![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Calendar functionality (GSOC 2010)
Hello!
I'll very shortly introduce myself here, just not to be out of the blue :P :
I'm Ania, a Computer Science student from Gdynia, Poland who would like to participate in this year's Google Summer of Code (GSOC).
And - yes!- the point:
I'd be pleased to create a tool that would be useful for DreamWidth Members: a calendar - on-line time organizer. ( http://wiki.dwscoalition.org/notes/Summer_of_code#Calendar_Functionality )
I would do as much as I can to create a practical, intuitive and configurable tool that could meet Your expectations, therefore I'd be very thankful for any requests, suggestions, advice.
Below I attach an outline of the calendar functionality. It bases on the requirements from Dreamwidth GSOC ideas page and the research I conducted among my family and friends about the functionality that they look for in this kind of utilities or they think this tools lack of:
I TECHNICAL FEATURES
1. Synchronization handling (proposition below is a open list of possible options):
II USER FEATURES
3. Multiple calendars
III WORTH CONSIDERATION
11. Interesting fields to look at
Once again - I'd be very thankful for any comment, suggestion or criticism and for your attitude to this subject. I'm looking very forward to this.
Thanks!
I'll very shortly introduce myself here, just not to be out of the blue :P :
I'm Ania, a Computer Science student from Gdynia, Poland who would like to participate in this year's Google Summer of Code (GSOC).
And - yes!- the point:
I'd be pleased to create a tool that would be useful for DreamWidth Members: a calendar - on-line time organizer. ( http://wiki.dwscoalition.org/notes/Summer_of_code#Calendar_Functionality )
I would do as much as I can to create a practical, intuitive and configurable tool that could meet Your expectations, therefore I'd be very thankful for any requests, suggestions, advice.
Below I attach an outline of the calendar functionality. It bases on the requirements from Dreamwidth GSOC ideas page and the research I conducted among my family and friends about the functionality that they look for in this kind of utilities or they think this tools lack of:
I TECHNICAL FEATURES
1. Synchronization handling (proposition below is a open list of possible options):
a. iCalendar format (RFC2445) - used e.g. in Google calendar
b. CSV format
2. Exporting calendar to printable format b. CSV format
II USER FEATURES
3. Multiple calendars
- Calendars may share information with each other
4. Events a. Relating events to categories
b. Support for recurring events
b. Support for recurring events
- Choice of recur period
c. Possibility to set a note
d. Possibility to assign file, etc
e. Possibility to assign to persons, groups...
5. Group events d. Possibility to assign file, etc
e. Possibility to assign to persons, groups...
a. Group events - possibility to create events shown in group members calendars
b. Event invitations
6. Notifications (highlighting on calendar, pop-ups, email) b. Event invitations
a. Reminder of incoming events
b. Reminding of past - not done events
7. Reconfigurability and personalization b. Reminding of past - not done events
a. User's ability to control calendar's visibility (public, private, among group)
b. Calendar features personalization
c. Configurable time zone
d. Configurable calendars days (e.g. Mon-Fri), hours, …
e. Configurable design
8. Design b. Calendar features personalization
c. Configurable time zone
d. Configurable calendars days (e.g. Mon-Fri), hours, …
e. Configurable design
a. Skin personalization
b. Coloring events depending on it's category, priority
c. Highlighting events that are of a high priority, are already delayed, etc...
d. Pinning images in the background of an event/day/… view
9. Searching b. Coloring events depending on it's category, priority
c. Highlighting events that are of a high priority, are already delayed, etc...
d. Pinning images in the background of an event/day/… view
a. Pick a data/month/year and search through the portal for specified by User data, events
b. Displaying history concerning specific category, person meet, etc
10. Others b. Displaying history concerning specific category, person meet, etc
a. Todo notes -> events to place in time in the future
b. Events -> todo notes -possibility to "unschedule" an event
b. Events -> todo notes -possibility to "unschedule" an event
III WORTH CONSIDERATION
11. Interesting fields to look at
a. Weather calendar
- Displaying background views for e.g. future week weather
- Retrieving data from web service
b. Sms notification about important events
- Possible only for particular phone operators
c. Integration with MS Outlook
Once again - I'd be very thankful for any comment, suggestion or criticism and for your attitude to this subject. I'm looking very forward to this.
Thanks!
no subject
Group calendar events
Moreover, if there would be an incoming event that would be interesting for the group or community (like e.g. GSOC for dw_dev community:P ), this would not only notify about deadlines, but also help to organize the tasks, and be brief, clear and easy way to spread information.
