Comments for Software Carpentry http://software-carpentry.org Helping scientists make better software since 1997 Mon, 21 May 2012 16:46:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on What’s Wrong With All This? by Matt Davis http://software-carpentry.org/2012/05/whats-wrong-with-all-this/comment-page-1/#comment-27784 Matt Davis Mon, 21 May 2012 16:46:46 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4849#comment-27784 I don't have a backend to suggest, but I think it would be nice to improve the indexing of the content. Right now all the lectures are indexed by topic, I think it would be nice to also have a "cookbook" section that indexes by question/problem, and points to the relevant topics that could be solutions. I don’t have a backend to suggest, but I think it would be nice to improve the indexing of the content. Right now all the lectures are indexed by topic, I think it would be nice to also have a “cookbook” section that indexes by question/problem, and points to the relevant topics that could be solutions.

]]> Comment on An Exercise With Functions and Plotting by Software Carpentry » An Exercise With Matplotlib and Numpy http://software-carpentry.org/2012/05/an-exercise-with-functions-and-plotting/comment-page-1/#comment-27751 Software Carpentry » An Exercise With Matplotlib and Numpy Mon, 21 May 2012 02:42:44 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4765#comment-27751 [...] covered installing matplotlib in a previous tutorial. The matplotlib site also has installation instructions. I’ll assume for the rest of the [...] [...] covered installing matplotlib in a previous tutorial. The matplotlib site also has installation instructions. I’ll assume for the rest of the [...]

]]> Comment on What’s Wrong With All This? by Ethan White http://software-carpentry.org/2012/05/whats-wrong-with-all-this/comment-page-1/#comment-27732 Ethan White Sun, 20 May 2012 19:53:05 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4849#comment-27732 The CMS that I'm most familiar with is Drupal and it could give us some of this out of the box. Advantages: powerful, open source, strong community, lots of desired functionality present in existing modules Disadvantages: more complicated to setup well than Wordpress, setting up a site of this complexity properly would definitely take some serious time and effort State of wish list: * Website, blog, all of the standard stuff is easy * Fine grained authorization by role - built in * Integration with Twitter including archiving on the site (http://drupal.org/project/twitter) * General project management including integration with version control systems (http://drupal.org/project/project). This does not include centralizing the version control authorization I don't believe. * Integrated event registration with live tables of registration stats (http://drupal.org/project/signup or http://drupal.org/project/registration). This is easy if you're not charging, but it's also possible to charge. * Mailman integration including signing up for mailing lists on the site and archiving (http://drupal.org/project/mailman_manager + http://drupal.org/project/mailhandler) * Migrating from Wordpress should be relatively easy (http://drupal.org/node/43178) * Like the shell? Thanks to Drush (http://drupal.org/project/drush) you can manage your site from there :) * Easy SEO so that search engines get you where you want to go (if I recall this was part of Titus' issue) I have built a few sites using Drupal including some moderately complex ones (e.g., http://ecologicaldata.org). I like it, but there's definitely a major learning curve and more work for simple out of the box stuff like WYSIWYG editors than Wordpress. I think we'd need a student with Drupal experience to work on this for a few months to get it right. All of this being said, given the time investment of switching platforms I wonder if it would be worth it. I suspect that someone who knew more about Wordpress might be able to find a way do some of this within it (e.g., http://eventespresso.com/) and I feel like Titus' issues had more to do with the basic design and some minor SEO. If we had a few tens of thousands of dollars to have someone build it right (or a pro looking to do some charity work :) I'd say make the move. Without that I'm hesitant to recommend it, but it's the best thing I could think of given the wish list. The CMS that I’m most familiar with is Drupal and it could give us some of this out of the box.

