[Zope] Content Management System

[Rik Hoekstra]

> This query started out in a separate thread about permissions, but it's
> sufficiently important to me to pose again here.
>
> I've been struggling to make the CMS abilities of zope user-friendly
enough
> for 'joe average' end-users.  Really it's designed for a 'power' content
> manager who delegates, secures, and generally has taken the time to study
> all the Content Management docs, etc.  However, most of my clients don't
> have those kinds of requirements and aren't that technologically savvy, so
I
> end up coding ultra-simplified interfaces for them on a per-project basis.
>
> I know you can restrict permissions on just about every available method,
> and I am aware of the current skinnable zope project, which may improve
the
> situation drastically.  But I'm interested to know, how many of you offer
> the Zope TTW interface to clients as a content management system, and how
> many just use it as a development interface?  I'm beginning to wonder if
> content management and system administration should be split out into
> separate subsystems.  Or if a CMS Tool Kit should be developed.
(workflows,
> syndication, etc...).  But I'm still far from being a zope power user
> myself, and have yet to appreciate the range of its potential.
>
> What do you people think?


The PTK might offer you some help in this respect. Zope as a CMS _is_
possible, but IMO you'll have to wrap the parts of the management interface
that you want to expose to your users and hide the rest. This will
effectively limit you as to what you will let your users add to Zope, but in
a CMS situation, this will probably be the case anyway. The management
interface as is won't mean much to most of them, but custom forms can also
call the manage methods.
It's probably a good idea to use something like the HTML Widgets product
that was recently announced here, or the HiperDom thing.

For most of the user management parts you will probably need someone with
affinity for web developing, though as long as you keep the tasks
constrained, some simple instructions will probably suffice.

I have been developing something similar in what should be a course
framework (a product that I don't seem to be able able to finish) that is
geared toward an educational situation. It's predecessor has been in use at
a university for some time and it seems to suffice as least as good as
commercial packages.

hth

Rik