permaculture

[Richard Morris <webmaster@pfaf.org>]

> Subject: Re: creating online plant database
> From: John Schinnerer <eco_living@yahoo.com>
> Date: Thu, 8 Nov 2001 14:23:19 -0800 (PST)
> X-Message-Number: 16
> 
> Aloha,
> 
> Whoa!  I'm buried in a mailstorm!  ;-)
> 
> I support the idea in general, and I have some questions and
> suggestions on this whole idea, some wearing my eco-design hat and some
> wearing my tech designer/developer/tester hat.  I'll gather them
> together in the next day or so after I have time to read more of the
> thread, but here's the top few:
> 
> Why?  What would we be doing that isn't largely a duplication of effort
> - what would we create that PFAF and other plant info DB's don't, etc.

As for duplication of effort folks might be interested in joining the
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pfaf_developers
mailing list. This is for people interested in helping with the
development
of the pfaf database and website. We've got quite a few plans. A few
months back the list was quite lively, with lots of interesting
ideas.

> Keeping fuzzy, dubious or just plain wrong info out of a DB that's open
> for whomever to put stuff into would be very difficult.  I propose an
> open source type of process for both development and data
> collection/integration (more later - see also opensource.org and
> opencontent.org)

Indeed. One reason why I've had the Readers Comment section quite
separate.
It might be possible to have a rating/moderation system like
slashdot.org.
 
> If Permaculture is about relatings between elements, then perhaps the
> core objects in a DB design would be the relations, rather than the
> plants themselves (big conceptual leap, but seems worth some thought;
> also a partial answer to my first question).

The other major issue to be addressed is visibility. For collaborative
projects to really work these got to be a good community behind it.
Theres so many half done databases out there, which never get anywhere
through lack of a userbase. A plant database covers so many areas 
(more than just permaculture) that its time to get networking.

        Rich
-- 
Plants for a Future: 7000 useful plants
Web:       http://www.pfaf.org/  or  http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Main Site: Blagdon Cross Plant Research and Demonstration Gardens,
                Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, England
           Tel: (+44 845) 458 4719
Email:     webmaster@pfaf.org (web related queries only)