I'd like to use WP mu to create a publishing platform that will behave somewhat like a newspaper or magazine with a "Front Page" that features recent posts by all contributors. Membership will not be open and will initially will be restricted to a couple dozen or so artists and writers. I'd like to use the "News Magazine Theme 640" or something similar. It has several featured categories on the front page.
I've seen the links to sites like "La Monde" that are using WPMU, but I"m not sure how to manage the necessary interaction between the blogs and the front page, and the documentation in this area seems sparse.
I would appreciate any feedback as to how I can (if I can);
1) Display recent posts w/links by contributors on the front page sorted under categories
2) restrict contributor blogs to the same theme as the front page.
3) display a list of all blog contributors on the front page.
4) is it possible to associate avatars with blog authors?
Thanks. I've been skimming the forums and unfortunately not found much to help me with these issues. If there's any thought of a WPMU wiki, I think that would be a fabulous idea.