WebLogLinkList

This is an simple list of the weblinks recorded in WebLogs, grouped by SubjectArea. Clicking on the link title takes you directly to external web site.

Hold your curser over headline links to see a pop-up preview of the external site, courtesy of Snap

Jump to SubjectArea:

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CommunityDevelopment

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The Cairns Project -

Stumbled across this project that presents some very highfaluting rhetoric and impressive specs for a proposed software package to support civic discourse. Only, there's no working model or code to be found anywhere. We'll see... but probably worth checking back in on.

Collaborative Project Planning: A New Twist on an Old Standard -

Looks like an interesting article about something I have been working on. I want to go back and read it.

Common Craft: The Step Just Before -

Interesting article about limits of SocialSoftware in creating community. A quote:

"Community building is not about tools like message boards and blogs. Community building is about people- about developing trust, relationships and emotional connections. Community is more tool-agnostic than you might think- if the people want to create a community, it will happen."

Culture Surprises in Remote Software Development Teams -

Someone mentioned this article on TWiki.org. It's the most indepth treatment of on-line culture I've seen.

City Vision Inc. -

I recently met a very interesting fellow ( Steve Faber ) who works with this group that is building a collaborative network of small non-profits. Their efforts definitely are in line with what I have explored under the idea of DevelopmentalCommons.

Co-housing grows in Ann Arbor -

This article is about cohousing in Ann Arbor area but what I'm most interested in is the comments by Nick Meima who has been developer for several cohousing projects. This story also has contact info for Nick.

A Guide to Funding Resources -

This USDA page has some very good links to information about governmental and private grant resources, including links to several searchable databases.

The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online -

Howard Rheingold's tips for making on-line communities work and the critical role of the moderator.

IAF Methods :: Methods and Resources for Facilitators -

This site offers the largest reference library of group process methods and tools I've come across. As part of my effort to expand on the idea of WikiFacilitation, I'd like to review some of these methods to see how many would lend themselves to mapping in a wiki environment.

McMenamins.com -

My friend Sean Gilligan mentioned these folks and the creative integration of business or social goals they have achieved. Here's some addition articles about them:

• The Brews Brothers
• The McMenamins Pub & Brewery Chain
• Portland Pub Blends Building History With 'Community Center' Feel

OnTheCommons.org -

Great site (content and design) on my favorite topic: the commons. It's without a doubt the most extensive treatment/resource around this concept that I've seen. Thanks to Ellen pointing this site out to me. Here's a quick quote:

The commons is a new way to express a very old idea – that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the good of all. The commons are the things that we inherit and create jointly, and that will (hopefully) last for generations to come. The commons consists of gifts of nature such as air, water, the oceans, wildlife and wilderness, and shared "assets"� like the Internet, the airwaves used for broadcasting, and public lands. The commons also includes our shared social creations: libraries, parks, public spaces as well as scientific research, creative works and public knowledge that have accumulated over centuries.

The role of the online instructor/facilitator -

A fairly detailed breakdown of what all an on-line moderator might do or be concerned with. A bit acedemic in style and focus, however lots of good basic points that could be expanded on.

Virtual Communities - All about online communities -

Good looking resource site related to facilitating on-line communities.

Regional Workbench Consortium -

Very interesting example of technology-enabled regional collaboration for planning and sustainability.

Running a project -

TWiki:Main.MartinCleaver pointed out these free templates for project management. Worth revisiting to see how the could be implemented into TWikiApplication.

Regional Technology Strategies -

Networks of firms confronting the challenge of globalisation: The Italian experience
Revisiting my long-time interest in collaborative strategies for regional development, I came across a couple of interesting resources. The first one is the web site for group I've followed for some time. After a period of relatively low activity, their web site includes some interesting new materials, particularly regarding the role of community colleges in development of regional networks.

The second link is to a paper about the Italian networks. I'm particularly interested in what it has to say about these networks and global competetiveness.

smartmeetingdesign.com -

Interesting site about meeting process and new technologies. Certainly flows in some of the same currents as my explorations. Want to come back and explore this more and definitely to add comment to Communities & Networks discussion regarding Robert Bly's thoughts on that subject

Lone Eagle Consulting -

I recently heard the fellow behind this site, Frank Odasz give a presentation about the potentials of using the Internet for rural development. I was impressed as much as anything, by the energy and enthusiasm he brought to the topic. Looking over his web site, I see that he has matched that energy with a lot of good work developing tools that communities can really use!

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FamilyAndFriends

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Edmund Kirby Smith -

This is probably my most famous ancester, General Kirby-Smith, "last confederate general to surrender." In addition to the link above, here are a few links of interest about the general:

• Sculpture dedication today has a Civil War story to tell - Dedication of a statue for the general. My mom, Kirby was at the event.
• General Edmund Kirby Smith - Commander, Trans-Mississippi Department Confederate Army - Another biographical page.
• Officers & Enlisted Men
• Parole of E. Kirby Smith and Troops - Article outlining terms of his surrender.
• Portrait of General Kirby Smith
• Statue of Kirby Smith

517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team -

My brother sent me a link to some correspondance between my Dad, Charles Lynn Brown, and another paratrooper, Joe Miller regarding their memories of a particular incident during WWII. Searching some more through this site, I found several other references to my dad which are listed below. After opening the link, do a search for "Brown".

• Lynn Brown's letter to Joe Miller
• http://517prct.org/photos/west.htm
• http://517prct.org/documents/odyssey/paratroopers_odyssey.htm
• http://517prct.org/mailcall/517.html

Skyloom Gallery: Trip to Illinois and North Carolina -

Just made a great trip to Illinois and North Carolina, first to visit Elise's family around Rockford and then after a short stay in Chicago, on to them ol' misty blues and BlowingRock. We were so glad that Pat & Dave, Elise's mother and father, could join us in NC. Jimmy got to have both grandmothers around! Great time had all around!

