Where to learn webmaster skills?

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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
Okay, I finally got the urge to do a web page. It's been years since I did any programming. Basic HTML took about an hour to be comprehensible. Now - one week later - I am up to my eyebrows in books and online articles and web hosting/template spam! I'm paralyzed.

I basically want a message board and maybe links to a few articles I find interesting. We'll probably talk a lot about Ebay transactions and hot political issues. I found some fair cost web space at Prime.net but I prefer my own message board software so this project is getting expensive rather quickly.

How do you learn webmastering skills as fast as possible? Even if I buy a web site template (my eyes are worn out from looking at so many busybusybusy designs for days), I still have to edit the parts they provide, then publish the thing and maintain it.

I don't need a slick, commercial design - but it needs to function robustly, no bleeding edge stuff so that I must study an 800 page manual to figure out what to do about a page that blows up.

Any hints, tips, war stories gratefully accepted!
 
R

rawoutput

Banned
Jan 23, 2002
429
0
0
Send me a PM and I'll help you work with it. Its usually better to have someone do the bigger stuff for you initially and then let you screw with it.
 
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VBboy

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2000
5,793
0
0
A message board or anything like that required dynamic content programming. CGI, PHP, etc can be used. It's much more difficult than putting up a static page. It will involve real programming, unless you want to simply use a third-party product (like we do here)
 
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brentman

Senior member
Dec 4, 2002
628
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0
If you can get a server that will run ASP, then you could go to Planetsourcecode.com and download a basic forum/message board package for free. People just post their works there, most folks will even help you troubleshoot if you email them. A lot of the packages are complete and just need tweaked to your visual liking.

Do a search or visit the ASP/vbscript section and check it out.

Just a thought...
 
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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
Yes, I was planning to buy a message board package called Ceilidh, sold by a local company, Lilikoi. I spoke with the author on the phone and we had extensive chat in email. I think it's usable and robust, should run on anything smarter than a Quaker Oats box. The real problem is my fear of getting it installed onto a page. Literally - how does one get from here to there without breaking something expensive?

I did find one useful book at Barnes&Noble (please don't laugh out loud, a bookstore seemed a logical place to start looking for help): "HTML, Your visual blueprint for designing effective Web pages." It is the only one I've found that took the big picture into account. It discusses getting an editor, then goes into detail about each type of command and how to use it. They cover publishing - which was when I realized I should buy some more software. I'm looking at Namo web editor, which appears to contain everything needed and still be simple enough for a beginner.



 
Evadman

Evadman

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Feb 18, 2001
30,990
5
81
I have used YaBB without a problem for forums.
 
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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
I saw several message board packages that would work, in a strictly techie sense. I like MiniBB and Invision's products - but when I started doodling the idea of a message board, the first thing I thought of was the population most likely to be using it -- and that led me to seek out a certain type of flexibility and robustness that I discovered was rare. I'm serious - rare. Only three or four programs met the interface requirements, never mind my budget limits.

I wanted an interface as spare and elegant as MessageFoundry (at appfoundry.com). I would have purchased MF right out of the box -- except it requires a Windows server and I simply couldn't find anyone who'd allow me to use this software on a public server. At least, not anyone I could afford. (I found zero web hosts willing to install it.) The Foundry's idea was that I should run my own server! That costs too much and the idea died after days of fruitless searches.

I finally ended up with the Ceilidh product as my choice because it can run an interface which looks and acts very much like MessageFoundry but runs in a Unix environment. I found much better bargains in general with Unix web hosts. I'm happy with the one I have. They offer the Invision product for free too -- but I still prefer Ceilidh.


 
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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
I'm sorry, Bing, I didn't find anything in Google for web3schools.org - server not found.

 
Nocturnal

Nocturnal

Lifer
Jan 8, 2002
18,927
0
76
Also as far as forums go, try FuseTalk if you don't have a budget. I think FuseTalk is an aswesome product.
 
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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
FuseTalk (Anand's boardware) is WAY KEWL! Alas, it's too much money. This is basically a non-profit thing, even if we do sell some junk at Ebay to pay for the ongoing web space and all that. The basic goal is really just a free speech board, watercooler talk, I don't expect a "return on investment" kinda thing. FuseTalk is great looking and powerful - but requires more tech maintenance than I can give and by the time I priced it all out, it was a bundle$$$.

 
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Edfan

Member
Dec 7, 1999
39
0
0
I've looked at them. I prefer the package I chose.

Messageware designs have not advanced much since the 80s, to be blunt. It's apparently a stepchild to commercial needs as well. (People are often shoved off the thread as rapidly as possible, the better to sell them something in another window.)

People use one system and when they design a new one, they repeat what they grew up with - and maybe add a few little flourishes to "fix" something that annoyed them. But differences in look, feel and operation can have profound effects on the types of conversations that are encouraged.

When pushed, most packages dissolved into Me-too and SameOld. Most take WAY too much work, IMHO, especially if the intended audience is busy or non-computer oriented or disabled. Click click click click click - to boil an egg. I saw package after package which didn't support lengthy, realistic conversation. They're more suited to one-liners, where the entire "conversation" takes place on no more than one long screen.

When the structure is rigid that way, you get more of the same. A one-liner type of setup will encourage more one-liners, same as a gamer environment will elicit more visual stimuli in the threads. A few had "busy busy" looking interfaces which would be a distraction for most people.

I didn't want a fancy interface, just one which makes it possible to follow a long, intense conversation with the least delay and work. I like a visual navigation style but recognize that many browsers do not like frames so I wanted my users to have a choice in this regard too.

By the time I went over a few hundred packages, Ceilidh was the one left standing on grounds of affordability, flexibility, robustness and scalability. That list really made it the "satisficing" choice. It isn't perfect but I couldn't afford perfect, even if it were available. :)

 
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