[Web Comm] URL naming for migrated content

[Dave Patton]

Jo Walsh wrote:
> dear all, KK et al particularly,
> 
> I noted in irc discussions about work on the new www.osgeo site that
> the URLs are being preserved as they are on the current site - e.g. 
> https://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/about.html
> 
> I never saw the point of having 'content/' in the URL - isn't it all
> content? - and the URLs would be human-friendlier without. I would
> like to suggest they change to lose the content/ though of course
> existing links still need to resolve...
> 
> If i recall rightly one page node can have multiple paths in Drupal?
> Or we could rewrite URLs in Apache's config. While there is the
> opportunity to rethink some of the naming scheme during the migration
> it would be good to take it.

I agree that, as much as practical, existing links should
still resolve even with a new scheme(cool URIs don't change!),
but the starting point really should be "what do we want
going forward", then figure out how to deal with existing links.

For example, using this page:
https://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/about.html
I would suggest that, going forward, it would be ideal
for all the following to resolve to the same page:
osgeo.org/foundation
www.osgeo.org/foundation
osgeo.org/foundation/
www.osgeo.org/foundation/
http://osgeo.org/foundation/
http://www.osgeo.org/foundation/
(and https://.... if needed)
http://www.osgeo.org/foundation/index.html

Whether or not the scheme(http) is specified most
browsers assume HTTP and supply it. I think the "www"
is just a matter of how the domain is registered
(except perhaps for issue with the security certificate)?
The trailing slash(or not) can be handled by Apache.

If "about.html" is currently used in a variety of places,
then in addition to index.html it should be specified
as an index document, so that this type of URI, which
fails on the current site, will work:
https://www.osgeo.org/content/foundation/

-- 
Dave Patton

Canadian Coordinator, Degree Confluence Project
http://www.confluence.org/

Personal website - Maps, GPS, etc.
http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/