[thelist] Re: Looking for some good scripts...

[Techwatcher]

Hello, evolters --

With a little bit of help and perhaps some luck, I may finally open my new Web site tomorrow, only 3 weeks after I originally thought I
might. (New newsletter and other projects, unpaid for the most part, intervened.) This is a site for writers, with many features, and
although I have spent quite a bit of time searching cgiresouces, phpresources, and so on, I am still having a hard time finding scripts that
will do exactly what I want. (Or, very close to it!) This seems like the right place to ask...

Preliminaries:
[1] I have a virtual domain, but complete control over my CGI-BIN.
[2] Our funds are pretty tight (and mostly allocated for traffic-attraction, at this point)
[3] Although I have mysql on my site, I WON'T use the single db I'm allowed for ANY of the following (because I suspect we may need itit
when it comes time to write the confirmation script & the rest of the fulfillment piece for our "batched subscription publishing" program,
which is far more important than the following).

(1) I want a simple GUESTBOOK -- it should allow others to see, but not comment on, others' messages before they post, and I want
complete control over its appearance. It should allow the admin (me) to delete problematic messages. It should allow posters to post
freely (no password, whatever), but review their message before it goes up. And after posting, it should take them to a "thanks" page (one
I can completely customize).

(2) I want a forum which does NOT require anyone to login to READ messages, is completely customizable (as to appearance), can run a
couple threads, requires login (but no DB it doesn't create itself) to POST. Again, Admin (me) should be able to delete problematic
postings, with relative ease. It should have a reasonable level of security (enough to make sure no one else is running their board off my
site).

(3) I want a very simple chat site; one that can support 2-5 at a time. I would e-mail unique user ID's and passwords to both potential
participants, removing them after about a month. For now, at least, I can update .htaccess manually, given projected volume for the first
months. This chat is ONLY a place where writers can discuss possible contracts with potential employers, in real time, with some
security. They would schedule the chat via e-mail. (I'm referring writer to employer in response to an employer's request, so I will assign
the user ID & password for the pair, delivering it -- with boilerplate text -- via the same e-mail I use to notify each of them that they may be
a match.)

(4) I want visitors to be able to post their own URL's, with description (and possibly e-mail address), to a page of them. This script should
not require intervention on my part, although I might need to delete an occasional listing. Ideally, it would allow the poster to choose a
category before posting.

The following aren't needs, exactly, but requests for confirmation/clarification:
(4) I have a newsmagazine in a subdirectory on my site. I wanted to have folks be able to comment on the articles there. So far, it seems
as if greymatter (which I already downloaded, but haven't yet installed) would work if I put it in its own subdirectory and repeat each article
in separate thingies (don't know how gm is actually organized yet, because I haven't seen an installation the way I want to use it). The
point is for readers to go here after reading the article (or during? -- links throughout?), write comments with NO HASSLES (no password
or ID), but not alter the article. QUESTION: Is greymatter what I want? Or is something else better?

(5) I plan to install a Twiki for writers to collaborate. Any comments? Anyone found any problems?

By the way, not looking for comments yet, but the site is http://accesswriters.com , for the curious.

Thanks very much!
Carol Stein
techwatcher at accesswriters.com


Cheers