Advantages: powerful, open source, strong community, lots of desired functionality present in existing modules

Disadvantages: more complicated to setup well than WordPress, setting up a site of this complexity properly would definitely take some serious time and effort

State of wish list:

* Website, blog, all of the standard stuff is easy
* Fine grained authorization by role – built in
* Integration with Twitter including archiving on the site (http://drupal.org/project/twitter)
* General project management including integration with version control systems (http://drupal.org/project/project). This does not include centralizing the version control authorization I don’t believe.
* Integrated event registration with live tables of registration stats (http://drupal.org/project/signup or http://drupal.org/project/registration). This is easy if you’re not charging, but it’s also possible to charge.
* Mailman integration including signing up for mailing lists on the site and archiving (http://drupal.org/project/mailman_manager + http://drupal.org/project/mailhandler)
* Migrating from WordPress should be relatively easy (http://drupal.org/node/43178)
* Like the shell? Thanks to Drush (http://drupal.org/project/drush) you can manage your site from there :)
* Easy SEO so that search engines get you where you want to go (if I recall this was part of Titus’ issue)

I have built a few sites using Drupal including some moderately complex ones (e.g., http://ecologicaldata.org). I like it, but there’s definitely a major learning curve and more work for simple out of the box stuff like WYSIWYG editors than WordPress. I think we’d need a student with Drupal experience to work on this for a few months to get it right.

All of this being said, given the time investment of switching platforms I wonder if it would be worth it. I suspect that someone who knew more about WordPress might be able to find a way do some of this within it (e.g., http://eventespresso.com/) and I feel like Titus’ issues had more to do with the basic design and some minor SEO. If we had a few tens of thousands of dollars to have someone build it right (or a pro looking to do some charity work :) I’d say make the move. Without that I’m hesitant to recommend it, but it’s the best thing I could think of given the wish list.

]]> Comment on GitHub for Education by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/04/github-for-education/comment-page-1/#comment-27720 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 18:01:09 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4749#comment-27720 [...] written before about the idea of a GitHub for education, but that wouldn’t address all of the issues laid out above. (Event registration, for [...] [...] written before about the idea of a GitHub for education, but that wouldn’t address all of the issues laid out above. (Event registration, for [...]

]]> Comment on Feedback from Newcastle upon Tyne by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/05/feedback-from-newcastle-upon-tyne/comment-page-1/#comment-27719 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 18:00:54 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4821#comment-27719 [...] now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people months or years [...] [...] now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people months or years [...]

]]> Comment on Badges (Finalized) by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/02/badges-finalized/comment-page-1/#comment-27718 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 18:00:38 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4621#comment-27718 [...] thing we don’t have yet is badges. We’d like to issue these to people who have taken part in workshops and the follow-up [...] [...] thing we don’t have yet is badges. We’d like to issue these to people who have taken part in workshops and the follow-up [...]

]]> Comment on Three Years Later by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/04/three-years-later/comment-page-1/#comment-27717 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 18:00:21 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4754#comment-27717 [...] Giving feedback about events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people months or years later. [...] [...] Giving feedback about events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people months or years later. [...]

]]> Comment on The Good and the Bad of It by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/05/the-good-and-the-bad-of-it/comment-page-1/#comment-27716 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 18:00:05 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4770#comment-27716 [...] events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people [...] [...] events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, and to follow up with people [...]

]]> Comment on The Trieste Workshop, One Week Later by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/03/the-trieste-workshop-one-week-later/comment-page-1/#comment-27715 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 17:59:49 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4663#comment-27715 [...] feedback about events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, [...] [...] feedback about events. Right now, we collect good and bad points from people at the end of every workshop, then post them to the blog. We really need to collect feedback on tutorials, [...]

]]> Comment on Behind the Scenes (or, the Ethics of Cultivating Discontent) by Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? http://software-carpentry.org/2012/04/behind-the-scenes-or-the-ethics-of-cultivating-discontent/comment-page-1/#comment-27714 Software Carpentry » What’s Wrong With All This? Sun, 20 May 2012 17:59:32 +0000 http://software-carpentry.org/?p=4750#comment-27714 [...] systems), and newer tools like P2PU feel like a step backward. I started thinking about requirements for a replacement back in April, but got distracted. Here’s a longer [...] [...] systems), and newer tools like P2PU feel like a step backward. I started thinking about requirements for a replacement back in April, but got distracted. Here’s a longer [...]

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