Manifesto was Re: Squeak as HyperCard

[Robert Hopcroft <hopcroft@uswest.net>]

Doug Loss wrote:

> On Sat, 17 Jul 1999 01:29:41 -0500, "Ian Bicking" <bickiia@earlham.edu> wrote:
> >
> >> Although I don't think explicitly mentioned, I've always figured that
> >> seul-edu was directed at education from birth until entry to college.
> >
> > That's what I figured.  But it might make sense to make that
> > explicit... is there a seul-edu manifesto or anything?
> >
> The closest thing is the posting that automatically gets sent to the list at
> the beginning of every month.  You should be able to see that at the top of
> this month in our email archives.  Should we put this into some form and
> include it on our website?

Here are my thoughts. First seul-edu manifesto, absolutely. This tells people
precisely what one is trying to do. It needs to tie in with the SEUL manifesto
accessible from the SEUL home page. Manifesto vs mission statement. A mission
statement is a statement (one or two sentences) which gives a concise precise
definition of what one intends to do. A manifesto is an expansion of the mission
statement going into the details. The mission statement should occur at the top of
the manifesto to enforce the continuity between them. Otherwise there is a
tendency for them to become two different things. Use of mission statement and
manifesto. The mission statement should be placed at the top of the home page
(whether seul or seul-edu) just below the header or title. This lets a new
customer (site visitor) immediately determine their interest without wasting their
time. If interested the new customer can get more information by going to the
manifesto. Repeat customers are not bothered by continually seeing the manifesto.
However they will continually see the mission statement, but this is the tradeoff.
This is another reason for a brief mission statement. Even for repeat customers
the mission statement is a good reminder of intent and purpose. The SEUL site
definitely needs some work in this area. The above ideas also hold for the project
list. The project description is the mission statement for the project. Again it
lets the customer determine interest. If interested, the customer can click on the
project name and see the details (manefesto) which should be at the top of the
project page..Anyway so much for this.
I agree that most people on the list currently see seul-edu directed at education
from birth until entry to college. However I feel it should be birth till death.
Excluding beyond highschool is ignoring a hugh potential resourse. However my
agenda is not necessarily SEUL's. SEUL is just the best place I've been able to
find. Anyway I agree that seul-edu should have a manifesto.

Bob