Before I begin my article, I wanted to address a comment that was left on one of my posts regarding moderating comments. I didn't publish the comment because a) it contained language that was not safe for work or school, and b) it was not in a tone that would promote a healthy learning environment. I still want to answer the question anyway.
There are a few reasons why I moderate my comments:
- Since a good bit of my audience are students, some of them try to be funny. If it's something clean, I'll post it. However, there are some who like to post inappropriate links or messages that are not safe for work or school. I don't want my blog to get flagged by web site traffic blockers because somebody finds it amusing to do a rickroll to pornographic material in my comments.
- A pet hate of mine is when someone likes to use the comments to post spam. By moderating the comments, I can keep the spam off my site.
- Although my blog is read by IT professionals of all levels, my blog is targeted to IT students and professionals who are starting out in a technology. As an adjunct professor, I believe in promoting a healthy learning environment where people can freely ask questions without being told that they're "stupid" or that they should just "Google it before asking it", and people can receive constructive criticism instead of negative attacks. By moderating the comments, I can block the people who are attacking others that have left comments or questions.
When I talk about job roles throughout the article, I mean the following in relation to SharePoint:
- Administrator
- Programmer/Developer
- End User
- (Web) Designer
I'm always looking for resources to help me with my day-to-day activities and my project work in relation to SharePoint 2007. Because of the economy, I need to use resources that are as inexpensive as possible. There's nothing less expensive than free.
Below are some free resources that I personally use and endorse.
The MSDN Windows SharePoint Services Developer Center is a fantastic source for all job roles with SharePoint 2007. After all, SharePoint 2007 is a Microsoft product. This site contains whitepapers, tips, and videos on all things SharePoint.
If you are looking for general tips and techniques, the SharePoint News Section of SearchWinIT.com contains great tips and techniques to help you with the various job roles in SharePoint. Note: you may have to register on the site to gain access to some of the information. Registration is free.
You can also access the free SharePoint E-Zine to get monthly information about the management, implementation, and governance of SharePoint. For example, the March 2009 issue contains traps to avoid to save yourself aggravation while supporting SharePoint, and the February 2009 issue talks about migrating from WSS 3.0 to MOSS 2007.
If you are a designer, look no further than Heather Solomon's Site. If you already work with branding and designing SharePoint sites, you probably already know that Ms. Solomon is considered the expert in SharePoint branding. Her site is the most comprehensive site on SharePoint branding.
If you are a developer, there are two helpful sites for you. Kirk Evans Links to Free SharePoint Developer Resources contains reference links that SharePoint developers need to have handy when working on development projects for SharePoint, and Point8020 free developer training is a 12-part course on writing code for SharePoint. It includes a module on Silverlight, which is what I'm learning now. ;)
When it comes to free SharePoint resources, a "new kid on the block" is Shelby Consulting. Bob Shelby is an IT professional working toward Microsoft Partner status in SharePoint, and he was kind enough to publish materials that he acquired and developed during the process. Most of the tutorials are targeted at administrators, but he does have a section for designers.
If you have any links to great free resources (in SharePoint) that you would like to share, please leave a comment and I will publish them.
