The "end of the line" is getting closer for Drupal 7 sites, particularly those created by individual researchers with digital scholarly projects. Drupal 8(+) development of key modules for these sites has stalled-- or never begun. What should these researchers do with these sites, some already in various states of disrepair after years of inconsistent maintenance? This talk reflects on work done at Stanford University, and within the broad digital humanities community, to steer researchers towards an honest reckoning about their Drupal sites. What parts of the projects do they want to maintain-- and under what conditions, considering the ongoing time and cost of keeping a CMS-based website secure and functional? When does it makes sense to archive and shut down a site? When would a framework less demanding of upkeep (such as Jekyll) be a better fit for a project going forward, despite the technical barrier to entry? Which sites still need something Drupal-esque, and might benefit from moving to Backdrop? While the examples will be drawn from research and pedagogy oriented sites, the issues discussed will be relevant to any site developed and maintained by minimally-technical users (e.g. non-profits, small businesses, libraries, archives, and museums, etc.)
Presenters