Jimmy with blueberries he just picked:
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click on image to see full size.

Skyloom Gallery :: Winter2005 -

%PHOTO{"Winter2005/P1081280"}% Jimmy, Elise and I have been having some great family fun this winter. Jimmy is a big fan of sledding, even the crashes! I've posted quite a few pictures (mostly for grandparents) that include pictures from Jimmy's birthday and life around the Commons.

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KnowledgeManagement

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The Cairns Project -

Stumbled across this project that presents some very highfaluting rhetoric and impressive specs for a proposed software package to support civic discourse. Only, there's no working model or code to be found anywhere. We'll see... but probably worth checking back in on.

KMunity -

This site is from a company that specializes around knowledge management and community building. Has lots of good resources related to these two areas and their overlap.

The Cynefin Centre -

"The Cynefin Centre is an international network that focuses on the application of complexity science to management and organisational practice." This site centers around the ideas of David Snowden which have been referred to as "organic KnowledgeManagement." For a short introduction to these ideas you might check out this blog, Web Logs, the Place to go When You Have a Need to Know which also touches upon how all this relates to blogs (and wikis). Thanks to TWiki:Main.MartinCleaver for pointing out this site to me.

The Gurteen Knowledge Website -

Quite an extraordinary web site about KnowledgeManagement around the world. Lots of resources. Includes a nice collection of quotations. The site is also notable for quite a few innovative web design ideas such as "learning-stickers" which are little pop-up slideshows of key points about a topic.

IAF Methods :: Methods and Resources for Facilitators -

This site offers the largest reference library of group process methods and tools I've come across. As part of my effort to expand on the idea of WikiFacilitation, I'd like to review some of these methods to see how many would lend themselves to mapping in a wiki environment.

Content -

Very interesting article about the nature of knowledge and what is required for a KnowledgeEnhancementSystem. Also has an interesting interface whereby many words have tool-tip definitions. The problem is that every incidence of some words like "knowledge" show up as links which is kind of distracting. This prompts me to think about an interface that shows certain links, like definitions, or PurpleNumbers, or annotations, that appear only when a certain key is pressed.

Life With Alacrity -

"A blog on social software, collaboration, trust, security, privacy, and internet tools, by Christopher Allen."

Very interesting blog on topics I've very interested in. He's also working with PatternLanguage, as shown in this post.

CmapTools -

This is a really great looking collaborative mind-mapping software package. I would love to get it up and running if it's possible on my hosted domain.

OnTheCommons.org -

Great site (content and design) on my favorite topic: the commons. It's without a doubt the most extensive treatment/resource around this concept that I've seen. Thanks to Ellen pointing this site out to me. Here's a quick quote:

The commons is a new way to express a very old idea – that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the good of all. The commons are the things that we inherit and create jointly, and that will (hopefully) last for generations to come. The commons consists of gifts of nature such as air, water, the oceans, wildlife and wilderness, and shared "assets"� like the Internet, the airwaves used for broadcasting, and public lands. The commons also includes our shared social creations: libraries, parks, public spaces as well as scientific research, creative works and public knowledge that have accumulated over centuries.

Myths About Online Volunteering / Myths About Virtual Volunteering -

A good summary about what does and doesn't work about using volunteers to help maintain or moderate your collaborative web site. Includes links to more information on the subject.

An investigation into using pattern language as tool for participatory design of interactive systems. -

Resource for developing PL methodology.

The best collaboration tool: paper: Corante > Get Real > -

This blog post makes a point that I believe is part of the core design perspective of wiki: that the best collaboration tool is often the simplest possible. Quote: "If you only need a piece of paper, then just go ahead and use that piece of paper rather than buying a complex and cumbersome tool." He goes on to mention TWiki as one of the "cooler" web collaborative tools.

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia -

This is an very interesting and very critical look at Wikipedia by Robert McHenry, a former editor in chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Essentially, me makes a pointed case as to why he has doubts about the quality of information the "open-source" process of wikipedia will produce. A useful reality check on all the buzz it's getting.

InfoWorld: Enterprise collaboration with blogs and wikis -

This piece is one more sign that folks are beginning to acknowledge why wikis deserve, if anything, more attention than blogs for being a far more flexible and collaboration-empowering tool. This quote is a good example:

Williams uses TWiki software to manage his company's internal security database. He says standard database software didn't enable security staff and help desk workers to quickly create a complete picture of each threat as their understanding of a new scam or virus developed. "Our support workers can easily add information to the wiki while they are working with the customer, which allows us to connect the dots and make a complete picture of a new threat very quickly -- something that wasn't really possible with a database solution," Williams says.

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NewAcousticMusic

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Alison Krauss & Union Station: Bluegrass Perfection -

Alison Krauss, along with Union Station (including Jerry Douglas) were recently interviewed on NPR?. It's a great glimpse into the kind of musical perfectionism that goes into the best of NewAcousticMusic. Thanks to my brother-in-law, David Henderson, for heads up on this broadcast.

Ariane Lydon on the Web -

"Marvellous voice, brilliant harp and guitar work. Never saw anything like it." - John Renbourn

Great folk singer from Wisconsin. Seems quite accomplished on guitar and harp. Plus a voice remeniscent of June Tabor! I want to hear more!!

DAVE ROYKO'S CD-R PAGE -

Dave's a regular poster on the Jamgrass yahoo group and has a great set of live recordings. I want to return and see if I can work out some trades.

Bluegrass Journey -- A Documentary -

This is a new documentary about bluegrass music that looks GREAT! Just look at the line up: Jerry, Tony, Tim, and all the rest of BG giants. Can't wait to see it!

