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Suggestions to make the site more approachable for newcomers

I've been using the site a lot this past month and have never modded Morrowind before. I thought I'd share a few suggestions to improve the new user experience, for discussion.

I really like the recent addition of the First Steps category in beta.

I thought of a few sentences that would have helped me, to maybe add to the first steps:

  • some of the directories listed in the data paths come from the archives, just extract the archives as said and the paths will be fine
  • as a general rule, you don't need to stress about removing unneeded folders or the case of filenames and extensions for the same reason
  • you can uncheck mods you don't want (maybe a later feature would list mods that are unsafe to disable without also looking at patches); the modlists have been tested, deviating too much from the list will change the intended experience, if you're not sure use a lighter list
  • as a general rule, do not update a list if you've started playing and you care about your save

Other UX changes to consider:

  • make Final (https://beta.modding-openmw.com/lists/total-overhaul/final) a step as well so it's easier to access afterwards
  • on the CFG Generator, do not display the config files without making people click the "Submit Custom Setup" button at the bottom of the page first (or have the config files use values from mods checked only)
  • if possible, show checkboxes on the list page or add links to the list of mods in the CFG Generator
  • debatable: maybe change the name of the CFG Generator to Config Generator to help newcomers understand what it does
  • trim the spaces or carriage returns at the end of data path and content plugin lines so they're easier to copy paste
  • change the links in the changelogs to use list specific URLs instead of generic mod URLs
  • add mod names as slugs to the list specific URLs and, if possible, build redirections to their new placements to prevent breaking old links
  • remove the performance guide bullet from the list usage section at the top of each mod list, as it is referenced later on in the Final Steps page and is not useful to get started.

I can send MRs if some of these changes seem interesting.

Edited by Armand Golpaygani
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