GroupServer

GroupServer

Recommended by E-Democracy [1] because:

"it combines e-mail list and web forum technology: It effectively brings e-mail and web participants together in one virtual space. GroupServer is best social software platform we've seen to date for online communities that average citizens actually use.

Citizens choose their preferred method of participation - e-mail or web - and are part of the same inclusive discussion. This is vital to local online discourse where you need to make participation as easy and equitable as possible. Without ease of use, attracting a critical mass of sustained participation is very difficult.

Watch our informal 20 minute web movie in Flash (broadband) for a detailed user and then a short admin tour.

Features include:

• E-mail discussion tool - Database-driven with full text and subject line "topic digest" options

• Web forum view and posting - Converts e-mails with same subject in the popular linear format with posts sorted by time (see our Liftoff messages or posts in Brighton & Hove.)

• File sharing - Upload your documents, images, and files

• RSS feeds - RSS is built in, allowing participation via news readers as well as the display of forum headlines across multiple web sites

• Member Directory - Flexible directory with the ability to tailor what information is presented. Posts distributed via e-mail automatically insert a link to posters member page.

• Web Administration - A growing set of user-friendly features are layered on top of the more complex Zope administrative interface. This allows Forum Managers to easily accomplish many tasks while also providing technical access to site administrators.

• Open Source and XML-based - GroupServer renders XML content dynamically using XSLTs, is built on Zope, written in Python and served from Linux."

(http://e-democracy.org/groupserver/)

Web movie in Flash available.