hacked off

right.. before you read this im not slagging off those behind MODx or the systems its self... but as a newbie or noob (which ever you what to ) the documentation for this system is so scattered and sparse that im really being put off by continuing my learning of MODx

i know there is a book coming out, but thats in April...

non of my changes or template creations are working and i dont know why... and i have followed the poor guide on the website!

come on,,, follow the lead of the competition.. im making more progress on TypeLight in less time.. jyst because of their step by step idiots guide on how to do things! Hacking Zen cart and even magento is easier than this.. why.. because they tell you how to!

rant over..

http://wiki.modxcms.com/index.php/Beginner%27s_Guide_to_MODx
http://wiki.modxcms.com/index.php/Placeholders_used_by_MODx_Pages_and_Templates
http://wiki.modxcms.com/index.php/MODx_Instructional_Videos

MODx require you to learn a lot of stuff. Stuff you can only dream about be doing in
other free CMS’s...

i have been following that for two days!

but thank you for your help...

my point is.. do you want MODx to be the world number 1 system.. or the preserve of those that can working things out??

As open software works YOU could be the one doing it number one.
There’s a new marketing site coming but there are
lots of private pages out there:
http://trymodx.com/
http://sottwell.com/modx-from-the-inside.html

Then there is this community and forum that have all questions in the world
answered (search).

i dont think you are getting my point...

MODx maybe the BEST CMS out there! EVER.. but others document their systems in much greater detail... which i think explains their market lead over MODx!

my point is.. i wish the documentation was as detailed and indepth as TypoLight, Zen Cart, Durpal....

i dont have time to ’work things out’, id love to help the MODx project.. i know its a better and more flexible system... but without a solid BoK... whats the point?.. it will remain the preserve of the geek and not be embraced as much as the other poorer systems seem to have been.

ppl over 45 and from the UK with understand this example: VHS vs Betamax

MODx isn’t doesn’t click for some folks, and for those that it doesn’t that’s honestly OK!

That said, we’re aware of the issue, but we have much larger priorities than addressing this point. MODx is first and foremost targeted at folks that for the most part are involved every day with Content Management, whether that be professionally or through daily use of the system. We don’t really like the state of the documentation honestly either. MODx definitely is not right for new users that aren’t dedicated to asking specific questions in the forums during their learning process.

Honestly right now the core team is focused on making it the number one system for a group of people that it serves: the core team and the geeks you alluded to. We’re not compensated for global adoption and becoming the #1 system for others, and our egos don’t need that kind of stroking. We’re really too busy to get caught up in that. We have to support our families, and we try to do a good job of sharing our efforts with the world. If we fail there for some, then we have to accept that and move on.

I think you’d be shocked at how much time it takes to make software like MODx and to work on the community, and how much effort it takes to convert it into shape that is suitable for Cliff Notes. We happen to know the system quite well and it suits our purposes perfectly without consolidated documentation. Until such time as we’re paid to work solely on the software, we can’t make any promises though.

Thanks for the feedback.

mcshane,

I definitely feel you. modx is very flexible and the documentation is not really good (yet). I spend a whole lot of time reading the forum and documentation when I first got here. (That was before the wiki which has REALLY helped).

modx is relatively new compared to drupal, joomla, etc too and that is one reason documentation is not as good. Magento is newer. But it was built by a company (Varien) and magento is Varien’s business model. Magento documentation is just amazing and something to strive for.

So the best way to get started from my perspective:
- install on your dev site once with the default everything
- install modx again with only the snippets
- create your site and look at the default for reference (probably keeping the wiki open)
- ask around- this is a very helpful community here
- pay someone who knows modx to do some stuff for you and see how they do it.
- get on IRC

The reason to use modx is it’s flexibility (and free). It’s flexibility makes documentation harder (i still learn new things all the time). But maybe a commercial solution like paid modx support or expression engine is what you need.

So documentation is getting better (seriously you should’ve seen it a while back). And any questions you have are good to know (I forget what it’s like to be new to modx).

I totally get your frustration. There were times I cursed the guys who built this thing.

Like Ryan has said a bunch of times: MODx is not for everyone. If you want to build one site and want to use a fast "open-mix-pour" CMS then MODX might not be for you. If you know your way around XHTML, CSS and know a little about site structure and want to learn how to make powerful, dynamic sites (plural), then MODx is just awesome.

I tried a lot of the other systems, both simple and full featured. I kept coming back to MODx, and although there are times I still get lost and frustrated, I am here to stay...

Max

You’re right that it’s not easy to learn MODx and that the documentation that exists is often rather out-of-date. I also know that the team plan much better documentation in the future and that they are not completely pushing the current incarnation of MODx. The learning curve here is steep.

But you can learn it. I did, and I’m far from expert in coding.

Really, the best resource is this forum. Ask about all the problems you’re having, and people will answer quickly.

Really, if I was better at MODx, I’d write some documentation myself. Maybe I’ll try a couple of tutorials.

Mcshane makes a valid point though. For a system like this to get over the hump and reach wide appeal you do need well written documentation. I know the MODx elders are working on new stuff and that there is a plan etc...

It is my experience that developers hate having to write documentation. I sometimes feel like they should not do so anyway. Engineers, developers and other technical folks often do not have the skills to write good documentation: its not always easy to take complicated subject matter and distill it down to a form that new people can follow easily. Sometimes they love using "insider" lingo and assume too much from the people reading the documentation.

But this forum, for now, is the best way of obtaining information. If you dig around through the forum you will notice that people who post concise questions get the most responses. Presenting what you want to do and the issues you are having will go a long way to getting others interested in helping you. Posting concise questions also helps everyone as the archives become far more useful as a result...

Max