The History Commons website was originally developed and operated by the now-defunct Center for Cooperative Research ( CCR ) , which was founded in 2001 by Derek Mitchell , a California-based social entrepreneur . Along with software developer Michael Bevin , Mitchell helped develop the History Commons web application after it became apparent that a static HTML-based Web site was not enough to manage its rapidly expanding content . In June 2002 , environmental activist Paul Thompson joined CCR , bringing with him a copious amount of research on the September 11 attacks . Thompson eventually used the material he contributed to the website for his 2004 book , The Terror Timeline . Due to the quality of the research , Thompson was invited by Rep. Cynthia McKinney to testify at a Congressional hearing on the failings and flaws of the 9/11 Commission report , and he did so in 2005 . Mitchell , Thompson , and other researchers steadily expanded the website 's projects and timelines . In 2007 , the Center for Grassroots Oversight ( CGO ) took over operation of the website , renaming it to the History Commons . The current version of the History Commons Web application is written in Java and runs on Apache Tomcat . The data is stored in a MySQL database accessed through JDO . The presentation layer is done in JSP using a templating system called Bricks . " Users of the History Commons can read through the 33 major projects listed on the Timelines page , or any of the subsidiary timelines listed in each project 's table of contents . The History Commons Web application can also create dynamic timelines by clicking on an event summary title or tag , or by searching a keyword or entity name . The History Commons Web application also generates a " context timeline " based on a particular event , which shows the summary for that event along with associated summaries describing similar or related events . Context timelines are scalable , so a user can focus his or her search as narrowly or as widely as desired . The History Commons Conceptual Summary states : " T he user is able to conduct a finely tuned search for specific information regarding a specific entity or event , or can launch a more broad-based search for information of wider interest . " Those choosing to contribute material can begin contributing by creating an account with the History Commons and then submitting specific entries on a topic of their choice . Each submitted entry is required to have at least one source , usually a news article , a government or non-governmental organization document , or a book , and is peer-reviewed by other contributors and project managers before being published to the database for public viewing . The site provides a detailed style manual and a walkthrough tutorial to aid prospective contributors
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
History Commons