Hear that long snake moan - Voodoo and rock music -

This essay by Michael Ventura has been one of my long-time favorites. Among the provocative themes it covers are:

• That blues, rock and roll, as well as gospel and southern evangelical christianity all have their roots in voodoo.
• That voodoo arose from the mixing of Irish and African cultures in the Carribean.

Mark Laurent & Brenda Liddiard -

Irish Music Box On-line Magazine -

Good site for information about the Irish music scene, including list of sessions. Wish I had this when I went to Ireland a couple of years back when I took this picture of Cliffs of Moher (click on image to see full size).

Musicians in Their Own Words: Jerry Douglas -

In looking for AlisonKraussOnNPR, I also came across this interview with Dobro-god, Jerry Douglas. It's great to hear Jerry talking about his creative process that produces some of most sublime licks in NewAcousticMusic. Doesn't matter what kind of music you're into, Jerry is worth listening to.

Jim Malcolm - Traditional Scottish Folk Music Artist and Songwriter -

Heard this Scottish folks singer on Thistle & Shamrock and I was immediately taken by his voice. Reminded be a bit of one of my favorites, Dick Gaugin or, even more so, the lead singer from the now defunct Brittainy group, Kernog. I'd love to get his live album LIVE IN GLENFARG but, unfortunately it's only available shipped from Scottland.

Ken Bonfield — Artistry of the Guitar -

Heard this guitarist on http:folkalley.com and definitely want to hear more of him. Get my fix of good guitar work!

Ooolitic Music -

Malcolm Dalglish has been one of my favorite musicians since his days with Metamora and is currently doing great stuff with youth choral groups. Here's a couple more links to reviews of their albums and shows:

• Pleasure:Folk Choir Music With Hammer Dulcimer
• Malcolm Dalglish and The Ooolites

Essential Guitar Guide -

I found this site looking for something, or someone, else. I came across a CD with no cover, by Michael Hogan and was immediately taken by his tasty licks. Very clean and resonous. As an long time John Fahey fan, I wanted to know more about this guy.

Didn't find him (yet) but did find this fine guitar site.

JOHN FAHEY on The Nature of Reality -

Checking in on John Fahey, one of my earliest guitar influences, I discover his writing is everybit as magical, mystical, and downright un-nerving as his playing! This is apperently some of his final statements since he died soon after. I see he published a book shortly before his death. I may have to check it out.

BTW, here's a great, short article about what ever happened to John Fahey.

The Band: Video Clips -

A good friend recently showed me this great site about "The Band" with a sizeable collection of video and audio clips from throughout their long career (or at least the respective members). But what really prompted this post was one particular clip, "When I Go Away"(Real Audio), a gospel number that just blew my doors out! The Dixie Hummingbirds (a gospel group celebrating their 75th anniversity!) are backed by two members of the original Band (Garth and Levon) and musicians from Dylan's current backing band. For this one, turn up the sound a bit and hold on to your seat!

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OpenSource

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12 Reasons Andreessen Is Hot On Open Source -

Mark Andreessen on why open source is just going to get better.

Making A Better Open Source CMS -

This article has some very good suggestions for designing a better ContentManagementSystem. Some of his recommendations could be implemented simply in how a CMS package is configured or in design of the skin.

Debunking Common GNU/Linux Myths -

This article provides a good overview of the strengths of the OS movement in general by addressing some of the most common presumptions/misconceptions about wha it.

CmapTools -

This is a really great looking collaborative mind-mapping software package. I would love to get it up and running if it's possible on my hosted domain.

OnTheCommons.org -

Great site (content and design) on my favorite topic: the commons. It's without a doubt the most extensive treatment/resource around this concept that I've seen. Thanks to Ellen pointing this site out to me. Here's a quick quote:

The commons is a new way to express a very old idea – that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the good of all. The commons are the things that we inherit and create jointly, and that will (hopefully) last for generations to come. The commons consists of gifts of nature such as air, water, the oceans, wildlife and wilderness, and shared "assets"� like the Internet, the airwaves used for broadcasting, and public lands. The commons also includes our shared social creations: libraries, parks, public spaces as well as scientific research, creative works and public knowledge that have accumulated over centuries.

Gluecode -

An OpenSourceSoftware portal package. I'll have to go back and check it out in more depth.

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia -

This is an very interesting and very critical look at Wikipedia by Robert McHenry, a former editor in chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Essentially, me makes a pointed case as to why he has doubts about the quality of information the "open-source" process of wikipedia will produce. A useful reality check on all the buzz it's getting.

Motley Fool: Wiki Project One for the Books -

The market sleuths at Motley Fool get a glimmer that wikis (specifically, the open-culture values they both embody and empower) may be the ultimate disruptive technology. Great quote: "But the consequences of Wikimedia's constant stream of disruptive innovations could make it one of the greatest destroyers of market value the public markets have ever seen."

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PatternLanguage

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15 Rules for Rebuilding the World -

It's nice to see Christopher get some notice in the press. This article summarizes his 15 principles of creating a "whole" architecture from his latest work: "The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe."

Enterprise Integration Patterns -

A PatternLanguage for large scale enterprise application integration.

Life With Alacrity -

"A blog on social software, collaboration, trust, security, privacy, and internet tools, by Christopher Allen."

Very interesting blog on topics I've very interested in. He's also working with PatternLanguage, as shown in this post.

Dating Design Patterns -

I love it! You know pattern languages are gaining acceptance when they are parodied. This is a pattern language for dating. Too funny! Very geekish. It treats dating as coding protocal. Be sure to check out Christopher Alexander's dating journal. What a hoot!

hcipatterns.org -

This is a web site regarding "Human Computer Interaction" (HCI) and patterns related to that.

