Re: [atlarge-discuss] membership sign up

[espresso@e-scape.net]

At 14:47 +1300 2002/12/05, Joop Teernstra wrote:
>I am concerned that icannatlarge.org , and especially its website 
>management, has just ceased to be democratic and  bottom-up, but  for the 
>moment I am still willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. All Vittorio 
>needs to do is follow an agreed set of webmaster accountability rules.
>If this does not happen soon, we'll know that we have lost our democratic 
>input in the .org site.

"Just ceased?" I'm afraid it seems to me that we've not yet got the hang of working together democratically and that we had better do so ASAP.

Thus far, we've had Joop, Bret and Vittorio all acting as if what goes up or doesn't on the group's site is up to them as individuals. Well-intentioned as they may be, I believe this is extremely damaging to the group and have already blown my stack a couple of times over this.

FWIW, since Joop's forum is the only place our earlier material can be found, I agree that we must either link to Joop's site or find a way
of restoring the material to our site. From my point-of-view, it doesn't matter a damn on which server which piece of information is physically stored. 

What does matter -- and it matters a lot! -- is that the only
material which a visitor finds on our Web site is accurate, complete
and accessible without making this group look incompetent and useless.
There has to be some form of agreement amongst all parties here about
what is appropriate and useful and what is not, how we can best use
our energies and maintain reasonable quality control, and especially
how we will collectively decide what to do when individuals hold
different opinions and prefer different working methods.


EVENTS WITHIN WG-WEB

A quick update is in order. 

Vittoria (rightly) said it was important to update the Web site. 

I sent WG-Web a draft for the new homepage. What I got back was 
the word that Vittorio had taken a (very small) portion of 
my suggestion into account, slapped up his own new "test site" 
homepage without further ado and requested comments and corrections. 
I don't know what feedback he might have got from the rest but 
Bruce said it was fine as-is and that's apparently what went up,
warts and all. (I haven't bothered to check yet.)

WG-Web has been discussing, among other things, the relative merits
of different programs to be used on the site-- open source
approaches to php, content-management systems, etc. 
WG-Web has not, as yet, defined a working method for itself. It's
pretty much every man for himself thus far.

WG-Web has not, as yet, agreed on what the Webmaster should be
responsible for and what tasks should be delegated to WG members.
Vittorio has expressed a wish for one or more volunteers to take 
over the duties of Webmaster which he had assumed in addition
to the duties of Chair. 

I sent WG-Web members a set of comments and corrections 
in response to Vittorio's test site ... which some members requoted in several messages without a word about what was suggested. Today I
am posting some suggestions about the general approach I would
like to see taken with the site -- i.e., really user-friendly and
accessible to all, with simple introductions as well as links to
long, complex reports and media articles. We shall see whether this
is of any interest to the other members of the WG.

We will also see soon whether WG-Web is any better at collaborating
on the tasks within its mandate than the group as a whole or the
other WGs.

Respectfully submitted by
J. Mermelstein,
(self-and-Jefsey-appointed) recording secretary of WG-Web
(since nobody else seems to be doing it)




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