Web software for a family web site?

[Randy Edwards]

   I'm debating putting up a family web site.  Like most families, ours is 
scattered geographically and it's hard to keep track of all the aunts, 
uncles, cousins, nieces, etc.

   A web site for this seems like a no-brainer.  And I'm sure some people have 
written software to accomplish the "normal" tasks.

   What I'm thinking would be nice is a web-based, newbie-friendly mailing 
list for gossip and family news.  Mailman or whatever would do for that.

   But thinking about it, a "group calendar" would be great in that it'd allow 
anyone in the family to enter in birthdays and anniversaries and such.  What 
a god-send it'd be to have all that neatly entered into a calendar, eh?

   So here are my questions:

(1) What other types of "family functions" do you think a family web site 
should have?

(2) What specific free software web apps would you recommend?


 TIA,
 .
 Randy

-- 
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of the world's population has no electricity.
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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Cole Tuininga]

On Thu, 2007-02-08 at 09:04 -0500, Randy Edwards wrote:
> (1) What other types of "family functions" do you think a family web site 
> should have?
> 
> (2) What specific free software web apps would you recommend?

If you're into genealogy at all, I definitely recommend GeneWeb
(http://pauillac.inria.fr/~ddr/GeneWeb/) It runs as a stand alone
daemon, and requires ocaml to compile, but I have yet to meet a better
or more full fledged genealogy package.

My own can be viewed at http://tuininga.org:2317/tuininga if anybody is
interested.

-- 
Cole Tuininga <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
http://www.code-energy.com/

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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Matt Snell]

On Thu, Feb 08, 2007 at 09:04:35AM -0500, Randy Edwards wrote:
>I'm debating putting up a family web site.  Like most families, ours is
> scattered geographically and it's hard to keep track of all the aunts,
> uncles, cousins, nieces, etc.

I do hope it works out for you, I've been trying to get my family to have
even the slightest interest in something like this for ages!

> (1) What other types of "family functions" do you think a family web site
> should have?
> (2) What specific free software web apps would you recommend?

My latest plan for drawing family members into the fold is offering them
personal blogs (Wordpress).

I usually use free webspace for posting secret Santa Christmas lists, we do a
grab,
everyone sends me their lists and I publish.  If you do something similar,
might be good for you.



--
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ICQ: 347886968
http://linuxneophyte.com

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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Drew Van Zandt]

My family (or the local-ish members, anyway) use a merchant-agnostic
"gift registry" package I found somewhere, and love it.  No duplicate
gifts, ideas when you can't think of anything...

--DTVZ
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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Randy Edwards]

 > If you're into genealogy at all, I definitely recommend GeneWeb
 > (http://pauillac.inria.fr/~ddr/GeneWeb/)

   I'm not, but I have a daughter that is so that was definitely a thought.  
I've looked at , but since my knowledge of 
genealogy is about nil, I can't make an informed software feature comparison.

   I'll take a look at GeneWeb, thanks.

 .
 Randy

-- 
Fast fact: Combining the gross domestic products of the 48 poorest nations 
(representing 25% of global population) yields a figure that is less than the 
wealth of the three richest people in the world.
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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Ted Roche]

On Feb 8, 2007, at 9:04 AM, Randy Edwards wrote:
   I'm debating putting up a family web site.  Like most families,  
ours is

scattered geographically and it's hard to keep track of all the aunts,
uncles, cousins, nieces, etc.

   A web site for this seems like a no-brainer.  And I'm sure some  
people have

written software to accomplish the "normal" tasks.


A general-purpose content management system would let you have forums  
for chat, a calendar, a photo gallery, news items, rss feeds, etc.  
Lock it down with authentication and let them use it as they wish.  
Most of the top CMS have pretty granular security, so you can keep  
private what should be private while still allowing enough of the  
site to be visible to the web that far-flung relatives might be able  
to Google you and join in the discussion. A few years ago, I posted  
scans of my grandmother's photo album that my dad had organized, and  
it was delightful making contact with my many relations in Nova  
Scotia and across Canada.


Coincidentally, Guy Pardoe is doing a presentation on Joomla!, one of  
the top dozen contenders (along with Xaraya, that GNHLUG member  
Jonathan Linowes presented last year [1]) this very evening in  
Peterborough:


http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.org.user-groups.linux.gnhlug/8437

[1] http://www.mail-archive.com/gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org/ 
msg13305.html


Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com



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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Seth Cohn]

On 2/8/07, Ted Roche <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

A general-purpose content management system would let you have forums
for chat, a calendar, a photo gallery, news items, rss feeds, etc.
Lock it down with authentication and let them use it as they wish.
Most of the top CMS have pretty granular security, so you can keep
private what should be private while still allowing enough of the
site to be visible to the web that far-flung relatives might be able
to Google you and join in the discussion.



