[Web4lib] Contribute opinions?

[Kyle Felker]

I'm at a small liberal arts college, and our library recently decided to
start using contribute to edit the site.  Previously, we were using
dreamweaver/frontpage, both of which were too complex for staff to
master for routine tasks, and hand updating, which can wreak havok on
your code.
 
We are still learning about the software and what it can do, but
overall, I'm very pleased with it.  I consider the major plusses to be:
fine-grained control over what, exactly, editors can do on the site
through roles and folder editing restrictions, access keys which allow
users to set up their connection to the website quickly and easily,
web-browser-like navigation that allows editors to find pages quickly
using the sites native navigation, code that seems fully compliant with
most web standards, and an easy-to-use, word-processor like interface. 
The training we've had to do has been minimal (at least, compared to the
traning we'd have to do for frontpage or dreamweaver), and it's fully
compatible with dreamweaver, so some of us can continue to use that tool
for advanced tasks while the rest of us use contribute for day-to-day
maintenance of the site.
 
Our campus has recently acquired a CMS system that seems pretty snazzy
(am I the only one that actually likes their campus CMS system?), but we
are heavily invested in contribute and are not eager to do the work to
transfer the site into the CMS anytime soon.  If you have specific
questions, feel free to ask, and I'll temporize madly.  :)
 
 
 
 
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Kyle Felker
Technology Coordinator
Washington and Lee University Library
Phone: 540-458-8653
Email: felkerk at wlu.edu
Chat: geeklibrary (aol) techbookgeek (yahoo)
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