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Re: [LUG] funded project, doctors need communication system



Adrian Midgley wrote:

A reasonable approach IMHO.  Is hosting an NNTP server easily available?

Yes.

Co-location probably is over the top, so can it be done with a virtual server
or with private newsgroups on an available system?

Yes - I think virtual server may be preferred I'll speak with
some people.

Only draw back is authentication.... 

Do they all have a username and password somewhere else already?
Even if they don't presumably if we create an authentication
scheme you will want to reuse it in future.

Some of the specialist NNTP hosting companies may have all this
prepackaged by now.

I think News has many useful characteristics for this, but it would be a
"new" technology to most of the users.   Very reasonable approach I'd say,
just comes down to installation support, getting it going support for each
user, and then maintainability.

For those with a newsreader supporting appropriate protocols
(e.g. Netscape Messenger/Outlook/Outlook Express), a username,
password, and URL to click, are sufficient to add a newsreader
to the list of servers, and subscribe them, to a group.

For handling those who can't manage that life gets harder, but
at least it should be able to handle almost any client system,
and probably give them a choice of programs.

I tend to think in terms of minutes and sumaries rather than an archive in
use for every passing comment.

Okay 48 hour expiry like alt.binaries.* on Demon then ;)

We have the connectivity, will need to identify hosting arrangments.
I was getting at a Wiki or an equivalent, as a possible later addition, or if
the main thing was eg a threaded discussion board cum publishing system based
in PHP then PHPWiki might fit right in from day one.

I think someone else in this list passed comment that none of
the Wiki's quite do it for them. But I'll have a think and a
research.

Our office manager has Notes experience, and I've used Notes systems in the
past.  It didn't seem a popular choice really, albeit more reliable than MS
Exchange-based systems.

The "first steps"(?) book for Lotus Notes has a chapter on
overcoming user resistance, so your not alone in your feelings.

However Notes does do somethings extremely well, and it is
useful in discussions on groupware as a lot of people have used
it. Notes implemented correctly, and no one but the CIA and NSA
will eavesdrop on your patient records.

Simon

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