I have setup about 13 or 14 internal wiki's for IT companies and private company's here in Ontario, Canada, the past 4 years and I can tell you that it does work. Compared to html/php sites, it is a low effort solution, after the initial setup. Everyone gets involved, everyone helps keep it up-to-date and makes sure that the info posted is proper.
It shouldn't take long for the current sat and other amateur radio info to be migrated in, with everyones help. After that, it's all down hill. Like I said, the hardest part is the initial setup, and coming up with the universal format, which doesn't take long with the meeting of the minds.
On Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:38:30 -0400, Alan VE4YZ ve4yz@mts.net wrote:
IMHO fixing the existing site is not the answer.
If the executives will okay the use of a Wiki format, I am sure that 3 or 4 of us can communicate off list to set up a group to install and administer a Wiki on another server.
We can call it The SIG ( Satellite Interest Group ) or whatever for now. Any and All AMSAT members can then be registered to maintain the Wiki. If the members and executive like the results it can be migrated to the AMSAT server. It must include RSS, news feeds, and a forum in addition to all the stuff ( current or otherwise ) on the existing AMSAT site.
The cost to this 3 or 4 person ( or more ) "steering committee" would be the registration of a name and a year on a web hosting service such as GoDaddy what runs a similar server a AMSAT's host. Or, use the AMSAT hosting company. So this small group would have to come up with less than one year's AMSAT membership to start this project.
We use an Open Source Wiki, no more customized PHP like the current site that is high maintenance and really hard for anyone to get into the head of any former code whacker to modify or update.
We need the AMSAT exec okay because there would be a lot of cut 'n paste of old stuff from the existing site into the pilot project where is would be available for updating a la Wiki.
I don't do this for a living, I do maintain a couple of club web sites, but I bet we have a member reading this who is a professional web-whacker who might oversee the team and keep us from making dumb decisions such as choosing the wrong open source wiki to being with.
That's my 2 cents and just one warm body being offered for the effort.
73, Alan VE4YZ EN19kv AMSAT LM 2352 http://www.wincube.ca