[Imc-uk-network] Imc London wish list for UK aggregator

[Mara]

Hello everyone,

here is an update on the discussions happening in London around the
syndicated front-page. The discussion is ongoing, so this is not a final
worked out features list, but a snapshot of where we are currently at.

First of all, we would like the development for the aggregated
front-page to be an ongoing process, with features being developed and
implemented as we go along. We hope that this will be an open and
non-bureaucratic process, allowing everyone in the network to contribute
to and take part in making decision, but also allowing developers to
come up with new features on the run, without having to ask for
permission or being stalled by too much process. (Much the way the
hyperactive development has been an inspiring, pleasurable and inclusive
process)


So, this is what we have discussed so far:

Direct links or pulling of content
==================================

If content is pulled, it has to update when articles are edited, and
include media like photos, audio and video. Also we don't want search
engines to ignore local sites in favour of indymedia.org.uk.

Regional mir content should be linked to the regional sites, not the uk
site, in order to strengthen local collectives.

If any of the above is not possible,we want the article links from the
newswire to go directly to the local sites


Moderation
==========

Moderation is up to the local collectives. We do not think it is
necessary to introduce another layer of editorial control.

We are in favour of only syndicating promoted content, where possible.

In case of duplicate postings it should stay up on the IMC whose region
it is most relevant to.


Calendar
========

We want a syndicated calendar that pulls events from all local
calendars. Ideally there should be weekly, monthly, by topics and
regional views for the calendar. Upcoming events from the calendar
should be displayed on the frontpage


Frontpage
=========

Features should be aggregated from all Uk Indymedia sites. We second the
suggestion from the Northern England collective, to have a "stick at
top" function for major mobilisations. These features would be proposed
with start and end date on the UK-Features list.

Other content we would like to see on the frontpage:
* Upcoming (featured?) events from calendar
* Featured photos display. This could be a collection of thumbnails or a
slideshow or similar.
* Audio player for latest featured audio
* Video player for latest featured videos
* Other Media / Other Press wire

It would be interesting to discuss how we can include other new
functions like zines or the groups on hyperactive


Other media/other press wire
==============================

We need some form of other media / other press wire. However this is not
as straight forward as it may seem. There are three different uses we
need to consider:
* aggregating feeds from other cool media projects (SCHnews...)
* allowing people to post links to mainstrem coverage that is relevant
to the movement (BBC, Guardian...)
* movement generated media on corporate platforms (youtube, flickr,
demotix, twitter...)

There could be the option to view the site in "pure indy" or all uk news
syndication mode.

There should be a warning somewhere that while imc does not log ip
addresses, our privacy policy ends when people follow links to other
websites

We should not embed content from websites that do not clearly state they
do not log IP addresses, or give people a very clear choice whether they
want to see it or not (the way Bristol allows to embedd youtube videos,
but puts a warning on top).

It would be interesting to discuss whether to create an RSS feed publish
form, to include their groups websitem blog or similar. (Similar to the
form at: http://icop15.org/feeds)


Publishing
==========

There should not be any direct publishing of content to the aggregated
site, this includes comments.

The publish button on the front-page should lead to a pre-publish page
redirecting people to the local sites' publish forms. This pre-publish
page should first link to local sites, and give information about how to
get involved and set up a new IMC. For content that does not have a
local collective or world content, it should also link to the UK publish
page.


Topcs/categories/tagging
========================

We should use tags instead of static categories or topics. Categories
could be imported as tags, thus giving prominence to major issues.
Topics, categories etc will be different for different sites, and
transforing them to tags seems an easy and effective way to combine
different navigation aids from different sites.

Can we have location tags as well as topic tags? All the local and
regional content could automatically be tagged in its region, and allow
us to have regional syndicated sites that include posts from other sites
than Indymedia.


That's it for now, would be great to hear from more collectives about
their wishes for the aggregated site.