A Rocha: A new web site / Um novo site | |
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- Português: o debate em português encontra-se aqui: Um novo site para A Rocha
This is the actual debate on what should and should not make it to the new web site. Add items here, according to the proposed categories. Also comment on other people's ideas, including on their necessity.
Teams' Web Site specifications[]
- Deadline for contributing to this section of the debate: Friday, 25 May 2007.
This Puzzled Puffin discussion was originally intended for the public web site, http://www.arocha.org. It's time we debate the internal web site (the Teams' Web Site, or TWS), because not only do we need a better internal tool, but it can serve as a testbed for a system to be used for the public web site. So I would like to come up with specifications so that we can shop around for a Content Management System which fits the bill.
So here go my ideas:
- S.01 Password-protected. If you don't have a password, you can't even read it.
- S.02 Personal passwords. Each person logs in with her/his own password, so we know who wrote what, and may revoke the passwords individually.
Multi-level passwords (read only, or read and edit) would be useful, especially if they can be set by the person who starts the work area (reduces delays and the load on the site administator!). It may not be needed much now, but will be needed more in the future.--Robjthom 15:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
- S.03 Sections. Anyone can create a "work area," or work space, or section. Say there are items which you think might benefit start-up national organisations - you may create a section called "Start-up National Organisations."
- S.04 Debates. Anyone can start a debate (or forum). For instance, inside such hypothetical section "Start-up NOs" Ghana could start a debate called "How we got started" and tell their story; everyone else had a different start, so those interested might share a little of their own beginnings. I am sure Australia would find that interesting and inspiring. Or Chile. "Or China."
- S.05 File upload. Anyone can upload files and organise them in an area. Say Bebé could create an Env Education section and upload resources to it. Or instead of sending me the files for upload, you could upload it yourself.
It would be ideal if the files could be documents that can be annotated or amended (as in Google documents).--Robjthom 15:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
- S.05 Web pages. This might go without saying but on the TWS I think we need regular web pages, as well. (Password-protected like the rest of the contents, naturally.)
- S.06 File replacement. If a document is redone for any reason, the new version should replace the older file. This might go without saying, if we weren't working with a CMS like Carrelet which does not allow you to upload a newer version of a picture. Now that I changed the world map to show Aotearoa/New Zealand as an A Rocha NO, I had to upload a "different" image, and change all pages which pointed to the old image to the new picture. And then I had to delete the old version.
- S.07 General access. Everyone with a password can read and write anywhere, as opposed to having separate areas with restricted access for a few people. That means the TWS still won't be the place for private discussions between two or three of us, but it makes everything so much simpler than if I have to give permissions for everything.
I agree that it would be unworkable it you have to set the user read/write permissions, but my ideal would be for all users with a password to have read and write permissions for everything, coupled with a facility which allows the person who creates the document, discussion thread, etc to set special read/write permissions if they need to.--Robjthom 15:16, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
- S.08 Contents separated by language. This may be as simple as parallel sections for the same content in different languages; say, an "A Rocha Policies" section (English), and a "Políticas oficiais d'A Rocha" with the same content in Portuguese. On the other hand, we might need to separate further according to language.
- S.09 CMS good for public web site. We want a Content Management System which can also be used later to build www.arocha.org, so we have a single password, and learn a single set of formatting instructions for bold, bullets, etc.
- S.10 Tracking and reverting changes. We need a quick answer to questions like "who edited this page?," "didn't this page once read...?" and "what changed last week?" Also if we accidentally delete a page or part of it, getting it back the way it was before should be a matter of seconds.
- S.11 Proposed date for new TWS: Friday, 22 June 2007. If we close the specifications debate on 25 May, that leaves me four weeks to find a Content Management System which fits the bill, install it, migrate everything we have now on the TWS to the new system, test it, create a couple dozen passwords, and make it go live, replacing what we have now. That is not much time, but we can't let this drag too long; remember the public web site needs changing, and that can only happen after we test the new system internally on the TWS.
You do like to set yourself a tough time challenge, don't you?!--Robjthom 15:20, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
Let me know what you think. Do remember that we have a deadline. I am praying for guidance – Júlio talk 15:52, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
I think you are thinking along the right lines - I only made a comment on a couple of topics, as it would be tedious to see me put "I agree completely" at the end of each point!--Robjthom 15:11, 17 May 2007 (UTC)
- S.12 Stable links. Once a page is created, the address should remain valid forever.
