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    Out of date instructions

    It's not clear what (if any) process exists to update old/misleading posts, but I just directed someone to a 'How To' post that was written in 2007 and is not very helpful for an HS3 user:
    https://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=120948

    I know, I should have reviewed the post before linking to it. There is no excuse for assuming the information provided here is accurate. But I did, and I feel bad about it.

    Is there someone responsible for these posts? Is there any mechanism for periodic review? Is there any hope that they could be cleaned up?
    Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

    HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

    #2
    I think I did say in one post that it would be an idea (if possible with this version of the message board software) to add a bar on the top of the page if the post was before HS3 was first released to make it clear to people that the advice may be out of date and no longer valid for HS3. I'd like to think that there is nothing out there in terms of HS2 advice that would cause damage to a HS3 install if you did it but they will just make no sense.

    Comment


      #3
      I was actually just coming here to this sub-forum to suggest a wiki or some other means of conveying Instructions and making sure information is up to date for how-to's, etc. It seems we need to wade through a lot of what I will call Main or Initial announcement threads to find the accurate information. Add to this other threads where there has been discussion and finding the right way to do something has started to become a long process which is not always complete. As fast as things change these days it would be good if there was a central location for articles that could be edited and maybe allow the community to edit them. Populate the initial pages with the sticky items and then remove the sticky items so we don't have to scroll down a page to see the first post. I do see a sticky item or two where one has some help regarding the forums, or finding the central pages, but then the rest becomes discussions which are relevant to the topic but not documentation that could be outdated. If it is something the community could help keep up to date it should work out well.

      Just a thought. It just seems the method used is a bit outdated as well. I want to say something like this was tried and failed, but I may be thinking about other support locations for different programs. Or maybe it just wasn't given the chance it deserved. I have used these for internal support for civil engineering firms and it takes a little time to get it adopted, but once it does, it works out well. We change a methodology with a program we just edit the article. Maybe send an email out, or hope people have subscribed to changes to the page so they know a method has changed, but now people looking for information the first time get the most up to date answer. Sure, maybe it is outdated a bit because it has not been updated, but a forum thread would end up pointing this out and initiating an update.

      Karl

      Karl
      Karl S
      HS4Pro on Windows 10
      1070 Devices
      56 Z-Wave Nodes
      104 Events
      HSTouch Clients: 3 Android, 1 iOS
      Google Home: 3 Mini units, 1 Pair Audios, 2 Displays

      Comment


        #4
        IMO the critical piece that is missing for HomeSeer is a resource to "own" the information source, whether it be a WIKI or a curated message board. . .or something else. Without someone accountable, the job is left for "someone else" to do.

        The accountable person could even be a volunteer, but without that key resource I'm pretty sure what we have now is what we will have in the future - only with even more outdated and even misleading posts overwhelming key insights that simply get lost in the heap.
        Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
        HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

        HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

        Comment


          #5
          What I would like to see is something that allows the community, us and HomeSeer staff, to be able to "own" even just single articles, or later take ownership. Nobody owns wikipedia articles, the community keeps them updated. And if someone comes in and changes one to something that isn't correct, that is often removed quite quickly. So not one Owner who is responsible for all the content. There is a strong group here which takes ownership of forum threads and helping each other. I have been in and out of the boards for 11 years now, with some help and some questions. I see many names that have been in here all that time. I would be willing to edit and create articles and think others may as well, provided the capability. Then the work load is spread out and therefore minimized for one individual.
          Karl S
          HS4Pro on Windows 10
          1070 Devices
          56 Z-Wave Nodes
          104 Events
          HSTouch Clients: 3 Android, 1 iOS
          Google Home: 3 Mini units, 1 Pair Audios, 2 Displays

          Comment


            #6
            We actually have a Wiki. There's just nothing in it. A few of us volunteered to curate it but it never left ground. The problem is gathering the information. People would need to volunteer their input in an orderly way and currently we don't have a mechanism in place for doing this.
            Originally posted by rprade
            There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by S-F View Post
              We actually have a Wiki. There's just nothing in it. A few of us volunteered to curate it but it never left ground. The problem is gathering the information. People would need to volunteer their input in an orderly way and currently we don't have a mechanism in place for doing this.
              Is there a link to it? All thar is needed is a set of documented guidelines for article naming, guidelines on creation, and a few other items. No special coffee or anything. Once that is done, open it up for others to start adding content. I would be willing to help on this if needed. I have experience with mediawiki with the semantic calamities applied and SharePoint wikis.
              Karl S
              HS4Pro on Windows 10
              1070 Devices
              56 Z-Wave Nodes
              104 Events
              HSTouch Clients: 3 Android, 1 iOS
              Google Home: 3 Mini units, 1 Pair Audios, 2 Displays

