Re: sample document library: laying the groundwork
From: Stuart Joseph (stuartcaercoburn.org)
Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:22:33 -0800 (PST)
Tim,
Thanks for the input on Wikis.

What about setting up a Blog to do this? I think Blogs can be set up to allow limited access, but I don't think anyone can edit another contributors entry.

Tim Mensch wrote:
Lyle Scheer wrote:
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Not entirely true.  We use http://www.twiki.org for our site,
http://www.ashlandcoho.com.  It implements access control so that you
can assign editing access to certain areas, as well as viewing access.
I'd like to suggest an alternative to a Wiki for this. I've used TWiki, and I've used other Wiki software, and while the idea is great, their time has passed--and regardless, it's always been hard to get non-geeks to use them.

The strength of a Wiki is that anyone can edit it from within their browser. The weakness is that there are a zillion different flavors of Wiki, each with its own markup that you need to memorize (the markup is how you tell it to italicize a word, or to make a link to another page, or to make a list, or to embed a PDF...any formatting that can't be done in text) and switch between if you end up using more than one.

Here's what I've been doing: I set up a free content management system called Drupal (drupal.org) that has a word-processing-like web plug-in as well as a Wiki-link plug-in. Now any authorized member can create pages on my site and edit them, within a browser, using a simplified word-processor that works in Internet Explorer or Firefox or Safari or whatever you want to use. No more memorizing how to make text bold, or looking at pages of symbols that once was a nice text file--and I can still create new pages Wiki-style.

To be fair, TWiki now has "Wysiwyg" (word-processor-style) editing features, and we're still using it at my current office (where I set it up originally), but I've always found the TWiki look, feel, and general organization to be a bit awkward.

Tim


--
Stuart Joseph, 802-463-1954
Project Director
Caer Coburn, a traditional village based upon  and intentional communities
Rockingham, Vermont, USA
http://www.caercoburn.org


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