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The future of chlamydiae.com

Leaving aside the genome databases, chlamydiae.com is still pretty unique as a single organism site, with some 1900 files including 1300 pictures plus 16000 hyperlinks. I have been amazed at how much the site is still used even though it is in urgent need of updating, a process which has begun.

At the present time chlamydiae.com is a typical top down web 1 site heavily dependent on a very few people. Updating chlamydiae.com is a huge amount of work for one person because of its extensive coverage. Since December there has been considerable updating, which you will be able to see at http://www.chlamydiae.com/restricted/default.asp and summarised at http://www.chlamydiae.com/new.asp. The present round of updating is unlikely to be finished until the end of 2009.

Updating is critical, but does not solve the problem of the long term future of chlamydiae.com. The site has recently been called the "United Nations" of chlamydiology and a "shop window" for the subject. Even in its present form the site is achieving about 9000 visitors a week. I would be interested in the views of the chlamydial research community as to whether the site, if updated, is envisaged as serving a useful role. clearly if it isn't, it deserves to perish. If it is, then the community gradually needs to take it over.

One possibility being considered is that, during the process of updating, the site could be restructured as a collaborative Wiki site. Such a site could be updated by any recognised member of the chlamydial research community using just a WYSIWYG editor and web browser (no specialist web editing expertise needed). In this respect it would be like Wikipedia except that access would be limited to persons with recognised expertise.

Contributors would be clearly identified so that scholarly work was suitably credited. Facilitators with expertise in particular chlamydial research sectors would be needed to ensure balance and timeliness within that sector. Alternative views on controversial topics should be actively solicited provided it came with supporting evidence. The ultimate objective would be that the site devolved from myself to the chlamydia research community, itself, perhaps under the eventual auspices of one of the chlamydial research societies.

Enterprise level wiki software with the required levels of security, access control and user frendliness is only now coming of age. After several months evaluation, suitable software has been identified which makes it very easy to: create new subjects / pages / blogs / hyperlinks; upload text, presentations, pictures / videos etc. An appropriate url has been purchased under which the wiki version of the site could be collaboratively developed and a suitable server identified. Eventually the wiki site could be ported across to chlamydiae.com as a more readily updated replacement, taking advantage of the established position of the chlamydiae.com url in the search engines.

I need to hear from you.  If the general view of users is that the proposed development is a worthwhile exercise, then a way forward might be that a pilot chlamydia wiki site is developed for live demonstration early in 2009. (A small pilot version is already running on my computer). If between 20 - 40 people were willing to take some responsibility for collaborating on the site, then the chlamydial community might have something very special.

• Do you envisage an updated chlamydiae.com as having a useful role to the research community?
   

• Do you think the suggested wiki project is the way forward?
   

• Would you be willing to play a role, and, if so, what?

I regard April to September as the consultation period.

If you are a member of the chlamydial research or health care community I would really appreciate if you took the time to let me know your views via the contact form.

Thank you very much.

[MEW] April 10th., 2008