How about this?

[marko faas]

Hello,

I've been thinking about all the usability issues here and the menu
structure. I have posted an alternative to get everything in one menu,
instead of the three that are in www.kde.org/testing, which is, imho,
not helping in usability.

I just put it in the design listed on www.kde.org/testing. My version
can be found on:
http://huizen.dds.nl/~argus/

As you will see, I haven't altered anything about the graphic design
(which is great, I think), but I have done some things on the position
and menu structures. I have also added a couple of new features to make
up for some stuff I have removed.

1. I have giving this double (or actually triple) menu structure a lot
of thought and I recognise that there are differences between everything
on www.kde.org and the family sites. But in my opinion, many of those
sites could be (visually and navigational wise) included in the
www-site. So I hope we can pursuade many of the owners of the other
sites to use our templates and menu structure. Imho is it just so much
clearer to navigate and find stuff about KDE. As most people (except for
Japanese, Chinese and Arabic languaged people) look from top left to
down right, I put the menu on the left. That, and because that's a
custom. I like experimental navigation systems, but we must not forget
that our purpose is to promote, inform and give help about KDE... 

2. The menu's currently presented in kde.org/testing have lots of
doublures. To give some examples:

L E F T           |R I G H T
Screenshots       |KDE Look
Applications      |Applications
Events            |Events
Develop (section) |Development (section with similar entries)

Even if we are sticking with a left and a right menu, we MUST elimenate
those doubles. Either by renaming them or removing them.

3. In my opinion, if we are slashing the doubles and re-invent the menu
structure, we can save lots of space. I agree that my prototype still
has a lot of entries, but maybe we can trim it down even more. For
example by moving some links to a third level.

4. And that third level exists already. We just don't see it on the
homepage. Click on 'KDE People' for example and you will find a new
menu, aka the third level. In my opinion, the best place for this third
level is on the right. So we can have the first (the headers) and seod
level menu on the left, and the third level (or local) menu on the
right.

5. But as we do not have the third level on the homepage, we have some
space to fill. And we also have a question from Navrinda, namely "Where
are the new apps?". Well Navrinda, I have put them back on the homepage.
I guess the design of this feature can be better, thought, so any ideas?

6. The kde.org/testing design also lacks the (rather ugly) button of
Lisa02. In fact, there is no space for those kinds of events/buttons.
Maybe that's a good thing, but for now, I put the button back on the
homepage.

7. In the design altered by me, you will find that the top menu is
missing and replaced by a quote, today one of David. I removed the
topmenu because it is a double entry. The links to screenshots and the
faq are in the menu. Why waste space on the same menu entries?
Should we stick with the quotes, I don't know. I just put it there to
avoid breaking the graphical design. It seems a nice feature to me but
somebody must put the quotes up there... Maybe a tagline is a better
idea. Or a konqui running from left to right and back :-)

8. I have introduced titles in the links to make clear what the
referrals are and what's on www.kde.org. Again: maybe the graphics can
be improved.

9. Everything is linked and clickable to the family sites or to
www.kde.org, so you can see for yourself where your are heading and if
you like the name of the menu entry.


Ok, before you shoot some disclaimers:
- off course there are spelling errors (English isn't my mother tongue,
so please bear with me)
- off course there are typos (I went to a cocktail party last night :-)
- off course some links are not working (happens all the time to me)
- Off course I missed some sites in the menu (although some of the links
actually should be gone and put in the third level menu of another
entry)
- off course suggestions are welcome.
- Here's the url again: http://huizen.dds.nl/~argus/

Ok, now shoot :-)

-- 
Regards,
marko faas <argus at dds.nl>