Shoestring is targeted mainly to small organizations. The high cost of Content Management Systems, measured in both purchase price and support requirements, place them beyond the reach of such organizations, who are left with the choice of having a technical person maintain their site for them, or perhaps having someone code and update the site using a WYSIWYG editor such as Frontpage. Shoestring aims to be an alternative to both of these by allowing the webmaster to separate out the changeable data on a site,and allow editing of that data apart from its presentation. This allows the updates to be done by a non-technical person, using an intuitive forms-based interface, without giving up control over the look-and-feel, which can still be created and maintained by the webmaster.
Shoestring is ideal for a site consisting of up to several dozen pages, with content that needs to be updated over time by one to a dozen different people. Its Perl coding and simple installation ensures that it will be compatible with most Internet Service Providers, and its compatability with CSS styling ensures that it can co-exist invisibly with any well-coded site. Furthermore, the software is entirely server-side, so there are no desktop components to install, and it will work with a varienty of clients and browsers. And lastly, you can't beat the price -- free, almost!
Detailed information about features, requirements, configuration, and basic usage may be found in the Shoestring Technical Manual.
Sites we like*:
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Bike Forums
A great resource for bicyclists of all sorts, with over a dozen boards on all aspects of cycling: transportation, recreational, mechanics, safety, and advocacy.
Donation Links
This site is dedicated to matching public, private, and corporate donations and resources with community agencies.
Hunger Site
The Hunger Site and its affiliates direct money to worthy causes with the click of a button.
IGC
IGC Interent is about advancing the work of progressive organizations and individuals for peace, social justice, and sustainability through the strategic use of the internet.
IdealsWork
IdealsWork, Inc. is a leading provider of technology and web-based services for individuals and organizations that are thoughtful about social and financial issues. Our mission is to empower individuals and organizations to align their actions with their values.
Modest Needs
At Modest Needs, we work together to help others by pooling our modest resources - our time, our skills, and whatever money we have to spare - in an effort to make a lasting difference in this world, one person's life at a time.
No More AOL CD's
This group is trying to collect 1 million AOL install CD's. When they get them (they have 250,000 so far), they are going to ship them back to AOL to protest their wasteful blanketing of landfills with unsolicited CD's.
Reel Mower
Do you mow a lawn? A reel mower does not use gas, pollute, smell, or make a lot of noise.
Save the Hubble
This is a petition dedicated to showing public support for the Hubble Space Telescope, which NASA recently decreed would no longer be serviced.
Working Assets
Working Assets provides a number of financial services with a percentage of profit going to progressive causes, as well as on-line activism and shopping.
* These sites are offered by Shoestring CMS as worthwhile sites to visit and interact with, to the best of our determination. This does not constitute a legal endorsement, and Shoestring CMS cannot be held liable for any action on the part of these sites, or for their content. Shoestring CMS is not contractually affiliated with any of these sites.