Hosting a Step-By-Step for Schools Site (was Re: [Lias] Thanks for help re Proxy)

[Les Bell]

Andrew Dorrell <andrew.dorrell at cisra.canon.com.au> wrote:

>>
Les I think this is a great idea and would encourage you to do it.
Perhaps if one of us could setup a wiki-web (see fr example
http://www.twiki.org or http://phpwiki.sourceforge.net/) this would
provide an effective means for having such documentation maintained by
the whole community?
<<

I discussed this earlier today with Simon Bryan at OLMC Parramatta. He has
a MySQL/PHP app developed there which they use to share technical
documentation. He says it's rough, but could be put up on the Internet.

I have a pair of Domino servers - one visible as http://www.lesbell.com.au
and http://ffps.lesbell.com.au ("our" school's development web site).
Domino provides wiki-like "discussion databases" which I can put up in a
few minutes, and it's particularly convenient for me as I can just sit at
the Notes client editing a document in a word-processor like environment,
hit "Save" and the document is published. See
http://www.lesbell.com.au/Home.nsf/Linux?OpenView for a very simple example
of how articles I write are automatically published to web.

The downside is that it's not FOSS, which might worry some people, and only
I would have access to the rich set of editing functionality in the Notes
client. On the other hand, if we do a "SxS" project and I take on editorial
responsibilities, that's the option I'd back since it's a highly productive
environment. I can also set up options like direct email submission to the
database with immediate web publication.

If I'm not editing and formatting the pages, then I'm certainly amenable to
using some other software. Wikis are good, but like all web-based systems,
people have to remember to go and look at them. For discussion, I prefer
mailing lists, as posts automatically land in front of subscribers. My
suggestion would be to use the Lias list to discuss stuff, and then use a
separate (database-driven?) site for publication of "Step-by-Step"
documents. But then, I don't know that much about wiki's. . .

Right now, I'm keeping anything I write in a Domino database; when we get
to the stage of having documents from other contributors, I'll devote an
hour or so to tidying that up and providing an open submission mechanism,
and then we'll compare options and see where to go next. I can export or
import stuff, whichever way it goes.

Also, since Lias is a Linux Australia venture, and I understand that LA is
fairly well cashed-up at the moment, perhaps we could count on them to
provide a host for a wiki?

Best,

--- Les Bell, CISSP
[http://www.lesbell.com.au]