Submitted by Mike McGregor on April 7, 2009 - 4:46pm.
Apr 9 2009 - 9:30pm
Apr 9 2009 - 11:00pm
Location:
East Villlage Artists Co-op, 757 Dundas St.
The Commons seems to be at a bit of a crossroads. Between the costs of maintaining the site, low user activity and competing commitments on the time and attentions of key members, we need to take a good hard look the site and its viability. With that in mind, we'll be examining options to keep it up and running for the time being.
We're hoping for at least 5 people to show up for quorum. The meeting is open to everyone. I'd ask that at a minimum, all current moderators attend (unless you happen to be in, say, Europe).
Please see the following threads for context:
Mike McGregor.
(3 votes)
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Focus
I'd really like to see the scope of this meeting kept to explaining the current situation, discussing the immediate future of the site and options to keep it up and running for the time being.
That's specifically as opposed to discussions about things like long term goals, policies, or a socialist perspective on how the Commons has failed the left... I really think those issues would be better left for another time when we have a better picture of the site's viability and the level of commitment from individuals.
As I mentioned in another thread, I'm considering offering to take over responsibilities for the site. So there's one option that may be on the table. Right now, the main factor in my decision would be the hosting costs.
Another idea I had to hopefully reduce the size of the site and maybe save some money on hosting, would be to selectively archive some (many?) older threads into some text-only, read-only format. I don't really know how viable that would be.
-30-
Mike.
"Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Michael C. McGregor overcame these handicaps to pull the ol' bait-n-switch."
-=There is no Cabal, Long live the Cabal=-
My Photos
reducing for efficiency
Reducing the size of the site by archiving older content won't really make much of an impact.
It's the functionality of the site that we need to look at. The more that the site is capable of doing, the more CPU resources it uses. It's a lot like how running an intensive task (flash games, converting movies etc.) on your own computer will slow it down.
I was going to suggest a "Back to basics" approach, where we look at the core functionality that we want to keep and cut the rest. We can do this by looking at which parts of the site are getting used. The other reason for a "back to basics" strategy is that it would reduce the options available to users, making the site easier to navigate and use.
The priorities I see are:
Some features that could be cut include:
We'll need to sort out the priorities at the meeting. It's probably also best to post the minutes, let others review them, then decide at the next meeting to actually make the cuts. Just in case someone is particularly attached to the spacebucks, for example.
Also, I am interested in starting to make long term plans again. I agree with Mike that there are some more immediate concerns for this meeting, but hopefully we can at least make plans to make more plans. Or something.
noooooooo
not our precious spacebucks!!!
those are not expendable!
;)
-r.
yesssssssss
i can't stand spacebucks. ugh. as if money in reality was any fun.
sorry rach. :)
lm
sign ups
It would be great if folks could RSVP by using the sign-up feature on the original event post to indicate that they intend to come...
-30-
Mike.
"Born helpless, nude and unable to provide for himself, Michael C. McGregor overcame these handicaps to angle for Steward, Cromwell style"
-=There is no Cabal, Long live the Cabal=-
My Photos
meeting minutes from the commons meeting.
in case you don't see the minutes from the meeting last night there is a link in the bottom right-hand corner of this posted event. :)
lm