What is MidrangeNews.com
In 2009 RPG IV advocate Bob Cozzi set out to create a so called Content Management System or "CMS" to publish web content using IBM i and RPG IV. This system had 4 requirements:
- It had to run on System i (IBM i operating system)
- It had to be created using standards based technologies, such as HTML and JavaScript
- The back end had to live on IBM i DB2 database
- Most of the back-end had to be written in RPG IV
The early prototype was a website called ClassAnova.com and is still in use today, albeit for non-midrange purposes. After ClassAnova.com was built, Cozzi set out to make the core engine work for anyone who wanted to set up a CMS on their System i without resorting to Perle, PHP, Java, or other technologies. While those technologies can certainly work with the CMS Cozzi eventually created, they added very few benefits and were not incorporated into the CMS itself.
Release 2 of the CMS was renamed NOVA or more accurately, "NOVA CMS". Most people think this was a shorted form of the CLASSANOVA name from the original beta version of the CMS engine. But the reality is, it was named for the model of the first (used) car Bob Cozzi purchased; a 1972 Chevy Nova.
The first production release of NOVA CMS is midrangeNews.com a global place for IBM i and RPG IV Professionals to share solutions. Cozzi has always been an advocate of giving people solutions rather than trying to impress them with what he knows. In fact when he started his own small business in 1983, its slogan, which is still applicable today was "Providing the Solutions".
User Participation
midrangeNews.com is unique in that it allows its members to create content and get published directly on the midrangeNews.com website. It is not a Wiki, however; The author of the content has control over what is published and for its accuracy. Other members have the ability to comment on that content, which should help keep everyone honest.
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How It Works
Membership, User ID, and Following (aka, Subscriptions)
When you create a user ID you become a member of midrangeNews.com, the primary user-created technical information repository for IBM midrange platforms, commonly known as IBM i (formerly known as "AS/400"). Not only is midrangeNews.com content created by the legendary industry evangelist Bob Cozzi, but any member in good standing may also create and post content on midrangeNews.com, subject to our terms of service agreement.
Membership allows you to create content to share with our users, it also allows you to subscribe and unsubscribe to content. We call that "follow" and "unfollow". Just click the little 
button to start following. If successful, iIt will turn into a 
button. Click it again to unfollow and turn off your subscription to that item. When you follow content on midrangeNews.com and that content is modified (for example a new edition of RPG Report is published), an email will be sent to the email address associated with your user ID.
As midrangeNews.com evolves you will be able to follow just about anything, from user-created content, to Comments posted about existing articles, to Forum discussion threads. Also, in the future you will be able to control if you want that notifications sent your email address or displayed on the midrangeNews.com homepage when you sign in.
Free vs Paid Memberships
We're just getting started with midrangeNews.com and hope you'll join us by creating a user ID today. In addition, we hope you'll support us by committing to a $2 per month paid membership. The payments occur automatically, cancel any time. A paid membership entittles you to Follow any of our Premium Content including the RPG Report newsletter and our hugely popular source code examples/downloads. But we will be adding more Premium content in the future along with out free content.