Access
- Access & Compatibility
- Cost
- Internet
- Skills Required
Flexibility
- Script Support
- Language Support
- Customizability
- Multi-User Support
Data & Compatibility
- Software Compatibility
- Import
- Export
Access
1. Access & Compatibility
Mukurtu must be installed on a server (either through a web hosting provider or individually hosted) and accessed through a web browser. To start a project, users can access the code on the Mukurtu GitHub repository. Creating and maintaining a Mukurtu site and server requires extensive IT skills. If users do not have adequate IT skills or support, they may need the services of a web hosting provider.
Mukurtu is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.
User access depends on registration and cultural protocol. Mukurtu users are either anonymous or registered. Anonymous users visit the site without being logged in, whether registered users who have not yet logged in or visitors browsing the site. Anonymous users can only view public content. Registered users are those with a username and password. They can be assigned additional site-wide roles as detailed below under Multi-User Support, view public pages, and view any content in an open or public cultural protocol.
2. Cost
The Mukurtu code, including all future updates, is free through the Mukurtu GitHub repository.
The cost of implementing and managing a Mukurtu site depends on the user’s technical infrastructure, varying in price based on whether a project already has the necessary staff and resourcing or if a web hosting provider needs to be outsourced.
The Mukurtu team recommends Reclaim Hosting as an option for a web hosting provider with a range of hosting products and options, starting at USD $100/year for an adequate package for smaller sites. See Mukurtu’s Get page for more information regarding Reclaim Hosting.
3. Internet
Internet access is required to host and access a Mukurtu site.
Mukurtu could be run by an offline setup with the correct IT and staffing resources. However, the Mukurtu team does not recommend this be undertaken without the necessary experience to maintain the project.
4. Skills Required
Extensive IT skills are required for initial setup and ongoing maintenance of the site and server hosting the Mukurtu open source code.
Once set up, adding community, category, user, and item information requires only basic tech skills. However, adding many items at a time via Mukurtu’s roundtrip tools from a spreadsheet requires intermediate tech and code knowledge.
Flexibility
5. Script Support
Mukurtu is Unicode compliant, and can support scripts of most languages.
To input multiple items via Mukurtu’s roundtrip tools, all spreadsheets must be in UTF-8 character encoding.
6. Language Support
Mukurtu’s interface and navigation is only available in English.
A dictionary constructed with Mukurtu can support multiple languages and dialects. However, the dictionary is bilingual between English and the entry languages or dialects. Search queries in the dictionary work in both English and the the entry languages.
7. Customizability
Mukurtu’s customizability is the main benefit for communities looking for a platform to host their content in a safe and culturally appropriate way. Administrators, managers, and stewards determine which communities are represented and how they are represented, the categories to which the heritage and language items belong, user roles and access rights, and page design and layout.
8. Multi-User Support
Mukurtu supports multiple users of varying responsibilities.
Mukurtu has two kinds of registered user roles: site-wide user roles and group user roles. While not mutually exclusive, the two groups of users have differing responsibilities. Site-wide user roles are managed by the project administrator and are responsible for the features that effect the entire site, such as the interface or page structure. The group user roles, divided into three categories, are managed independently by the community manager, protocol steward, or language steward. The group user roles are responsible for content access and management.
Data & Compatibility
9. Software Compatibility
Mukurtu is a Drupal-based software that requires a suitable server setup, as detailed by the Mukurtu GitHub repository:
System Requirements
- A web server that supports PHP, such as Apache
- PHP
- A database server such as MySQL 5.0.15 (or higher) or MariaDb 5.1.44 (or higher)
To input multiple items at once via Mukurtu’s roundtrip tools, the items must be entered onto a spreadsheet which uses CSV spreadsheets. While most spreadsheet tools support this file format, the Mukurtu team recommends Google Sheets or LibreOffice and Open Office. Microsoft Excel is not recommended due to its default settings.
10. Import
Imports into Mukurtu must be CSV spreadsheets. Certain imports require ZIP archives.
11. Export
Data from Mukurtu can be exported in CSV or XML files with customizable detail, whether to batch update items, migrate items to another Mukurtu site, import items onto another platform, or as an additional backup.