[Glastonbury] ideas for new town website

[Andrew M.A. Cater]

On Wed, Sep 22, 2004 at 05:46:32PM +0100, Martin Wheeler wrote:
> [sorry about slight delay in replying to this thread]
> 
> On Mon, 20 Sep 2004, Sean Miller wrote:
> 
> >Indeed! Let's do it ;-)
> 
> OK then.  Let's go.
> 
> Now, despite Tim's misgivings about this list being the proper place to 
> discuss this, I would like to get *technical* input from local Linux 
> users on the various software apps we might use for the site (as opposed 
> to any individual's personal comments on content, which is what I feel was 
> making Tim twitchy).
> 
> Technically, I would like to see a site to which *anyone* can contribute 
> -- townspeople, tourists, visitors, local businessmen -- and which will 
> honestly reflect the total breadth of views of the overall 'net-using 
> public -- not just some local vested-interest clique or other, pushing a 
> perspective of the community from a single, narrow viewpoint -- which 
> would reduce the readership dramatically.  (And which is where all past and 
> current offerings have come unstuck.)
> 
Insert obligatory ref. to HHGG - Glastonbury was noted as being set up
as the financial headquarters for the Megadodo Corp (publishers of the 
Guide) just days before the Vogons destroyed Earth - hence the UFO's
thereaabouts.
> Software apps to allow this sort of site to be built exist in their 
> hundreds -- the question is: which are the most suitable (in our opinion); 
> and which are available and easily maintainable in a Linux environment?
> 
> Answers to this list, please.
> 
> 
> Personally, I like the zope publishing environment.  Because it's 
> powerful, extensible, scalable (and will soon be the publishing 
> environment of choice for Oracle databases).  And it offers just about 
> everything as an add-in.  (Wiki, calendar, gallery, etc.)  But as Tim and 
> I have already found out -- you've got to be really serious about wanting 
> to use it to go through the required learning curve.  (The sort of 
> learning-curve that puts anyone but the most dedicated off using it for 
> life.  I only got to grips with it myself on my >third< attempt.)

It may be worth looking at  the egroupware suite.
> But the sort of audience I'm envisaging for the new website will want to 
> respond -- and more importantly, will have to be *able* to respond -- 
> >>instantly<< from the web-page itself -- without any great degree of 
> technical knowledge.  (Remember, the aim is to provide the town with an 
> interactive *website*; not a mailing-list, or a forum.)  And most 
> importantly, readers must feel that there is no restriction on what 
> they are allowed to publish on the site, or any impediment to the 
> expression of their own ideas.  Remember too: the web was developed to be 
> an inter-active *personal publishing* medium; not the one-way broadcasting 
> system for commercial advertising firms it threatens to become.
Nuke the unborn gay whales for Jesus :)
> 
> Now most dictatorial, authoritarian bodies go straight into brown-trouser 
> mode at the very thought of this -- what, let the public openly express 
> themselves?  Aarrghh!  That's the very antithesis of the power-seeking 
> control-freakery they represent.  It's also *precisely* why I welcome it.
> (Child of the sixties.  Jerry Rubin.  Abbie Hoffman.  Wavy Gravy.  Pig for 
> President.  Don't worry about it.)  We now have the technology to do this, 
> and it's time we started using it.
Steal this website :)
> [Please note: I'm *not* advocating a totally irresponsible publishing 
> free-for-all -- there are laws of libel to consider for starters.
> I'm advocating an (extremely) easy-to-use, self-publishing site for 
> *everyone* interested in Glastonbury -- within legal limits.  Which can 
> be very broad.]  A topical, thought-provoking, interesting and amusing 
> website with Glastonbury as its subject, which everyone in town will want 
> to read at least once a week.
> 
> What's the best software to use to accomplish this?
> 
> It's got to have editorial control; ability to delegate sub-editing to 
> others -- even to the individual level if need be, e.g. personal web 
> journal ['blog' - heurrk!] for any reader who wants one (see Julie 
> Solheim-Roe's 'Scarlet Jewels') and obeys the obscenity and libel laws; 
> calendaring; headlining; comments on articles published; image publishing; 
> audio/video streaming?; large document publishing (cf. Palden's 
> 'Glastonbury Archives'); group participation in writing an Encyclopaedia 
> of Glastonbury (a long-cherished project of mine); open political and 
> social comment -- satire, even?  (You bet.)
Wiki of some sort. Bloxsome for blogs?  Ogg vorbis, helix player, (dirac /
ogg theora when available) should handle media streaming. Large document 
publishing -> tex/tetex or Scribus. Online interface to mencal.  Mayan calendar
available via Emacs anyway (until the Long Count stops in 2012).
Dhammapada,King James Version, anarchism FAQ - it's all in Debian _somewhere_ :)

> I'm not necessarily looking at a single package to accomplish this.  My 
> own preference would be for an assemblage of packages: a wiki, a 
> web-journalling app, a CMS, a gallery -- etc.
> 
> But which?  Ideas please.
> 
> Cheers,
> -- 
> Martin Wheeler   -   StarTEXT / AVALONIX - Glastonbury - BA6 9PH - England
> mwheeler at startext.co.uk                http://www.startext.co.uk/mwheeler/
> GPG pub key : 01269BEB  6CAD BFFB DB11 653E B1B7 C62B  AC93 0ED8 0126 9BEB
>       - Share your knowledge. It's a way of achieving immortality. -
> 
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