[Smaug] Web site maintenance (was: scruz.org re-design)

[Jay Campbell]

> Hi Jay -- Welcome to the flamewar!  8)

Well if I'm *invited* to flame, here are some random points.

1) I would describe the current scruz.org web site as "typical".
Nobody expects geeks to have a sense of style; I'd also call
the site "passable". 

2) The redesign in question isn't an improvement. And Rick
does have a point about it looking like a ploy to leverage
SMAUG's googlejuice. It's unclear whether the link to
Anthony's site was meant to stay there if that layout were
to be adopted; *Everyone* involved in SMAUG should have
their links on a members listing on the site if they want one.

3) I do agree that accessibility is key, and a redesign of
at some level may required as a result. We have some stellar 
geeks locally that happen to have a disability or two, and 
any efforts to keep them included in the group's activities 
can only help everybody.

4) The biggest improvement to the site would be for folks 
to add more content. What was learned from the last meeting? 
What are we doing next time? Who has job openings? Did anybody
take pictures?

5) A CMS (I obviously like Drupal) would make it much easier 
for folks to post content. Register, log in, select image, 
publish.  The current setup involves SourceForge, not the 
friendliest site to work with, and CVS, a tool that requires 
learning a whole new way of thinking about files if you don't 
have a programming background.

In short, participation might go up, and so the site might be 
more useful, increasing participation ad infinitum, if it were
easier to post content. The blogging phenomenon demonstrated that.

Enh, I don't have any flaming left in my it seems. Argue amongst
yourselves some more.

j

-- 

Jay Campbell