I agree on this suggestion. However, I have an idea for a robust solution for handling this type of thing (perhaps, the holy grail, using Google Calendar, mentioned by jonramer below), and have even created a prototype. I plan to make an official suggestion on this separately within the next few days. To show that the two ideas are connected, I'll put in a link from here (I'm guessing that's the best way to handle such a connection).

I think this suggestion could use some clarification.Having a calendar view of events would be very helpful; whether it is a Google calendar or not.Embedding a Google Calendar in WE like you can a YouTube video is another suggestion unto itself.  If we store our calendar data in Google it would sure be nice to just embed it in WE.

 

Knowing the author of the original suggestion, I am assuming that this suggestion is actually for both.

 

A number of us dream of the holy-grail of sharing event data between public and private calendars.  It gets complicated since there is no agreed upon unique event identifier.  This makes it hard to know if separate calendars have duplicates or unique events.  Groups need to coordinate events and to let the world know about them.

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@AJordan - mashability / embedding is a larger and important question. I may start up a related group that focuses on suggestions around open API. Would you be interested in contributing?

Hey, all:

 

There was some discussion here quite a while back on a calendar, and I have had the desire to see and even set up a calendar with universal access.  I have not seen the Google calendar, so can't comment on it, but to me a simple spreadsheet-style calendar would suffice, sortable and selectable by any of the many fields a comprehensive calendar would have.  If we can imagine the vast array of meetings being held any night (or middle of the day) anywhere in the world, meetings routine and special, the potential for anyone to find something to do--a way to be active and involved--the potential is unlimited.   I personally think a stand-alone calendar, beyond anything specific to a single group, is far more preferable, since such a format includes rather than excludes. 

 

A conventional, traditional  block-of-days-for-a-month is artificially limited by the month, number of days, and size of blocks.  As currently set up, the "Events" feature unfortunately tends to blunt interest in a calendar, and its format does not easily allow viewing a wide selection of events and meetings.  Names of categories, blocks of info, white space, etc., are extremely redundant, and a small number of events/meetings per screen further restricts the selections.  One aspect of fostering involvement among people is to show them the potential available to them.

 

A spreadsheet setup presents information in a much more compact, faster  fashion compared to individual screens for each event.  Invidual screens also isolate events from each other.  A spreadsheet would have obvious fields of Date, City, Postal Code, Address, Time, Organization, Contacts, and Topic/Purpose.    All of these should be selectable just like a real spreadsheet, so if you want the current Date and your City,  type in those  terms and click away.  

 

Just as WE is, this Calendar must also be a Wiki, so People should have access for easily adding events.  Every single organization on WE should have every scheduled meeting entered in the Calendar, to help answer the universal question, "How can I get involved?"

This Calendar could be a single, simple, global source for any and every meeting focused on social, economic, and environmental issues, so that anyone who has a burning (or maybe just smoldering) desire to get involved or speak up can easily find a place to start, and attract others as well. 

 

There was a beautiful movie by Bruce Brown from the early 1970s, "On Any Sunday", which was perfectly named since it dealt with the vast number and variety of  activities and events involving recreational and professional motorcycling, held, appropriately, 'on any Sunday' around the world.  The driving theme of our Calendar should include something similar, as simple and universal as "On Any Evening".

 

A very good idea!

 

David

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