Coincidentally, Guy Pardoe is doing a presentation on Joomla!, one of
the top dozen contenders (along with Xaraya, that GNHLUG member
Jonathan Linowes presented last year [1]) this very evening in
Peterborough...


I'll put in 2 cents for Drupal... the latest version will give you all
of that, and more...
And lots of addons, including everything from wishlists and geneology,
to audio and video, easy photo uploading, to newsletters and more...
http://drupal.org/project/Modules/name is a long long list of things...

Truly, any of the good CMSes will do what you want, the real question
is what do you feel comfortable with... as Ted said, there are a
number of them...
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Re: Web software for a family web site?

[Ben Scott]

On 2/8/07, Randy Edwards <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

   What I'm thinking would be nice is a web-based, newbie-friendly mailing
list for gossip and family news.  Mailman or whatever would do for that.


 I'd suggest something more web-centric -- most casual users seem to
prefer that UI.  Web bulletin board software, or maybe blog software.
Something that can gateway to sending email would enable automatic
harassment of everyone else.

-- Ben
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CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Paul Lussier]

Ted Roche <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:

>
> Coincidentally, Guy Pardoe is doing a presentation on Joomla!, one of
> the top dozen contenders (along with Xaraya, that GNHLUG member
> Jonathan Linowes presented last year [1]) this very evening in
> Peterborough:

I would love a follow-up posting of this meeting.  I've been looking
at WordPress over the past week and playing around with it on my
laptop (If anyone has a Mac, and you want to play with LAMP stuff, get
MAMP!)  I've been fairly impressed so far, but also planned on looking
at Joomla! (with, imo, has a cooler name just because it sounds rather
silly :)

-- 
Seeya,
Paul
--
Key fingerprint = 1660 FECC 5D21 D286 F853  E808 BB07 9239 53F1 28EE

A: Yes.   
> Q: Are you sure?
>> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.   
>>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?
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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Ted Roche]

On Feb 8, 2007, at 11:06 AM, Paul Lussier wrote:


I would love a follow-up posting of this meeting.


I'll try to take good notes.


I've been looking
at WordPress over the past week and playing around with it on my
laptop (If anyone has a Mac, and you want to play with LAMP stuff, get
MAMP!)


I converted my blog to WordPress a while ago. Seems like a pretty  
solid project. But it is blog-specific software and not as flexible  
as a general-purpose CMS.



I've been fairly impressed so far, but also planned on looking
at Joomla! (with, imo, has a cooler name just because it sounds rather
silly :)


You might look at http://www.cmsmatrix.org for comparisons between  
the different CMSes. However, I'll warn you in advance: it's seems  
like most of them have everything including the kitchen sink. It may  
be more useful to visit the forums of the leading contenders, get a  
sense of the tone of the community, try out the demos, etc.



Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com


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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Paul Lussier]

Ted Roche <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:

> I converted my blog to WordPress a while ago. Seems like a pretty
> solid project. But it is blog-specific software and not as flexible
> as a general-purpose CMS.

Can you define the difference then between what Joomla! can do that
WordPress can't?  From what I can tell, WP has plugins available to do
damn near everything.

>> I've been fairly impressed so far, but also planned on looking
>> at Joomla! (with, imo, has a cooler name just because it sounds rather
>> silly :)
>
> You might look at http://www.cmsmatrix.org for comparisons between
> the different CMSes. However, I'll warn you in advance: it's seems
> like most of them have everything including the kitchen sink. It may
> be more useful to visit the forums of the leading contenders, get a
> sense of the tone of the community, try out the demos, etc.

I did a comparison between Joomla! and WP and they looked fairly equal
with extremely minor exceptions.  Perhaps I missed something.  As I
said, I've been poking at WP for less than a week and was also
planning on poking at Joomla! in a similar way.

One thing I *really* liked about Joomla! was the downloadable user
manual available in PDF.  It makes for reading about it much easier
when you're on the train :)
-- 
Seeya,
Paul
--
Key fingerprint = 1660 FECC 5D21 D286 F853  E808 BB07 9239 53F1 28EE

A: Yes.   
> Q: Are you sure?
>> A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.   
>>> Q: Why is top posting annoying in email?
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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Ted Roche]

On Feb 8, 2007, at 2:28 PM, Paul Lussier wrote:


Can you define the difference then between what Joomla! can do that
WordPress can't?  From what I can tell, WP has plugins available to do
damn near everything.


Nope, I can't. I set up WordPress as a single-user blog and haven't  
explored much in the way of plugins. I haven't worked with Joomla!  
only seen the demos,



I did a comparison between Joomla! and WP and they looked fairly equal
with extremely minor exceptions.  Perhaps I missed something.  As I
said, I've been poking at WP for less than a week and was also
planning on poking at Joomla! in a similar way.


