![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a61318e25105fd9a7253f7d30f1bdb09.jpg?s=120&d=mm&r=g)
I'm really wanting to cut down on the amount if distinct services we use so I'm really thinking about using a content management system. We should be able to create one seamless website with all of this functionality and it wouldn't take much to get the basics up and going. I personally know Drupal best and I know it already has modules that do pretty much everything that you've listed, there's no stack exchange module but the idea is simple enough to implement without much bother (http://engineeredweb.com/blog/09/11/building-stack-overflow-clone-drupal-par...). Again, this is currently how I envision it coming together but if more people want to take part and take it in another direction, I would not be opposed.
.g
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2011 12:02:31 +1100 From: analyst@bikefarm.org To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collectives Newsletter?
Godwin, Thank you for creating this document. The content and layout of needs and benefits looks good. I'm still wondering what the tech is behind all this.
My instinct is that we first need a data arrangement, then we can scrape all the data we currently have into a decided data base structure, and then from there we can pull what info we need, and using web based tools, we can make this data searchable and useful to non-computer/tech-savy people.
Web based tools seem to be: Mail chimp - for mail outs, this will also help us to identify co-ops that are no longer active because it will show if they haven't opened the email.
Google maps - for the map Survey Monkey - for polls and surveys Wiki type thing - to hold docs.
Stack Exchange (i've been drafting a letter to ask them about how to get a topic made for bike collectives) - for discussion and dynamic (and non repetitive) Q&A
Your thoughts?-m
On Tue, Oct 18, 2011 at 1:02 AM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Created a google doc of ideas in case anyone wants to chip in: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZeoRJRR41vh3NrQqAMuOibOvR0nYjHIPNuGwnJgL.... Anyone with a google account should be able to sign in and edit, let me know if that doesn't work out however.
There's a bit more in there than I originally eluded to (mainly the organization directory), please use this to share your opinions or ideas. Please feel free to edit, not asking for any other commitment by doing so. .g
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:31:11 -0600 From: jonathan.morrison@gmail.com To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collectives Newsletter?
This is the directory component that everyone liked before, it even created a google map of all the locations.http://www.sigsiu.net/sobi2.html
Sincerely,
Jonathan Morrison c: 801-688-0183
On Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 3:12 PM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Alright, I'm going to give this some more thought and come up with some suggestions and possibly a demo of some sort. If anyone has ideas or wants to be a part of it please contact me, I'd appreciate the help. My free time right now is very minimal, so don't expect anything for quite a while but I also won't go into production with this until I've got a very solid plan and there seems to be some consensus with whatever idea comes about.
What I could use help with:More feedback or scenarios which may cause problemsImplementation ideas: how we could make this sustainable
Web development (I'll probably do drupal because it is most suited to this sort of thing and I am very familiar with it)Design (I'm starting to get ahead of myself here but if it's an interest it's all yours)
Please contact me off-list unless what you have to say really should be heard by all.
.g
From: veganboyjosh@gmail.com Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:13:57 -0700
To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collectives Newsletter?
agreed on all fronts, Godwin, and I'm glad someone else has interest in making it better.
for the record, when i was poking around locking myself out the other day, i counted over 200 contributors, or folks who had edit acess to the thing. there's no way i can in good conscience take credit for what it's become, athough it is pretty close to what i had in mind when i started it, so thanks.
but 200 strangers having full edit and permission granting access to something like this does make me nervous. i got a request the other day from an email address that was a bike industry url that most or all of you have heard of. it blew my mind. but it also drove home the point that we need to migrate it to something else.
and thanks to all of you who have contributed to the google spreadsheet. it really does feel like a team effort when i scroll around on that thing.
On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 5:54 PM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Yeah, newsletter is probably the wrong word just yet, I had the same initial goal as what you suggested, just posting as necessary unless someone dedicated was able to make it regular.
I also want to commend your work on the google doc, I know what I was suggesting is sort of a replacement for that document but I do feel that we are asking a lot of organizations to keep all of these lists (google doc, wiki list, wiki pages, google map, ect.) where it could be done in one go. This also may solve the problem of privacy, organizations can choose what information is publicly shown (such as address) and what is only shown to other organizations or possibly another subset or completely private (such as contact person).
Perhaps what I should do is put some more thought into it and make a more concrete proposal but I would appreciate more opinions first,
.g
From: veganboyjosh@gmail.com Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:09:17 -0700
To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collectives Newsletter?
