Steve Collins wrote:Who gets to have control over the format, maintaining & updating of the site? Perhaps the answer lies in the open-source community.
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How best to collaborate? How is input that goes beyond mere posting to be reviewed and added to the site?
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The first step is for everyone to agree to collaborate (or not).
Five, six of us currently have access to the site in FTP mode and could do updates, post pictures & videos and potentially even damage the site. It has worked so far, all sharing the same login. The work has mostly been restricted to uploading images and videos, but there is a variety of other tasks to be done. Adam was responsible for getting the images and titles of racers up and assumed his role as supreme moderator. I did basically everything else.
I think we could pretty easily get a collaboration model up and working. I assume there are enough skaters interested in keeping this site going and ready to give a helping hand, so although this is the most interesting aspect of what lies in front of us, I still think the ownership has to be settled first, before we can get on with the rest.
To me it can't be a true community site if the owner considers himself "owner" and could envisage "selling" the site. I think we need a clear statement that this site is community owned and not someones individual property even if someone has to be the registered owner on paper. Johns proposal on shared ownership is one of right type. I've been promoting the idea of share holding, mostly off-line, but have yet to come up with the complete scheme to make it work.
Maybe it's just as easy as:
* I'll buy the site by advancing the necessary money.
* I'll sign over ownership to the ISSA (which after all is reason why the site was created - as a tribute to the ISSA and Slalom! magazine).
* I resign from my old, but current, post of president of the ISSA.
* A new "ISSA" is created with new guidelines, new goals, a new board of directors etc. It's primary goal being something like "Promoting international collaboration to develop slalom skateboarding". (The best method I can think of today is by running this site and making sure topics are brought up to discussion. John mentioned other activities that could be considered as we move on.)
* ISSA elects someone to be the owner of the site in the registry files. For example John. Having invested almost no money (only a participation of $2 or $20 or so) would not be able to defend a total ownership. He'd simply accept to hold onto it for administrational reasons.
* The ISSA then obtains monthly sponsorship (as before), sells "shares" and possibly through other methods generates cash to:
a) pay the monthly site maintenance
b) refund me for the expenses
The montly sponsors and other share holders would be forever recognized in an appropriate listing.
Sure some people like to express their mixed feelings about something called the ISSA that they heard about, but never knew. But that's history. If you're a regular visitor to this site with its Slalom! logo, you can probably live with the revival, in a different format, of this historical association.
To clarify, I do not want a too important role in this new organization. I will do whatever is choosen to be my part, but I cannot allocate the time needed to do much more than a smaller part. A shared committment is needed to make this happen.
... just something to keep the debate going.
/Jani