Hello.

We began brainstorming on the fsmk website redesign a week ago.
And this is our progress so far.

1. We would like feedback on the direction this is taking.
2. Please comment on the localisation
3. Somebody help us set up a Gitlab account for FSMK and start a fresh repo sonwe can begin coding ASAP.
4. Please help us out if you can find the time.
   We need :
5. Localisation help
6. Content creation (About, What is Free Software, what are glugs etc. )
7. Need help in coding the website (contact Aditya Saky and Young_Padawan for help on getting started with that.
8. We need testers (not right away of course but please keep checking the progress of the project and raise issues/provide criticism as and when you see fit.
9. Comment on the use of the typeface Ek Mukta. It is open source. https://github.com/EkType/Mukta
10. (more updates coming)

@ayesha_ishrath @Omeama @harikavreddy @aishwarya_naidu
You guys pitch in ideas please?

I really like the way the site is designed! And localisation is a very good idea. I can help with the localisation and content creation part but I would like to see more from the students side!

For front end designing.. I think you should be contacting participants who attended the track and same approach for back end too!

The site looks simple and neat. 😄
I would like to help with content creation and a little bit of coding.
So, I wanted to know the 'GLUGs' also come under the initiative part?

And yes, we should try involving camp partcipants.

I was trying to create a gitlab repo for FSMK.
This time, are we planning to host it on our own as in FSMK servers or use Gitlab server?
The community edition allows you to host it on one's own server.

We will host the site on our server but the code will be maintained on Gitlab.

Yes. GLUGs are initiatives.
But this is only an initial draft. Things might change as we get more feedback.

Can you type Kannada? 😃

I can help with frontend, backend and localisation @Rahulkondi

I agree. I hope they're on Discuss to see this post.

We need the repo for now to maintain the codebase and collaborate. Serving, we'll have to see. Are there any concerns regarding using Gitlab Pages to host the site, if we opt to go with a static site generator?

PM me!

Yes I can.

Do try not to build in dependence on a 3rd party service, especially for something as important as the official FSMK website. We do have our own VPS, after all. Why not use it?

Static site generators are great. Do use them.

Gitlab.com runs on proprietary Gitlab Enterprise Edition. You are welcome to use git.fosscommunity.in, which uses Free Software Gitlab Community Edition. Interested folks can help maintain the service as well.

I really appreciate the fact that you run these public services for people to get started using free software. While this is great for newcomers who are just finding their feet in the free world, FSMK, as an organization, can do better and must self host their servers. Running free software on the server only addresses a part of the problem. We still need to promote decentralization. This can only happen when more people self host.

Adding to this, do build a site that does not use or minimizes the use of javascript. I am appalled that the current website at fsmk.org even loads javascript from facebook and twitter. This is nothing less than forcing malware and spyware on the user. Take a leaf out of the FSF's website. They use very little javascript. Yet the site is elegant in its simplicity and rich in content.

Also, keep maintainability in mind. While CMSs such as Drupal and Wordpress are supposedly "user-friendly", it is my opinion that their backends are unnecessarily complex, and that a simple static site (possibly generated with some static site generator) is much better off in the long run.

To summarize -- focus on the basics.

Makes sense, noted.

Will keep in mind, especially your point about minimal use of Javascript.

I think the user-friendly tag is because you can just log in and add / remove / edit content. SSGs aren't as easy, though they're by no means difficult. This is something I was discussing with Shijil and Shashank.

SSGs need you to navigate the filesystem and edit a few files. Given the other complications (think SQL database failure or something) that would arise with (today's) CMSs, I would say, it is better in the long run, to just pick up the basic skills necessary to use SSGs. In any case, I don't think an organization like the FSMK will be short of people with the necessary skills.

BGVS Karnataka has a Drupal powered website. I heard they are planning to tear it down and replace it with a new site. Somehow, this seems to happen a lot.

The biggest question with any website design is maintainability -- will it last or will I have to tear it down and do it all over again...

I agree. @shashankmc @shijil

I see no problem!

I too agree. Lets start the work now.