan 2008

The 100x20 was to write the name of the company as graphics in a way that you can have in a bullet point. You have a small Wikiring logo in many of your plugins which is not more than 20 pixels high. On the download page I would like either text only or very discrete logos. The graphics is not instead of text. It is a supplement to text.

Example

• CP/M version of TWiki - provided by - the open source enterprise wiki

-- KennethLavrsen - 21 Jan 2008

Above guide line adjusted to meet the decision made at FreetownReleaseMeeting2008x01x21.

-- KennethLavrsen - 21 Jan 2008

I am glad we found an agreement. Kenneth, thank you very much for initiating this guideline!

-- PeterThoeny - 22 Jan 2008