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Date:      Sun, 21 Dec 2003 19:33:03 -0500
From:      Scott W <wegster@mindcore.net>
To:        freebsd questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Question on Web/Content Management packages
Message-ID:  <3FE63BBF.7060203@mindcore.net>

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Hey all- while this isn't a FreeBSD specific question, I'm hoping 
someone may have an answere or two for me, for a system that's capable 
of running on FreeBSD.

I've done a fair amount of searching (Google, FreshMeat, lists) and I 
seem to be unable to find exactly what I'm looking for-

I'd like to find a Web Content Management system that does the following:

1.  Runs on FreeBSD with Apache.  PHP is fine, as would be Perl. 
Backend DB can be PostgreSQL or mysql.

2.  Creates a consistent site feel (CSS templates?) but allows 
customization, preferably without an insane amount of 'by hand' work on 
the pages.

3.  Has a clean interface to enter a new story/news item/content- 
accepting an input text file and using the equivalent of the 
preformatted tag woould be fine.  My main issue is I want to worry about 
the content, not formatting or integrating into the site by hand.

4.  Allows user logins to be turned off if so equipped.

What it doesn't need:
1.  Forums
2.  User Registration
3.  News/RSS feeds

What I'd like to use it for is this, which hopefully won't sound too 
convoluted:
1.  Design a base feel for the site.  Main page with Nav bar with 
defined sections, (for example, different Technologies)

2.  Add content by supplying a title and the content itself.  Select 
which section (from Nav Bar) it belongs under.  System should then 
generate the new static content, add the title under the appropriate Nav 
bar, and if so designed, add a link to it in the 'New' section (although 
doesn't have to have a New section).  Content should be able to be in 
HTML, but most importantly should also be able to be entered into system 
via text entry or by reading in a text file, at which point it would 
apply the appropriate 'magic' to generate a new static page using the 
site's style.

In other words, I really want to do the site layout once and then not 
touch it until I need to archive older 'articles.'  I don't want nor 
need it to be a 'portal' site linking all over creation, nor do I need 
it to have a user forum or registrations, although allowing anonymous 
(or possibly registered) comments per story wouldn't be horrible.

This may sound odd, but I've built sites using vi, and I really just 
want to focus on content only and let the software handle the 
formatting, allowing me to concentrate most of my time on actual 
content.  I've looked at ezPublish...wasn't crazy about the licensing, 
as while any/all content is free, if I were ever to offer anything for 
sale, it then becomes commercial with their licensing.  Their help was 
also somewhat lacking and out of date from what I saw.

Drupal seemed to be a decent choice, but it appears that all content has 
to either be done in PHP or HTML, which bypasses the text document 
requirements.  It's a possbility I can write articles in a WYSIWYG HTML 
editor, if only for basic formatting (paragraphs, pre-formatting, lists) 
and then copy/paste into Drupals Submission form, but from what I've 
seen, there don't seem to be many canned themes available (default site 
is simply black text/white background) that I've seen.

Any suggestions, or feedback on what people out there are using for 
something similar?

Failing finding anything else, the prime candidate I'm seeing aside from 
Drupal would be PHPNuke, but again it seems like overkill considering 
the number of features it has that I simply don't need, although I 
wouldn't mind hearing of people's experiences with it.

Offlist is fine as this is a bit off-topic..


Thanks,

Scott



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