The dadaIMC codebase grew from the need for an updated content management system (CMS) to run the Baltimore IMC website. The existing alternatives were inadequate, and open source CMS solutions on the Net were not tailored enough to our needs. So I set out to create the most flexible, comprehensive, easy-to-use system I could. The result is dadaIMC.

Since its inception, dadaIMC has grown increasingly flexible, and now sports a modular interface that makes it easier than ever to customize it to your needs. With detailed stylesheet specifications (allowing highly customizable "skins"), configurable MIME type support, and full internationalization for serving in multiple languages, dadaIMC is a clean and simple solution to your needs. And since it's released under the LGPL, you get that cozy feeling of Open Source goodness surrounding you at all times.

dadaIMC features a web-based installer that prompts you for required information, and then prepares and installs the whole system, so in just 5 minutes you're ready to start posting. The installer performs a number of checks to make sure the environment is in good working order, and informs you step-by-step of its progress, alerting you to potential installation problems.

The system requirements are Linux, PHP 4.0 or higher, and MySQL 3.22 or higher. Some features are only available if cURL is installed, and the GD library in PHP (included in 4.3+)

For more information on installation, click on the Installation tab above.

Administering and editing an IMC website is already thankless and sometimes tedious; it doesn't need to be difficult too. dadaIMC attempts to make it as easy as possible, with a friendly user interface, and as much information and flexibility at your fingertips as it can pack into a page.

The editorial and administrative interfaces are broken down into sub-sections, designed to give you quick access to only the information you need. View a list of recent articles (or other content objects) and their current status with a single click. Another click takes you to an Options page, which allows you to edit the object, rate it, hide it (appending editorial comments!), or perform any number of operations on it, depending on the type of content you're working with.

Add-on modules allow you to quickly and easily rearrange the display of information on your site, or to enable new module features as they are released. In addition to the standard newswire and media modules, there are new and updated modules for adding polls, displaying arbitrary RSS feeds, managing reporting assignments, integrating the Radicalendar, and even manipulating article content to add built-in searches based on keywords!

A built-in CSS editor allows you full control over the look and feel of your site. Existing stylesheets created by other developers can easily be uploaded and installed into your site, allowing users an unlimited number of choices for the site.

Detailed web-based Site Prefs allow you to specify everything from the width of thumbnail images to the timezone of the server. Using a remote machine for serving media? Turning it on and off is as simple as clicking a switch. User ratings, display thresholds, available languages -- all of these are easy to configure with Adminstrative access.

Within minutes of installing dadaIMC on your server, it's ready for users to start adding content. The interface is familiar enough that Indymedia users will immediately feel comfortable with it, but the difference is in the details. Images uploaded with articles can be given their own captions, and can be displayed in several ways, including embedding them in the text using simple placeholders. dadaIMC also sports a new "license" section, allowing the author to specify a distribution license, selecting from public domain, standard copyright, or one of the Creative Commons licenses.

The Media Gallery allows users to upload media content without the need to wrap it in "article" format. The OtherPress module is designed to relegate reprints to their own section of the site, avoiding the duplication of postings that often litter IMC sites.

A comprehensive and speedy search engine scans all media types at once returning result sets for each type of content. Want to display English, Swedish, and Chinese on your site simultaneously? dadaIMC handles it with aplomb.

User accounts allow frequent visitors to specify their own preferences, from default language to rating thresholds. The optional use of cookies makes it so users don't need to log in every time they return to the site. Posting articles is easier, since much of the form is pre-populated with user data from your account, and users can preview their articles before submission, as well as edit their articles later.

Interested? Continue onwards to download...