37signals: An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design -

This site provides one of the clearest descriptions of pattern language design process that I've seen. The author does an excellent job of avoiding jargon and revealing the underlying logic as common sense. As an example, here's his definition of a pattern: "a pattern is a way of dealing with a system of interacting forces."

Boxes and Arrows: Implementing a Pattern Library in the Real World: A Yahoo! Case Study -

This is a very good case study of implementing a PatternLanguage KnowledgeManagement process in a corporate setting. Provides extensive detail about their workflow, pattern template, tools, incentives for submitting patterns, etc.

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SundryTangents

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Dishonest Dubya -

See the George Bush action figure - lie, say (typically) stupid comments, change outfits (as quickly as he changes opportunistic positions)!

Soapbox -

A little rap about the curse of chain emails we get from so-called friends

Golfing Mongolia: A 2.3-Million-Yard Par 11,880 -

Bored with your usual summer vacation? Here's an interesting alternative: golfing across Mongolia.

From the NYTimes article:

"This summer, Mr. Tolmé, a civil engineer from New Hampshire, is golfing across Mongolia. Treating this enormous Central Asian nation as his private course, he has divided Mongolia into 18 holes. The total fairway distance is 2,322,000 yards. Par is 11,880 strokes."

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Getting Back To Work: A Personal Productivity Toolkit -

What can I say? Really a good article. And now I'll get back to work!

howardbloom.net -

Stumbled across this web site for Howard Bloom, author of Global Brain. I first heard of Bloom and his ideas during the 1980's when he spent some time around Santa Fe. They have stuck with me and provide a key piece of what hope I have for humanity and the planet.

Kevin Kelly - Cool Tools -

Kelly is a former editor of Whole Earth Review and has a site devoted to his review of really great tools for living.

Fall Cider -

Some neighbor and I have decided to do a batch of hard cider. The link above is for the recipe we've selected. We pressed and the apple juice today under beautiful fall skies. Pictures to follow.

NPR : 'In Other Words': Translating the Untranslatable -

"Linguist Christopher J. Moore has made a career of searching out some of the world's most 'untranslatable' expressions -- words from around the globe that defy an easy translation into English."

Heard this great, short segment on NPR this morning, interview the author of this book about "untranslatable" terms from various languages. I love the unique nuances of life various cultures have been captured in in phrase - terms like WabiSabi.

Here's a couble of choice terms from the interview:

• taarradhin [tah-rah-deen] (noun) - Arabic - Arabic has no word for "compromise" in the sense of reaching an arrangement via struggle and disagreement. But a much happier concept, taarradhin, exists in Arabic. It implies a happy solution for everyone, an "I win, you win." It's a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face.
• meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) - Greek - This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.

CD-R Quality -

A summary report on test and list of brand names to get and avoid.

Exposed Upper Colorado River Delta Is Rapidly Eroding into Lake Powell -

Due to the continued drought in the west, Lake Powell is incredibly low. This is an article that mentions Hite Marina where we use to visit quite a bit in the 1980s.

Here's the links directly to the pictures which are the most interesting part:

• Upstream to bridge
• Downstream from bridge

Honor the Memory of Martin Luther King - Get Active! -

Stirring words from MLK that are as current as ever!

Truthout.org -

Just came across this on-line journal with what looks to be some blunt but well written documentation of what's really coming down.

Enron Traders Caught On Tape -

Here's one of those rare glimpses we get what's really being said.

American Chestnut May Be Poised for Return -

This is something I've been waiting for for a long time! When I lived in NC, I often heard the old folks talk about their memories of this wonderful tree before it's sudden disappearence from the Appalachian mountains. They would actually cry talking about it's loss - almost as if speaking of the death of a family member. I look forward someday to seeing a mature American Chestnut myself!

Here's a couple more links relevant to American Chestnuts:

• The American Chestnut Foundation
• American Chestnut Cooperators' Foundation

JOHN FAHEY on The Nature of Reality -

Checking in on John Fahey, one of my earliest guitar influences, I discover his writing is everybit as magical, mystical, and downright un-nerving as his playing! This is apperently some of his final statements since he died soon after. I see he published a book shortly before his death. I may have to check it out.

BTW, here's a great, short article about what ever happened to John Fahey.

The Lottery in Babylon -

In this time of lotteries and associated sudden-riches stories, I often find myself thinking of the logical extension of this culture as expressed in this classic short story by Jorge Borges. It is one of my favorite stories of his even though I've long since lost the copy I owned. I was delighted to find it printed in its entirety on the web!

On the subject of Borges, here's Wikipedia's entry on him with links to some more of my favorite stories of his, including The Library of Babel.

gapingvoid: how to be creative (latest version) -

"So you want to be more creative, in art, in business, whatever. Here are some tips that have worked for me over the years." Quite long essay - or series of entries - combining some thought-provoking ideas and drawings.

River Source -

Mission Control Grad Gift -

This is a free training module for graduates of Mission Control. I have 3 months from now (12/19/03) to complete this module. The password is "productivity".

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ToolBox

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Essential bookmarks for web-designers and webdevelopers | CSS, Color Tools, Royalty free photos, Usability etc. -

This is by far the most extensive listing of web design links that I have come across. From the site's intro: "You are visiting a list of essential web-sites, tutorials, references and examples (related to CSS Navigation Menus, CSS- & HTML-Techniques, Layouts, Accessibility, Usability, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) etc.), which make the life of web developers easier."

Cheat Sheet Roundup - Over 30 Cheatsheets for developers -

Great list of links to "cheat sheets" on a wide range of web development topics.

Platypus -

Looks like a very useful tool for creating MacOS^? gui applications for any kind of script.

Creativity techniques and creative tools for problem solving -

Another extentive catalog of group structured processes - and source for WikiFacilitation ideas. The site also contains some fun "Lateral thinking puzzles."

