From: Patrick Salsbury (salsbury_at_sculptors.com)
Date: 06/04/99
Date: Fri, 4 Jun 1999 01:36:13 -0700 From: Patrick Salsbury <salsbury_at_sculptors.com> Subject: Reality Sculptors "Faq-O-Matic" now online for testing and use... Message-ID: <19990604013613.H14369@bootstrap.sculptors.com>
I've installed a new piece of software on the webserver, called
"Faq-O-Matic". It's designed to let all members of a list community
mutually maintain their specific FAQ file, without relying on any one
person to pull all the load. The basic assumptions of the software are:
-Nobody knows ALL the answers, but everyone knows SOME of the
answers.
-Nobody has time to maintain a full FAQ, but everyone has a bit of
time.
-Anyone who does have time to maintain a full FAQ, will eventually
get a life, a job, or a partner, and will suddenly NOT have time to
maintain a full FAQ.
Rather than rely on one person to maintain all the Frequently Asked
Questions, Faq-O-Matic lets everyone contribute, as they see fit.
I've set up a basic structure, outlining the various "Official"
mailing lists in the Reality Sculptors Project, and creating a space for
the "Unofficial" and private lists to create their own subcategories. I
leave it up to the individual lists whether they want/need a FAQ, and
realize that some of the private lists won't necessarily want to create
one. But for those who want to, the technology is now in place.
To add an answer to the FAQ, you must register with your
email address, and choose a password. I'm not sure how secure the software
is, so please don't use a password you use for anything else. Your
authentication confirmation will be mailed to your email address, and then
you'll be able to add answers to the FAQ.
To add a new subcategory (topic area), you must choose the
"Appearance" link, and set it to either "Compact" or "Show" for the
"Expert Editing Commands" The default is to hide them, which doesn't give
you as many choices.
This software is still being tested, so please don't go stomping
all over someone else's work if you happen to find a security hole.
Also, you'll be editing public documents, accessible by the world,
so please keep it useful, and clean. You're representing your own community
here. Thanks. :-)
On a positive note, I just realized that we've topped 400 different
people subscribed to the various lists on this machine. Not all of them are
involved specifically with the Sculptors Project, but it's still an
impressive number. :-)
Bucky (this server) has been doing an admirable job of keeping up
with the mail, etc. This new Faq-O-Matic software is pretty CPU intensive
(CGI web scripts) so it may bog down a bit more for people doing FAQ stuff.
I'll be keeping an eye on it to see how the performance is.
If you notice any gross errors, crashes, or security holes with the
new software, please let me know. As I said, it's still in testing, but I
figured I'd open it up to the rest of you so we can start building some
info-base about what it is we discuss, here.
Have fun!
Pat
___________________Think For Yourself____________________
Patrick G. Salsbury - http://reality.sculptors.com/~salsbury/
Check out the Reality Sculptors Project: http://reality.sculptors.com/
---------------------------------------------------------
Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first, and
the lesson afterward.
-- Anonymous