User Topic Preference Issue

The solution was to use TWiki.TWikiVariables#Local_values_for_variables

Seems to me like one just can't control the way others are viewing your own user topic.

User topics have at least two main functions in TWiki:

1. Present yourself to the rest of the community
2. Define your preferences and thus the way you look at the rest of the web site

Yet those two functions are conflicting since setting up preferences on your user topic does not only affect the pages you look at but also the way people see your user topic. We could blame TWiki.TWikiVariables#Setting_Preferences_Variables for that but I don't think changing TWiki.TWikiVariables#Setting_Preferences_Variables will help. I thought of using TWikiGuest to at least control look and feel from TWikiGuest point of view but that won't do since topic prefs are stronger than user prefs. Changing TWiki.TWikiVariables#Setting_Preferences_Variables and making user preferences stronger than topic preferences is no solution as topic owner looses complete control over to the topic viewer.

I believe the proper solution for that is to separate those two user topic functions. Of course we should keep the user topic as a way to advertise yourself to the community. Yet preferences setting on your user topic should only affect that one topic and user preferences should be set on TWikiGuestPreferences for instance.

-- Contributors: StephaneLenclud - 04 Apr 2007

Discussion

See some of my comments on http://koala.ilog.fr/twikiirc/bin/irclogger_log/twiki?date=2007-04-04,Wed

-- StephaneLenclud - 04 Apr 2007

Probably using a VarIF in the skin to include a special TWikiGuest TMPL overriding selected prefs when viewed by TWikiGuest could be a way forward on this.

There is a lot of complexity in the preferences hierarchy already, but I don't mind looking into potential gain found by expanding it further (as long as I don't have to implement it in the end :-)).

-- SteffenPoulsen - 04 Apr 2007

Doesn't TWiki.TWikiVariables#Local_values_for_variables do what you need? Use * Local SKIN=lookatme or so to change the appearance of your home topic to the rest of the world (including yourself), and * Set SKIN=mypreferredskin to set your preference.

-- HaraldJoerg - 05 Apr 2007

That's the include yourself my problem here. The idea is to differentiate the way you look at the TWiki web site from the way people look at your user topic.

SteffenPoulsen: Are you saying VarIFs in TMPL actually affects variables? I thought TWiki engine was looking at the raw unprocessed topic text to read the preferences? Anyway modifying templates does not get me really exited

I just worked around that problem by conditionally including CSS from my user topic. Using style HTML markup and testing for TWikiGuest user.

-- StephaneLenclud - 05 Apr 2007

HaraldJoerg: just had a quick look at that local variables thing. I think that's exactly what I need I'll give it a try as soon as I get a chance.

-- StephaneLenclud - 05 Apr 2007

Great that's what I was looking for. It works just fine know Thanks again.

-- StephaneLenclud - 05 Apr 2007