PostNuke

No, the web publisher wasn’t being unreasonable. It seems that hackers had demolished their first effort which had consumed nine months of work, databases brimming with valuable IT information the staff had gathered and uploaded, and most of their cash reserves—because the custom developer failed to backup the site.

My first concern was how computer savvy and organized this client was. If she was going to require a lot of training and hand-holding, even implementing an open-source solution would cost more than her budget would allow. So I sent her a number of questions to answer, such as:

• What kind of site do you need developed?


• How did you choose php?


• Is an admin interface required?


• Do you need to manage banner ads?


• What are your support requirements after implementation?”

After she ‘passed my test,’ I told her that I thought she’d have difficulty programming the site from scratch for $4-5,000, even in India. Then I told her that from her requirements, she was ‘re-inventing the wheel.’I told her that there are numerous free open source CMSs with all of the functionality she needed and then some. I told her that by using this approach, I could deliver a fully functional site by the end of the year within the budget she specified.

Within hours, I received a request for an in-person meeting. Because this client had a clear idea of all of the components and capabilities she wanted, I was able to recommend a comprehensive solution that would address all of the issues her specifications raised. This saved a lot of time and expense, as well as made my job much less frustrating.

After the meeting, I sent the PostNuke (<a href="http://www.postnuke.com/"target="new">http://www.postnuke.com/) manual to the client for review. I recommended PostNuke because it provides full CSS support, HTML 4.01 transitional compliance, and an advanced blocks system. However, she astutely pointed out that, according to the documentation, unique block/page configuration for multiple pages isn’t possible—a stringent requirement for the DoctorVAR.com implementation.

By examining other PostNuke site installations and reading PostNuke.com forum discussions, I quickly figured out that multiple PostNuke installs would work around the page layout problem and provide complete control over the subsite blocks. A PostNuke subsite is an additional installation of PostNuke within the ‘main’ PostNuke installation. For example, if the main PostNuke installation is installed under ‘/htdocs/postnuke’, a subsite would be installed under ‘/htdocs/postnuke/subsite1’.

Each subsite has the ability to be configured completely separately from the main PostNuke installation. This allows the administrator to manage separate topics as their own distinct ‘subsites.’ DoctorVAR.com is configured to share all information between the subsites except for the subsites’ block configuration. Subsites are configured to maintain their own block layouts—thus each page can be laid out uniquely.

The client wanted to use html blocks to handle the bulk of the content since she thought the PostNuke articles feature would be tedious to maintain. However, PostNuke only searches major modules, not html pages. To resolve the html layout and search issues, I integrated a PostNuke module called Content Express (<a href="http://pn.arising.net/ce/"target="new">http://pn.arising.net/ce/). This module provides the site with a very friendly admin interface for adding html pages and controlling the site navigation, as well as a search engine for html pages. However, Content Express wasn’t built for multi-site configuration, so I had to figure out what it was doing to know how to integrate it for the multi-site solution.”

To complete the site, I integrated free PostNuke modules to provide an ezine, forum, job bank, and banner/ad management. Within two weeks, my client was laying out pages and uploading data. And by the end of two months the DoctorVAR.com site was up—within her budget and without sacrificing one feature or requirement. The only software she had to purchase was a classified ads module and shopping cart for $59, plus a $30 theme. The rest of the modules were free.”

The flexibility, performance, and ease of administration of the DoctorVAR.com (<a href="http://www.doctorvar.com/"target="new">http://www.doctorvar.com/) implementation is a testament to how robust and cost effective open source CMSs are.”

Additional Resources:

PostNuke.com (open source weblog/content management system) <a href="http://www.postnuke.com/"target="new">http://www.postnuke.com/

Content Express (open source Web content management system) <a href="http://pn.arising.net/ce/"target="new">http://pn.arising.net/ce/

WhatsNews (open source ezine module) <a href="http://nuke-modules.gading.de/"target="new">http://nuke-modules.gading.de/

phpAdsNew (open source ad server) <a href="http://www.phpadsnew.com/one/"target="new">http://www.phpadsnew.com/one/

phpBB (open-source bulletin board package) <a href="http://www.phpbb.com/"target="new">http://www.phpbb.com/

phProfession (open source job bank) <a href="http://www.phpsolutions.co.uk/index.php"target="new">http://www.phpsolutions.co.uk/index.php

