From oil dependence to local resilience

How well does the ning site fit our goals?

To be honest, I was pretty surprised to find that the site everyone was getting excited over is a social networking system.

I thought we were after a wiki + calendar ??

Tags: hmmm, jhgjhj

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Thomas Everth on May 7, 2008 at 22:50

I find the "ning thing" great. It seems to have the advantage of ease of use, calendar, forum, image uploads for everybody and a lot more.
The wiki is great as a complimentary item. Also, as I see it at the moment, the TT process is a lot about people getting to know each other and this ningy seems like just the tool.
So I am all for it.
Thomas

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rimu on May 19, 2008 at 21:17

It looks like this system only allows for 1 forum.

I can see that becoming a problem, once a significant amount of people use Ning

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rimu on May 19, 2008 at 21:20

Is it possible to turn off the requirement that an event must have an image attached to it?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rimu on May 19, 2008 at 21:28

Does anyone else feel that entrusting our social network needs to a foreign company (Ning) runs contrary to the TT principal of localisation and independence?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Christoph Hensch on May 19, 2008 at 22:09

There seems to be only one forum. However, there is the possibility to open an endless number of sub-groups that each also allow a forum. Relevant discussions then could be held in the relevant groups.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Christoph Hensch on May 19, 2008 at 22:17

I think you are absolutely right about the fact that ning is run by a foreign company. In this respect we do not seem to conform to the principles of the TT movement.

However, there is also a question of practicality. Not everyone is a computer geek and not every group has the resources to set up their own websites and also maintain them. Sometimes a solution out of the box is the best workable way to achieve a particular goal. And while localisation and in(inter?)dependence are goals to aim for, we are still far from a perfect world. In the meantime, why not make use of the tools available, until a better ones come along?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Deirdre Kent on May 20, 2008 at 12:41

I agree. I am the last person to label myself a computer geek yet I seem to be reasonably teachable on using ning. I can't even use the wiki properly other than looking around, despite the fact I went through Rimu's great video on it. I don't want to look through it again. Rather go out in the sun or soak some mung beans.

Rimu life isn't perfect! I have just planted four brussel sprouts that weren't from an organic source (too far to drive) and I didn't have enough bokashi to put under all of them. I planted a globe artichoke without searching the web to find out how to grow it, I need to clean some windows. But life will go on. It's a problem for all idealists living with the imperfect and living with compromises...You are obviously disappointed and you are welcome to be an administrator on this site. More and more people are inviting others and all we need is to get more to post photos. You could be a wonderful helper.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rimu on May 20, 2008 at 22:08

ok

i'll stop jumping up and down now, and let things unfold how they will.

when TT outgrows Ning, http://rimu.geek.nz/tt/ will be there.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Les Squires on May 21, 2008 at 1:31

No. But a person could put up a transparent image or a default image, e.g., but that mitigates the variety and beauty of the graphics.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Les Squires on May 21, 2008 at 1:32

One forum. Many discussions. Each group has as many discussions (forums?) as it wants encapsulated to each group.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Tim Jones on May 23, 2008 at 18:37

My only concern is that Transition Towns Aotearoa/NZ now has this Ning site, the wiki, the Google group, and (at least in Wellington) also a Yahoo group. I don't want to post information to four places - I want to post it to one place, to which everyone involved has access.

If TT continues to have so many different online presences, then there's a risk that people will look in the wrong place for the information they need, and that the focus of attention will shift from one TT site to another.

I'm not too bothered which type of site we standardise on - I like this Ning site, apart from the requirement to upload pictures with events - but I think the fragmentation of the TT online presence needs to be addressed.

Regards
Tim Jones

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rimu on May 24, 2008 at 18:05

Yes

Use of Ning, google groups and so on already has some momentum; people are using them! So the quick fix for now is to make a integrated front-page at www.transitiontowns.org.nz which will draw data from all those sources and present a unified starting point. From there, people can jump off into wherever.

That should do for now...

R