The Entourage Help Page -

"The Entourage Help Page is provided as a resource to help Entourage: Mac users."

Looks like a very useful resource for Entourage. I found this while looking for ways to transfer MS-Outlook mail from PC to Mac (see SwitchingToMac).

Moodle.org -

Just came across this great looking OpenSourceSoftware educational portal package. Includes a bunch of features suitable for managing a course entirely on-line or supplementing face-to-face courses. Even includes many wiki features.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way -

This is a really great guide from Eric S. Raymond about how to effectively ask for help within various kinds of hacker-oriented on-line communities. Having made most of the mistakes he talks about here, I would have greatly valued finding this earlier.

IAF Methods :: Methods and Resources for Facilitators -

This site offers the largest reference library of group process methods and tools I've come across. As part of my effort to expand on the idea of WikiFacilitation, I'd like to review some of these methods to see how many would lend themselves to mapping in a wiki environment.

CmapTools -

This is a really great looking collaborative mind-mapping software package. I would love to get it up and running if it's possible on my hosted domain.

The role of the online instructor/facilitator -

A fairly detailed breakdown of what all an on-line moderator might do or be concerned with. A bit acedemic in style and focus, however lots of good basic points that could be expanded on.

Running a project -

TWiki:Main.MartinCleaver pointed out these free templates for project management. Worth revisiting to see how the could be implemented into TWikiApplication.

TuxMobil: Linux Laptop and Notebook Survey: SONY -

This site list different accounts of folks installing various flavors of Linux on Sony Vaios. I'll need this when I plan on switching over my laptop later this year. Here's an account on installing RedHat on my exact model (Sony VAIO PCG-Z505LE). Looked pretty straight forward.

AnaBuilder -

"AnaBuilder is a freeware program for the creation of  stereoscopic photographs..."

This looks like something really fun to work with, should I ever have the free time. (Ha!)

The Form Assembly - Free Web Form Builder, Form Templates and CSS Stylesheets. -

"The web developer tool to build state-of-the-art web forms" Some great free web design tools for creating forms.

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WebDesign

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TYPO3 -

This is another great looking, OpenSourceSoftware ContentManagementSystem. A number of reviewers even put it above Mambo.

Essential bookmarks for web-designers and webdevelopers | CSS, Color Tools, Royalty free photos, Usability etc. -

This is by far the most extensive listing of web design links that I have come across. From the site's intro: "You are visiting a list of essential web-sites, tutorials, references and examples (related to CSS Navigation Menus, CSS- & HTML-Techniques, Layouts, Accessibility, Usability, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) etc.), which make the life of web developers easier."

Cheat Sheet Roundup - Over 30 Cheatsheets for developers -

Great list of links to "cheat sheets" on a wide range of web development topics.

The Cairns Project -

Stumbled across this project that presents some very highfaluting rhetoric and impressive specs for a proposed software package to support civic discourse. Only, there's no working model or code to be found anywhere. We'll see... but probably worth checking back in on.

Common Craft: The Step Just Before -

Interesting article about limits of SocialSoftware in creating community. A quote:

"Community building is not about tools like message boards and blogs. Community building is about people- about developing trust, relationships and emotional connections. Community is more tool-agnostic than you might think- if the people want to create a community, it will happen."

The CMS Matrix -

Cool site for comparing CMS packages.

CSS Techniques and examples | Essential bookmarks for web-developers -

Excellent list of web bookmarks regarding CSS.

Making A Better Open Source CMS -

This article has some very good suggestions for designing a better ContentManagementSystem. Some of his recommendations could be implemented simply in how a CMS package is configured or in design of the skin.

Web Page Design Inspired by Edward Tufte -

This article relates info-mapping guru Edward Tufte's (see Wikipedia:Edward_Tufte) concepts of design to web pages.

Principles of Graphic Design -

Very nicely designed introduction to the basic principles of graphic design from color theory, to composition and typography. Includes some very useful reference stuff like illustrated list of font types.

The Gurteen Knowledge Website -

Quite an extraordinary web site about KnowledgeManagement around the world. Lots of resources. Includes a nice collection of quotations. The site is also notable for quite a few innovative web design ideas such as "learning-stickers" which are little pop-up slideshows of key points about a topic.

Moodle.org -

Just came across this great looking OpenSourceSoftware educational portal package. Includes a bunch of features suitable for managing a course entirely on-line or supplementing face-to-face courses. Even includes many wiki features.

Standards Compliant method to add Quicktime movies to pages -

A while back I struggled with finding the right way to include a Quicktime movie in a web page. Here's some guidelines that I might refer to next time around.

Create compatible HTML Email -

I'm had to design several html emails and have always had lots of questions about what works and what doesn't. This looks like a good guide.

How To Ask Questions The Smart Way -

This is a really great guide from Eric S. Raymond about how to effectively ask for help within various kinds of hacker-oriented on-line communities. Having made most of the mistakes he talks about here, I would have greatly valued finding this earlier.

Jesse James Garrett: Visual Vocabulary for Information Architecture -

This site is a great resource for using diagrams for InformationArchitecture. From the site: "Diagrams are an essential tool for communicating information architecture and interaction design in Web development teams. This document discusses the considerations in development of such diagrams, outlines a basic symbology for diagramming information architecture and interaction design concepts, and provides guidelines for the use of these elements."

css.maxdesign.com -

Interesting looking site on css design concepts. Looks like they have a good design for css-based drop down menus that I want to check out.

Content -

Very interesting article about the nature of knowledge and what is required for a KnowledgeEnhancementSystem. Also has an interesting interface whereby many words have tool-tip definitions. The problem is that every incidence of some words like "knowledge" show up as links which is kind of distracting. This prompts me to think about an interface that shows certain links, like definitions, or PurpleNumbers, or annotations, that appear only when a certain key is pressed.

