What puts me off about about Contribute is the cost; very few of my clients are willing to pay that amount of cash. There aren't many open source alternatives to choose from, I'm currently riding with SnippetMaster ( do a search), one or two bugs, but all in all an excellent, web based alternative. There's a perfectly usable free version available and the full version only costs 23 GBP. Kieren
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: [EMAIL PROTECTED]: Re: [WSG] Standards and Adobe ContributeDate: Tue, 4 Nov 2008 19:10:36 +1100Hi Several people are misunderstanding why some of us are challenging the use of Contribute (please note, challenging, not refusing) and why a consultant might discover (please note: discover, not insist) where a CMS might be a better solution for the client in the long run and better meets their own expressed business goals and defined measurable strategy (note: in line with their business goals and internal resources, not dictated to rudely). So please understand my position in this matter (I can't speak for others) when I say a simple CMS might achieve the goals you already have expressed (easy to edit, client stays outside of code, accessible and SEO friendly pages) and is worth considering and suggesting. All I said was it is your job to find the best fit of technology that meets their stated goals and available resources and not bow to their not necessarily wide-enough research. To reflect on the example you stated, where the client clicks a button on the existing site to edit the copy of the page therein; well what about posting news items in the site simply by send in an email to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" without even having to visit the site,which is possible with some CMS's or using a blog to increase presence and content interest which wordpress (installed in a hour and can move a large site's 50 pages of content into within a day) could easily mnage. The point was not to roll over and use the technology they request but to dig deeper into their business goals and resources and aims for the site, step back and analyse their needs, then return with a best fit for their time, aims, strategy and budget. Joe On 04/11/2008, at 1:02 AM, Susan Grossman wrote: On Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 5:53 AM, James Farrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi Guys,A client wants to use Adobe Contribute for content management.Is there any point writing standards complient code or will contribute butcher the code anyway?Can I use php at all with contribute? Would love to be able to include html files using php to avoid having to change loads of pages everytime navigation changes etc.James I do free work for non-profits, and many of them ask about using Contribute. A CMS won't work for them because most of them have a small existing website that they got someone to do at some point in the last few years and they're trying to change it/add to it/figure out how to do anything to it. They aren't willing to start from scratch and have a CMS set up for them, nor do the volunteers want to learn all about editing in a role based application, no matter how easy it is. These are the people who Contribute is a lifesaver for. I go in and clean up their stuff, make it into PHP and design includes they can't accidently edit and show them how to use Contribute by surfing to their web site and clicking the Contribute button. TaDa - they can edit, sans butchering.Yes there are better solutions out there, but there's nothing wrong with this solution. I don't feel it's my job to tell them that I won't help them unless they get on board with the latest and greatest. I'm here to help them make sure their web site is accessible and that they can change text on the few pages they'll update.For me, the client is always right. They know their business, their people, their limitations. That doesn't mean I can't say, "Yes, though we could also do that by XXXX" but in the end, they make the final decisions and a lot of the time I don't agree on everything, but they call the shots, and we have to be gracious. I try to teach as I go , but I don't force my clients to learn if they don't want to. And you might be surprised how many don't want to. -- Susan R. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfmUnsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfmHelp: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================ Joseph Ortenzi [EMAIL PROTECTED] +61 (0)434 047 804http://www.typingthevoid.com http://twitter.com/wheelyweb http://www.linkedin.com/in/jortenzi Skype:wheelyweb http://au.movember.com/mospace/1714401*******************************************************************List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfmUnsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfmHelp: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ Catch up on all the latest celebrity gossip http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/115454061/direct/01/ ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *******************************************************************
