| Most Web sites are designed to convey information selected by the site's owner. The Great Lakes Town Hall is different. In the Town Hall, not only can participants publicly respond to opinions posted by moderators and guest speakers, they can also start their own discussions.
 This open communication, so essential to public deliberation, is made possible by open-source technology called php bulletin board (phpbb for short). phpbb is based on the same powerful server language as the patented Web log or "blog" programs Moveable Type, Blogger and pMachine.
All of these programs differ from traditional web sites in that, rather than being composed of many individual pages connected by hyperlinks, they are composed of a few templates (usually a Main Page, Archive Page, and Individual Article/Item Page), into which content is fed from a database. This provides many advantages over traditional sites. In particular, this allows for the easy creation of new pages, since new data is entered into a simple form (usually with Title, Category, and the body of the article), and then submitted. The templates take care of adding the article to the home page, creating the new full article page (permalink), and adding the article to the appropriate date or category-based archive.
But not all php-driven programs are the same. The Biodiversity Project selected phpbb because of its more egalitarian structure - whereas the patented "blog" programs are designed to feature blog owners' posts (only owners can post new topics, to which site visitors can respond), phpbb and other forum software allow site visitors to post their own, independent topics. This allows participants to frame issues as they see them, and thereby influence the Town Hall's agenda.
To find out more about how "blog" and forum programs might be useful in your efforts to protect the Great Lakes and their related aquatic habitats, please contact Brenna Wanous (brenna@greatlakestownhall.org). You can also visit specific program's websites, although some can be a bit jargon heavy. Again, please don't hesitate to contact us - we'll be happy to "translate".
Internet Forum Programs:
"Blog" Programs:
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