<h2>What is TAPoR?</h2><p>TAPoR, now in version 2.5, is a portal for tool discovery and a community for tool developers and users.</p><p>Our revamped main page has a number of features to help our visitors find their new favourite tool:</p><ul><li>Featured Tool - A slideshow of noteworthy tools.</li><li>Popular Tools - The most popular tools in TAPoR 2.5, according to users.</li><li>Recommended Tools - Tools recommended by the TAPoR team.</li><li>Random Tools - A randomized selection of tools from all tools entered in TAPoR.</li><li>Tools by Category - A listing of all tool categories in TAPoR 2.5. Click on a category name to view all tools in that category.</li><li>Tools by Tag - The most popular tags applied to tools. The larger the font size, the more tools the tag has been applied to. Click on a tag to view all associated tools.</li></ul><p>Are you looking for a specific tool? Use the search field at the top right of this page.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>User Participation</h2><p>Do you have an opinion on a tool? Want to tell us about its development? Are we missing a tool you love? TAPoR 2.5 now allows user participation through OpenID. Register for an account and tell us all about it!</p><p>Registered users can:</p><ul><li>Comment on tools</li><li>Submit new tools</li><li>Tag tools</li><li>Rate tools</li></ul><p>TAPoR 2.5 is the place to review tools, describe your experiences with tools, give insights into a tool's development, recommend tools, discuss tools with your peers, and recommend scholarly articles or other resources about tools.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Creating a User Account</h2><p>Have a Google, Twitter or Yahoo! account? You can use it to sign into TAPoR 2.5. Simply choose your preferred option from the User drop list at the top of the page and follow the prompts.</p><p>Don't have a Google, Twitter or Yahoo! account? TAPoR 2.5 is working on adding more options.</p><p>Once you have created your account, you can:</p><ul><li>Edit your profile to include a picture, link to your website, add a bio and toggle your e-mail privacy preferences.</li><li>Comment on tools</li><li>Tag tools</li><li>Rate tools</li><li>Add tools</li></ul><p>Have thoughts on how to make the user experience better? Please submit your comments and suggestions to our comments form (forthcoming).</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Contributing a Tool</h2><p>Registered users can submit new tools into TAPoR 2.5. To add a tool, click on Edit ==&gt; Add Tool in the menu at the top of the screen.</p><p>Simply fill in the following information in the fields provided. Bolded fields are required.</p><ul><li><strong>Tool name</strong></li><li>Image. A representative image in .jpg or .png format, such as a screen shot of the tool's interface or output. Recommended size: 550 by 400 pixels.</li><li>Website. The tool's official website, if available. If the tool is historic or otherwise doesn't have an official website, leave this blank.</li><li>Tool documentation URL. Use this field to direct others to user guides, help documents or other related information. If there is no documentation available, please leave this blank.</li><li><strong>Description</strong>. A brief description of what the tool does.</li><li>Background processing. If the tool is an application you install on your computer, can it run in the background? Applications only; leave blank for all other tools.</li><li><strong>Ease of use</strong>. How challenging is the tool to use? Choose the option that best describes the tool.<ul><li>Very easy - a tool with no setup and a basic, intuitive interface, such as a minimalistic web-based tool (ex: TAPoRware's List HTML Tags)</li><li>Easy - a tool with minimal setup and/or an easy to understand interface requiring some exploration, such as a moderately complex web-based tool (ex: Voyant's Skin Builder)</li><li>Moderate - a tool with some setup and/or requiring a commitment to a learning curve, such as a task-specific software package (Ex: MONK digital environment)</li><li>Difficult - a tool with an involved setup and/or a substantial learning curve, such as a professional-level software package or modules designed for use within a programming language (Ex. R programming language)</li><li>Very difficult - a tool that requires specialized high-level knowledge to use, such as expertise in statistics or programming, or has a steep learning curve. (Ex. Mallet Java library)</li></ul></li><li>Legacy. For long-standing tools, please indicate all that apply.<ul><li>Historically important - a tool that has influenced other tools, is still discussed today, or is otherwise significant to the history of tool use and development.</li><li>No longer active - a tool that is no longer being developed and/or not available</li><li>Sustained to present - a tool that has been under continuous development for over a decade, and/or has been recreated in a more modern form (ex: redesigned to work in a web page, in Java, etc.), and continues to be available to users.</li></ul></li><li>Popularity. Choose the option that best describes the tool. Leave blank if none apply.</li><li>Tool family. If the tool belongs to a well-known development family, please indicate it here. If the tool family is not listed, please contact TAPoR directly to propose it be added.</li><li><strong>Type of analysis</strong>. Choose all that apply. This list is currently being reevaluated. If you have suggestions for a type of analysis to include, please contact TAPoR directly.</li><li><strong>Type of license</strong>. Choose all that apply.</li><li>Warning. Choose all that apply. Use this to alert potential users if the tool is:<ul><li>Complex and difficult</li><li>Has limited uses</li><li>Is still in prototype</li><li>Is still under development (ex: in beta)</li><li>Is unusually time consuming</li></ul></li><li>Web useable. Choose the option that best represents how the tool is used. If 'Other', please elaborate in your description of the tool.</li><li><strong>Creator's name</strong>. Please indicate the person, persons, company or research group credited with creating the tool.</li><li>Creator's URL. The creator's web address. This may be the tool's homepage, an individual creator's official website, a company site or a research group site. If there is no website, leave this field blank.</li><li>Creator's e-mail. If available, indicate the best e-mail address for questions related to the tool. Common examples include the lead researcher's address, a company's general help address, or a project's dedicated address.</li></ul><p>Once you are satisfied with the tool information you have entered, click the 'submit' button at the bottom of the page. The tool will now appear in TAPoR's main listing and in related searches.</p><p>Please note that you cannot edit the tools you submit. All new tools are subject to evaluation by the TAPoR research team.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Contribute to an Existing Tool</h2><p>Registered users can contribute to the tools represented in TAPoR 2.5. As of Summer 2013, you can:</p><ul><li>Rate a tool from 1-5 stars</li><li>Add new tags to a tool</li><li>Comment on a tool</li></ul><p>To rate a tool, simply click on the star you wish to assign. Hover your cursor over the star to see the rating it represents. The tool's overall rating is an average of all user's ratings.</p><p>To add new tags, type them directly into the box provided. Multiple tags must be in a comma-separated list (ex: orange, red, blue).</p><p>To add a comment, type or paste your text directly into the box provided.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h2>Upcoming Features</h2><p>We will be debuting the following features in 2014 with TAPoR 3.0:</p><ul><li>Request tool reviews. Users will be able to identify tools they want to see reviewed.</li><li>Curated tool lists. Users will be able to create and save lists of tools and keep them as private for their own reference or share them as a public list of tools they recommend.</li><li>Allow users to comment on one another's profiles</li><li>Favorite tools. Users will be able to set quick links to the tools they use most within their profile.</li><li>User activity summary. Users will be able to view their recent activity, such as tools added and comments made, from within their profile.</li><li>User message board, for discussing tools, tool development and tool-based research.</li></ul>