Chromatic : Running Weblogs with Slash

Slash is the open source software system that drives the hugely popular Slashdot web site and many others. Slash implements the kind of web site that has come to be called a "weblog": a moderated list, in reverse chronological order, of timely items with links to further discussion on-site, or to further information off-site. Essentially, a weblog is a cooperatively authored daily newspaper for some defined community on the net.

Slash has spawned several imitators. The existence of so many different systems for operating a weblog site demonstrates that there are many people and groups on the net who want to run their own online community newspapers. Slash is based on open source technologies (Perl, Apache, and MySQL), and it makes use of open protocols (XML and RDF) for exchanging headlines with other sites.

Anyone who wants to get a weblog site up and running will want to read this book, particularly system administrators who may not have the time or the background to learn all about Slash by reading the source code. Content managers of Slash sites who want to be able to use the system more effectively will also benefit from this book, which organizes the knowledge currently distributed throughout the Slash source code, Slashcode web site, and mailing lists, and provides it in an organized package.

Amazon.com Review
Suitable for both Web and Perl developers, Running Weblogs with Slash provides a lively and thorough tour of how to get started with your own moderated Web log community powered by Slash 2.0, an open-source content-management solution.

With sometimes arcane online help (or the lack of it), open-source software is often tough to master, and Slash 2.0, the open-source Web log software package, is probably no exception. Written in a notably clear--and often entertaining--style, this title provides an insider's view of what works best with Slash. Starting with the history of the software behind Slashdot (www.slashdot.org), a popular developer Web site, the authors trace the evolution of Slash as an open-source software package. While this is interesting reading on its own, you'll also get acquainted with the concepts behind a moderated Web log, where individual users contribute content which is edited for others in the community.

A chapter on installing and configuring Slash (along with Apache and Perl support) will help demystify the process of getting started. The authors include a suitable level of detail here, which should help newbies get started with Slash without much trouble.

The heart of this book looks at how Slash works and what features you'll need to master to run a Web log effectively. You'll master basic Slash terminology (like "authors," "moderators," and "stories") and the process of getting different users to contribute, edit, and post content to a site. The in-depth coverage of different configuration options available in Slash will help you customize your site, while taking advantage of built-in features (like user polls, for example).

Slash moderators not only edit and police content, but "meta-moderation" ensures that moderators' behavior can be adjusted on the fly. The authors discuss how all this works (including earning and losing "karma" points). There's also plenty here on the nuts and bolts of managing your site--whether it's getting new content, controlling abuse, or filtering out the bad stuff (using regular expressions)--in order to keep your Web log running smoothly.

Later sections dig into how to customize your Slash site, from using basic content options (like Slashboxes to display stories) to how to customize the look and feel of your site. Advanced material on ways to tweak Perl scripts provides even more options for developers. For programmers, the book concludes with handy references to the architecture, database, template language, and Perl APIs used within Slash.

Written with notable wit, Running Weblogs with Slash will allow just about anyone to get started with Slash successfully, whether you want to run it out of the box or do more heavy-duty customization. Along with some valuable technical detail, it provides an in-depth look at one of the most intriguing open-source software efforts to emerge from recent online culture. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to Slashdot, Web logs, and the Slash open-source project; overview of the Slash user and author interfaces; the Slash publishing cycle, installing and configuring Slash (including Apache and mod_perl hints); basic administration tasks in Slash (editing authors and configuration variables); editing and updating stories (basic story-editing options plus linking stories to other content); reviewing and approving submissions; comments and filters (including using regular expressions to filter submissions effectively); content moderation (including criteria for allowing moderation rights for users); meta-moderation (evaluating moderators, plus karma points explained); guidelines for topics and sessions (including choosing icons); hints for managing Slash communities (establishing tone, how to choose stories, finding content, site promotion); managing authors and users (the self-governing moderation system); deleting stories and anti-abuse features; customizing Slash sites (the Site Block Editor); headline swapping with XML, RDF, and RSS; Slashboxes; managing user polls; advanced customization techniques (changing the look and feel of your site); using templates and banner ads; themes and plug-ins (including the Slashprint plug-in); hints for customizing Perl modules in Slash; internationalization tips; advanced administration techniques (tweaking daemons used to run Slash tasks); Slash utilities (including template-tool, and runtask); and appendices for Slash architecture, database tables, template language reference, the Slash APIs, and configuration variables.