Considering the low cost of acquisition and installation, I think  
that's the right way to go. Test drive.


Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com


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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Seth Cohn]

Can you define the difference then between what Joomla! can do that
WordPress can't?  From what I can tell, WP has plugins available to do
damn near everything.


While Wordpress can do a lot, at the end of the day, it's a blog, not a CMS.
If your goal is blogging first, and other items secondary, it'll do
the job most likely.


>> I've been fairly impressed so far, but also planned on looking
>> at Joomla! (with, imo, has a cooler name just because it sounds rather
>> silly :)


Drupal.  Xaraya, Mambo (now Joomla).  All of these names are silly.


I did a comparison between Joomla! and WP and they looked fairly equal
with extremely minor exceptions.  Perhaps I missed something.  As I
said, I've been poking at WP for less than a week and was also
planning on poking at Joomla! in a similar way.


Joomla's pretty.  It's also easy to use, and gets a lot of newbie
attention as a result.  But (IMHO) the backend is very much
'separate'.  Install a new function, and there is no guarantee the new
functionality will mesh with the old.  It's like running multiple
programs that don't (always) talk to each other.  (nothing against
Joomla, btw, plenty of older CMSes were the same way.  I hated coding
for Postnuke (now Xaraya) for that reason.

Take a look at (and install) Drupal 5.0.  Drupal's now 6 years old,
and very mature, very easy to use, and unlike the above, it's _very_
much built from the ground up in a modular manner.  Its' motto is
'community plumbing', in part because of the tinkertoy manner in which
you can connect pieces together.  Want your blog entries to have event
calendaring?  Ok.  Now want to add geolocation and a map?  Ok.  What,
you want voting and promoting the best stuff to the front page, troll
and spam protection, group permissions, e-commerce, image galleries,
ajaxian coolness, and 50 other things?  Ok.  And for the most part,
they all talk/interact together...   and if you want it simple, you
can do that too...


One thing I *really* liked about Joomla! was the downloadable user
manual available in PDF.  It makes for reading about it much easier
when you're on the train :)


There are books (including PDFs) on all of the better CMSes.
Professional bound (or pdf) books on Drupal exist (and I recommend
them) but they aren't needed, as there is a nice handbook online as
well as a strong community of users.

Local sites running drupal you might have visited lately, and the
people behind them...

http://nhpr.org (running a very custom version I think at this point)
coded by a local Drupal whiz Morbus Iff ( http://www.disobey.com )
Haven't met him, though we've emailed once or twice.

http://www.concordspca.org
coded by http://carnevaledesign.com  Never met them.

http://democracyfornewhampshire.com
don't recall who is webmastering this now, but it's running Civicspace
(a Drupal repackaging) and is a bit aged now.

and on the other side of the fence, http://nhliberty.org
which I _used_ to webmaster, running a slightly newer CivicSpace version.

I'll volunteer right now to do a Drupal introduction at a upcoming
Concord GNHlug meeting, if someone will schedule it.

Seth
(who spend many of his days doing Drupal developing)
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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Ted Roche]

On Feb 8, 2007, at 3:40 PM, Seth Cohn wrote:


I'll volunteer right now to do a Drupal introduction at a upcoming
Concord GNHlug meeting, if someone will schedule it.


How's May 7th or June 4th work for you?

Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com


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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Seth Cohn]

I'll volunteer right now to do a Drupal introduction at a upcoming
Concord GNHlug meeting, if someone will schedule it.


Ok, looks like I'll be doing not one, but 2 Intro to Drupal presentations.
In April in Peterborough, and in May in Concord.

Ah, the joys of offering to do a presentation... I knew there was a
reason I didn't do this too often. (grin)

BTW, occasionally there is a regular Drupal meetup in Boston...
http://groups.drupal.org/boston
I haven't been (but wouldn't mind sharing a drive with someone)
and if we find enough interest, maybe we can do something in NH
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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Ben Scott]

On 2/8/07, Seth Cohn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Ok, looks like I'll be doing not one, but 2 Intro to Drupal presentations.
In April in Peterborough, and in May in Concord.


 And when are you going to do Nashua, hmmm?  They've got the best
on-site food and beer of any GNHLUG meeting.  (Also the only on-site
food and beer, but it's still pretty good.)

 BTW, cool domain name.  :)

-- Ben
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Re: CMS comparison [ was: Web software for a family web site? ]

[Seth Cohn]

If the first 2 go really well, and there is a demand, Nashua can be next.

On 2/9/07, Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

  And when are you going to do Nashua, hmmm?  They've got the best
on-site food and beer of any GNHLUG meeting.  (Also the only on-site
food and beer, but it's still pretty good.)

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