holgerdanske.com

Everyone:

http://www.holgerdanske.com/ is currently running the Drupal 5.10 web content management system:

http://drupal.org/

I am looking for people who are interested in learning more about web content management systems, information architecture, and/or Drupal in particular, and who would like to volunteer to work on http://www.holgerdanske.com/ .

In traditional web sites, there is only one organization system based on a "files and folders" model. Each content item (web page, story, forum post, calendar item, etc.) is a file located in the web server's hard drive (e.g. ~/public_html/index.html). The web server is configured to map incoming URL's to filesystem paths. So, there is one URL mapped to one file for each content item, and each file needs to be put in the proper folder, according to the organizational system. Additionally, all hypertext links within all files must point to the correct URL.

A problem with the traditional approach occurs when you want to reorganize the content, typically because the scope and/or quantity of the content has outgrown the present organization. As a practical matter, it is very difficult to come up with an organization that meets all present and future needs, so reorganizing is a matter of "when", not "if". However, changing the organization entails moving and/or editing dozens, hundreds, thousands, millions, etc., of folders, files, and/or links. Skill with Perl and other tools can expedite this process, but eventually reorganization becomes labor prohibitive.

One of Drupal's key features is that it separates content from organization via a database and configurable organization tools. "Content" still includes web pages, stories, forum posts, calendar events, etc., and others made available via add-ons. Content items are created and edited by "authors" (e.g. site users with appropriate privileges) using fill-out forms on web pages. Content items are stored in a database by type and serial number. Each can be linked to directly by a static URL that is independent of organizational structure (e.g. http://www.holgerdanske.com/node/19), thus reducing the effort to update links following a reorganization. Drupal also offers multiple configurable organization tools, including menus, taxonomies, indexes, and others I've yet to learn. These tools and their settings are created and edited by "architects" (e.g. site users with appropriate privileges) using fill-out forms on web pages, and are also stored in the database. Each content item may appear in one or more organizational structure, and each content item may appear in more than one place within a given organizational structure. Content and organization are hooked together by authors marking their content using keywords, drop-down lists, etc., on the content fill-out form. So, it is necessary to have some organization in place before content is created, and reorganization may entail adjusting the organization settings on affected content items. When someone visits the web site, Drupal parses the URL, makes queries on the database, and displays the requested content and relevant organization navigation aids. It's a fairly abstract way of building web sites, but offers more flexibility and less work as the site grows and evolves.

I have a few tasks I'd like to accomplish with http://www.holgerdanske.com/:

1. I have been forwarding various newsletters to the site:

Constitution Party Newsletter
Job Destruction Newsletter
Chuck Baldwin newsletters

I'd like to make specific organizations for these, and then go through the content and mark the appropriate items.

2. Another possibility for #1 is to research RSS feeds and see if we can get the content via a Drupal add-on.

3. I would like to have web pages for every candidate and measure appearing on the November 4, 2008, election ballot, with indexes to match.

4. Right now, the web site is mostly passive -- people must browse to the site to see what's changed. I'd like to add the capability for the web site to be pro-active -- e.g. send e-mail message to users when content they're interested in is posted or changed (subject to user configurable settings). I suspect this can be done with Drupal add-on(s).

If anyone is interested in working on the above tasks, or has other ideas for other improvements and/or tasks, please contact me at dpchrist@holgerdanske.com .

David