The single biggest challenge in keeping this service running is in managing the infestation of spammers. People who try to sneak into an open publishing platform in order to publish links to their viagra/casino/pr0n/worse websites to try to trick Google into listing them higher in the search results, and somehow profit from that.
They’re relentless.
I’ve tried keeping UCalgaryBlogs.ca separate from the main UCalgary login system – CAS – which is used for webmail, my.ucalgary.ca, Blackboard, etc… but now I’m wondering…
Would it be a good thing to require a UCalgary account in order to create a website here? Currently, anyone can create an account and create as many websites as they like. Would it poison the spirit of an “open community” by requiring a valid UCalgary login in order to create a website?
I need your feedback on this – is it worth putting a simple lock on the door to keep the bad guys out? Would that cause more problems than it’s worth?
Ideally, I’d always allow non-UCalgary folks to create accounts to participate in websites, if invited by a UCalgary “sponsor” – whether faculty, student or staff – but they wouldn’t be able to create their own website. Is that fair? Onerous?
September 24, 2009 at 11:29 am
I agree with locking it but outside accounts must still be able to be created.
I use the blog as a journal for my program and I require non-UC personnel have access within an environment of security from public access.
September 24, 2009 at 4:17 pm
I think that would be fair.
September 28, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I think requiring a UCalgary account would be fair and not too onerous. This is, after all, a resource aimed primarily at the UofC community.
For those outside the university, you could create a “sponsor” form that generates an automated “waiting for approval” email (much like the email you get when a comment is waiting to be approved) to the sponsor upon submission. This would automate the process and make signing up for an account relatively painless for both you and the user.
October 8, 2009 at 10:38 am
If access to blogs and the creation of blogs by outside users when we desire it is painless and simple, then I would be for this step. My own classes contain students or guests who may not or will not have U of C accounts, and are new to blogging. Anything that adds to the difficulty is offputting for many of these users. I have no trouble with the argument that UCalgary blogs is a distinctive community, and there are many other blogging platforms out there. As with Blackboard, however, it can be quite difficult to get non U of C people with legitimate functions involved.