[HCoop-Discuss] Wiki pages, spam hassle, members data and more...

[Steve Taylor]

Michael Olson <mwolson at hcoop.net> writes:

> Steve Taylor <staylor at ncf.ca> writes:
>
> Here's an attempt to address some of the technical points.  Some of this
> looked interesting on the first read, but you lost me on that first read
> by mixing technical and social issues.

What is a technical issue versus a social issue?

>
>> Can hcoop members add wiki pages? Can we establish consistent names
>> and or wiki sections for
>> - Discussion sub-pages
>
> Discussion pages are implemented in ikiwiki, which we are tentatively
> going to switch to for wiki software at some point in the future.  IIRC,
> the latest version of MoinMoin has them too.  I'm still thinking about
> how to coordinate the upgrade process for that new version with members;
> there's usually some upgrade code that has to be run on the wiki
> content.

What other wikis? Does ikiwiki outdo moinmoin 1.6's textcha's (spam traps)

>
>> - Member's Domtool config, other config that are publicly viewable
>>   - emacs, domtool, wordpress, mysql
>
> See the bottom of <http://wiki.hcoop.net/DomTool/Examples>.

Those examples are useful for domtool config. If others have already
worked out a reasonable, remote shell config for emacs and vi it might
save time. Maybe some could go in /etc/skel

>> - Features members would like to see added (/removed)
>
> That's usually done by filing bug reports against the Domtool component
> on bugzilla.

My error. I am still not familiar with the "file a bug" process. Does
it mean, for example, that I could have filed a bug asking for nicks
on the contact page?


>> To reduce the spam hassle can we have
>> - an established system like pre-made filters a user can copy, put in
>>   ~/.forward to separate hcoop list mail from the spam
>

Yes, thanks. Is there a .forward test while I'm logged in?
"sendmail -bf .forward <MESSAGE" returns "recipient unknown" (or similar).

> Simple spam-filtering examples exist in /etc/skel.
>
>>   - e.g. send hcoop list mail to address 1, other to address 2
>>   - allow address 2 to be the webmail interface but make it clear that
>>     mail older than 30 days, and overflow, will be discarded forever
>
> What does the webmail interface have to do with mail delivery?

My error. delivery to ~/.Maildir

> Discarding email automatically is a tricky thing to convey to a user.  I
> just use a custom cron script for it.  It's not obvious how to
> generalize it.

I agree. Is it useful to warn users when their ./Maildir is 90% full,
using a cron script?

>
>> How can you show coop users that doing sysadmin stuff is
>> time-consuming -- and still let coop users (of all skill levels) feel
>> it is their coop and they can contribute
>
> If you want an idea of time-consuming, subscribe to hcoop-sysadmin.

I'm subscribed -- and trying to follow along

> As for feeling like they can contribute ... I dunno.

So what are the less important things that others could do?
Moderation, Maintenance of Wiki, Website, Databases...
(build a list somewhere MemberManual/HCoopTasks ? )

>> Features Attract Users
>>          What are the features future hosting users seek? Is it blogs,
>>          wikis. What else can the coop offer that people want?
>
> Hrm.  It might be good to list some of that sort of thing on the front
> page.  Getting wordpress and moinmoin with a single directive is pretty
> cool.  It might be interesting to have more "canned web apps" like that.

This is the current "bullet" under "Why would I want to join you?"

#   You get the usual benefits of professional hosting, without having to
manage all the details yourself. Our servers are hosted at
professional colocation facilities with professional tech support
staff, redundant Internet connectivity, power backup systems with
diesel generators, and all the other standard goodies. Unlike many
informal hosting setups at people's homes or offices, ours is fully
legal; we are not violating an ISP's terms of service or testing the
patience of an employer.

This is a draft of a way to continue in another bullet
(and it needs details and features I don't know about)

#   As a member with a pre-registered domain, you can log in to our
remote server, write a config file, install it and be on-line in
minutes. Install what? Apache vhost directives, wikis, blogs, servers
and more. Let us know what you're looking for [[LINK TO ?? inquiries ]]

>
> -- 
> Michael Olson
> HCoop System Administrator
> http://hcoop.net/

Thanks. I snipped a few completed/useless items

Wishlist: Another computer that we can test our kernel upgrades and
patches on, before shutting Mire down

--