| Some
Web-Related Projects |
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There are number of web projects, which are relatively
self-contained, for which we are looking for volunteers. One of the aspects of
the Internet is that it is all connected, and so these web projects can be
created on separate web sites, giving the volunteer the 'control' they might
wish in a project. An example of this is the
Caving Library site, which is
managed as a self-contained project by John
Gardner. |
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Existing Projects. In addition to the project
suggestions listed below, there are a number of projects already underway. A
re-organisation of the BCRA web site is in progress (see an example
here). Also, we are in the
process of turning our publications pages
(e.g. Cave Studies) into a
proper online shop. Following the scanning work by Andrew Brander and, more
recently, by Bob McIntosh, we will be putting our back-issues of C&KS
online shortly. |
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(1) Enquiries Tracking System. Enquiries are
received by email by half-a-dozen different people throughout BCA/BCRA.
Additionally, enquiries by post are scanned at Great Hucklow and emailed to an
appropriate person. However, enquiries often have to be passed around several
people and it is difficult to keep track of whether an enquiry has been
answered. And if an enquiry is passed to two or more people at the same time,
they will each ignore it, thinking someone else will deal with it!
We could benefit from an online method of tracking
enquiries. For example, emails could all be forwarded (by whoever receives
them) to a central address, tracking@bcra.org.uk, with the subject line
prefixed with the name of the person who needs to deal with the enquiry -
Subject: TrackTo: David Gibson Re: Missing copy of Speleology. The
server could then send the email to that person, and update its record of who
has the enquiry.
The system has to be simple to use, hence it should be
orientated around the trivial user-task of forwarding an email. In technical
terms, a CRON job on the server could run a PHP routine to pick messages out of
a POP3 mailbox, re-package them for re-mailing, and update a simple
text-file-based database that listed the enquiries and who had them. A web page
could display active enquiries and allow people to log them as completed. It
could also send reminders, such as...
The message "TrackTo: David Gibson Re: Missing copy of
Speleology" was sent to you THREE days ago, and you have not yet logged it as
completed, or passed it to another person. Please visit
http://bcra.org.uk/tracking/ and update the status of this enquiry as soon as
possible.
Added 19-Aug: The system I have
described is, of course, very similar to many of the 'ticketing' systems used
to track enquiries, and it may be that there is some open-source software we
could use for this purpose - should anyone wish to investigate
this. |
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(2) Foreign Exchanges Database. We would like to
have a public-facing web page that describes our
journal exchange
policy and lists all the organisations we exchange with, and the titles of
the periodicals we exchange. There is an obvious association with the contents
of the library catalogue and there
is also a need to share data with the membership software, which controls our
mailing lists.
Because many of BCRA's volunteers are not
intimately familiar with the Internet, this database should probably use, as
its source, a very simple and widely accessible format such as a simple text
file with comma-separated or tagged data (e.g. see
database for C&KS
online). There is no need for the complexity of a mySQL database - in fact,
that would be a positive disadvantage. The web site design becomes,
essentially, a way of dressing-up the presentation of a simple text file. The
site could also include an enquiry form and a link to the library catalogue
with pre-determined search fields. |
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(3) Speleology Online. We would like to put
Speleology online in the same way that
C&KS is online. (We
are also in the process of putting the CREG journal online (see
existing page |
new page).
We need someone to create the database entries
(e.g. see database for
C&KS online) and to chop up the PDFs into individual articles.
However, the first task is that we need to obtain a
copyright license from
all the Speleology authors. A related web project would be to create an
online interface for this - a page where authors can go to to indicate their
agreement, and a means of displaying the info to BCRA staff. Again, I would
advise that the database for this is a simple text file that can easily be read
by humans. One of the 'situations' with volunteers is recovering the data after
a resignation/retirement/death and keeping the data human-readable and without
requiring technical expertise is an advantage.
Added 19-Aug: A related and ongoing
project is the compilation of Cave & Karst Science Online. Each time
an issue is published, the PDFs needs preparing for online access, and a
database entry needs to be written. This is a fairly small and self-contained
project, and it would be very useful for someone other than myself to be able
to perform this task. |
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(4) Expertise in Digital Archiving. We know (from
experience) that CD-Rs using cyanine and azo dyes can last as little as seven
years and that, for archiving, we need CD-Rs with phthalocyanine dye and a gold
metal layer. But where do we get these? How should we store them? Do they need
a high-quality burner? Arguably, a good method of data storage is 'in the
cloud' but we need to periodically re-write it to ensure it remains viable.
We need someone to advise on CD-R burning and to
help to set up a system at the Caving Library. For cloud storage, there is
always the danger of an ISP failing (hardware or financial failure) and so we
have been experimenting with multiple network drives which can be plugged into
any domestic broadband router. A useful self-contained project would be a
hard-disc re-writer which, at intervals, pinged all our data from one
drive to another (at two separate locations) to make sure it remains viable.
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(5) A BCRA Wiki. BCRA Council would benefit from an
online 'manual of operations'; a formal repository for all sorts of notes and
comments and documents describing how BCRA operates.
One method - perhaps the best way - of doing this
is via a Wiki of some sort. BCA has a Wiki, and we could copy that. But we need
someone to set it up for us and explain how it works. |
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(6) Calendar of Events. We could do with a properly
maintained calendar of BCRA events. Decoupling this from other web-site
maintenance would be to our advantage. I have done that to some extent by
minimising the information given at BCRA
Events Diary and requesting event organisers to update the info themselves,
at BCRA Web
Forum. This is the whole ethos of the Internet - self-updating of
information - but it has been difficult to get some of BCRA's volunteers to
embrace this technology. Therefore what seems at first sight to be a web
project is actually a publicity project. We need someone who is willing and
able to do a proper job of publicity on the Internet - posting to and
reading the half-dozen web forums on which we could usefully advertise
our events.
A related project would be an Online Events
Diary but, again, although this starts out looking like a web project, it
soon becomes apparent that it is really a publicity project. We have struggled
with the concept of a diary of events for the whole of the 20 years I have been
involved with BCRA because nobody has been enthusiastic about the
maintenance task that is required. |
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(7) Photos and Stories for the Web Site. The main
delay in completing our upgrade of the BCRA web site (see
here) is not the need
for 'web' effort, but the need for photos and 'stories'. Why should
people join BCRA? We need to explain this. This task is more along the lines of
'publicity' than a web project.
We have purchased the domain name
cave-science.org.uk with the intention that it could be developed as a
self-contained project, promoting cave and karst science and BCRA. However, we
have been unable to find a volunteer to take on this task. Potentially there is
a large amount of work here but, of course, it can start out small.
Possibilities are ... listing the university departments in the UK that offer
courses with a cave science interest, case-studies of undergraduate work,
BCRA's Research Fund, amateur cave science, questions and answers, blogs,
forums etc. |
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(8) List of Sales Outlets (web trawl). BCRA wants to
increase the marketing of its publications. We have a major new book in
production (Caves & Karst of the Yorkshire Dales) and we want to get flyers
for this book into as many caving and climbing shops as we can, plus other
outlets - cavers' cafes? As a related exercise, we need to identify potential
retailers (caving shops +?) and wholesalers. We have the beginnings of a
mailing list, covering the 'obvious' - but we need a more comprehensive one,
covering all the caving regions. |
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