- S.13 Page templates. More than one page design. Customisable.
- S.14 Forms. It should be extendable, at the minum allowing the addition of forms.
- S.15 RSS feeds. So subscribers receive automatic notice of new/changed content (then each team would assign one person to subscribe to it, and then disseminate the novelties on the TWS to their immediate colleagues... but that's policy, not specification)
- S.16 Compatible with the majority of languages. Technically speaking, "Unicode compliant." – Júlio talk 11:39, 24 May 2007 (UTC)
General thoughts[]
Can I really be the first to begin this debate? Ah well..starting very general.. I would like the new site to be just like a Merc sports car (only eco-friendly bien sur..)and OK, being a nostalgic Brit, perhaps more like a Morgan..So.. beautiful to look at, powerful, technically superb, fast. Plenty of luggage space for people who want to load their smart gear out of sight. Finally it needs to be easy to get into from the outside, but fast to get around in once you are behind the wheel. As to the CMS I hope that all the family around the world should be able to use it without tertiary degrees in calculus, and ultra high-speed internet links.--Peter ARI 12:35, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
Se qualquer um discordar com o qualquer coisa que está escrito em qualquer lugar nesta página, escreva por favor isso. Nós esperamos que ambos os acordos e falta do acordo estejam feitos visíveis, enquanto nós tentamos descobrir as mais melhores soluções, para suportar a comunidade que Deus quer criar entre nós. (Também qualquer um que deseja corrigir meu português pobre é bem-vindo, de modo que minha escrita seja rendida mais compreensível)--Marie 12:37, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
- Marie, não corrigi o teu português porque está muito bom! (Mas afinal, quantas línguas fala a nossa directora? ^_^) – Júlio talk 21:31, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
I hope that the new A Rocha website is nothing at all like The Wikia Scratchpad --Jeremy Harris
NOT to worry, Jeremy, it won't be--the scratchpad site is a means for multiple participants to talk about the new website across the time zones, to give detail about what it DOES need to be. Your ideas on that are welcomed! --Marie 10:36, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
For starters I think it will be nice to make a distinction between a general A Rocha International site and the various national sites. The general site should have a different set up (i.e. different sections), after all the general site doesn't have any local content. The distinction between the general and national sites should be clear to the user. Right now, it's very confusing (at least to me). Especially, because you can also switch between languages which doesn't necessarily (or doesn't at all?) coincides with switching between national content. On top of that the information available varies enormously between languages. I strongly argue for a seperate general (international) site. I thinks it's okay it's English only (the national sites could have basic information about ARI in their national language). It's not such a weird idea: In the Netherlands we receive a (physical) international newsletter and a Dutch one. Comment by Dirk - Dutch webmaster, May, 5th (sorry, didn't figure out how to sign up).
Migration to a new system[]
One general concern I have is the effort it will take to port the existing Carrelet web pages to the new system. Are there some systems that are more compatable with the content we already have online? --Doug Allen 14:58, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
- I don't think so; there are no standards in terms of content management. Ours is currently a proprietary system, so no one else has something like it. We will have to put up all the content up again. That won't be so bad if we go for a completely different web site structure (as we would need to put everything up anyway.) Our best bet is to pick a system that's widely used, and flexible enough to avoid such a total remake in the future. – Júlio talk 11:01, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
Purpose[]
Before we get to the detail of what content should be in the website, what tools we should use and how it should look we need a debate about its purpose. At the moment it feels a bit like a member's notice board. Is that what we want? Possible purposes could be:
- A useful recruiting tool to win new members. Do we have any idea how many supporters have found us via the website?
- A campaigning tool - a means to get out key messages to a wider public eg campaigning about the Alvor estuary
- A membership tool for keeping supporters informed, motivated and equipped with resources.
- A transactional tool for carrying out commercial and adminstrative transactions eg selling goods, recording memberships etc
We probably want to do all these and lots more but that will involve compromise so we need to understand our priorities. -- David Hughes 10:46, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
- Barbara knows better, but for instance Mel found us through the web site – Júlio talk 10:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
We certainly get many volunteers and visitors to A Rocha centres via a first contact that was on the web.--Peter ARI 12:22, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
We need to remember that we are dealing with a number of allied websites, not just one:
- The main ARI website, giving an overview of A Rocha globally, with a summary of what A Rocha is and does. This will probably be the first point of entry for many people who find A Rocha for the first time, and for Funders.
