Theme 3. Technical Aspects
Since 2008 AIMS uses Drupal (current version 6.22). The standard release of Drupal contains basic features common to content management systems including user account registration and maintenance, menu management, RSS feeds, page layout customization, and system administration. The Drupal core installation can be also used as a forum, or a community website providing user-generated content. The AIMS installation uses all these features.
This theme aims to collect the experiences and opinions of AIMS editors and users using the current Drupal platform and community section. Any feedback on this topic, like possible constraints with the current workflow, disposition of information, access to pages, the editing tool, the content types, the distribution of blocks, etc.., would help to improve the AIMS website.
Your turn...
Answers
On AIMS website
keep it simple and keep it updated
Respect to core updates
It is important to mantain upgraded your Drupal core for avoiding security issues and maintain support for modules.
Drupal 7 was released 12 months ago and have an excellent API I am sure can be very useful to improve and simplify your architecture of information.
Furthermore, Drupal 7 is more usability friendly, the admin UI is cleaner, which is nice. Don't forget that all new development are focused on D7.
Respect to theme
- You should implement a responsive design that should respond to the user’s behavior and environment based on screen size (mobile devices for example).
- Increase font size a little bit
- Put a sitemap
Respect to funcionalities
- In my view, you could automatize some processes, for example, you could post messages to forum by email and publishing automatically without log in.
- Replace your social networks widget with another that allows statistical measure
- Allow layout customization for users.
On AIMS website
AIMS is different!!! I have seen other Drupal sites and their built-in features. But could not found anyother like our AIMS website!!! Its wonderful!!! It has everything - the content and information which is nicely organized. And it has only registration to login and to participate in various forums and in communities (though you need to request for some groups). I am not an technical expert but I see that AIMS is well organized website and it is a model for others who are working on similar lines. Thanks to TEAM AIMS FAO.
Thanks & Regards
Sridhar
KIS
As an example: there are Google anaytics for this forum, do we really need those?
More specific remarks:
- as I have already said: news is now on the part of the screen that attracks most attention. Better reserve that for what you think is most important. News is an aside (although useful)
- Further to the issue of simplicity and too many choices: I just checked if I could contribute to the flow of the conversion in the CIARD CMTF and for my potential contribution I could choose between Blog entry, Forum topic,Book page, Event, News item and Wiki content. So would it be a blog entry, a forum topic, or wiki content? I just wanted to say something (well, I have not made up my mind yet what to say so it is not too late :=))
- A minor issue: it took me some time to get accustomed to the way this forum displays threads, it is just a bit indented.
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