wwp@yahoogroups.com:
more discussion on Facebook
Don Bain 2013-Feb-12 18:37:00
For those of you not following on Facebook, here is something I just posted to the group Panoramic Photographer on Facebook.
Thomas Sharpless replied to a post on my wall. I am copying it here to reach a wider and more focused audience.
"Hi Don. All I want is a faster and more reliable way to upload image files. Through my ISP (Comcast cable) ftp works noticeably better than http for big files. Would be nice to be able to download the published files too. I have nothing against filling in the WWP forms (except that the lat/lon linking should be done by clicking on a map, like on 360Cities et. al; I'm finding it increasingly hard to re-learn how to extract and copy those data from the mapping services every time)."
-----
Thomas,
Good points all.
Maybe ftp could be incorporated into the prep server - or maybe it is already in use, I really don't know. FTP is an ancient protocol, simple and efficient, but limited. We used it for the first three WWP's, but Landis and I then had to sort out the uploads and match them up with the textual components to make the pages.
Markus Altendorff saved us from this when he devised the prep server, which puts all the info and the images together automatically. It also supports checking and editing, by both participants and administrators, and generates the comprehensive navigation and listings. There is a whole other interface that only administrators see.
Without the prep server the WWP would have ground to a halt long ago. We should all be grateful to Markus for his brilliant work.
Markus also managed the migration from the original WWP server at the University of California (worldwidepanorama.berkeley.edu) to our own url, and he and Pat Swovelin converted the existing archive from QTVR to Flash, a huge task. He also added new features periodically, such as the "E-mail someone a link to this page", short urls for each page, the choices for creative commons licensing, and the conversion to a dark background. Plus, all the graphics on the site except the masthead logo (which Kat Bennett made) are his work - a new banner for each event and custom Previous/Next buttons.
It is clear to me that any additions or modifications to the WWP website and support structure, including interface, need to be based on the current prep server. But Markus has a new job that allows him less free time and spare energy, so we have been reluctant to ask him to undertake major new tasks. We got as far as a prototype putting the existing site inside a WordPress site, effectively splitting the various functions (archive, participation, projects) at the top level - that was in 2009.
The rise of social media and the emergence of tablets are really pretty recent - basically, since the active period of WWP development. The WWP needs to catch up on this. There will be new issues to discuss and decide, and existing policies to take into consideration.