Subject: Re: PC course - a few more ideas

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 13:38:47 -0500 (EST)

http://sunSITE.unc.edu/london/permaculture.html   
[email-masked]   [email-masked]

-
No need to make this thing more complicated than it needs to
be but we do need full blown versatile resources. A combined collaborative
_distributed_ website (combining all of our respective webpages together
as one Online PC Course (or symposium)) is not difficult to do, if that is
what we decide to do. I have already begun to have software resources
created and made available to us here at sunSITE. Thses resources are only
part of what we will ultimately need but will be vital to us especially in
the development phase when we are collaborating on document writing.
We will soon have the following:
1) an array of webforums for public use accessable by email (or I can
create a form if necessary for input, or even a javascript [see my small
farmer questionnaire].
2) an array of open-to-all-interested-subscribers (but conducted via
private email) mini-email mailing lists - these are little lists
that I can manually subscribe/unsubscribe folks to - it's just a .forward
file with a string of email IDs in it.

OK then.

Suggestion:

We create a page(s) that reflects the structure of the course
(i.e. like BM's TofC in Designers Manual), i.e. a written outline of the
course, online. OK. We need to fill in the gaps with information and
other resources, i.e. links, internal links, graphics, lists and other
reference material. So we will need input/feedback from anyone interested
in contributing. So we have strategically placed FORUMS where folks can
read and post their input. These forums can be many in number and put
wherever we need them. They will be used to glean, collate and edit the
information that becomes text/html documents that are the textbook for the
course. Those who care to create rough drafts preparatory to producing
final documents that are mounted online in the textbook can do so easily
by simply going through the webforum and cutting and pasting desired text
into their editors/WP's, saving the final copy and sending _it_ directly
into the forum, letting me know that this is the final version and to put
it online in the online textbook. 
The semi-private email minilists can have subscribers interested in 
developing parts of the web site that they wish to contribute to and/or
have expertise in. These folks can submit documents-in-progress for review
by others prior to putting them online or submitting them to the public
webforums for review and feedback.
This _is not_ as complicated as it may sound. Its easy for me to set up
and maintain and is one of the easier ways we can all collaborate on
the course. I plan to add a more elaborate webforum to hopefully
become the core of discussion resources for the course, HyperNews,
a beautiful program, and is easy to use. It can have "newsgroups" or
forums that require passworded subscriber access and have co-sysops
or moderators who have certain system priviliges, i.e. edit headers,
keep discussion on track, etc.