So - more precisely - for every calendar there would be assigned a list of persons with defined rights. They could be added individually or within a group. (Of course, they could resign from being on that list). People with particular rights would be able to manage the calendar.
(Is this a satisfying answer? :P)
Re: Group calendar events
If every calendar has a list of people with defined rights, would this be updated automatically if you give someone new permissions in the community (e.g. posting access) or would it be separate? Would "editing the calendar" be a new level between posting access and moderator?
Would it be easy to allow all your access list to see your calendar but no-one else, or all of a custom access group but no-one else, and have it update automatically when that access group changes?
Re: Group calendar events
interesting idea, I haven't thought about this particular feature - inviting to an event - but it seems to be a valuable feature
or invite an on-fly-list, or a custom access group that you have set up? Or would each community have a calendar, and members would see community events on their calendar?
Every calendar would have an administrator, by default the person who created it. She/he would have a possibility to choose if the whole calendar would be private, seen by particular people, seen by particular group(s).
In parallel, a single user would have an ability to display single calendars, but also combine chosen calendars event in a new view - so that she/he could have a more complex vision of upcoming events as well as better chances not to miss the event.
Nonetheless, as I've mentioned, the possibility to invite people for not only a calendar, but also single event seems very interesting and I'd really like to add it to calendar features requirements.
If every calendar has a list of people with defined rights, would this be updated automatically if you give someone new permissions in the community (e.g. posting access) or would it be separate?
I think the following proposition could be discussed:
Situation 1:
If it would be a calendar with dw_dev events, I suppose there would be no need to performing special actions for adding calendar readers in other way than when a person becomes a dw_dev member (however, before adding the dw_dev calendar to the person's calendars view, this person should be asked if she/he is willing to). The rights set to the group would concern the whole group as well. When a person would resign from dw_dev membership, the dw_dev events shouldn't appear in the person's calendar, I suppose; etc.
Situation 2:
If, lets say, I want to share my calendar with my best friend and show (and not let to edit) my plan to my school mate, I'd send personal invitation to those people, defining their rights one by one.
Situation 3:
However, there may probably happen situations, when we would not like only particular people from the group to see the calendar (just as hes Denise mentioned - e.g. when we prepare a secret birthday party. This may be solved by adding people individually by the calendar creator (or by people who would have rights to do so).
[ Therefore implementation, in order to determine user's rights to calendar, should primary consider if a person is added as a single account, and if not - as a group member. ]
Summing this point up:
The calendar's creator (who automatically becomes it's administrator) while creating a calendar will have a possibility to:
- set the calendar's visibility - choose people, groups who would be invited to have an access to the calendar
- define the access level (the rights) for chosen people (one by one) and groups (group members have by default the same rights).
The whole process could perform in the following way:
I think that if a group would be given an access to the calendar, becoming a member of the group automatically gives the particular (defined by calendar's administrator) rights to the calendar.
I, naturally, welcome every suggestion that would lead to better solution. I think, this case may evolve depending on Users (this means ours:P) demands.
And one more remark: I personally think, that there should be possibility of choice in the security field, however too many options may lead to verbosity and make choice not intelligible. This, in turn, may cause mistakes in the security area, which - as I've learned - is highly undesirable in Dreamwidth. This means that I'd need to ask for help when defining a final configuration panel: there may be important issues that I may not notice or instead of brevity, I'd achieve too much complexity.
Generally, when working on project, I'd like to create a suggestions thread, where I would ask Dreamwidth members about Their opinion and would be very glad to read about their own ideas or needs.
Would "editing the calendar" be a new level between posting access and moderator?
The privileges is the another important issue (as it concerns security). This again would have to be discussed among Dw community. As for now I propose the following levels:
- calendar administrator (who by deault would be the calendar's creator) - deciding about the calendar's access
- managing (creating & editing & deleting) events
- viewing events
Above all - this questions You made are just what I would appreciate when working on project (thanks). They show me aspects that I may not identify on my own.
Re: Group calendar events
Re: Group calendar events
I think that the best way to handle these security questions would be an option at the time of creating the calendar -- I like what Google Docs does, where you can have a public document or an invite-only document. Maybe we could make it so that calendars were public (and listed, linked off the profile, like right next to tags and memories), access-locked (listed linked off the profile, visible to all people on your access list), custom group locked (listed linked off the profile, visible to all people in a custom group), or invite-only (not listed linked off the profile, viewable only through the invite link until you become a 'member' of that calendar) -- making invites essentially an access group without having to form an actual access group.
