User:Dan-yell/WikiCalendar

WikiCalendar

The project includes technical and non-technical innovations to make event communication more direct, transparent, time-efficient and user-friendly. For this purpose, an event database system is to be created and established. It is characterized by a functional category system, data maintenance according to the Wiki principle and diverse data access/retrieval options.

Target groups, Stakeholders and Functions of the System in their interest:

1 Event Organizers

The project focuses on non-commercial event organizers. For them, two functions of the system are most relevant:

- Event entries will usually be carried out by the organizer directly, via their user account. In addition to a number of standard specifications (location, time, participation fees, whether registration is required, target group, other requirements for participants), events can also be assigned to different categories defining event format and topic. - Retrieving the event information entered is made possible through various options, so that the organizer can easily transclude it in their various communication channels and today's efforts to carry out redundant entries on different platforms will be minimized. Feeds and other transclusion interfaces, as well as export options, allow direct integration into websites and usage in newsletters, social media and more. This includes ICAL feeds (ics), representations for integration via iFrame, CSV and list output options. The first thing event organizers will want to use a feed or iframe for, is to embed all of their upcoming events into their own Website.

2 Multipliers

Multipliers can use the same retrieval and transclusion interfaces as the organizers, to transmit event information to their communication/PR channels. However, they will want to use additional query options: For example, they can combine all upcoming events from a selection of different organizers. Or include the events of all organizers in a given region, and filter by criteria, such as selecting specific topics and formats, and completely hiding fee-based offerings, for example. In addition, multipliers can create their custom, handpicked event selections by applying their own recommendation tag to upcoming events.

3 General Public

Users have the same retrieval options available to them. The most suitable for them are likely to be:

• Display via the project website (to explore and select preferred search/filter criteria)
• See custom event selections created by multipliers
• Integration of self-created or multiplier-recommended event selections in own calendar programs (such as Thunderbird, Outlook) or smartphone calendar apps
• Extended functions of the system could include daily or weekly individually compiled info mails.

In addition, users can help to correct errors and add details and category affiliations to the event entries at any time. A similar function as the "pending changes" protection feature is being used in Wikipedia. However, the right to release submitted pending changes after review is exclusive to the respective event organizers. A small team of admins also has the right to review and publish changes, as well as to carry out edits, but they should use this right mainly to update category assignments.

General Benefits

• Fix the problem that nowadays event data gets copied from one database to another several times during dissemination process.

Through transclusion, alternatively, changes and information about cancelled or out booked events, reach interested people directly.

• Avoid overlaps of thematically related major events, since the organizers can already make their "Save the Date" entries early, and this serves the other organizers for orientation.
• Independence from Facebook and its non-transparent algorithms suggesting events to users, as well as from other commercial platforms
• Especially for non-commercial organizers: Less effort to widely disseminate event announcements, have social impact and be found by particularly interested people.