I started the process of getting a google form made for new shops and projects to list their info, and from what i can tell it'll be pretty easy to maintain.
Unfortunately, I goofed. While I was updating things, I had the (what i thought was) brilliant idea to make several other folks owners of the big massive spreadsheet, but Google Docs only allows one owner per document/spreadsheet, and now i'm no longer the owner, and can't change the permissions back. Rich was the last one I made the owner, and he's off on a bike ride (well deserved and LOOOONG coming, i should add) and once he gets back I'll be able to dive in and keep up what i was doing when i inadvertently turned in my set of keys.
For now, the form is available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEVvMWFNVDlyRm8wQ2dCX0V...
which anyone can use to email anyone else. It's a simple web form that has fields for every column in the spreadsheet. There's a way to include the form in an email, but again, that'll have to wait until I can get back in there and tweak. This will make things like the pre-Interbike "make sure your stuff is up to date" email from Jonathan much easier, since I won't have to give permission to 25 people one at a time anymore, we can just send the link to the published page and the form for people to fill out.
If none of this makes sense, forgive me. I've got it straight in my head, and am happy to go into more detail if anyone's interested.
We can also post a very prominent "want your shop listed? Fill out our form and it can be!" and then I and whoever else wants can receive an email alerting us whenever a form has been submitted.
As for the BCN newsletter, i think its' a great idea, but like so many great ideas that come up, quickly brings to mind the question "but who's going to do it?" i know i don't have the time or energy to put into this, but maybe it could be something that a few of us chip away at defining, and coming up with structure for, and keep it light and not something we're committed to publishing (in whatever media is appropriate) every month, or maybe even on a schedule. ie, if it just happens when it happens, it might be what's right for this group until someone comes along who wants to administer it more regularly. Of course, that "it happens when it happens" modus can also just mean it gets put at the bottom of everyone's to do list and it never happens. I'm sure none of you are stranger to that...
josh.
On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 3:45 PM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Yeah, I realize that having a consistent administrator would likely be the biggest problem but I feel our community is ready for it, there are a lot of eager and responsible people here and if we're smart about it, the effort would be minimal. There may even be a way that would could collectively maintain it.
I feel that this would serve a very different purpose and audience than the think tank (which I in no way suggest that we stop using). I don't think it's reasonable to expect organizations to sift through think tank archives to find out about pressing issues and this solution would also be a lot more maintainable than a google doc as organizations would administer themselves and be more likely to know about it. I think a lot of organizations visit bikecollectives.org and don't know that there's more going on.
There definitely needs to be more thought put into how we would administer it but I think we have the ability to devise a sustainable way of maintaining it but I may be in the minority.
.g
From: jonathan@slcbikecollective.org
Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2011 16:29:34 -0600 To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Collectives Newsletter?
Since the email archives are web based, people can still read without joining. Not to mention the value of that dynamic data for SEO purposes. So I would suggest keeping the think tank, putting a google form doc on josh's list, and if you think there is the long term resources and leadership to pull of a newsletter, go for it. I just know we don't do a newsletter locally because we haven't had a consistent resource (people) for getting it done.
Sincerely, Jonathan MorrisonExecutive DirectorSalt Lake City Bicycle Collective2312 S. West TempleSalt Lake City, UT 84115w: 801-328-2453
c: 801-688-0183f: 801-466-3856www.slcbikecollective.org
On Oct 15, 2011, at 4:13 PM, Godwin ! goodgodwin@hotmail.com wrote:
Hey folks, it's probably not a new idea but especially with upcoming information about Bike!Bike! I've been toying with the idea of starting a no-reply mailing list. There's a lot of logistics that we'd have to get worked out and it's something that I scarcely have time to administer but I wanted to get a general room temperature on this.
One idea that I had that might help us smooth out some other issues as well was to replace the content on bikecollectives.org with a sign up form for bike collectives (not touching the wiki of course). Bike collectives would sign up as an organization giving their general email address and location and possibly a few other details. We could talk about having a few administrators that could send out notices, likely at most one a month although probably much more rarely than that and in addition we could use the information to know more about our community at large. This would also open up the possibility of putting bikecollectives.org to better use.
My main concern is that, due to the nature of the think tank (long discussions, off-topic discussions, in-fighting) we are keeping many organizations in the dark about information that we would like them to know about.
I'd appreciate any feedback and possibly volunteers!
Thanks!.godwin
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