[octet-devel] http://octetsource.com - a new developer resource

[rich a. <che...@ya...>]

Hi All,

I administer a couple of open source molecular
informatics projects, one of which is called "Octet".
I found myself asking how we could keep existing users
updated, get new users up to speed quickly, and do all
of this in a collaborative environment where the
software can change weekly. It would be great if this
could be done, but who has time for all of that?

To address this problem I have been looking at several
Content Management Systems (CMS's). For those that may
not be familiar with them, a CMS makes dynamic
websites practical by automating the drudgery of
website design and maintenance and by enabling users
to become content providers.

I have a working prototype for a website that I hope
will become a hub for Octet development, and possibly
useful to a broader audience. The URL is here:

http://octetsource.com

This site is part user/developer forum, part
documentation repository, part project update, and
part slashdot-style general molecular informatics
news. It does what it needs to do with minimal
intervention, and makes it easy for users to submit
their own content.

The site runs with an open source LAMP-based CMS
called "Mambo" (http://mamboserver.com). I looked at
many of these CMS's and Mambo greatly surpassed its
closest competition in terms of ease of use,
stability, functionality, and development activity.

If you have some time, I would be grateful if you
could have a look at the site and provide any comments
you think could improve it. Everything should work,
including new user registration and forums. There are
almost certainly snags that I don't know about, so
please  report any you find. One note, if you use
"http://octetsource.net", you will be directed to
another website altogether (a failed experiment with a
web-host), So please use the .com domain instead for
now.

One final note: to keep down mailing list traffic, I
would prefer feedback via the octetsource.com online
feedback form or directly to me, rather than to one of
the lists I posted this message to.

many thanks,
rich


	
		
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