Alpha-two and usability trials

[Michael Allan]

This is an update of stuff I'm working on in the alpha-two prototype.
I've added a "candidate referral" facility.  I have it running on the
offline pollserver (not well tested).  Here's a demo:

  http://t.zelea.com/wiki/User:Zelea.com_mike/p-2009-71-1

I've drafted a bylaw proposal, and there's a link at bottom (Vote for
this Draft).  Click on it and you're taken to:

  1. Pollserver login page (if not already logged in).

     Enter your first name in the alias field, and it lets you in.

  2. Vote confirmation page.

     It may warn you afterwards that you're not registered.  If you
     want your vote to count, click on 'Register' and 'Registration'
     tabs.  Give yourself a Toronto address.  Then use the back button
     to return to voting page.

  3. From the voting page, press 'Go back'.

     It returns you to my proposal in the wiki.

It's not a complete demo of bylaw voting yet.  Next I was going to do
results sparklines, so we could have up-to-date results posted outside
of the pollserver.  Then we'd have both controls and views (rudiments
of a complete UI) offloaded from the central pollserver, and
distributed out to the wider Web.

But now I'm thinking, first we need better navigation *within* the
pollserver (it's confusing in there).  I think we need a good overview
of an entire cascade tree and its vote flow, where users can browse
among co-voters and delegates.

Or am I wrong?  The aim is be ready for usability trials by volunteers
- and to attract those volunteers.  What's the biggest thing that's
missing at this stage?

-- 
Michael Allan

Toronto, 647-436-4521
http://zelea.com/