- National Organisations' websites, giving information mainly to nationals of that country about the work of A Rocha in that country and how to get involved. This could be used to foster community between A Rocha team members and A Rocha Members or Friends within that country (as http://www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk is intended to do in the UK when its Forum section is running). There is a great risk of the larger, more active national organisations breaking away through frustration with the current website because it is hard to manage as the national pages get expand and because its structure is inflexible.
- The Teams website, a password-only access point for members of A Rocha National Organisations (and possibly former volunteers who want a continuing involvement) to share information, views, prayers, needs, and resources. In fact, an intranet which must be designed to foster a worldwide A Rocha community.
--Robjthom 15:12, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
Visual design[]
Hello everyone ! Just wanted to share about visual design of the future A Rocha's website. As far as graphic design is concerned, it seems to me that the concepting process needs to unite target audience and esthetics issues embracing the cultural diversity of the A Rocha worldwide family.
The visual concept should therefore be:
- Crosscultural as far as international pages are concerned
- Cultural as far as national pages are concerned.
In other words, we should be aware of cultural differentiation and visually implement these differences within the website. This means that the national pages should have consistency as far as the site architecture goes but be different from one country represented to another in terms of colors. For example, each national page should show the country's cultural difference. Example: Kenya would work with national colors, red-black-white and green. Canada with red and white etc. I think we should show unity through diversity of God's creation. Have a nice day wherever you are !
There is still a lot of issues to be debated as far as designing the website is concerned... would be glad to help. Sincerely, Bert [Bender, AR Switzerland, designer]
- Makes some sense to me... would you call that absolutely essential, or just good if we could do it? – Júlio talk 21:31, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Certainly the minimum specification for the new website is that it has to look and perform at least as well as the current website. --Marie 10:37, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
- And that is already a tall order! Perhaps no one feels the flaws of the present web site better than myself, who have to update it every day, but we have currently around 1,060 pages in English (by Google's count.) That's a lot. The issue is how we make all the pages visible, while at the same time expanding the web site even more. – Júlio talk 10:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
A new, much improved design is really needed. To say the present design is a bit backwards is to make a big understatement (I hope I didn't offend anyone). I hope we can afford to hire some pro's (or maybe we have some in the international community). Christian websites always seem to suffer from a lack of quality (just like most christian music)). - Dirk, May, 5th.
- That's why I don't listen to christian music :-) Yes, the new site will have a new skin - along with the new bones (structure) which has been the majority of the discussion so far. – Júlio talk 15:52, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
Absolutely needed[]
Things you feel should really, really be there.
An general "house style" that is culturally acceptable to, and resonant with, both Christian and other audiences. I know this is a tough one. I wonder if any Christian software wizard has come up with a jargon filter yet - would be a useful plug-in!--Peter ARI 12:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Accessibility[]
It is becoming increasingly important that websites conform to the standards on accessibility. User can easily adjust font size etc without wrecking the site.--B.bowles 10:53, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- Same is true about window size: having a fluid layout which lets users resize their window without showing "empty space". – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
All languages, all characters[]
Arabic mixed with Czech should work. Characters like proper inverted commas (“ and ”) and dashes – such should be possible. – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Don't forget Chinese! --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- I've moved Nathan's comment to item Pages in all languages below, as it's a different issue. – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Archiving older pages[]
The CMS should have a database that contains copies of all past pages and versions of pages, so that deletion errors are not irretrievable. O ano passado quando eu podia ler muitas páginas do grupo de Brasil, eu recebi-as como um presente do deus, mas é infeliz que podem já não ser vistas! --Marie 12:04, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Dynamism (but without Flash?)[]
One thing that brings people back, or encourages them to show us to others, is a dynamic feel. This can mean simple auto updates like showing a current date; the time in each of the ARocha time zones; relevant news feeds; pictures that are different each time you visit; restrained use of appropriate animation... However some ways of achieving animation demand recent software and a fast connection which may discriminate against some parts of the ARocha network. Animated gifs can be an easy alternative.--B.bowles 10:53, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I agree with you, Brendan, about the need for dynamism. I believe this is especially true for my generation who grew up with the internet. If your website is old/out of date, I won't want to look at it and it will certainly loose credibility for younger, more critical eyes. It does not need to be as flashy as Gordon Pennington's Burning Media Group Website (which is very cool!),[1], but should convey very quickly (a few seconds of scanning) what you want to get across, or at least where I can go to find it. --Nathan Lemphers 13:02, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
The BBC are clearly experimenting with this - look at http://www.bbc.co.uk and click on the Display settings link at the top left hand to see the changes to the display they make available and then click on one of their help links to see why they make the options available (high visibility/visual comfort, all graphics/essential graphics only, etc) to assist the visually impaired as well as giving the techies something to play with! If you then click on a link to the News pages, try the low graphics link on the top of the screen - designed for those around the world with very slow internet connections. I'm not saying these are what should be avaialble on the A Rocha website, but they are worth keeping in mind. --Robjthom 15:28, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
