Extension talk:StructuredDiscussions/2013

Internal errors

Hi! I'm very glad to see that the first release of this awesome extension is out!! I've done my best at installing it, but couldn't. I followed the instructions carefully: I installed a brand new wiki in my localhost, installed VisualEditor, the Parsoid, and checked that everything was running ok. Then downloaded Flow, changed the 'wiki' in flow.sql to my database name, run the update script, all ok. But when I enter my wiki, I see nothing new, and when I go to Special:Flow I get this "internal error":

TODO: Redirect to users board?
Backtrace:
#0 /path/to/includes/SpecialPage.php(631): SpecialFlow->execute(NULL)
#1 /path/to/includes/SpecialPageFactory.php(489): SpecialPage->run(NULL)
#2 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(291): SpecialPageFactory::executePath(Object(Title), Object(RequestContext))
#3 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(585): MediaWiki->performRequest()
#4 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(459): MediaWiki->main()
#5 /path/to/index.php(55): MediaWiki->run()
#6 {main}

And when I go to Special:Flow/Main_Page, I get this other "internal error":

Unknown flow type 'discussion' requested
Backtrace:
#0 /path/to/extensions/Flow/includes/WorkflowLoader.php(68): Flow\WorkflowLoader->loadDefinition()
#1 /path/to/extensions/Flow/includes/WorkflowLoader.php(45): Flow\WorkflowLoader->loadWorkflow(Object(Title))
#2 /path/to/extensions/Flow/includes/WorkflowLoader.php(200): Flow\WorkflowLoader->__construct(Object(Title), NULL, false, Object(Flow\Data\ManagerGroup), Object(Flow\Data\RootPostLoader))
#3 /path/to/extensions/Flow/special/SpecialFlow.php(51): Flow\WorkflowLoaderFactory->createWorkflowLoader(Object(Title), NULL)
#4 /path/to/includes/SpecialPage.php(631): SpecialFlow->execute('Main_Page')
#5 /path/to/includes/SpecialPageFactory.php(489): SpecialPage->run('Main_Page')
#6 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(291): SpecialPageFactory::executePath(Object(Title), Object(RequestContext))
#7 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(585): MediaWiki->performRequest()
#8 /path/to/includes/Wiki.php(459): MediaWiki->main()
#9 /path/to/index.php(55): MediaWiki->run()
#10 {main}

Any diagnosis? Thanks!! --LFS (talk) 11:35, 22 August 2013 (UTC) 07:20, 23 August 2013 (UTC)

fwiw I run exactly into the same problem trying to run Flow on 1.21.1 without Parsoid / VisualEditor installed. Qgil (talk) 05:59, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

The first error, "TODO: Redirect to users board?" is currently expected, we don't have a user board implementation yet to redirect to. Sooner or later that will be implemented :)

The second error, "Unknown flow type 'discussion' requested" is basically saying it was expecting to find certain information in the database, but it was not found. There is a maintenance script ( FlowInsertDefaultDefinitions ) in Flow that should be automagically run from update.php that adds these definitions. My best suggestion here would be to issue the following mysql query so that the maintenance script can be re-run:

DELETE FROM updatelog WHERE ul_key = 'FlowInsertDefaultDefinition' LIMIT 1;

after issuing that you should be able to re-run update.php and have the default definitions inserted. Hopefully that should clear up the problem with "Unknown flow type 'discussion' requested" EBernhardson (WMF) (talk) 14:57, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

Tracked in Phabricator
Task T56250

I've followed these steps and the problem is still there. I have filed a bug report. Qgil (talk) 23:40, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

Appearance

For no user surprises, maybe it would be a good idea to leave white background and only add borders (for post clarity)? Gryllida 09:16, 26 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you're saying, posts in the Flow prototype have white backgrounds and no borders. That page has pointers to better places to give feedback on the design; this Extension: page is more for help getting the PHP working. Thanks for your interest.

(Maybe you're referring to the gray background to comments on this page? Some talk namespaces on mediawiki.org use Liquid Threads, a different discussion system.) S Page (WMF) (talk) 02:34, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

You're right, I was assuming Flow is running on this wiki and active on this page. Thank you. Gryllida 09:40, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

We're planning on switching to use Flow here, very soon. Partially to help test it in a live environment, and partially to follow the best practice of w:dogfooding, and partially to avoid this exact confusion! Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:29, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

I have left several feedback threads on the feedback page for the prototype.

Out of curiousity, is there a specific reason Flow is developed if Liquid Threads exists?

Thanks. :-) Gryllida 09:49, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

LQT has a large number of problems. A few of them are summarized at Flow Portal/FAQ#Why not use LiquidThreads? Quiddity (WMF) (talk) 19:31, 2 November 2013 (UTC)

How Ready is It?

I'm building a new wiki using 1.22, but I don't want my users to use the current talk pages and then switch to flow in a few months..

Is it ready to use *kinda* at this point?

Even if the functionality is limited, I don't want to port an old discussion system into the new one. I'd rather start with flow.

If it's not *ready kinda* yet, when is the earliest projected time?

Thanks team btw, really encouraging work. MarkJurgens (talk) 15:32, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for your interest. It's free code so you can do whatever you want with it, but I really want to dissuade you from anything but testing it. We may radically change Flow's back-end storage and there's no export to some other format, so all your discussions could get lost. There are bugs. It only works in the developers' browsers. etc.

Our goal is still to deploy on some w:WikiProject talk pages in December. S Page (WMF) (talk) 02:43, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the advice. I do understand how early on it is. I'm just trying to be forward-compatible. At this point it sounds like I should maybe install PostComment like WikiHow and wipe the talk pages when we make the shift to flow. I suppose there's always liquid threads.. I'll keep experimenting. MarkJurgens (talk) 03:20, 7 November 2013 (UTC)