[FreeGeek] Re: Our website

[ifny]

i agree with many of your points david. i'm also concerned about the
clutter & the site's navigabliity.

i think we should devise a simple informational front page, featuring
an intro to what we are & what we plan to do, contact info, & a
calendar.

i'd like to see a *very* select list of links on that front page:

-contact (phone email irc)
-family freegeeks
-fg-v news (actually a blog format, similar to what we've got now)
-fg-v wiki
-join the mailing list
-mailing list archives
-next meeting

-maybe a link to a page of related newsfeeds (there are a few ways to
display these. gowlin found a nice module that arranges news feeds in
a collated view, & it also can display them by source. that's an
option. see these views at http://arkady.indymedia.org/velo/?q=news
and by source at http://arkady.indymedia.org/velo/?q=newsfeeds
-maybe a link to an info page in how to get involved

can we set up our own java portal for irc? that would be nice, so any
joe average could visit us just by clicking.

i do like the content we have now, & would like to see it as a blog on
a separate page linked from the main page. it's good for people who
are thinking of getting involved (tech-heads, teachers, other
volunteers).

we could just strip down the drupal to do these things. the html could
either come later or no longer be necessitated. we can figure it out
later, while having something more functional right away.

how about meeting in person to get down to the dirty & workshop the
site? i propose sunday the 26th. does that work for y'all? david, can
we use your place?

~ifny



On 11/18/06, David Repa <iamturnip at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have been looking at the website today, and I have a couple of
> thoughts.  I really think it is too busy, with too much information.
> some not even relevant to what we are trying to accomplish.  I think
> the idea of the drupal is great, and sorely needed for some of our
> purposes.  However, seeing as freegeekvancouver.org is going to become
> a focal point for anyone in the community who wants to know us, maybe
> we should make something more direct.
>
> At this point, in my mind, our web presence should benefit our mission
> of securing funding. I think a page that conveys our message/mission
> in a clean and direct manner would serve us better when approaching
> possible financial support, and hardware donations.  It should be
> clear to anyone looking at our opening page for the first time what we
> do/plan to do.  Currently one would have to read the Momentum article
> to get a better idea.  Perhaps deciding on two or three messages we
> want to convey for a first impression would be more helpful.
>
> Not only does my concern stem from a simplicity standpoint but an
> accessibility standpoint.  Is the drupal viewable by all browsers?  I
> don't know, maybe someone could let me know.  I know that my Mozilla
> browser is unhappy with certain aspects of it.  I do know that a
> simple html page can be done in a manner that is viewable by
> everything, even lynx(a great ad free experience).
>
> Would a simple "made from scratch" html page that links to the drupal
> be more ideal.   Perhaps even the appearance of something simple will
> aid us better in securing monies?  I know that this idea would take
> some extra time to code(Aaron said he would give it a go), but I think
> it would be worth it.
>
> This is of course is my opinion, and I would like to know your
> thoughts on this. Of course if we decided to change things a bit, we
> would have to do this soon.
>
> --
> David
>