I particularly like your attitude on options. There's a careful balance between making something have enough options to be useful, and making something have too many options and be confusing!
And yes, we would absolutely post an entry asking people what they would want to see in a system like this. Our users are very, very good at giving their opinions. :)
Re: Group calendar events
I would present my a bit more concrete vision of project in thursday/friday. I have some crucial time at my university now and I'm sorry for loosing the pace:P
Re: Group calendar events
Re: Group calendar events
Re: Group calendar events
no subject
:)
no subject
The major piece of feedback I have: it would be very good to tie this in to the existing security models we have (access list/custom access groups). That way, people could put events on their calendar that were only visible to people they'd given access to, or create new access groups ("everyone but Denise") and make events visible to those. (That would be particularly useful for, say, planning someone's surprise birthday party.)
In general, DW users are very concerned about privacy and security, which is something to keep in mind as you design things: people want to make sure that things are seen only by the people who they let see them.
no subject
no subject
a) Public. This generally allows everybody to see it, even if you're an anonymous user with no account. (I.e., allows logged out usage.)
(Sometimes we have the security level 'Registered Users' which allows anybody who is logged in to see the data. We don't often use this though, so there would have to be a strong argument for including this security level in the calendaring project.)
b) Access Only. Dreamwidth allows you to grant access to other accounts. When something is posted with the Access Only security level, only people to whom you have granted access can see it.
c) Custom Access Groups. The site allows you to create up to 60 groups that you can customize. For example, I have a group that contains only the people I have met in person. I have another group that only includes my family. These access groups can be used to secure content to: I can write a post and say that only the 'My Family' access group can see it.
d) Private. Only the original author can see the content. This is the most restrictive of the access levels.
The four main levels will need to be represented in the calendaring system... i.e., any place that you have the users do something that will make information available online, they should have a choice of who can see that information.
Other than that, this looks like a great start. If you have any questions or anything, let us know!
no subject
My calendar is one of the areas where I'm still wibbling over privacy and just how much I want google to know about me, which is why I am hand typing out my scheduling into a dreamwidth post to share, instead of using a google calendar... but if this turns out as easy and awesome as it might, I could be persuaded to let google know when I'll be visiting my grandmother.
I love scheduling.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Functionalities summary
This is a draft of my proposal for the Calendar functionality. I'd like to present hera the functional aspects of the application and ask for comments: both indicating essential features as well as concepts that need to be reconsidered.
The calendar I'd like to implement is a functionality that would allow dw Users to
I'd like to draw the special attention in the project to:
There are some essential features that I find the calendar/organiser should undoubtfully have (cause otherwise it couldn't be called so:P)
I've divided the into three categories:
I'd like to describe more precisely the pink ones - the ones that (I'd love if) give the calendar the THING :) (but this are very-very drafts that I'd like to extend in the nearest hours) :
Weather calendar:
Displaying the weather (it now would see it as an icon) for the nearest days, regarding e.g. Dw User profile's location - according to information achieved from webservice.
Idea calendar: organise your time chaotically:P
This is a concept of a calendar that randomly could suggest ideas from the categories set - which could be e.g.: activities, quotations, interesting topic, movies, music, book, etc.
There're, I think, various activities, titles, thougths that we even don't have idea of or we forgot that it is an interesting thing:) I may call it one-look idea giver, thoughts reminder (like: oh! I read this book in my childhood! It was great! Maybe I can present it to my friend!).
Sms notifications:
This seems to me as a bit of challenge. I don't know yet anything about the solutions for this issue and it may overwhelm me, but if Dw Users would find it important and if the the time let's I'd enjoy at least searching the subject and present possible (maybe in future implementation - or maybe in this summer's) ways:)
--I'm about to sum up everything i've already learned about this issue and write it down.
Questions:
thread set up by Denise. However, I don't know if I should propose more than one proposition.
I'm already very-very thankful for such a bunch of responses I'was already given! And (again:P) - for the (I'd call) "general GSoC posts" that in diverse way guides at what dw is and help to acclimate here:P
Re: Functionalities summary
Re: Functionalities summary
Also, if you have a paid account ($3 for a month) you can edit your comments, which is sometimes useful.
Re: Functionalities summary
I'll take advantages of Your suggestion.
Re: Functionalities summary
Re: Functionalities summary