(This posting was originally sent out on the Drupal documentation mailing list. If figure while I'm waiting for feedback there, I'll post it here too)
I'd like to submit the following suggestion for introductory documentation to be added to the Installation and configuration handbook under the first section, Introduction to Drupal terminology.
I'm suggesting changing the 1st paragraph on this page from:
Drupal is a web-based content management system. Text and pointers to other kinds of content are stored in a database, dynamically retrieved and composed, and presented to a user in response to a request sent via a web-browser.
to:
Drupal is a web-based content management system. Text and pointers to other kinds of content are stored in a database, dynamically retrieved and composed, and presented to a user in response to a request sent via a web-browser.
Content in Drupal is created in individual "nodes". For nodes of type "story", users can add comments to the node (comments themselves are not considered nodes). Depending on site settings, adding new nodes and/or posting comments might or might not be allowed. Also, nodes or comments might require approval from the moderators before the node or comment is displayed. Blog entries are another type of Drupal node.
The default Drupal layout ("Theme"), consists of three columns. The center column is referred to as the "Content Column". It typically displays summaries of the most recently posted nodes in date order. If you click on a node summary, the full content of the node is displayed in the center column.