DoctorVAR.com Website Content/Stickiness Articles <a href="http://www.doctorvar.com/subsite8/?mid=12#stickiness/"target="new">http://www.doctorvar.com/subsite8/?mid=12#stickiness/

DoctorVAR.com Web Presence Articles <a href="http://www.doctorvar.com/subsite27/?mid=22#WebPresence/"target="new">http://www.doctorvar.com/subsite27/?mid=22#WebPresence/

Web Marketing & E-Commerce <a href="http://www.wilsonweb.com/"target="new">http://www.wilsonweb.com/

Apromotionguide.com - Free website promotion tutorial <a href="http://apromotionguide.com/"target="new">http://apromotionguide.com/


Linda Christie, a freelance writer based in Omaha NE, is the Executive Editor for <a href="http://www.doctorvar.com/"target="new">DoctorVAR.com.

You are all invited to come and check out my site look around, and register if the site strikes your fancy. This involved setup will be tested during the beta period that will last a few weeks.

After that you will see other surprises popping up that will give you a clue what PostNuke tools we will be working on next over at my development site www.flashbackmultimedia.com

Link : <a href="http://www.yearbookoncd.com"target="new">Yearbook On CD

Footnote: 1

I don’t have all the details regarding the technical issues but I understand the server wasn’t waking up from reboots so Harry's "buddy" (the tech guy) had to physically go the data center to manually “reboot” the server. And as of earlier today the site came back online and as we learn more about the issues we'll keep you informed.

Email From Harry:
> I know about it. My buddy in LA contacted me and let me know that the server
> isn't waking up from reboots, so he needs to head down there. Hopefully it's
> nothing too major and he can reboot it when heading to the datacenter.
>
> I'll let you guys know. Mail is hosted off a separate box, so you should get
> this.
>
> Harry

Here's the situation, there is a client who has a basic understanding of Open Source/FSF movements. The client wants a customized version of PN. They ask for several personalized modules requiring general updates and changes in the code. The client agrees to the GNU/GPL license but wants to hold a "co-copyright" on the changes/personalized versions of the modules. This client is part of a large public organization, remember your contact understands the "basics" of GNU/GPL but has to explain this agreement to the bigger organization/his bosses who has signoff on their agreements. However, they are used to holding the "copyright" so to speak because normally things like this would be a "work for hire".

Your contact can get them to agree to the GNU/GPL but they still think they want to have "co-copyright" on the changed/customized modules. My thought is the reason for the copyright is to maintain a bit of control over your product or creation after it is out of your hands. However, the GNU/GPL gives removes all this control so in my opinion this makes the "copyright" a non-issue since it takes away the control issues. Does that make sense?

The other issue is you can't "re-copyright" something after it already has a "copyright" right? So this would also nullify the "co-copyright" and you could only "co-copyright" the changes you've made and then you'd have to get the developers to give up their right to the "copyright". Does that make sense? :-)

Anyway, I hope this is enough info to get the discussion started and I look forward to hearing your thoughts, ideas, and feedback.

Related Links
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Well, if not many have, then at least the original deviser of the error message is aware of this along with others at PostNuke.

Douglas Adams was the author of the Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy and many other things as well. He was a true modern rennaisance man with interests in Science, the natural world, art, leterature etc.

Douglas also had a profound theoretical and practical understanding of the potential of the Internet. I remember his excellent series of talks on BBC Radio 4 about the history, meaning and potential of the Internet. He would, I'm certain, have appreciated the PostNuke project.

Have a look at

http://www.h2g2.com

and

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/hub/

for a couple of interesting examples


Douglas Adams' early death in May 2001 was a true loss to humanity.

Douglas Adams should be acknowledged as the inspiration behind the "depressed server" (though I have to admit it is not as well written as Douglas's original). There is such a thing as intellectual copyright.

Considering the tradition in the Open Software movement of acknowledging people for their original work and considering who Douglas Adams was this omission is rather shoddy behaviour.

If you are interested in more info on other ways I am using postnuke in the classroom, or would like to collaborate on a curriculum project feel free to e-mail me. I would love to hear from other teachers using this code. email= ednet@elementum.org

I would also like to thank all the people who have offered their support in so many ways and to the developers of postnuke- it really makes a difference for these kids!