Re: [Sheflug] Content management with Plone

[Bob Holland <bobholland [at] xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday 22 November 2004 18:05, you wrote:
> I looked at Mambo a while ago too;
> Didn't find it at all suitable, sadly.
>
> In general, the CMS scene is fairly poor. Each CMS out there has some
> kind of major flaw (for my requirements) so I'm currently writing my own
> system :(

Thanks for the usual considered & informative response Alex...

I think we could just about make Mambo work in this - but there seem to be 2 
main problems...

1) Whilst Mambo's 'authors' (any normal user with the relevant permissions) 
can create and edit their own content from the front end, they can't upload 
images etc. only the authorised backend users can do this. I can see some 
very good reasons why this should be so, but I can also see an administrative 
nightmare once the site content grows.

2) Authors can create pieces of content anywhere in the site. If this is not 
the most appropriate place is seems impossible via the backend management 
functions to move it somewhere else. This is also a problem if the site needs 
to be reorganised for convenient use as it grows.

You are correct I think - most solutions get pretty close but seem to 
have an Achilles heel.

> Zope, if you can run it, might be ok. I have heard reports of the app
> server (it requires a daemon to run, unlike [say] PHP) being flaky
> occasionally; I'm not sure whether or not that was due to a bad setup
> (entirely possible..) but hasn't been something I've experienced.

We failed miserably this afternoon getting Zope up. It runs but we have 
failed to log in to it yet. This is a work in progress!

> And, also,
> you have the whole python factor - some like it, some don't. Personally,
> I detest it.

I agree - if I have to get involved with working on this I would prefer not 
to have to learn all the tools first. Don't have any reason to object to the 
use of Python, but I'm already comfortable with PHP/MySQL. So this is a 
personal minus for Zope/Plone.

> In terms of scalability, I don't know. It seems you need much more oomph
> to power a Plone site, but it hasn't really been a problem for me. 

The issue is not server performance particularly, it is more to do 
with the usability of the site when there are (say) several hundred different 
sections (or 'minisites') which need to be organised in some way. Mambo 
appears nice and tidy, has some useful plug-ins for a community site, but to 
me it looks like it needs another layer between its sections, categories and 
content elements.

> I would think one of the main things you need is something that your
> admins can look after easily: Plone + Zope does have a bit of a learning
> curve, and might be a bit unwieldy unless you're willing to invest some
> time and effort into it.
>
> Might be worth setting one up on a server and playing with it for a
> while.

That's the general plan. There are some others being considered.

Thanks once again.
Bob

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