Some comments for discussion on the design of the web

I am finding that there is already a lot of useful stuff on the Mgobezeleni site - the trouble is that it is a case of having to search through the whole site to discover what is there.  It is hell to find anything - and also to find out what is new.

So - I have been thinking about who should be using the site and how to make it as user-friendly as possible.

Purpose of the site - and for whom?

This a communication tool for all the participants in the Mgobezeleni Catchment project - the researchers, the students, the administrators, the WRC management etc. It is also for outsiders who want to find out more about what we are doing in the Mgobezeleni Catchment study. As such it also would log the progression of the project.

It is also an information repository for anyone wanting to store information, data or anything else that can be used as a resource for project participants.

It is also a platform for discussion and for developing ideas and concepts.  As such it also acts as a social adhesive to bring together project participants. So it does also need to provide space for informal communications.

So what is still needed?

I feel that the biggest need (for me) is to have a 'log' of events in the site.  This could be in the form of a blog which would contain a continually updating register of informal comments as well as a listing of any additions that have been made anywhere in the site.  Each entry would have a lime stamp and an author on it - with the most recent being on the top.  I would envisage the following sort of things being in this section of the site:

6 May: 11:00:  Ricky:  We are planning a trip to Mgobezeleni from 13-14 May to download loggers - anyone interested in coming along/anyone need any samples collected?

6 May: 09:00: Bruce: Just posted the new graph of water outflows in the section <<Repository: Data>> -

5 May: 19:00: Ricky: Has anyone seen my jersey left in a vehicle during our last field trip?

5 May: 15:00:  Ricky:  I have added a few comments to the discussion on the Bioblitz

5 May: 12:00: Ricky: I have just posted photos of the group in the field <<Gallery:photos>>

5 May: 08:00: An Other:  I have added to the discussion on estuary breaching dynamics - please comment

etc

4 May: 09:00:  See the proposed dates for the BioBlitz <<News:BioBlitz>>

I feel that there is no need for e-mail alerts if this sort of log is available. A log will make it easy for any user to keep track of what is happening in the project as well as what is being store on the web-site. What would also be needed is for each person to have a checkbox for his own use - to keep track of which items he has read ( this would not be visible to anyone else)

Who has access to the site - and at what level?

I am finding this very cumbersome at present.  I feel we should err on the side of having too much available rather than too little.

We must open the site to anyone engaged in the project.  This needs to happen soon so that the present crop of honours students can benefit from it.

We do need to have a few areas that have exclusive access - such as the admin and finances.  Otherwise we need to ensure data stored in teh site can not be altered except by the author of the item.  The author of any data set, shapefile, map, image etc must retain exclusive rights to alter these items.  Otherwise they can be downloaded and used by all.  The bottom line is that the site must be used, and hence needs to accessible and have items that users want to see.