              Comment


                #8
                I don't think it's so much an issue of technically building the Wiki as much as gathering content. HS had a Wiki years ago but it was shut down because it became little more than a repository for spam. So some of us got together to be the administrators of a new Wiki. I offered to take on the roll to a random section for general information but I don't have the resources to gather such data. I asked that a forum be set up here where people could submit and discuss new additions but it never saw the light of day for some reason. I think it would be too difficult for me to manage a single thread for such things.

                That all said, I'm open to ideas.
                Originally posted by rprade
                There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                Comment


                  #9
                  I believe it would be extremely beneficial to have a HomeSeer wiki that is curated by the community. This has been tried before: https://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=140310 and unfortunately the response was pathetically anemic and I think HST removed it some time ago (can't remember exactly when).

                  It turns out that documentation is WORK (yes, a four letter word to many) and who wants to do work when they are playing and tinkering with their HA system?!?

                  I implemented a Wiki for my business many years ago as a central location for procedures and a place to capture all of the "tribal knowledge" that is extremely important but never gets documented. It was a tremendous struggle in the beginning getting everyone to use it and keep it current when things changed, but over time everyone began to experience the benefits of not having to wander around the office or shop asking those questions "that have been answered a million times before." I still have to occasionally remind folks to "put it in the Wiki" but for the most part it has been adopted as a part of our culture and has become transparent to our operations.

                  What I'd love to see is some hybrid of this message board, a Wiki and an issue reporting and tracking system (BugZilla), where each subject (ie; forum) has a section for documentation, bugs and discussion that are all linked. This would keep everything together in one place instead of sending users hither-and-yon to different URLs looking for answers. Further, there should be a moderator(s) (owner) of each forum who manages the organization and quality of the content, and while I envision moderators would generally be plugin authors, they could also be avid users of a plugin or technology.
                  Best regards,
                  -Mark-

                  If you're not out on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
                  Interested in 3D maps? Check out my company site: Solid Terrain Modeling

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Guys, remember that some of us have access to work on the Wiki! We just need the content to fill it! Does anyone have a good idea of how we can gather that content? I am more than willing to put in the time to populate it. I just need help in gathering it all. Scripts, little tidbits, creative ideas etc.
                    Originally posted by rprade
                    There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                    Comment


                      #11
                      The Sticky forum messages could be a good start and get some content added quickly. I'm willing to help pull them or do whatever else I can to help.
                      Karl S
                      HS4Pro on Windows 10
                      1070 Devices
                      56 Z-Wave Nodes
                      104 Events
                      HSTouch Clients: 3 Android, 1 iOS
                      Google Home: 3 Mini units, 1 Pair Audios, 2 Displays

                      Comment


                        #12
                        OK. So here's a proposal. Let me know what you all think: I'll start a thread asking for information to be added to the Wiki and ideas on how to organize it. From there I can populate the Wiki. I'm MORE than happy to do this, especially this winter as my work slows down in the cold, I just need the content. Ideally I'd like to reach out to plugin authors and have them submit their guides and whatnot to be placed in individual sections of the Wiki.
                        Originally posted by rprade
                        There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Great news Colin!!!

                          Let me know what I can do to help....relating to any Linux stuff for HS3 or blending Linux and Windows using virtual stuff ...

                          Can we nominate you to be the lead on this new endeavor...
                          - Pete

                          Auto mator
                          Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                          Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                          HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                          HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                          HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                          X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Like I said, I'm happy to do everything I can, I just will need people to contribute information in a way that I can keep organized. If you'd like to start compiling some Linux tidbits that would probably be really useful for the community. Ideally I'd like to get all of Randy's event creation stuff in there as well. I'd like to have a plugin section that should probably be organized similarly to how the forum is set up. I'm going to a holiday party for a company I used to work for this evening so I'm probably going to be green around the gills and good for nothing except sitting in front of my computer tomorrow so I'll try to start a thread to begin collecting ideas and information.
                            Originally posted by rprade
                            There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Great news Colin!!

                              Can I contribute stuff to you in pure text for your entry to the Wiki?

                              ...it'll be faster for me to do this in different times whenever I have time....
                              - Pete

                              Auto mator
                              Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                              Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                              HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                              HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                              HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                              X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                              Comment

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