For years I had been a faithful Microsoft user. Their operating systems offered an appealing combination of features and flexibility, and ran on a wide range of hardware platforms. I had been using XP for more than a decade. I saw no reason to update the operating system, XP worked just fine.
My Path to GetSimple
Over the last 20 years I've been involved in the design, construction, testing, and review of a number of websites. I'm convinced that using a content management system, or CMS, is the way to go for most websites. A CMS separates the content of website from its presentation – you edit the content and the CMS looks after presenting it.
Toronto City Planning has, on several occasions, recommended the use of a “Charrette” or “Design Charrette”. This was recently recommended in connection with the development of a North Downtown Yonge Street Planning Framework. A one-day event was held on 2011 September30 as a part of developing that Planning Framework. It was called a “Charrette” and a representative cross-section of stakeholders were invited to participate.
Background: Urban Planning and Design is both a local and a provincial concern. Toronto has a fully qualified professional urban planning staff. Their recommendations are developed after consultation with all stakeholders. Those recommendations are reviewed by the appropriate Community Council consisting of elected officials. The recommendations of the Community Councils are then reviewed by the entire City Council. Errors in law are subject to review by the courts. The Ontario Muncipal Board, or the OMB, is a "special" body.
There is unlikely to be one best way to organize your thoughts. How you ought to proceed will depend on a host of factors. It could depend on: you, your background, the subject, its depth of treatment, and the audience. The concern, here, is with a more modest question of the best (open source) software to use in helping organize your thoughts.