File sharing with a group of a few thousand?

[slackerinabox]

I'm kinda stumped by this one and would appreciate any suggestions.

The org I work for is basically a trade group and represents around 8,000 members. We have thousands of documents (ppt, pdf, some videos that can be hosted on youtube) that we'd like to use to create a member library for. We'd also like members to be able to post their own resources and share (and perhaps comment on other resources), moderation not being a big deal.

I can't figure out an easy to use resource - contentDM seems like a great online library but I don't think users can upload, and I doubt there's a commenting/social component. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

P.S. GoogleDocs might be too confusing for our user base and, since this is a premium resource google services may not be skinnable enough for our needs

 

[lxskllr]

ftp server, and some forum software?

 

[ichy]

Direct Connect?

 

[LookBehindYou]

Sharepoint?

 

[slackerinabox]

ftp server, and some forum software?

I thought about that but I'd prefer a hosted solution and something all in one and web based. You know, if something goes wrong we can blame someone else

 

[ShawnD1]

Sharepoint?

This or FTP.

P2P networks like Direct Connect or running your own torrent server are theoretically more efficient, but that's only if the people using it are not retarded. At least 90% of people in any office are retarded, so centralized is the way to go. Even with an FTP server, people will ask how to log in. I don't know, have you tried typing the password in that box that pops up asking for a password, you god damn retard?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

How easy to use? I mean, I could (have, actually) created a "content library" with a $10/month web host and a Wordpress template. Set it up over a weekend, and in retrospect, it would have taken a lot less time if I'd known what I was doing.

 

[HydroSqueegee]

Sharepoint?

id say sharepoint too.

 

[vi edit]

Hard to beat good old FTP for something like this.

 

[Capt Caveman]

You really need more defined business requirements. Your solution could be something that has already been mentioned to an enterprise level content management solution.

 

[kranky]

I really can't see this working without someone acting as a gatekeeper. If 8,000 people can upload anything they want, how in the world is it going to stay organized, especially when you are going to start out with thousands of files?

It's just not feasible to think everyone will tag properly, describe properly, not upload duplicate files, and/or store in the right area. If the repository becomes disheveled, it will be abandoned and you probably won't get a second chance to do it right.

If you do it right, it will be an incredibly valuable resource for the members. If not, it will be a joke.

 

[slackerinabox]

I really can't see this working without someone acting as a gatekeeper. If 8,000 people can upload anything they want, how in the world is it going to stay organized, especially when you are going to start out with thousands of files?

It's just not feasible to think everyone will tag properly, describe properly, not upload duplicate files, and/or store in the right area. If the repository becomes disheveled, it will be abandoned and you probably won't get a second chance to do it right.

If you do it right, it will be an incredibly valuable resource for the members. If not, it will be a joke.

Well, the 8,000 people are divided into dozens of groups (and access restricted by group). I'd be the gatekeeper - when I said "moderation isn't necessary" I just meant that this b2b audience won't be posting p0rn, but periodic intervention on my part will definitely be required to keep things organized.

 

[xSauronx]

id say sharepoint too.

yeah, sharepoint will do all of this, but its a lot of work. administering it is going to be a full time job( more or ess), and dont forget to factor in the cost of CALs. you have to get a level up over the free version, iirc, to use search and all of the features, and the CALs for that cost even more. never mind a couple of servers to run it all (an SP front end, an sql back end, maybe a cluster, depending on your needs)

you'll have to set up a main site, put together an organization structure, build some templates, set up permissions...getting something running that size in sharepoint could easily take months. after you learn how to do it. then theres user training if you want other people to be able to do some level of management.

a buddy of mine is a sharepoint instructor and does classes on administration, power user activities, project management, and a couple of other things.

a healthcare system i work with (And worked for) just has a windows file server with data stored on a large SAN, and has a huge amount of folders to organize things, and permission management on it is an ongoing process. if *they* wanted to move all of their setup to sharepoint it woudl be awesome...and take 2 -3 years, easily.

 

[BladeVenom]

Create a newsgroup.

 

[lsv]

Use a wiki and look into linking it to the active directory of the company, then allow users to create pages for topics and any employee may add or remove data. Put a confidentiality agreement in front and tada you have just created a company repository of data.

Sharepoint is great for files only but gets difficult for data, the WYSIWUG editor is flaky at best.

 

[lokiju]

Sharepoint or Sharefile, which is like Dropbox for businesses.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Use a wiki and look into linking it to the active directory of the company, then allow users to create pages for topics and any employee may add or remove data. Put a confidentiality agreement in front and tada you have just created a company repository of data.

Sharepoint is great for files only but gets difficult for data, the WYSIWUG editor is flaky at best.

This would be my solution as well.

EDIT: Check out ikiwiki if version control would be important.

 

[ViviTheMage]

If google docs is too confusing, you're screwwwwwwwwed.

You could try a straight up FTP? or Sharepoint...or free version of sharepoint, alfresco.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Well, the 8,000 people are divided into dozens of groups (and access restricted by group). I'd be the gatekeeper - when I said "moderation isn't necessary" I just meant that this b2b audience won't be posting p0rn, but periodic intervention on my part will definitely be required to keep things organized.

7,500 idiot folks and thousands upon thousands of files? Periodic intervention? You're looking at a full time job.

 

[SandEagle]

drupal is free

 

[PatrickBateman]

This or FTP.

P2P networks like Direct Connect or running your own torrent server are theoretically more efficient, but that's only if the people using it are not retarded. At least 90% of people in any office are retarded, so centralized is the way to go. Even with an FTP server, people will ask how to log in. I don't know, have you tried typing the password in that box that pops up asking for a password, you god damn retard?

lmao.....you know what worse than someone who doesn't know how to use their computer?...someone that THINKS they do. They hear a couple of "technical words" like IP address, port forwarding or URL, and think they know more than you, the person trying to help them.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

Torrent

 

[Red Squirrel]

FTP or HTTP or both. FTP to upload the files and then HTTP to retrive (that way you can make a fancy interface to it if you like).

Really simplest is just a basic FTP especially if multiple people need to share files. There's not really much that could go wrong so no need about worrying about who to blame. This blame game is always the big thing in corporate world and I always found it babyish. If something DOES go wrong, fix it, and move on.

 

[lsv]

FTP or HTTP or both. FTP to upload the files and then HTTP to retrive (that way you can make a fancy interface to it if you like).

Really simplest is just a basic FTP especially if multiple people need to share files. There's not really much that could go wrong so no need about worrying about who to blame. This blame game is always the big thing in corporate world and I always found it babyish. If something DOES go wrong, fix it, and move on.

Yes but Sharepoint allows for version control, as do many other systems. And this is important for collaboration.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Yes but Sharepoint allows for version control, as do many other systems. And this is important for collaboration.

As does Alfresco, if you want a free versoin.