Consolidate Release Workflow: Remove Outdated Sites & Enhance Documentation

[Zoriot]

Description:

Our current navigation and release process are causing confusion for users. We still display “Releases” (e.g., on Spigot and GitHub) that link to outdated builds, even though we no longer maintain those sites. At the same time, we need to ensure that our Release Notes and overall documentation are up-to-date, versioned correctly, and clearly communicated. Additionally, we need to provide clear guidelines for contributions to help maintain and expand our project effectively.

Current Problems:

• Outdated Releases:
  The "Releases" sites (e.g., Spigot) only point to old builds, which no longer reflect our current state or release practices.

• Inconsistent Versioning:
  Our versioning is not standardized, which can confuse users about what changes have occurred from one version to the next.

• Documentation Gaps:
  Our documentation is not consistently maintained, leading to outdated information about new features and changes.

• Lack of Contribution Guidelines:
  There is no centralized Contributing Documentation, making it harder for new contributors to understand how to get involved or what the coding and documentation standards are.

• Communication Gaps:
  Users running a Plot System may miss important updates since releases are not prominently communicated.

Proposed Changes:

1. Remove Outdated Release Sites:

   • Remove all legacy links (e.g., Spigot pages) that only reference outdated builds.
   • Consolidate all release information within our official repository and website.

2. Establish Official Releases with GitHub Tags:

   • Use GitHub’s release feature along with proper tags to mark every build.
   • Ensure that each release is clearly documented and easily accessible.

3. Maintain Detailed Release Notes:

   • Create comprehensive release notes for each version, detailing all changes and improvements.
   • Keep the release notes updated so that users can track what has changed from version to version.

4. Adopt Robust Versioning Practices:

   • Implement a clear versioning scheme (e.g., semantic versioning) to improve clarity and manageability.
   • Document our versioning policy within our documentation.

5. Enhance and Maintain Documentation:

   • Audit and update our documentation to reflect current features, usage guidelines, and any changes.
   • Establish a process for regular documentation reviews to ensure it remains current.
   • Write a Contributing Documentation:
     • Develop a comprehensive contributing guide that details how to contribute code, report issues, submit pull requests, and adhere to coding standards.
     • Ensure that this guide is easily accessible to both new and experienced contributors.

6. Improve Community Communication:

   • Consider automating the publication of releases on Discord.
   • Include a notification (ping) for all users running a Plot System to ensure they are informed about new updates promptly.

Steps to Implement:

• Audit & Remove: Identify and remove all links to outdated release sites (e.g., Spigot).
• Centralize Releases: Transition to using GitHub releases with proper tagging.
• Documentation Overhaul: Update the documentation to include current processes, versioning practices, detailed release notes, and a clear Contributing Documentation.
• Automation & Communication: Set up an automated process to post new releases on Discord with appropriate notifications for the Plot System community.
• Versioning Policy: Define and document a robust versioning policy for future releases.

Benefits:

• Clarity for Users: Users will have a single, up-to-date source for release information and documentation.
• Consistent Versioning: Clear versioning will help users understand the progression of changes.
• Improved User Experience: Up-to-date documentation, detailed release notes, and clear contribution guidelines will enhance overall communication and transparency.
• Efficient Maintenance: A centralized process for releases and documentation reduces confusion and maintenance overhead.
• Better Contributor Onboarding: A dedicated Contributing Documentation will streamline the process for new contributors and maintain quality standards across the project.