News Update

[Frank Warmerdam]

Folks,

OK, I've done some work on the news functions.  Changes include:

  o Deprecating the content/news/news_events.html page.  Having this, and
    the main page, and the events_archive and news_archive pages was just
    too many places to update.  So my new plan is that there is an
    events_achive and news_archive page with a long history of events/news.
    New items are added to the appropriate one of those *and* (if major) to
    the main page.

  o I fixed a the main page link to the developer spotlights.  I also
    improved the formatting of the developer spotlights page a bit.

  o I removed some old items from the main page news item list.

  o I fixed up the events page a bit (I think I might already have emailed
    about that).  I'm working with mpg to get other events we are planning to
    attend on the events page, and to include a pointer to a viscom wiki
    page for the event so folks will know how to participate in the OSGeo
    work if desired.

  o I've changed the main page "... more news"  link to point to the
    separate news and events pages.

  o I've updated the "News Queue" wiki page (linked off the webcom wiki page)
    with details of how news items are handled, what files in CVS to update,
    etc.  Hopefully if Jo and I were struck dead by a "skipping" meteor today,
    someone else from webcom could step into the news editor role based on the
    wiki page with a minimum of problem.

    http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/News_Queue

Still to do:

1) I would like to create a news_item at webcommittee.osgeo.org mailing list,
    but I don't have the appropriate status.  Could someone with appropriate
    access on the webcommittee web project create it (or perhaps grant me
    co-owner privs).

2) I don't know where the links on the left sidebar of the main osgeo web
    page come from.  I would like to update the "News and Events" item under
    OSGeo Community to point to the separate News and Events pages instead of
    the now deprecated news_events.html page.

While the news process is rather manual with regard to constructing HTML
for news items, pruning them, copying them, etc, at least I think it is
becoming reasonably understandable and if we followup it should be functional.

Tonight I will post a news item about the Incubation Process being approved.
I'm expecting Friday we will be in a position to announce that Mapbender is
now a full fledged OSGeo project.

Best regards,
-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGF, http://osgeo.org