[Qgis-psc] Forum and blog hosting

[Gary Sherman]

On 11/17/10 10:20 PM, Tim Sutton wrote:
> Hi
>
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 7:53 AM, Paolo Cavallini<cavallini at faunalia.it>  wrote:
>> Il 18/11/2010 04:48, Gary Sherman ha scritto:
>>
>>> The blog doesn't get much use---the PSC may wish to discuss whether it
>>> is worth retaining.
>>
>> To me, +1 to close it, and move the useful info to wiki pages. Tim's blog
>> has become the unofficial but authoritative QGIS blog by now.
>>
>
> I still use the QGIS blog for official release announcements etc.
> Perhaps we can do the announcements via qgis.org though and do away
> with the blog - it would be nice to have an archive of its content
> somewhere though.
>
>
>>> The forum gets a lot of use, even though most developers never visit it.
>>> It is a pretty good community support mechanism.
>>
>> I see a problem here: I know of several users who were disappointed not
>> having feedback from their post. Perhaps we should encourage the use of the
>> ML instead?
>
> I never look in the forums but I think those that like forums use it
> and appreciate it. My suggestion would be to move it onto the VM.

Although several users didn't get feedback that is the nature of all
forums. I think shutting it down would not be a good move. There is
daily activity---just take a quick look at the "Current Version"
topic---nearly 7000 posts.

>
> Gary one of the things we chatted about on the side at the hackfest
> was the 'hit by a bus' scenario of one or more members of the PSC
> dissapears off the map. There are a number of resources e.g. QGIS.ORG
> dns, svn access rights, mailing list admin passwords etc. that are
> pivotal in keeping the project running. We would like to collate all
> this information into a single resource pack given to each psc member.
> We can distribute it securely e.g. GPG signed&  encrypted text file.
> Currently you are the only one with control of the QGIS.org domain. At
> the risk of sounding like I am asking for the keys to your car :-P,
> would you be willing to share control of the domain with the PSC?
> Are you ok with the idea of generally collating all admin related
> account details into a single canonical secure document for sharing
> with the psc?

Actually I have been thinking about the bus factor for a while. I had
been planning to suggest the move of the blog and forum for just that
reason, even prior to my decision to shut down my server. I think we
have a pretty good spread of admin privileges now, with the exception of
the domain. The DNS is problematic since the domain is rolled in with
all my others and there is no way to separate the administrative
privileges. If anyone has any ideas how deal with this let me know.

>
> Also to Gary: Btw despite us sounding like a bunch of zombies, it was
> a real pleasure to have you skype in to the hack fest. The meeting
> itself was probably a bit uneventful but having you particpating was
> certainly a highlight for many. Something we should turn into a
> tradition at hackfests I think!

I didn't contribute much, was nearly as tired as those at the hackfest
since I've been sick since my recent travels. Good to see everybody
though---it's amazing that nearly 30 people attended. When I think back
to the early days of QGIS it's mind boggling...

-gary
-- 
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Gary Sherman
Chair, QGIS Project Steering Committee
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