On 9/28/05, Bruce Dawson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I'd like to hold off ...

  Holding off, then.  :-)

> My belief is that most people don't want administrivia mixed in with the
> "meat" of the web site, which will be a [perhaps undesired] result of
> merging the two webs.

  Keeping "other stuff" separated from "good stuff" (for various
common definitions of both) is a goal of mine as well.

  However, I don't think we have to have separate TWiki webs to do so.
 I used to think so -- that having everything in one web would mean
everything turned into a big train wreck.  But I've seen Wiki's
**MUCH** larger and diverse then ours cope with a flat namespace very
well (PPR and Wikipedia come to mind), and indeed benefit from it.  So
I've concluded it must at least be possible.

  I myself find the concept rather alien, because my first reaction to
any organizational problem is to put things in a hierarchy.  I love
hierarchies.  But the flat namespace seems to work as well, if not
better.  It's also worth pointing out that a flat namespace doesn't
mean there cannot be hierarchy in the organization of the information.

  The Org web appears to have the result of "hiding" important stuff
from interested people.  In general, it appears that people don't
"get" TWiki's "web" concept.  That may be because it violates the
"zero-one-infinity" rule by having two (and just two) levels of
namespace.

  There's also the point that our website is about us, so I have to
wonder what's the difference between "organizing the group" and "the
group", when most of it is the same thing.  For example, with two
webs, every big event needs duplication and cross-web links between
the "organizing" and the "content".  This is a very bad artificial
barrier.

  I also hope that by tying the "get involved" stuff more closely into
the main site, more people *will* get involved.

  It would also mean less syntax and cleaner links, since there would
be no inter-web links.  If you're trying to edit a busy Wiki page
(like PastEvents), that's a big deal.

  In fact, I'm contemplating the idea of moving all GNHLUG content
into the "Main" web, and just having  the one.  The "user pages" are
frequently linked to and potentially on-topic and useful for all
parties as well, and are very unlikely to collide.  But I'm trying to
tackle one thing at a time.  :-)

  I welcome further discussion and dissenting opinions, both online
and/or in meatspace meetings.

  :-)

-- Ben "I love hierarchies" Scott
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