Should We Move? - Forum Transfer Discussion

[PoisonedV]

Maybe no one thought about this, but almost all the sources on wikipedia for the pandora (and some for the gp2x, gp32 and other gamepark related things) will need to be replaced

 

[Kyo]

Eventually, yes, Right now, no. GP32x isn't any more likely to go down today than it was yesterday. There's no need to rush things.

Also what I'd really like as a mod is a quick reply mod. And a feature that lets you subscribe to any thread you reply to.

Also;
http://forum.openpandora.org/ucp.php?i=pre...p;mode=personal

here it says:

{ SYNDICATION_METHOD }: { SYNDICATION_ATOM } { SYNDICATION_RSS2 }

that needs fixing

 

[TrevorBradley]

Well, there's always http://archive.org, though it seems to be somewhat incomplete. The problem is that we can't just copy information without permission as it's not the same forum, but those who are active can certainly transfer their "gems". Besides, it's not like gp32x will go down tomorrow. In fact, right now we have no reason to believe it will go down at all other than hando being generally unavailable, and he's been like that for quite a while now.



Considering the instability of the forums over the past year, I believe it's correct to move under the assumption that it could go down tomorrow with no avenue for backup.

I'm speaking from experience... I've worked as a temp admin on an old, modded, unpatchable phpBB site, with existing nearly awol site admin, that worked "good enough" and nobody really wanted to move even though the thing was a time bomb waiting to collapse or get hacked. We made the decision to move the existing site to a new domain and upgraded boards. Within 2 weeks of the successful transition the old domain expired and had vanished off the face of the earth.

Now, I'm not saying we should rush, but I do agree that this is the correct decision.

Chip, do you have access to the DB and html files running the site? Could a read only, archival, gp32x.openhandhelds.org be created with a bit of work?

 

[Chip]

Chip, do you have access to the DB and html files running the site? Could a read only, archival, gp32x.openhandhelds.org be created with a bit of work?
For gp32x.de? No. If I did I could use one of the DB converter scripts to move everything over as-is.

 

[Kyo]

he does not have access to the database files. as for the html files, what are you referring to? The php files? That wouldn't work, also without handos permission just copying everything over (which is pretty much impossible without access to the database) would probably not be cool, because we'd need the users permission to actually copy their posts (?)

 

[notaz]

This doesn't sound good to me. At the very least the database needs to be transfered, the whole history and spirit of GP32/GP2X/craiginator (remember that name?) lies here.

 

[Kyo]

Well yeah, but you can't wait for the perfect transition and just end up with gp32x being gone without a substitute. Obviously they made an effort to contact hando to get the database, but that didn't work out so this is really the only alternative to just hoping that the site stays online, ignoring the instability.

 

[gp2.eXe]

Well this is very sad ... but if it's the best it's the best. The thing I see now is that when someone goes to the new forum asking "hey, Can Pandora run XP?" we won't be able to tell them "it's been discussed a dozen times already" haha ... at least not for a while.

Well, time to start packing I guess, we got one serious move to make. (Damn, I'll be a newbie again... )

Edit: Hey! I'm not gonna need my sig anymore! LOL :lol:

 

[TrevorBradley]

he does not have access to the database files. as for the html files, what are you referring to? The php files? That wouldn't work, also without handos permission just copying everything over (which is pretty much impossible without access to the database) would probably not be cool, because we'd need the users permission to actually copy their posts (?)

Not having access to the DB is deadly. It reaffirms the argument that it's time to move on.

Ugh, what an ugly mess.. I guess cherry picking critical data to a wiki might be the best option.

 

[streak]

My example proposition about new board:

- Every category GP2x / Wiz / Panda shoud have separate RSS feed.

 

[Kyo]

nobody _but hando_ has access to the database, Trevor. And hando is unavailable.

 

[TrevorBradley]

Well this is very sad ... but if it's the best it's the best. The thing I see now is that when someone goes to the new forum asking "hey, Can Pandora run XP?" we won't be able to tell them "it's been discussed a dozen times already" haha ... at least not for a while.

Well, time to start packing I guess, we got one serious move to make. (Damn, I'll be a newbie again... )

All the more reason to have a really good FAQ, 164 pointers to that FAQ, and perhaps some sort of "Ellis Island" where newbies can ask the same question 18 times. I know it sounds dumb, but I think it's the nature of the community (experienced and new) and we need to cater to it.

It's about time for me to stop responding to every post.. Let other people get their feelings and opinions out..

 

[Mithrildor]

I support this, but it needs a way better layout than forum.openpandora.org, that was just crappy.

EDIT: Make sure that once Hando gets online he can give us the files so we can return all topics to the new forum, we dont want all the information here on the forum to be lost.

And we need a big 'New Here?' section

 

[sterling976]

I'm in agreement that we should move (not that it matters -- as Chip said, He, Craig, and ED already made the decision). While I'm disappointed that we don't have DB access, there are other ways of archiving websites. I've built a site crawler or two in the past, and would be willing to dedicate some time in the next week or two to scripting something that could archive much of the content here. It won't be pretty, and it won't be cross-linked (i.e. you can't click on someone's user name and see a list of their posts), but we can at least save the bulk of the content off into static pages for perusal later.

If there's enough interest, I'll get to work this weekend.

I might do it even if there's not -- there is some content here that I'd like to save for use in my own fiendish plots!

 

[Mithrildor]

Interested in your app sterling, we need that info.

 

[Bronek]

good luck, guys. I will re-join when you are ready.

 

[rmm2131]

Fully support this decision as it's only a matter of time before this place breaks again. I had wondered what the double apostrophes meant. Thought it was some inside joke really. :huh:

I'll miss our forum as I was here years ago since when the GP32 was cutting edge(Smartmedia cards!!!), but it really is the better answer than waiting and hoping.

See you guys in the new home.

 

[Pickle]

The only problem I have with a move is the history and knowledge thats here. The argument of the current state of the forums is too big to ignore, but if there is some way we can save/archive the information here we need to do so.

The new system should be maintainable/accessible by multiple sources. Is it possible to have mirror servers in multiple locations? i.e. ED hosts the main server, but Craig also has a mirror server that replicates the data. So if ED or craig fall off the turnip truck a backup is available. Or even if one server is attacked and goes down the other server jump in until the main server comes back.

 

[TrevorBradley]

Interested in your app sterling, we need that info.

If there is a desire to rip the website, let's try to do it in a co-ordinated fashion. I fear a dozen users whipping out wget and doing an entire site rip and hurting the site.

 

[daclassicgamingmaster]

You can all stop the fretting, I am here to confirm that I will in fact be joining the new forums when they become available.

Sad to see my once most prolific forum approaching its last leg. Farewell 7k+ post count