Email Newsletter Usability -

This is the executive summary of a research report on e-mail newsletter usability. I've made some notes on some of it's major points below.

powazek.com -

It's the blog for derek m powazek. The style sheet is at http://www.powazek.com/2003/style.css.

OnTheCommons.org -

Great site (content and design) on my favorite topic: the commons. It's without a doubt the most extensive treatment/resource around this concept that I've seen. Thanks to Ellen pointing this site out to me. Here's a quick quote:

The commons is a new way to express a very old idea – that some forms of wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and managed for the good of all. The commons are the things that we inherit and create jointly, and that will (hopefully) last for generations to come. The commons consists of gifts of nature such as air, water, the oceans, wildlife and wilderness, and shared "assets"� like the Internet, the airwaves used for broadcasting, and public lands. The commons also includes our shared social creations: libraries, parks, public spaces as well as scientific research, creative works and public knowledge that have accumulated over centuries.

A Man and His Vision for the Browser -

This interview with Tim Berners-Lee (inventer of the WWW) on the future of the web and browsers points towards just the kind of web-application I see TWiki and other advanced wikis becoming. Some of his final comments points to some of the same issues I'm trying to sort out with EpiData. Here's a quote:

"Unlike Web pages when you have data that can be joined with other data across the Web, it means that the number of views you have of the data are mind bogglingly different. I think that we've got this huge explosion of interest in the user interface which comes with the Symantec Web which comes with the challenge of allowing you to cruise through the time and space dimension of it all."

Virtual Communities - All about online communities -

Good looking resource site related to facilitating on-line communities.

Myths About Online Volunteering / Myths About Virtual Volunteering -

A good summary about what does and doesn't work about using volunteers to help maintain or moderate your collaborative web site. Includes links to more information on the subject.

Furthermore (link) -

Very interesting and thoroughly executed portal-as-newspaper concept. These folks used an off-the-shelf open source product (Mambo) along with good design and created an overall product that's surprisingly good. There's a number of good ideas to mimic here such as the narrow double-middle columns that are quite readable. Read Furthermore Publishing to learn about the tools and techniques they used in producing the site. Click here to read an article that gives some more background about the development of Furthermore.

Net Publishing Made Profitable -

This article describes a strategy for e-publishing that actually makes some sense to me.

Purple: Home Page -

A reference for PurpleNumbers which I want to revisit some more. I like the idea of gradular addressability (is that a word?) but don't like, well, all the purple numbers. What I'd like to do is make them invisable except when cursur hovers, since if one is going to use them, one would know where they are.

37signals: An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design -

This site provides one of the clearest descriptions of pattern language design process that I've seen. The author does an excellent job of avoiding jargon and revealing the underlying logic as common sense. As an example, here's his definition of a pattern: "a pattern is a way of dealing with a system of interacting forces."

Information Mapping - Description of the Method -

Some one posted a note at TWiki:Codev.TWikiWhatWillYouBeWhenYouGrowUpDiscussion referencing this site about Information Mapping. I've read a couple of books about this method and would be very interested to explore how TWiki could support this method.

del.icio.us -

I saw this site referenced as a good example of emerging trend towards participative web sites. It seems to me this basic concept would be easy to duplicate within a TWiki:TWiki.TWikiApplication

Sylish Buttons -

Notes on how to make nicer looking buttons using CSS.

Web Pages That Suck -

Another good web design reference site. Mostly points out things that don't work (as the title suggests). Also has some very good resources listed for Fixing Your Web Site Using Cheap/Free Tools.

Color Tools, Color Theory, Color mixers and Palettes | Essential bookmarks for web-developers -

Excellent list of web book marks about color in web design.

The Form Assembly - Free Web Form Builder, Form Templates and CSS Stylesheets. -

"The web developer tool to build state-of-the-art web forms" Some great free web design tools for creating forms.

Well-Designed Weblogs -

A list of some very nice looking blogs. I like to look at these for inspiration for design details.

Robin Good's Web Site -

Another on-line collaboration guru. Has some good content on this site.

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WikiWorld

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Program-Transformation.Org -

Another really nice looking TWiki-based site. Interesting use of drop down menus for navigating webs and for wiki-functions.

Which Open Source Wiki Works For You? -

This articles compares different wikis and makes suggestions for matching the particular wiki to your needs. TWiki, which Skyloom.Wiki runs on, is mentioned a several times in generally favorable light, particular the richness of its features.

Evolving Collaboration: Is business waking up to wiki? -

This is a streaming video presentation (requiring either Real Audio or Microsoft Media Player plugins) about the rapidly growing popularity of wikis in corporations as an all-purpose collaboration and KnowledgeManagement tool. Once again, they suggest that wikis are the "next big thing." On the same page, you'll find two more videos about wikis in corporations. They do a good job of describing why people are finding wikis so useful and also have some good thoughts about gaining exceptance for this new technology (always a tricky process).

Common Craft: The Step Just Before -

Interesting article about limits of SocialSoftware in creating community. A quote:

"Community building is not about tools like message boards and blogs. Community building is about people- about developing trust, relationships and emotional connections. Community is more tool-agnostic than you might think- if the people want to create a community, it will happen."

The Cynefin Centre -

"The Cynefin Centre is an international network that focuses on the application of complexity science to management and organisational practice." This site centers around the ideas of David Snowden which have been referred to as "organic KnowledgeManagement." For a short introduction to these ideas you might check out this blog, Web Logs, the Place to go When You Have a Need to Know which also touches upon how all this relates to blogs (and wikis). Thanks to TWiki:Main.MartinCleaver for pointing out this site to me.

