Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2000 08:30:26 -0500 (EST) From: Nacho Cordova <cordova-AT-wam.umd.edu> Subject: Re: BB M: I tried the freeware version briefly, before taking the plunge. When I say briefly, it really means briefly, a few days max. It was no big deal to set up, looked the same (that is, I did not mess around much with the basic look or colors, etc.) It provides the same basic capabilities for a simple use like announcements, complaints, tech support, FAQs, reviews, and so on where people don't have to constantly be on checking. There are other BB systems out there but I am not familiar with them at all. The other system I have used for course lists is the Egroups.com lists. Egroups provides a list interface, that is, you subscribe and receive the list postings to your email like a regular list, or you can read them on the website. It is a Free service that serves as a vehicle for advertising (or you can pay $5 a month for no ads). The system provides polling options, reminders, archives, live chat, databases, and a calendar feature. Those make it very easy for anybody to set up a "list" without having to use a major list package like majordomo, listserv, get a sponsor, be a techie, etc. More and more I lean towards a solution than combines as many of those ease of use features as possible. A calendar system that sends automatic reminders is nifty, polling system and charting (and reporting) is pretty cool too. The best bet would be for somebody to really tinker with a major list software and bring them into the 21st century. Ciaito, N. Cordova cordova-AT-wam.umd.edu On Thu, 20 Jan 2000 ma-AT-panix.com wrote: > > Yes, that can be one of the negatives... or then again, a positive > > if seen from the point of view of getting folks to participate who are > > really committed to the issue. > > Hee hee, maybe you are speaking from practical experience, but speaking > purely from theory I would expect the opposite: people who are really > committed to the issue would be too busy to engage with this interface. > But let me ask you this: do you have any experience with the freeware version? > I am tempted to say that if it is close enough to the real thing > then we should install it and use it for something, and try to understand > if we can envision a better interface. I find this interface profoundly > irritating, but if someone asked me exactly how it could be improved > I wouldn't know yet. > > The literature says that the code is all Perl, so theoretically speaking > one should be able to hack it. On the other hand, I have a feeling that for > example my own irritation with this design has to do with something more > extensive than what could be fixed simply by hacking. > > > -m >
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