Built on WordPress, the homepage not only serves as an introduction to the site and the framework around which most of the structure is wrapped, but also a center for news and commentary. The site is for the entire Stephen’s Woods community and is what you choose to make of it. If you’re interested in contribution an article or opinion piece to the homepage, please contact your block captain, or post to the forums.

In addition to news and commentary, the homepage contains a collection of links of local interest and information, a form which allows you to subscribe to updates, the aforementioned calendar, and current weather information for Durham.

Use the forums to tell the neighborhood about upcoming events, such as little-league games, block parties, dance recitals and more. The forums are the online home of the minutes for each monthly neighborhood meeting, as well as information and discussion for the upcoming meeting. You can use the forums to share neighborhood watch information, contact your block captain, advertise/seek items for sale (eBay, garage sales, etc.) or offer/request services (like babysitting, lawn-mowing, or dog-walking) or just to chat about the latest basket game.

The forums also serve as the keystone for StephensWoods.org’s user registration system. (If you haven’t already registered, it takes less than 5 minutes, so why not do it now?)

The gallery allows you to upload photos directly from your computer or camera, without the need for complex photo software or sophisticated knowledge of the website. Three clicks, and your photos are online. You can create your own albums or add to existing ones. I’ve created a few examples to get the ball rolling. A random photo from within the gallery appears in the sidebar of the home and article pages.

After you’ve registered and logged-in once, the administrators will give you the ability to post to the gallery (usually, within 24 hours).

You can search the entries using any criteria (name, address, pet, etc) or view everyone who lives on a particular street. The directory is password-protected, so that only Stephen’s Woods neighbors can view the information, keeping your information out of the hands of spammers and other ne’er-do-wells. To login, follow these simple instructions.

The directory is compatible with the vCard file format used by many address book programs, (including Apple’s AddressBook, Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla) so you can download the entire neighborhood, or just one entry. It also allows you to send your block captain your vCard, to make adding or updating your entry simpler. (Block Captains, please read the instructions on how to set up your administrator account.)

The Stephen’s Woods calendar can be found on the right side of this article’s page, at the top of the sidebar. Days with events attached display as red links and are clickable, showing details of the event(s). Additionally, the calendar also displays a list of the next 4 events and their dates. Events are added through the blog, so for the time being, you’ll have to ask the webmaster or your block captain to post the event in the forums.

If you use Google Calendar, iCal, Mozilla, Outlook, or the dozens of calendar programs that support iCalendar, you can click the () icon to subscribe to the calendar, which will automatically update when a new event is added.