TiddlyWiki -

Billed as "a reusable non-linear personal web notebook," this wiki is definitely different. I just don't know exactly what it accomplishes. That said, it does have some intriguing aspects. It's built around on "micro-content" of small elements of texts. Maybe I just like the way it looks. I wonder how they create the expanding text-block effect?

Slashdot | The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir -

This is a really facinating recounting of the earliest days of WikiPedia^? by one of the founders. His telling reveals a lot about managing an open, collaborative project and the kinds of issues at play. Here's a quote inwhich he sizes up the significance of WikiPedia and expresses it's key virtue, in my mind, of "good enough" knowledge:

How To Generate Wiki Traffic -

This was a summary of a discussing on the Wiki listserve.

AdventuresInWikiland -

A very nice short intro to wikis. I think I'll add it to "more info" in WikiWebSite. It also has a very nice list of example wikis.

Wiki Fun -

Here's a nice set of links about wiki ideas, implementation and related. The site also has some interesting WikiArtifacts^? which I will comment on there.

IAF Methods :: Methods and Resources for Facilitators -

This site offers the largest reference library of group process methods and tools I've come across. As part of my effort to expand on the idea of WikiFacilitation, I'd like to review some of these methods to see how many would lend themselves to mapping in a wiki environment.

Why encyclopaedic row speaks volumes about the old guard -

One sure sign of the growing success of Wikipedia is that traditional encyclopedias have been increasingly criticizing it. (See WikipediaCritique.) While these criticisms make some very good points and, to be sure, wikipedia, is a open experiment. None-the-less, it's nice to see some mainstream media speaking well of this up-start model of knowledge. Despite it's limitations, I'm willing to put money on Wikipedia's long-term prospects.

MovableTypeArticle < Movabletype < TWiki -

This fellow is doing some very interesting work on integrating TWiki with a blogging program (Moveable Type). I have to follow how it progresses and explore what benefits it offers.

Wiki epiphany -

This is a rather interesting blog about the author's changing view of wikis. It's interesting not only because what he (and other commentors) have to say about wikis but also because of the broader discussion about the shadow side of community in general. I don't agree with some of his views but find them intriguing none the less.

Exploring with Wiki: A Conversation with Ward Cunningham -

I just came across this recent interview with the inventor of wikis. He has some interesting reflections on why wikis work for some folks and not others.

It's Like a Blog, But It's a Wiki -

The man behind the biggest wiki-sensation of them all, the fastest growing body of knowledge on one "roof" the world has ever know, http://wikipedia.org. One step closer to the ultimate answer to "Life, the Universe, and Everything."

Content -

Very interesting article about the nature of knowledge and what is required for a KnowledgeEnhancementSystem. Also has an interesting interface whereby many words have tool-tip definitions. The problem is that every incidence of some words like "knowledge" show up as links which is kind of distracting. This prompts me to think about an interface that shows certain links, like definitions, or PurpleNumbers, or annotations, that appear only when a certain key is pressed.

Life With Alacrity -

"A blog on social software, collaboration, trust, security, privacy, and internet tools, by Christopher Allen."

Very interesting blog on topics I've very interested in. He's also working with PatternLanguage, as shown in this post.

WebLog < Modern < Musical Mind Wiki -

Andrew Zinck, the TWiki-master for this site, sent me a note to point to what he's done with the TWiki:Plugins.TopicClassificationAddOn I designed. Very nice! Not surprising, because I originally "stole" some of my design ideas from his site. This is a good demonstration of why having a weblog within TWiki is so nice: it's so easy to modify it to suit your particular needs. Just try to do something like that with Moveable Type! He also used the add-on to create this annotated bibliography application I'll have to go back an study what he's done in more detail for inspiration for my next iteration of the add-on.

PostCairoDevelopmentModel -

These are some working notes on refactoring this topic on TWiki.org in line with WikiFacilitation. View full text of WebLog entry to see notes.

TWikiRoadMap -

These are my working notes for refactoring this topic along lines described in TWiki:Codev.WikiFacilitation. For the complete notes, view the full WebLog entry.

The role of the online instructor/facilitator -

A fairly detailed breakdown of what all an on-line moderator might do or be concerned with. A bit acedemic in style and focus, however lots of good basic points that could be expanded on.

thePetersons -

Another great TWiki site that I'd like to study some more. Great use of HeadlinesPlugin.

PmWiki -

Just another test entry.

Purple: Home Page -

A reference for PurpleNumbers which I want to revisit some more. I like the idea of gradular addressability (is that a word?) but don't like, well, all the purple numbers. What I'd like to do is make them invisable except when cursur hovers, since if one is going to use them, one would know where they are.

The best collaboration tool: paper: Corante > Get Real > -

This blog post makes a point that I believe is part of the core design perspective of wiki: that the best collaboration tool is often the simplest possible. Quote: "If you only need a piece of paper, then just go ahead and use that piece of paper rather than buying a complex and cumbersome tool." He goes on to mention TWiki as one of the "cooler" web collaborative tools.

smartmeetingdesign.com -

Interesting site about meeting process and new technologies. Certainly flows in some of the same currents as my explorations. Want to come back and explore this more and definitely to add comment to Communities & Networks discussion regarding Robert Bly's thoughts on that subject

Winston-Salem Journal | What's a Wiki? Newest Internet fad sparks creativity -

This article (originally in the Wall Street Journal) describes the unique place wikis are finding in academia. Here's a few quotes:

Enhancing Internal Communications - How Biz uses Wikis at Google -

I picked out this slide from a presentation about how google and other businesses use blogs and wikis because the interface looks familiar. Good to see Google has good taste in their internal tools. BTW, the rest of the presentation is worth looking through.

