Default new request form to a series of smaller text fields

[garethrees]

This isn't a particularly well thought through idea, but I wanted to document it for future reference.

A great deal of our misuse (https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues/6402) is users adding lots of preamble to request content.

The "blank page" issue of a large empty text box probably doesn't help more disadvantaged citizens make use of FOI (and we've proposed some solutions to make this less scary, e.g. https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues/2174, https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues/6163, https://github.com/mysociety/alaveteli/issues/6164).

Perhaps we could default to a less intimidating form which is more like a wizard.

You could type in your question, specify a format for the data, and then click "add another question" until you're done. On submission, we could just render these into the single OutgoingMessage#body attribute, so we'd only be changing the UI.

We could allow free-text input through an "advanced mode" link that just changes the UI to what we have today.

[RichardTaylor]

Rather than

You could type in your question,

I prefer encouraging users to describe the information they are seeking.

While a question may be a valid FOI request, if it can be responded to by the release of recorded information, I think asking users to describe the information they are seeking would help keep use of the service focused.

I suggest not referring to "questions" if this feature is developed.

[garethrees]

I suggest not referring to "questions" if this feature is developed.

👍 The main idea was documenting the step-by-step creation of a request, rather than "blank page".

[garethrees]

I think this specific implementation idea might be superseded by new AI capability, but similar ideas.