Editing Talk:Mission statement (section)

== Rewriting the Main Page and some broader site organization work ==

This is a vision I have for what the main page of this site could be, and how some organizational changes could be made on the site overall to make it more approachable, more educational, and easier to navigate. I've previously sent this to Support in Discord, but thought it might be good to share here. This proposal is better than the one I had sent in Discord.

In short, my vision is for the main page to be an intro to the website as a whole, and a central navigation point to help people get to the specific information they want, rather than a page focused on contribution to CAT.

A.) Title: Change this page's name from "Mission statement" to "Consumer Action Taskforce Wiki".

B.) Intro: Above the table-of-contents, add a one-paragraph summary of what the site is about/for. The Mission could be included here.

C.) Article/ToC: My proposal for the Table of Contents and overall article is to feature each major category of Consumer Rights, with Contribution and extra information toward the end.

ToC Proposal:    
# What is "consumer protection" and how are we taking action?  
# Right To Repair  
# Right to Own / Right to Use What You Own  
# Right to Privacy  
# Right to the Justice System (Forced Arbitration)  
# Right to Cancel  
# Violations by Company  
# Resources for consumers   
# Fight for change / Take Action  
# Contribute to this wiki  

Each of these sections would be brief. The 'Right To Repair' section would introduce the issue, link to a couple of relevant articles for examples ('John Deere fails to uphold right to repair agreement' &  'Future Motion Onewheel skateboard...'), and link to a dedicated 'Right To Repair' page.

I would also suggest having the ToC be flat (i.e. no sublists)

D.) Dedicated Pages for each main topic

The dedicated 'Right To Repair' page would introduce the issue, feature a couple of example articles, and also catalogue all articles regarding 'Right To Repair'. 'Right To Own', 'Right To Privacy', and others would have dedicated pages in the same vein. 

The catalogue of relevant articles on each dedicated page may be further organized. For example 'Tesla asks customers to vote against Right to Repair' might fall under a 'Political' category of R2R, whereas the Onewheel article might fall under a 'Devices' category. Some articles might appear on both 'Right to Repair' and 'Right to Own', so perhaps an additional section on each page for these multi-category articles.

E. Resources for Consumers (potentially off-topic)

'Resources for consumers' would include things like 'Privacy Not Included' from Mozilla, repair.wiki, iFixit. 
It could additionally include recommendations for consumer-respecting devices and consumer-respecting software, but I know that product recommendations are off-topic for this site. The Editorial Guidelines state "This Wiki is not a place for product recommendations, and cannot be turned into a place for sneaky guerilla advertising, or the promotion of contributors' pet projects." 
As an alternative, perhaps a guiding article for consumers of what to look for could be helpful when trying to choose consumer-respecting devices and software. Is it Open Source? Are Replacement Parts Available? Is a subscription required? Can it be remotely disabled? Is my data collected/sold? And then linking to other online resources where you can try to get answers to those questions.

F. 'Fight For Change / Take Action' (potentially off-topic)

The Editorial Guidelines state that "We will be especially vigilant against potentially harmful content, and take strong action against users who: (1)Advocate for direct action against malicious companies or individuals within articles themselves". So I don't know if a general guidance article on taking action for Consumer Rights is appropriate or not. Such an article, if it is appropriate, could direct folks toward contacting their representatives, using products that respect consumer rights, educating their friends, sharing the site.

This or a similar section of the site could also direct folks toward proposed legislation, failed legislation, maps of states that have addressed consumer issues, overview of the political process for getting R2R or other relevant legislation, and other legal/political resources of the sort.

G. Contribute to this Wiki

Provide brief summary of what does and does not belong on the wiki, and link to a dedicated 'Contributions' page that goes into more detail. Alternatively, brief summary then a list of links to more information. 

A dedicated 'Contribute' page could give a numbered list of 'Before You Contribute', which then recommends things like 'Learn what belongs here', 'Learn what doesn't belong here', 'Read the Editorial Guidelines'. Then have a 'How To Contribute' section listing 'Edit Articles', 'Create New Articles', 'Discuss Changes' (talk page, discord), 'MediaWiki Formatting'. Then have a 'Contribute' section listing links to 'Convert Videos to Articles' (video directory), 'Articles in need of work', and whatever other avenues are recommended for contribution.

H. Navigation Menu

Suggestions:

* Put 'main page' at the top, followed by 'All Pages', then 'Categories', then the other links below those.
* Add a 'Consumer Rights' navigation box with the 'R2R', Right to Privacy, and dedicated-page links that I've suggested in the ToC section above.
+(added by Cire)+ On mobile navigation is clunky and there's no hyperlink or similar from the main page to the All pages search section. Mobile formats are what people will have all the time. Imagine if this wiki could be an app (or shortcut) on mobile and can be as easily referenced as one would a shoping list texted to you.

[[User:ReedyBear|ReedyBear]] 22:50, 20 January 2025 (UTC)