mumbaiopendata.org
an open letter for collaboration …
hi.
to anyone interested,
The project begans with the premise to address the needs and accessibility of data on Mumbai, especially while conducting research on the urban area. Kinds of information types/ formats available, where it exists and therefore as a result what possibilities in terms of ideas we have of the city. In-accessibility to resources and raw data for analysis have hindered many a request in intellectual engagement for the city. Momentarily in the present clime this stature could be changing. Theoretically the task is purely a study of content about and produced in the city. Aim thus is to collate or compile them in form or as references on to a singular location and platform. This isn’t an encyclopedia like Wikipedia. It aims to be an archive. A virtual record room for city information. Catalogue or for that matter library could be alternate terms of associations.
Selection of the wiki platform is a culmination of progressive iterations of working with content management systems. Early versions and now associated acts are a twitter and tumblr. Immediate build off is from the KRVIA Research Fellowship where is task has been suggested as an iterative phase to the fellowship exercises. Partly theoretical and partly a model working off on the Google Sites platform has been the first credible test on a possible repository for the city.
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There are two avenues for collaboration that I think at the moment the project needs here - a) maintain the mediawiki platform and b) contribute material and references to city specific content sources.
Platform Maintenance, begins by being able to give a custom look and feel to the repository, which is almost to say to skin/ prepare/ modify a MediaWiki template. Some case studies that i have come across in formats are from UBC Wiki for homepage, processing in moderation/ fonts and Minecraft Wiki for general experience. Popular other referenced data and document servers for their limits/ layouts/ navigation] are from nycopenddata and CERN. Thus tasks in customization are as follows _
access -
01] edit capacities _ only designated/ invited individuals would have access to modifying or adding content to the wiki
indexing -
02] content category silos will be as follows _ documents, news articles, maps, data, photographs, video
03] source and place tags [geographic/ content type/ data content] on each content type page
04] tag cloud to show up on map and act as index
05] alphabetical index of content
06] recent pages index as per author, date of creation and modified or updated time
and overall site look and feel -
07] home page _ updating the logo, navigation, content type, list of recent pages
08] create page template as per document type
09] change font size and color across all pages
10] optimized to work in future mediawiki service updates
Content Contribution, is limited [for the introductory phase] to identifying what are the various online resources/ available material over the internet and establishing presence if any, existence of other similar exercises in urban content record and archiving. Here the aim is to access the various already known city resources and possibly otherwise ignored spaces which can inform an urban inquiry. Once the resource is identified the content is to mapped and extrapolated to be repositioned as per a designated page template for information on the site. Content template is ideally an iterative task and in most probability updated or undertake revisions. Templates also shifts to varying file and information type. A discussion so to engage with on what is the city as per its information made available and possibility what it can be when other forms of inaccessible material find way into a public open access system or to make known the possibilities and impossibilities of urban information sets. Adding to the premise is the fact that this is a build-off from personal engagements thus sorting available content at hand and provisioning methods and rules via which information should be accessed and handled are to a degree come under discussion in this engagement.
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Text is an iterative one wherein I have tried a build a job description/ working guidelines of sorts that needs to be performed for the tasks. Of note should be the issue is that both engagements are preliminary, or just introductions to the avenues in store for a task of this magnitude. Hence for the moment ideas in participation towards sustaining the vision, so to say, is welcome. Collaboration is thus based as a result of an identified interest in the idea.
So.
Let me know.
isaac
P.S. The blog has a say hello provision. Could use that.