Easy things easy, hard things possible[]
Someone once said about his own programming language, that it was designed for "making easy things easy, and hard things possible." Our new web site should be like that, too. A very flat learning curve to begin with, making contributing text and pictures very simple; but allowing for the hard stuff like intricate tables, precise positioning, deviations from the graphical norm(s), forms, databases, and such. Some of the people currently working with the web site show much expertise, and we need those complicated things. – Júlio talk 10:20, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
Infectious[]
We want to be a site that visitors channel others to. A must-see. Part of this is to build in 'excellence'. Equally important is to provide the linking infrastructure, eg an attractive 'Tell a friend' link on every page; an interface with myspace, facebook (Do we need an ARocha myspace?); a downloadable snippet of html which can be pasted into someone else's site and which will install a link to the ARocha site complete with logo (read from our server)--B.bowles 11:04, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
We currently have a facebook group started up by some A Rocha staff in Canada (currently 18 members). See [2] to find out more about Facebook. I use it to keep in touch with friends. Their is an administrator for this group as well who can act as a moderator/quality control --Nathan Lemphers 13:09, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- About an A Rocha myspace: I think we must let teams do their thing inside arocha.org; and if they have to resort to other sites for things which are clearly core A Rocha, then we're not doing it right. It's OK for a bunch of friends who want to chat about going to Les Tourades; it's definitely not OK if the Les Tourades team need to have a blog somewhere because they can't do it inside our site. – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I agree with Julio about the blog being contained within the A Rocha Website. At the last ARI Team meetings, we discussed that the Env Education network create a discussion group on Yahoo, for example. I take it we will wait and include it in the new website? --Nathan Lemphers 07:32, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
- It's possible to do that on [3], a free Christian owned and operated social networking / community website, but I would hope this capability can be with the new A Rocha team website and not long in coming together. --Marie 12:13, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Links which won't break[]
Right now, links break whenever we add new pages; we can't have that anymore. – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
The above is about internal links, I assume. In contrast, external links do inevitably break occasionally and we wouldn't be able to do much about that. A "must" is that the CMS facilitates automated means of checking links periodically. Also, the site could provide, perhaps on the "Links" page, a form for users of the site to report bad links.
Perhaps it could also feature something like "Could your group also be interested in partnering with A Rocha in creation care?" or something of that nature, which could also be a link from the fifth of the 5 C's. This could develop into a way of finding partners with complementary interest/capacity/expertise for certain species or geographies or Christian groups that could be engaged increasingly.--Marie 12:55, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Pages in all languages[]
All pages ideally should be in all languages. I've been helping with content for the AR France webpage and there is a rather large disparity between what is shown on French version versus the English version. I suspect this is the same for many other NOs. --Nathan Lemphers 12:56, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Right now, the minimum content on each language is:
- Home page
- Monthly webflash
- One page on each menu: Who we are, What we do...
I would like to see the minimum on each language to also include:
- One page on each National Organisation's work
- One page on each major project around the world, including on each centre
All of this reviewed on a regular basis (every six months, for instance). – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Preview before save[]
We need to see what the page will look like before we make it go live to the world! – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Straightforward upload and download of files[]
On the externally facing website especially, it should be straightforward to put up pdf files and forms, e.g. for volunteers. The team website should be able to have "knowledge base" pages (Rob's idea) where conservation science data in a variety of forms can be stored and shared within and between teams: GPS data, spreadsheets, photos.... On the team website, we should be able to have pages on which one can easily upload and download copies of all A Rocha publications (Francois' idea), pdf copies of things others have written about A Rocha (these can be very useful in spreading the word, and fundraising), educational materials that the EEN comes up with, etc. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- The knowledge base seems like a separate topic to me. Very valid too. – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I do not envisage the Teams website containing scientific data; my idea of a Knowledgebase is that is would contain information which is useful for members of other teams, such as details of scientific papers, journals, talks, equipment suppliers, software - anything that might help others in our community to find inspiration or the solution to practical problems or needs. The information could be links to our own online documents or online resources elsewhere on the web, with an index and a search facility.--Robjthom 15:46, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
- What's mentioned above for the team website, having pages with copies of publications, press, and educational materials, is probably also valuable for the external website, though perhaps showing only a subset of these and all in pdf form. --Marie 13:12, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Linking in with this I think a user friendly file browser (like Windows Explorer concept) would be great, allowing easy file manipulation (search,edit,delete etc...) --User:NeilD 14:41, 10 April 2007 (UTC)
Probably Necessary IF we can do them[]
Things you feel would be useful.
