Conference vmszoo::flying

5214.0. "DECAF webpage, anyone?" by PCBUOA::BAYJ (Jim, Portables) Thu Jun 05 1997 14:57

    I just had one of those crazy thoughts on the way in.  
    
    I started off bemoaning the decline of Notes, which sadly seems
    universal.  Then I got to thinking that although things are moving
    toward the web along formal channels, I am really somewhat underwhelmed
    at how the DEC employee population has embraced webology.
    
    This is a really different trend in Digital: the organizations are
    using the web more and more, yet the individuals, where the creativity
    and ideas normally come from seem to be left out.  Maybe I'm just
    another victim, but when I contacted our system manager about creating
    a webpage, and didn't have a specific business purpose in mind, I was
    told to go away.  I consider this to be a very sad time for Digital,
    and possibly a harbinger of the future.
    
    But, not being one to let it go easily, it occurred to me that when the
    Noting community was at its best, Notes served to foster non-work
    related events, and closeness that seems to be difficult now that we
    have lost critical mass.  But if you are to believe it, there is this
    huge community out there "surfing" in silence.
    
    My idea isn't in any remote way a substitute for Notes, but more of an
    adjunct for Notes.  I had the idea of creating a DECAF web page. 
    Remember DECAF (the DEC Air Force for you newbies)?  Well, at one time
    it was enough to do our hangar flying in the Notesfiles.  Perhaps a
    little extra jumpstart would be to create a web page. 
    
    What would it have on it?  Well, for starters, I was thinking brief
    bios of regular writers (and readers!) of this conference.  By putting
    a URL in your Who's Who note you can easily see a description, and if
    you'd like, a photo of yourself and perhaps your favorite set of wings.
    
    Here's a pet peeve.  The new ELF allows you to specify a web page URL
    for your "personal" web page.  Well, I don't know what its like
    elsewhere, but it sure seems odd to have ELF support a URL, and yet NOT
    have server space for personal web pages.  So if you don't have
    anything else, you could point your ELF entry to your aviation page.
    
    Beyond that, I'm not sure, though the sky's the limit!  Certainly there
    would be obligatory links to other aviation related pages.  Perhaps
    upcoming events, whatever.
    
    Anyway, I am of course volunteering my lowly P-100 to host the pages. 
    I haven't decided on the mechanism, but if there is interest, I'll be
    happy to post the pages manually until I get overrun with requests. 
    should that happen, I'll consider other options.
    
    Please, let me know if this is pathetic and useless, or an interesting
    idea.
    
    jeb
    
    (You can check out the "facilities" at mulder.ako.dec.com, and my
    personal page at http://mulder.ako.dec.com/bay )