[kwlug-disc] why not pick a kwlug project for the web site?

[Richard Weait]

On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 4:06 PM, Joe Wennechuk
<youcanreachmehere at hotmail.com> wrote:
> I guess one thing I would like to see on the site is more comprehensive info
> about my fellow members. I don't know all of the issues about privacy and
> what info should be posted, but I would like to see more about skills,
> interests, maybe a picture?

KWLUGers can add a photo to their profile on kwlug.org.  Things on
KWLUG.org are much more locked-down that on a social site.

We don't link to user accounts from blog entires.
We don't show user photos in blog entries.
If you do look at a user profile you won't see the optional photo
unless you are logged in.
Not many of us have added photos.

Even if you register, you need to have posting permissions added
manually by an admin.  Just ask.

KWLUG ain't a social site.  It's practically an anti-social site.
Except for the part where we invite everybody with an interest to join
us at our meetings.

Any user could add their desired social links to the site .sig file so
that those links would appear in their blog entries.

None of this "anti-social" is accidental.  Much of it dates from my
rebuilding the site a few years back so the blame lies with me.  My
goals were:

1) Make the LUG event calendar work without maintenance.   And so it
does.  Those who remember the old site remember that somebody had to
change the "next" meeting announcement after each meeting.  Then that
didn't happen we ended up looking at stale info until somebody fixed
it.  I didn't like that.  That was my itch.  I scratched it.
2) ...
3) Profit.

And that is it.  I leaned towards privacy and minimum privilege where
I thought to do so.

The old site had, IIRC, Linux book reviews.  It was underused.

We added individual member blogs.  Raul uses that regularly.  We're
all welcome to do so.  Raul, can you share how you decide what to blog
at kwlug and what to blog on your personal site?

I think we have a LUG lending library with some presence on the site.
Charles might be maintaining that.  We've had physical issues with the
library since moving from Queen Street Commons.  It's a great
collection of books.  Should we donate it to a place that can make it
more-widely available?  High school library?  Public library?

Does THE KWLUG need to do more as THE KWLUG?  I say that the only
mission of the lug is to schedule meetings and hold them when we
schedule them.  In support of that, we have a web site a mailing list
and mailing list <-> forum syncing(?)  All else is off-topic from my
limited perspective.  We don't need to do more.  In terms of UNIX
principles we do one thing and do it well.  We meet.  Eight years and
running, right?

Can we do more as individuals and as a group?  Sure.  Some do, some
don't, no pressure.

Are deficiencies of the web site preventing KWLUGers from doing good
things?  I hope not.  If so, I think the web site is a poor scapegoat.
 We can blog there and link off-site there and schedule events there.
What prevents us from linking from the site and mailing list to a
collaboration site to incubate the next big thing?  Should the next
big thing take off somebody will migrate it to the KWLUG web site if
that is what is required.  Or vice versa.