Our site

We are going to look at a range of modules in this chapter, but it is important to understand how these relate to our site. A number of websites and discussion forums are now leveraging the power of syndicated content from other websites. Various websites make some of their content, such as news or blog posts, available as RSS feeds. We can make use of the aggregator module to import this content into our site, providing our users with additional resources to keep them on our site, instead of seeking news and information from elsewhere.

Provided we set up the permissions accordingly, any type of content such as pages, forums, and blogs, can be commented on by other users. We will look at how to use the comment system to allow users to comment on contributions, which helps promote discussion and communication.

Users can also contribute to our site by posting other forms of content, we will look at how to enable this, and also how to enable users to upload files with their contributions, creating a more content and media rich experience.

With blogging becoming more and more popular, we can offer our users a blog direct from our site. This could be supplementary to a blog they may already have (such as to track issues specific to their dinosaur) or as their primary blog. By allowing users to have their own area of the site, they will be more inclined to continue to visit the site, as they will have spent time and energy to create their own blog and contributions.

By allowing users to work together to build up the content of the site, they will be more inclined to continue to use the site (as with their own blog) but they can also work together to contribute to the content of our site. The collaborative book module provides an excellent way for different groups of users to work together, building up the content of the site, making them feel part of the running of the site, and making our site a better and more useful place for the other users as well.

Polls can allow us to gauge user feedback about our site, and also as a bit of fun to find out information such as favorite breed of dinosaur, or the average age of our users, or just for fun.