InfoWorld: TWiki: Open source with a corporate following -

Short article featuring TWiki, the Wiki this site is based on. Includes this interesting, if back-handed compliment: "Although not a turnkey solution, TWiki is more user-friendly than some commercial groupware software." You don't often hear TWiki called user friendly.

WebGUI - Product of Plainblack -

Very interesting CMS

InternetWeek | Wikis In The Business World -

Subtitle: Goodbye, complicated content management system. Hello, wiki. By Ezra Goodnoe.

Another good overview of wikis and why more and more organizations are turning to them as an all-purpose collaboration tool. This article provides a good introduction to what wikis are, what wiki-engines are available (including TWiki), and how to make the best use of them in your organization.

Favorite quote: "A traditional project management tool simply cannot reproduce the environment of collaboration and involvement that wikis create."

'Wikis' Offer Knowledge-Sharing Online -

This is another recent news article about wikis. This was in AP news and Yahoo news. It talks about both the strengths and challenges of introducing wiki as KnowledgeManagement tool.

One interesting tidbit is that it proposes a way to think of wikis is as a room:

"At its core, a Wiki is an empty room, devoid of furniture and decoration, said Sunir Shah, founder of an online community called Meatball. Visitors bring the personality and mission, turning the Wiki into a library, a party or a conference room."

WikalongExtension -

A while back I proposed the idea of using TWiki as a web-commentary tool (see TWiki:Codev.TWikiAsWebCommentaryTool). These folks have basically implemented that idea. I continue to work on my own version based on FrameBasedSkin^?.

Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace -

This is the first example I know of collaborative book-authoring on a wiki. Actually, it's more of an update, but a logical candidate for wiki-fying, given the author and topic. From the site:

"Lawrence Lessig first published Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace in 1999. After five years in print and five years of changes in law, technology, and the context in which they reside, Code needs an update. But rather than do this alone, Professor Lessig is using this wiki to open the editing process to all, to draw upon the creativity and knowledge of the community. This is an online, collaborative book update"

Using a Wiki for Documentation and Collaborative Authoring -

This is a very good case study on adoption of a wiki that conveys both the hurtles that had to be overcome and user benefits and excitement that eventually developed. The account and summary points of lessons learned provide a good roadmap for someone thinking of introducing wikis into their organization.

Wikitravel -

Why Wiki? -

Interesting article both for content and design. Content-wise, it addresses the question of where wiki's fit in the sphere of social software. Here's a quote:

"I think there are three primary audiences for wikis: the individual who hopes to use the wiki as an outboard brain or memory; the nascent group that hopes to discover and solidify the community that lies as potential in their loose connections; and the existing community that hopes to support a shared goal or perform some action."

WikiRadio -

Rather humorous but also informative take on wikis presented as an "all wiki, all the time" radio show. It's a Flash media file so be sure you have appropriate plugins.

The Faith-Based Encyclopedia -

This is an very interesting and very critical look at Wikipedia by Robert McHenry, a former editor in chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Essentially, me makes a pointed case as to why he has doubts about the quality of information the "open-source" process of wikipedia will produce. A useful reality check on all the buzz it's getting.

Megabits -

This article from a small town in Massachusetts further chronicals the growing recognition of wikis' potential. In addtion to providing a great short list of impressive wiki examples, it raising the possibility of using wikis for recording local oral history and KnowledgeCommons.

Motley Fool: Wiki Project One for the Books -

The market sleuths at Motley Fool get a glimmer that wikis (specifically, the open-culture values they both embody and empower) may be the ultimate disruptive technology. Great quote: "But the consequences of Wikimedia's constant stream of disruptive innovations could make it one of the greatest destroyers of market value the public markets have ever seen."

JotSpot Opens Wiki APIs to Developers > September 9, 2005 -

JotSpot is the most visible wiki-based web service that has positioned itself as a easy-to-use application platform. Now they are trying to tap some of the creative energy of an open source project. TWiki is way ahead in that department and, not surprisingly, already provides a much more powerful foundation for custom web applications. Still, JotSpot is providing market proof of the idea that putting simple application tools in the hands of regular users is a great idea. Here's a good quote from a JotSpot user: "The advantage wikis offer over traditional software development platforms is that the resulting applications require far less expertise to maintain and modify."

InfoWorld: Enterprise collaboration with blogs and wikis -

This piece is one more sign that folks are beginning to acknowledge why wikis deserve, if anything, more attention than blogs for being a far more flexible and collaboration-empowering tool. This quote is a good example:

Williams uses TWiki software to manage his company's internal security database. He says standard database software didn't enable security staff and help desk workers to quickly create a complete picture of each threat as their understanding of a new scam or virus developed. "Our support workers can easily add information to the wiki while they are working with the customer, which allows us to connect the dots and make a complete picture of a new threat very quickly -- something that wasn't really possible with a database solution," Williams says.

Something Wiki This Way Comes -

Wikis' Winning Ways
Here's two articles in Business Week Online about wiki's making their way into corporate America. Both cite TWiki:Main.WebHome as a leading wiki.

Blogs vs. wikis: Which is best for internal government use? -

Discusses use of blogs and wiki's in government agencies and ask the question which has the most promising future. The conclusion: "The technology that I believe has greater potential in the government enterprise is the wiki."

TIME.com: It's a Wiki, Wiki World -- Jun. 06, 2005 -

Time magazine has discovered wikis but the repeat a recurring theme about wikis, they suggest wikis are under the radar of many. "A lot of corporations are using wikis without top management even knowing it," says John Seely Brown, the legendary former chief scientist at Xerox PARC. "It's a bottom-up phenomenon. The CIO may not get it, but the people actually doing the work see the need for them." I wonder how big a "bottom-up" movement has to be before it's acknowledged as a real trend.

EditMe -

I don't really have any thing a against them. Just making another WebLog entry.

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