[Gimp-web] Re: One Project

[Sven Neumann]

Hi,

carol <carol@gimp.org> writes:

> i quit.  someone needs to be found who is competent and able to do this web
> site job.  i seem to be able to only stop the machine.  actually, it was 
> admitted to me this fall that the only reason i was suggested was as a hedge.
> so who is the joke on.

I can not aggree and I hope you'll change your mind. However we have to 
respect your will...

> i will continue to put what i think is meaningful content on my web site.  feel
> free to use it or not.  and i am always open to improving it, so feel free to
> email with your suggestions.

I'll try to contribute my two cents on the subject of the web site.
Please don't take it as personal criticism and don't believe I'm
actually willing to contribute any work to the web site project...

At least when viewed from the outside it looks as if the web project
is pretty much stalled. There is nothing visible but a loose
collection of unfinished content and even that collection is not
linked from any "official" place. This doesn't really help to motivate
anyone to contibute. I see only a small chance that the project will
one day emerge into a new www.gimp.org site unless things change.

IMO the most important thing that needs to be done to make the new web
site a successful project is to make it fun to contribute to it. From
my experience you only gain satisfaction if there's visible feedback.
One needs to see that something happens and how things grow and
improve over time. So here's what I think should be done to make this
happen:

- Settle on a simple but extendable content management system. The
  choice does not have to be the last word, things can be changed
  later. However you can't set up a web site, design the look and 
  collect content if you haven't choosen a system that builds the
  HTML so you have something to look at.

- Set up a basic web site using the system. All content should be
  added here no matter how preliminary it is. As before, nothing has
  to be final. Things can and will change over time.

- Make the beta web site available at least to the people working
  on it. You might want to use CVS or a similar revision control
  system so you don't loose any work by accident and to allow 
  multiple people to work together on the same stuff.

The latter is IMHO the most important part. Unless there's some sort
of preview web site where people can follow what happens the project
is doomed to fail.

This is my opinion and I hope you'll contribute yours.

Apart from this, I believe Carol should continue to be the project
leader. She shouldn't have to do all the work nor should she have to
make all the decisions. However a project like this one needs a
coordinator and sometimes it's good to have someone who has the last
word. IMO Carol suits this job very well.


Salut, Sven