Spotlight

Technology:

WebBoard

Of all the discussion board platforms I evaluated so far, two are clearly ahead of the pack: eGroups (reviewed in Spotlight no.15) rules in the ASP model, while O'Reilly's WebBoard is still the king among the installable servers. To be honest, my admiration for WebBoard has been put recently to a test by the steep increase in price (from $699 to $1,799), but hey, you charge what the market can bear... And as far as features are concerned, WebBoard leaves its competition in the dust.

Let's start with navigation: where other discussion boards present their visitors with long lists of headers or messages, often spread on multiple pages, WebBoard divides the browser window into two panes, with a lists of topics presented on the left side, and the actual postings displayed on the right. The topics can be expanded and collapsed, showing (or hiding) the headers of top-level messages, which themselves can be expanded to show the thread of responses, cleverly indented to show their hierarchy. One can effortlessly navigate between hundreds of postings, without leaving the page, as the entire hierarchy is clearly displayed in the left pane. Clicking on any header in the hierarchy will display the body of the posting (and all replies to it) in the right pane of the browser window.

WebBoard is fully browser-accessible, and does not require specialized clients or plugins. However, each topic (conference) can be turned into a mailing list with a few clicks, thus allowing the users to participate in online discussions from their e-mail clients, without ever using their browsers. Any posting, whether submitted via the browsers interface or received via e-mail, is automatically forwarded to all participants' e-mail accounts, while also placed in the appropriate place in the hierarchy of postings. This approach fuses the best of two worlds: the immediacy and convenience of listservs with the organization and archiving capability provided by Web-based discussion boards.

WebBoard ships with the Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server, which adds synchronous capabilities to the asynchronous core of the tool. Any discussion topic can be outfitted with its own chat room, giving users the opportunity to engage in real-time conversations, whether ad-hoc, or at scheduled times. Users can also page other users visiting WebBoard a the same time, for example to invite them to a specific chat room. And that's not all: the list of features goes on and on and includes such gems as:

the ability to attach files to postings (via the browser interface only)
search engine that allows searching both header and body of postings
e-mail address verification for postings arriving via e-mail - feature that cuts off the scourge of mailing lists: spam
the ability to setup multiple "virtual boards" (up to 255) on the same server, each with its own topics and users.
variety of logs and usage statistics

Yet, despite so many features built into WebBoard, it is amazingly easy to maintain and use. After installation and setup it quickly turns into Energizer Bunny: it keeps going, and going, and going... with very few hiccups along the way. Any clever System Administrator, who is not a control freak (may be a rarity...), can keep his own involvement in day-to-day operations of WebBoard to almost none by delegating most tasks to Managers of individual boards (usually recruited from among the board's users) - a role that requires minimal technical ability and a 30-minute training session. What's not to like?

WebBoard (click on a thumbnail):

Two-pane view	Mailing lists

For more information please visit the WebBoard site or search the ACT database of Groupwork Tools.

Initiatives:

NPower:

Putting technology know-how in the hands of non-profits.

NPower is a nonprofit organization serving King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties in Washington state, whose stated mission is "(...) helping non-profits use technology to better serve their communities. (...) Our goal is to help turn technology into a powerful ally for advancing your group's work."
Its services range from technology assessment and planning to hands-on assistance, to technology libraries, to volunteer placement, to skill-building classes.
Its list of sponsors include: Microsoft Corp.; Medina Foundation; Seattle Foundation, Boeing Co.; Adobe Systems; Compaq; Symantec; Allaire, Caere; NetDesk, Ziff-Davis Education
Joan Fanning is the Executive Director of NPower (and one of the participants in the recent ASP-OSS Workshop sponsored by ACT.)
More information about NPower can be obtained by calling (206) 286-8880 or visiting its Web site at http://www.npower.org/

Online reading:

The Cyber-Knave Conspiracy:

A Rant of Our Times, by Doug Schuler. Telepolis, June 14, 1999. (HTML format. Also available in German.)
In this article Doug Schuler, a founding member of the Seattle Community Network, warns against inaction in the face of the campaign to transform the Internet from a communal medium of democratizing discourse into a platform of inequity and unabashed commercialism.
From the introduction: "The Internet, as everybody knows, is that ingenious tissue of interconnected computers that, according to the media, will change everything. Its original purpose was to keep American military data flowing even if the cold war turned hot. But by the mid 1990's the Internet had changed drastically; it was becoming an extremely popular medium for informal communication between people and the original military purpose all but faded from sight. During this time, a new cast of characters emerged, but not necessarily characters with better roles. Unfortunately, as we shall see, these new players are not concerned with the legitimate needs of a democratic society; far from it. In fact, the future chapters of the Internet's story will likely be dominated by knaves".

Conference:

FutureFocus 2000

"Changes, Challenges & Choices"
Annual Conference of the World Future Society
Held July 23-25, 2000 in Houston, TX
This conference provides an opportunity to meet and hear industry leaders, authors, innovators, and academic experts to share the excitement, the exploration, and the inspiration of the opportunities of the future.
Session topics include: Distance Learning, New Delivery Systems and the 21st Century --- Everyday Life in the Future --- Future Energy Technologies --- Sustainable Futures --- A System that is Preventing Violence in Teenagers Who Have a Violent History --- LifeJoy! The Play and Learn Game for Your Future --- Models of Social Change --- Building Capacities for a Knowledge Democracy --- Accelerating to the Future: Internet-Driven Shifts in the Research Paradigm

She said, he said:

"Technology is an inseparable part of humanity and for true progress to occur, the two must walk hand in hand, with neither one acting as servant to the other." -- Michael L. Dertouzos.