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Basic Tour of Web Crossing
Web
Crossing Features
Getting Started with Web Crossing
Top Web Crossing Sites: What's Possible
Resources
Web
Crossing Features
Web Crossing,
sometimes referred to by the nickname, "WebX," is an
industrial-strength web conferencing application. It can handle
small, "out of the box" sites as well as large
sites with complex customization like CNN's
news discussion forums and Salon
Magazine. It's available for several varieties of Unix, Windows,
and Mac servers. Web Crossing can be run either as in Direct
Web Service mode or as a CGI
under another web server. Message databases can be easily moved
from platform to platform if necessary or mirrored
for mission-critical installations. Built-in stress-testing
protocols allow you to test server load, if necessary.
Web Crossing
allows users to connect using a familiar web interface with the
simplest of browsers, but if you wish, it also supports "Protocol
Independent Participation," meaning users can connect
and read the same database of messages via web, electronic
mailing list, or newsgroups.
On the web, this same material can be presented in either threaded
or conversational view, or the choice can be left up to the
reader. In addition, your users can talk to each other in real
time through either of two chat interfaces.
Web Crossing
is infinitely configurable, with dozens of settings accessible
though the web-form-based Sysop Control
Panel. You can always get to your Control
Panel by logging in as Sysop and looking in the lower-right
corner of the toolbar at the bottom of the page.
The Control
Panel includes sections on
- general
site setup and management (logging, backup,
usage counters, memory usage, search
index status, etc.)
- customization
(discussion appearance,
folder appearance, icons,
text content and formatting)
- user
management (add, edit, delete
users, registered user privileges,
guest user privileges)
- (see
the Quick Setup Configuration Checklist
for a more complete list)
In addition
to that, Web Crossing has two built-in server-side
scripting languages [Web Crossing
Template Language (WCTL) and Web
Crossing Java Script (WCJS)] to allow you to create
or edit template files as desired.
Individual
users or groups of users
can be given a different level of
access to any area within Web Crossing:
- no
access (the user doesn't even see the link)
- read-only
(user can read but not post)
- moderated
(either all of user's posts are checked by a moderator, or posts
containing possible objectionable words are checked by a moderator)
- participant
(normal participation)
- host
(privileges to edit, delete, etc.)
You can
set up Web Crossing to work with an existing
external database of users, or use its own internal registration
database. You can add
your own user fields if you wish, to track additional information
about your users or run surveys, etc. Existing message board content
or user lists can be imported into Web
Crossing in SGML format.
Getting
Started
As you
might imagine, there can be a significant learning curve when
you first try to make use of all these different features - especially
if you don't come from a programming background. Even so, it's
possible to use and customize Web Crossing with just a basic knowledge
of HTML.
Here
are some things you can do to get started:
- Take
the "Guided Tour" within Web Crossing. It comes automatically
with the installation when you first start up Web Crossing.
- Look
at the Quick Setup Configuration Checklist.
It will give you an idea what's possible and where to start
looking to set up Web Crossing in the way that's best for your
community.
- Read
this documentation. It's written so you should be able to go
straight to the page or chapter in question to get the information
you need quickly.
- Check
the sysop documents after
you've read the information here. Often they go into more depth
or have more technical information than we're presenting.
- Check
the Web Crossing Technical
FAQ list, which is constantly updated with fresh information.
- In
a few cases we've suggested specific books or websites we think
might be helpful.
- We
would encourage you to set up a development copy of Web Crossing
to experiment with. The simplest thing, if you're setting it
up on your home computer, is to install it in Direct
Web Service mode. Then experiment with the various settings
and configurations. There, you can explore the Sysop Control
Panel and experiment with webx.tpl files without worrying
about breaking anything that's live on your public site!
Top
Web Crossing Sites
Here's
a list of some top Web Crossing sites, to give you inspiration,
encouragement, and ideas!
For
a list of even more sites, visit the Web
Crossing site.
Resources
Quick
Setup Configuration Checklist
Sysop
Documentation
Sysop
Control Panel
Web Crossing
FAQ
Web
Crossing Tech Support Forum
WebX
Harbor
Developer
Center
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