This is mostly for the programmers and techies in NCN. There are a couple
of things I would invite some assistance with, possibly forming a
collaborative software team.
The items I'm working on right now for the NCN online environment are:
- I'm debugging the chat room features I recently added. I'd like to also
have more chat rooms with different styles, also private chat rooms.
- I'm working on an online webpage creation program, allowing members to
create their own webpage which will be stored on the server.
- I'm updating the database system that the member database is based on.
The old system, which is a homemade xBase format and also using dbm, is
getting a bit cumbersome. Searches take several minutes, and two people
can't access it at the same time. I will convert it to MySQL.
- I would like to upgrade the bulletin board facilities. I'm looking at
installing the InterMix conferencing system, which is made by NCN member
Roger Eaton. See http://www.intermix.org/ It has some very nice features,
like being able to rate messages, see both the big view and the detail
view, and to set personal configuration options for what one wants to see.
Also, it will be opened up for third parties to add pieces to.
Now, what I'm thinking now, and which I would need some help with, is that
it would be very nice with a uniform storage system for messages. Messages
might be posted on a mailing list or they might be posted on a bulletin
board, or there might possibly be other ways they could be posted. If
you're subscribed to a mailing list, you get the messages in your e-mail
inbox. On a bulletin board you have to go and check online what is new. We
have archives for some of the mailing lists, which allows one to go and
read the messages on the web. However, this system doesn't work overly
well, and one can't search through messages very well.
What I would like would be that all messages go to a uniform storage place.
One would then have a choice of different interfaces to access it with. One
might see the messages in a bulletin board format, one might get them from
a mailing list, the software might e-mail them based on one's personal
settings, one might get them based on searching for certain criteria.
I would like all the messages to form a uniform information space where it
is easy to access things, no matter where and how it was posted.
The pieces that would be needed to make that happen would be:
- A generic storage scheme for messages. That is, a way of organizing
files, and a database of messages. Preferably a distributed method, so that
messages might reside on several servers.
- A way of getting messages from e-mail lists into the database, including
both converting existing mailboxes of messages, and bringing in messages as
they are received.
- Several choices of access methods, e.g. receiving them by e-mail, in a
web bulletin board, as a usenet-style newsgroup, maybe even a graphical
method, like seeing groups of messages in a VRML 3D space.
- Search facilities, allowing one to search on keywords, messages from a
certain person, which group it was intended for, messages from people in a
certain geographical area, etc.
- An interface to mailing list software so that people can be subscribed
and unsubscribed from mailing lists automatically, based on their
preferences.
- This would all be tied to the member database, so that people can store
personal preferences in their profile, and so that messages are
cross-related with the profiles of those posting them.
So, I invite a small group of programmers who are knowledgable in UNIX and
online programming to give your input or to participate in developing some
of this. I'll set up a mailing list for the purpose shortly.
I realize that this overlaps somewhat with other projects. E.g., InterMix
does, or will in the future do, some of these things. There's a working
group within InterMix called CF-Forum-X, started by Vim Toutenhoofd, which
is intended for some of this.
I would like to find the maximum synergy with existing projects or
software, and, mainly, I'd like to see a more flexible scheme so that the
wealth of messages and information posted within NCN can be more accessible
and useful.
- Flemming
o o
/ \------------------ Flemming A. Funch -------------------/ \
/ * \ New Civilization Network / Synchronicity Networks / * \
/ * * \ ffunch@newciv.org / * * \
o-------o----------- http://www.worldtrans.org/ -----------o-------o
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