Integration with the Teams' Web Site[]
The Teams' Web Site should have the same editing possibilities as the main site, and should only be accessible to people who have a username and password. By the way, each user of the Teams' Web Site should have their own password. – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Each user having an "own" password would make it easier to create some working group pages to which particular people would have access to jointly work on conservation data analysis, a scientific publication, a grant proposal, a brochure or the like. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
RSS feeds[]
Particularly the internal team website needs a mechanism to tell users when something new is added. RSS feeds are a mechanism to set this up individually for different pages of interest, e.g. there is a particular group of people who would want to know when there's a new page about Climate Stewards business policy, different perhaps from the group that wants to know when there's a new publication about GPS methods.
I think having the ability to add RSS feeds to the different national organisation pages might also increase traffic to the externally facing websites. People come to look at a page more often if they know it is changing periodically. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Would it be possible to integrate the monthly email bulletin with the site in this way?--Peter ARI 12:18, 4 April 2007 (UTC)
- Certainly; those who subscribe to "Monthly newsflash in Czech" are automatically sent an alert the moment the Czech newsflash is up. – Júlio talk 15:52, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
Search function on every page[]
There's a "search" box for the whole website on the current international homepage, but it would be useful on other pages as well, particularly for those who are looking for information about a country's activities, or activities on a particular species or ecosystem. There's such a wealth of information among older pages buried deep in the navigation of the current site, especially A Rocha's many, many newsletters (for that it would need to be a search that can also go into pdfs--Lucene?). A search function on the team (internal) website would also be useful. Also, if we could make whatever modifications are necessary to have the webpages spidered by Google, more people searching for such information generally on the web could be brought to AR's site.--Marie 11:52, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Single login[]
Right now, editors on our web site need to log in to each account; they should be allowed to log in once, and change the web site as they read it. – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Visual editor[]
I think a better WYSIWYG editor (what you see is what you get) is needed. The editor interface for this wiki, for example, still shows a lot of HTML code symbols that represent an undesirable maze for people who are not experienced with HTML. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- WYSIWYG means seeing how things will appear as you type them, like in Word. I like this kind of coding, but then again I am a webmaster and have been using this very system for two years... there are visual editors out there, though. – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I would like the WYSIWYG editor to include an option to switch to "code view" and display the underlying source code, giving those who need, more control over specific settings like precise image positioning and not just left, center/middle and right. --NeilD 15:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)
Should not be there[]
Things which you feel should not be in our CMS.
Bleeding-edge technology[]
I am for innovation which doesn't break what's working. I am severely against:
- layouts which work only on a certain browser
- Flash, animations, etc. for things which would be better without it
- gadgets which would benefit some users to the detriment of others, like those off broadband
– Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
Customisable layout[]
Some sites let users change the layout: background colour, number of columns, even the whole page style. I don't think we need that. A good layout to rule them all – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
But should we not have a high-visibility setting for the visually impaired?--Robjthom 15:38, 10 May 2007 (UTC)
The icing on the cake[]
These are things that might not actually be necessary, but that would make you personally very happy to see there.
