

How we allow anyone to make and publish changes to our site - awad
http://eng.pixlee.com/post/94106757175/how-we-allow-anyone-to-make-and-publish-changes-to-our

======
guynamedloren
Great read. I'm a huge advocate of using files and version control
(specifically markdown and git) for published content, so I hope this workflow
catches on.

Two improvements that are worth thinking about:

1) A public repository for content, separate from the main codebase. I was
excited by the inclusion of "anyone" in the post title, assuming that they
accepted pull requests on existing content (typos, improved documentation,
FAQs) from outsiders. Turns out _anyone_ , in this case, refers to anyone on
the Pixlee team with access to the private repo.

2) Adopting the GitHub Flow [1] for content. I didn't see any mention of
approval before publishing, which is an awesome freebie from piggybacking on
git. They did mention that a technical member reviews all changes before
deploying, but this is hardly a substitute for an editor or manager overseeing
content.

[1] [http://scottchacon.com/2011/08/31/github-
flow.html](http://scottchacon.com/2011/08/31/github-flow.html)

~~~
awad
Thanks for the feedback!

While I'm not sure of the practicality of the first point (as in the people
who care enough about a SaaS site to make improvements also being able to send
a pull request), I certainly agree with it in principle and will think about
the best way to implement something like that in the future.

The second one is something that I think we'll be working on as we grow.

~~~
guynamedloren
If the git functionality is masked by a web interface, then it's practical. A
process like this, perhaps:

1) Include a 'suggest changes' link that forks the content

2) Forked content opens in web editor where 'save' commits to the forked repo

3) 'Submit changes' button that opens a pull request

A moderator or editor can accept or reject any pull request.

This is kind of what I'm doing with Penflip
([http://www.penflip.com](http://www.penflip.com)), but right now it's geared
towards long form content like ebooks. Eventually I plan to expand to web
based content. More thoughts here: [http://madebyloren.com/github-for-
writers](http://madebyloren.com/github-for-writers)

~~~
awad
I like it, thanks for your input!

Btw, big fan of what you're doing at Penflip. Definitely appreciate making Git
more accessible to non-developers (which is basically what we're doing with
our CMS)

