CSL update
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I have been learning about the system we have set up at the CSL and doing odd hardware/software related jobs. In the course of learning about the technology I look to find resources to learn from, and have found good ones. I think it would be a good idea to set up a group or a forum so that we could more efficiently exchange ideas, which is especially important with regards to technical questions. There are free forum hosts that have a good interface, but I would like to see if we could set up a CTC Vista forum on CSL servers. Also, there is Google Groups, but I think a forum would be better. If there are any organisations that need computers , hardware, etc, there is http://www.techsoup.org/stock/rci/ which provides hardware to non profits at ~20% market value. The conference/PSO was an excellent idea! It exposed people who normally wouldn't go to those sort of things to a new and rewarding activity.
Comment from Ben Sheldon on July 17, 2007 - 4:01pm
Hi Jack,
I'm glad to hear that you're settling in at the CSL.
I appreciate the interest in setting up a forum or otherwise improving our VISTA communications. We have had forums on the CTC VISTA website in the past; it is not especially difficult to set up with Drupal (which ctcvista.org is based on). Unfortunately they tended to go under-utilized. At the moment we have a triumvirate:
1) Listserv: immediate push out to people (at least those that don't filter it to trash)
2) Field reports: chronological "journal" of what you've learned
3) Wiki: information and resources that are incrementally improved
We're somewhat reluctant to add another facet to our communications infrastructure just because of the knowledge/explanation overhead for other VISTAs (especially the non-technical ones) to understand its role. That being said though, if you think there are enough people on the listserv that would benefit from a more structured, but less immediate discussion, let us know and we can set up a forum and try it out.