“Best before” warnings[]
I'd like the system to tell me "The page on A Rocha Finland hasn't been changed in six months." Wow, has it been six months already? ^_^ – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
I'd like it to tell AR Finland! Barbara
Blogs or a discussion forum[]
I personally don't think this would necessarily be a benefit on the externally-facing website, but in the team website it might be really good to have a place where anyone who has access can share a blessing, a verse, a prayer request, an observation or question or whatever, and others can add replies and comments. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
- I find this present format (wiki) better than a regular discussion forum or a blog. It's easier to summarise information with this format. You may add your comments right after the person you're commenting, instead of being the last post, possibly with other posts in the middle which will make you lose the connection with what you're replying to. This system also has advantages over a blog, for the same reasons – Júlio talk 14:59, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
I'm all for a blog. Ideally, every national site should have (and also the international site). If A Rocha is (also) about community, the website should be much more involving, more personal. A blog is a great way to do this. I would definitely visit the website more I it featured more information about daily life of A Rocha volunteers. For example: what are the Harisses doing? who do they meet? why? what's going on at A Rocha centres worldwide? There are some buts: a blog should be maintained very regularly and be writen quite well: concise and eloquent.
Júlio, I strongly disagree with you when it comes to wiki. In one word it's: horrible (Jeremy Harris is absolutely right when he writes the next website shouldn't be anything like this). I know this format appeals to tech people, but really it's awful. Hard to understand and no fun to use (it almost dissuaded me from commenting at all). Dirk, May, 5th
- It's all right Dirk; not even I agree with myself completely! And now is the time to strongly disagree (let's not wait until a new site is up.)
- I agree with the need for blogs; you put it very clearly! Our new site should feel attractive, dynamic, and personal - and blogs can go a long way towards this. Well-written blogs, which let's face it, are a minority; but we can do it. Provided (I think) we can correct each other's blogs; perhaps a strange concept.
- I don't understand what Jeremy Harris meant, so I can't comment on that. You said a wiki is "horrible" - can you explain better, please? For example,
- What makes a wiki like this hard to understand or no fun to use?
- What other ways of doing it are better? why?
- Most of us know what a blog is and how it works. What would be a blog's limitations for our public web site? what kind of contents could not be put using a blog? what alternatives do you think we should have? a blog plus something else?
FAQs[]
A page of "Frequently asked questions" with paragraph answers is increasingly standard on organisation websites, and a chance to clearly articulate some of A Rocha's statements of vision. Perhaps such a page would also be a good addition to the team (internally-facing) website, though the questions on it might be quite different!--Marie 10:43, 31 March 2007 (UTC)
- Frequently Asked Questions seems nice... but I always wonder whether it is actually about questions. More often than not, it's not compiled after true questions received, but it is created by the organisation itself without any feedback from the outside world. – Júlio talk 14:12, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
Here are at least a few questions that I've actually seen correspondence asking about more than once, and the answers could be fruitfully linked to other AR pages: "How could I take part in an A Rocha project?" Answer should note that not only conservation skills but also skills in visual arts, accounting, legal, communications etc. can be useful; link to volunteers form and job ads; info on how can volunteering in an A Rocha project be funded, such as EVS. "Where are A Rocha study centres located?" --link to the organisations that have them. "What are the habitats and species that A Rocha is working on?" --Marie 13:07, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
Picture of the day[]
We have tens of thousands of pictures among us, and many are outstandingly good. I think dynamic pictures, who tell a story, are better; for an example see Serge Hänzi's Black Woodpecker carving a nest. Wow! So we'd have a different picture each day, with a single paragraph as caption. Translated into all languages, and featured on the main page. This would need a system for storing the pictures and captions for many days to come, and then automatically at midnight switch to the new day's Picture of the Day. – Júlio talk 17:08, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
Amen, amen, amen! and it would be nice if the team website could have some beautiful pictures too, to rejoice the hearts of the team! but adding pictures suggests that the WYSIWYG editor (what you see is what you get) should have at least some minimal layout tools such as table creation, so that pictures can be easily aligned or wrapped with accompanying text. --M.connett 04:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
A friend tells me that many people find their site www.miseast.org through searching for pictures. I'd go to any site with that Black Woodpecker image on it. Wonderful pic Serge! Go AR Suisse.. So maybe we would like to make our image bank more available as a way of attracting those we hope will discover A Rocha that way?--Peter ARI 13:44, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
- Selecting a different picture for display each day is better than simply letting users loose on thousands of pics. For an example of how this idea is being implemented, see Wikimedia Commons' Picture of the day – complete with "Receive the picture of the day via RSS/e-mail!" – Júlio talk 14:45, 28 March 2007 (UTC)
Scheduled page updates[]
I would like to be able to put the webflash up on the 28th, and tell the system "This page goes live on the 1st of the month." – Júlio talk 15:47, 27 March 2007 (UTC)
It would be big progress if you could take holiday at the end of the month if you wanted to!