Notes from the CMS Collaboration workshop

CMS collaboration
.................

The fact is that there are many video distribution projects and they all use different CMSs that they had to work on. Therefore, effort is duplicated. On the other hand, there is not even a common platform like RSS for these projects to interface with each other.

Common way of describing data, of talking between applications:
XML - Extensible Markup Language
RSS - Really Simple Syndication
RDF -
XML-RPC - Socket Communications
http://www.xmlrpc.com/

SOMA RDF Standard - One World, Cleared Channel, and a third project uses it.

*THE PROBLEMS*
Archive

(comment by rama:
to my understanding, archive means the requirement of a database or alike where data about the videos "around", including meta-data like TITLE, AUTHOR, PUBLISHER, or whichever tags we agree, plus the code which drives this database.
The closest stuff I've found around this
is OurVideoCMS by Mick from ClearerChannel
- at least as standalone app - I don't love the database design though and I would offer myself to work on the required improvements, like further normalization, installation plus its doc, interfacing with other CMSs (not meaning MediaCMSs) probably using xml-rpc?
I encourage feedback from other developers here, if I speak bullshit I'd like to hear a couter part to it so to drop it.
I would propose a developer team based on volunteers, an svn, and open-source free-software model based development.

it's about avoiding redundant efforts
)

Common Data Standard - Metadata: ethical advice (scope of distribution), SOMA, CC, etc.
Common API (systems talking to each other): RSS, RDF, SOMA (?), XML, etc. XML-RPC
Usability / Design / Consistency
Online Community / Social Software / Multi-Language Subtitles / Resources
Media Support, xz64, versions, metafiles
Workflow / Quality control / Review content /
Uploading large files (http forms problem)
Adoption (how can we get people to use it / )
Payment system (membership support / third-party fundraising = sustainability)

*FEATURES*
Taxonomy / keywords
Searching (Drupal does this, what about other CMSs interfacing?)
Online text editor
Interfacing diff. CMSs (input/output)
- Google / Yahoo
- Partner sites
Scheduled streaming (SOMA does this, right?
we started talks with Andrea from SOMA to merge parts of R23.cc stream toolkit based on PD/python/mysql/php/icecast2 , for which I'm on the way producing Debian packages.. --rama)
Personalised space / Skins (CSS)
Collaborative Spaces and Subdomains

*SHOWCASE*

_EngageMedia_
A Plone video CMS
http://www.engagemedia.org:8380/Beta

Smart Folders Taxonomy: separate category list for Countries/Topics/Genre etc.
Search box: search through all the objects in the system based on attributes (full text search, no text, etc.).
Online text editor: Kupu (in JavaScript)
Syndication: RSS1, RSS2, it would be easy to add an RSS of torrent files.
Personalised space: My folder, create your own skin
Workflow system: users, groups; private, public, public-draft...
Copyright: CC "product" (= Plone plugin)

_ClearerChannel_
"OurVideoCMS" written in PHP/MySql
http://www.clearerchannel.org/
Mick

No workflow
No community
No taxonomy
Syndication: RDF SOMA
Personalisation: highly customisable skins for different groups, so that they can link from their own website with retaining the basic design of their website so that users not necesarily even notice that they were on clearerchannel.
Subtitles:
Upload: FTP + paste the URL in a form. Versioning, subtitles.

_Exequo_
http://www.exequo.org/
Gavin

Upload: Customisable input fields for each collective. For example 4 diff. formats and custom text fields.
Customisation: each collective can have their own skin.
Access: there are upload-only passwords that work only for a certain time.
It steams what you select.

_Commune_
http://newscham.net/
For instance: http://www.gomediaction.net/

Upload:
Category - Label/Society/Corporate organisation (?)
Two thumbnails - one for the listing page, one for the page of the individual video.
Related articles
Optionally you can upload a series of stills
WMF or RM (There is a video aggrevation site that converts to SWF.)

_IFFwatch_
http://www.ifiwatchnet.org/
APC AA (written in PHP)

A video metadatabase (directory: so they don't store videos).

Video managed as a sortable list.
Workflow: you can define pending/expiry.
Search is good.
Also able to include physical resources like DVDs.
Upload (it doesn't upload):
Able to include physical resources like DVDs or HTTP link.
Taxonomy: predefined categories.
Mutual links.

*SOLUTION*

To define a common set of requirements that everyone implements. Like a common data standard (maybe an RDF format). That would enable the interaction of projects. Interfacing between CMSs.

Rama: This workshop was proposed to be about "Collaboration on CMSs" not "Interfacing between CMSs". What we arrived to is the latter.

Background links: http://del.icio.us/exequo