Clarify Minimal profile's use-case and description

Actually, carefully reading @Dries' comment...

In other words, [...] we [...][should] change the description for the "Minimal install profile".

(emphasis added)

"Start from scratch, with required modules and basic output only."

Screenshot:

Hm. I will do whatever is required to unblock the default theme change for Minimal profile...

...but I will say that these:

"No features pre-configured."
"Commonly used features pre-configured."

...leave the impression for me that they seem to be worded for a binary world of exactly two choices.

If you add another, actual use-case, then we immediately leave that binary scenario, and it looks like this:

(Note: This is the a.k.a. Snowman profile I'm working on. Its name and description are early prototypes only and not final in any way, but I hope/believe they sufficiently clarify where I'm coming from.)

I will also say that the "Start from scratch" phrase really made a lot of sense, since it clarifies what "Minimal" means. The term minimal is quite known in the Linux/tech world, but not so much in the Windows/etc world.

Lastly, I object to adding "no dummy content" to the descriptions, since 1) there is no core profile that has dummy content, and 2) it would be a preemptive decision on whether we're going to add dummy content to the Standard profile.

For the time being, all we want is #632100: Use Stark as default theme for Minimal install profile

That change does not affect the Drupal installer in any way though. The installer always uses the Seven theme. The default theme for a profile only affects the resulting Drupal site after the installer has completed.

In terms of overall scope, Minimal should actually be and mean minimal.

Depending on other D8 efforts that are happening currently, there is a chance that we might want to remove Node module from Minimal profile at some point.

Removal of dblog and block is uncertain at this point though. Dblog will likely have to stay. Block mainly depends on what the new blocks/layouts in D8 will look like, and whether there is a way to expose a minimal interface for entering the site's management/administration without Block module by then. That's the only reason for why Block module is installed for Minimal profile.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, so I'm not sure whether it makes any further sense for me to follow up on this issue ;)

But yeah:

The primary problem of Minimal profile thus far is that it does too much in order to be minimal. It actually has a unique use-case and is being used by many Drupal site builders and developers for creating custom Drupal sites. The expectations for the profile are crystal clear:

Give me nothing, so I can start without any presumptions and assumptions that Drupal might make, because I'm building a custom site here, which has custom feature requirements and also should not look like Drupal at all.

In talking to other Drupalers, I've learned that they are almost exclusively using Minimal profile for building sites. They do not want to get into the "write your own install profile" business, because all they want is to start from scratch/zero. Therefore, it is highly beneficial that the Minimal profile exists and is shipped with Drupal core and presented as a simple installation option. However, for the actual typical use-case, the profile still installs and configures too much.

Minimal profile was originally called Expert profile. It's perfectly possible that this term was more clear in terms of initial installation UX, and that it might make sense to re-introduce the word, either in the profile's description or even in its title/label. (I'd strongly disagree with renaming the internal profile/directory name though — we badly need to get over the idea of machine name/human-readable name parity.)

So. There is a strong use-case for Minimal profile, and improvements like #632100: Use Stark as default theme for Minimal install profile will make the profile solve the needs of its users even better. That particular change does not actually introduce a degradation in navigation or performing administrative tasks. It only removes the superfluous assumption of choosing a more fancy theme for you. The Minimal profile still enables the Management menu block in the first sidebar, so there is no functional difference at all. There is only a visual difference, and that difference/removal is desired.

With regard to the wording, I wasn't a huge fan of @Dries' "no features" proposal either. Since there might be other profiles for concrete use-cases potentially being available, as outlined and depicted in #7, I'd prefer a description that focuses on clarifying the use-case, instead of clarifying which features are contained or not.

That is, because I strongly believe that installation profiles should focus on solving a particular use-case. Therefore, the use-case needs to be communicated, not (necessarily) the contained features.

To communicate a use-case, you need a goal, a scope, and a target audience.

For example, combining the terminology/wording ideas so far:

• Minimal

  Start from scratch to build a new, custom site. Suitable for advanced/expert users.

• Minimal

  Start from scratch to build a new site using custom configuration and functionality. Suitable for advanced/expert users.

@xjm: You're right. The previous suggestion still somewhat implied that you'd get some boilerplate site.

• Minimal

  Start from scratch to build a new site without pre-configured functionality. Suitable for advanced/expert users.

Screenshot of #13:

@aburrows: You mean a help link for the overall page? That would have to be discussed in a separate issue.

Regarding the Minimal profile item being discussed here, I don't see why that would need a link to d.o.

However, due to your question, I just had this very neat idea: #1678552: Add screenshot.png image to install profiles and show them in the installer :)

Wordsmithing:

1. "new" is superfluous, all install profiles end up in a new site.
2. Does it make sense to re-introduce "custom" instead of "new"? Or are all sites custom?
3. "expert" duplicates "advanced". Advanced is sufficient, as you don't need to be an expert to use Minimal.
4. Is "functionality" too complex of a word?

Choose one: ;)

Out of the options in #18, the last one looks, feels, and reads most concise and clear to me.

Turned it into a patch.