Update 4: Let's get going!
Added on Wednesday 13 Aug 2003
Hi all,
Time to get serious about this GAWDS.org thing. :-)
We need to set some deadlines:
Most important one - is Launch date: the phrase release early, release often comes to mind - I now think we launch early and re-launch often. There are enough people on board right now (who can spread the word on members websites) to ensure and effective launch - and we can 'develop and continue to change in public'.
Suggest some dates that would give us maximum impact for a launch.
Manifesto: - there has not been much movement on this - so lets give it until the end of the first week in September (Friday 5th). At which point it will be frozen until after the launch.
Accessible developer search: I have the 'free text' working on the site, based on the tutorial that Simon Willison pointed me to. Basically, the contents of members developers web pages are indexed, by grabbing the text via http, extracting keywords, and storing those keywords in MySql for searching. I intend to make the other changes to the advanced search, and the members input forms by the end of next weekend (Monday 18th August).
Membership criteria: I like the suggestion by Matthew Ogston, "a user submits an application to join. Then any member who has relevant permissions can approve any user waiting to have their application approved. Manual checks are performed, but these usually take 5-10 mins per member at most and are very worthwhile." I will do the necessary scripting to set it up so that it is easy to approve new members (an e-mail with clickable link) - deadline: 25th August.
You can argue that the above is not exactly the best model for a professional Guild - but it will get us up-and-running quickly with minimum administration -and we can change it in the future when we have more resources, and we can buy more time for administration.
Content and feature set: add your content, promote your own products and services, get your RSS feeds (or other syndication formats) sorted - and lets get more 'magnet' content on the site. Deadline for this will be the launch date - which is up to you.
Content to be in place for launch should include our first 'members showcase', and an interview with one of our members - preferably a 'name' - that will help attract some publicity. Send your suggested candidates to the list.
Website design: I'll get back to you - I'll need to speak to Ian Davidson who is creating the first templates for comment. The deadline for the web design is probably a few weeks prior to the launch date.
Expanding the Members list: you will know who would be good to have on board - tell them about it - and invite them to join.
That's all for now.
All the best, Jim