Hi all Icarus discussion forum and website members,

Fall is here and the big news at Icarus is:

We're making a major rebuild in our website!

Wait, don't panic... The discussion forum will not be affected. You will still be able to log in with your usual name and password and read and post to the forums. We made some minor artistic improvements, but basically the forum will look identical: nothing will be changed in how the forums work.

And also, don't worry, the beautiful art and design on the main site will remain basically the same (even better). We know the look of the site is very important, and we went to great lengths to make sure to keep its aesthetic integrity.

The rest of the main website, however, is taking a major overhaul. We plan to switch over, if all goes well, on Nov. 17th. You won't notice anything different on how the discussion forums work, but any old login you have for the main site will no longer be valid, and if you want to contribute to the main site you will need to re-register on it.

If the forums, art, and design are staying the same, why are we making a major overhaul?

First, the current site isn't working properly in some important areas, and we determined many months ago that the best long-term investment was to go to an entirely new software platform - Drupal -- for the site. The idea is to fix things decisively, rather than try to patch them up bit by bit. The switchover is the culmination of many months work from our web team.

Second, we want to add some crucial features - such as blogs, event calendar, comments, and effective search - that will make the site more usable, as well as some behind-the-scenes improvements that will make it much easier to administer. The new software platform also gives us a lot more flexibility for adding functionality in the future (such as future modules for local group areas with their own mail lists and group administration, and real-time instant messaging on the main site.)

Third, we wanted to switch to open-source software, Drupal. 'Open source' means the code we're using at the foundation the site is available to anyone to study, change, improve, and use - for free. Drupal charges us nothing to download and install, and our development costs were extremely small. Going open source means we're part of the worldwide movement to democratize technology and make knowledge free and open. Drupal is used by many activist and community groups around the world to manage website content, and an international community of volunteers working collaboratively, not hierarchies of bosses and wage slaves, develops and improves open source software: and that fits with the Icarus vision. Being part of an open source platform like Drupal also means there are thousands of coders and designers out there who know how to improve things and fix them when they go wrong.

We've been very fortunate to have the devoted volunteer energy of two Drupal magicians, Jonah Bossewich from NYC and Edgard Durand from Mexico City (that's right, Mexico), leading this migration, working closely with Will, Ashley, and Ryan. Thank you mighty coding gurus for your incredible contributions!

Here's the basics of what you need to know.

Note: A How-To guide for using the new site is now available at:
https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/about-us/how-to-use-this-site

Keep in mind that the discussion forum is (for now) independent from the rest of the site. The new website has articles, blogs, events calendar, comments, and more.

1. Forums: The forums are not being changed - keep your existing login and password, everything will still be working the same.

2. Browser Issues: Unfortunately, our new site software just does not work well with Safari. Internet Explorer is buggy and sometimes displays things strangely. We therefore *strongly* recommend that all members (both Mac and PC) use the Firefox browser, rather than Internet Explorer or Safari or anything else, to browse the site (see below). Firefox is easy to download and install, totally free, works well, and is open source - meaning no mega corporation like Microsoft keeps the software code secret for the sake of profit maximization. Firefox is much less vulnerable to viruses and other net nasties as well.

3. Here's how to download Firefox, which we urge you to do: Go to: http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ and follow the instructions. Once downloaded, double click to install it (Mac users drag to applications folder), and when asked, make sure to import your existing bookmarks, passwords, and everything else from the browser you now use, such as Safari or Internet Explorer. Also click 'Yes' when asked to make Firefox your default browser. Add the Firefox icon to your quicklaunch or dock, and congratulations, you now have joined the open source revolution.

(If you need help installing Firefox, post to the Troubleshooting forum on our website.)

4. Posting comments, writing blog pages, and sending messages on the new main site (not discussion board): The new main site has many features such as private messaging, comments, events calendar, and blog. These are completely independent of the discussion forum. It is as if there were two independent websites.

Anyone can view the new main site without logging in. If you want to add comments, blog pages, and content or send messages on the main site (not the forums), you'll need to register on the main site, even if you are already registered on the forums. *We strongly recommend you use the same username you use for the forums.*

This means that you will have two logins - when you want to post to the forums and when you want to post to the main site. You don't have to register and login on either to read, but to create content on the discussion board you need to be logged in there and to create content on the main site you need to be logged in there also (you don't need to be logged into both though).

This is your site. We want to make it as easy as possible to get right in there and create content. So take a look around, and refer to the How To Use This Site document at

https://site.icarusprojectarchive.org/about-us/how-to-use-this-site.

Plus as always we're available through the forums or email, admin(at)theicarusproject(dot)net to answer questions.

5. What about the old blogs? Many people have blog threads on the discussion forum. We recommend that you create a blog on the main site and use that instead if you want; email or pm us and we can lock your discussion forum blog thread for you so readers will switch over to the main site to respond to you.

(For now we don't have a way to transfer the discussion forum blogs over to the main site easily. However if you can figure out how to do it go for it - and let us know how you did it. One possibility is making your first blog entry on the new site say "To read my previous blog entries go to this link" and link to your discussion forum blog.)

6. How can I add articles and other content beyond blog entries and comments? For now just send your proposed article or artwork to the site admin(at)theicarusproject(dot)net. We are setting up site editors and regular contributors, so let us know if you want to be part of that.

7. Troubleshooting and problem-fixing: The new site still needs a lot of work. You can help us if you find something is not working. Post it on the "website support feedback bugs' forum; or send admin(at)theicarusproject(dot)net an email.

8. Why is the site slow? We have had reports that sometimes the site runs several seconds slow loading pages. If you are having this problem please be patient - we realize it is a problem and we are working on it. Just give it a few seconds to load and we should have this fixed soon.

Again a big thanks to Jonah and Edgard for their work with this migration to a new site. They've been joined by a bigger team of web designers, troubleshooters, coders and helpers, so we want to give our heartfelt appreciation to everyone involved:

Jonah Bossewich
Edgard Durand
Seven Luna Mina
Linda42
Ryan Johnson
Empties
tygrirlie
Marc Burdett

So enjoy the new website as we head into 2007 and Icarus' fifth year of flight!

With drunken dandelions and cyberspace dreamings,

The Icarus Project Staff:

Sascha DuBrul
Will Hall
Ashley McNamara
Madigan Shive