(OLD) (ARCHIVED) Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[rockedge]

[rockedge]

@Flash somebody should make a decision on what to do.

Soon we'll wake up one day and the forum will not work at all. The code was written in PHP 5 and PHP 7+ is the norm today. The Murga web server is Apache 2.2! No idea what the mysql server is. I realize the murga server seems to be running headless so changes are impossible to implement.

The window of opportunity to run tests that I offered to upgrade the software and include all the million or so threads contained in the original is closing.

Waited 6+ months and not a peep. So 4 more weeks the test site will run and then I will remove it and work on something else.

Disappointing is the entire lack of any effort to fix these problems. Soon the forum will just present a blank page and that will be it. A legacy that no one did a thing when the warning signs were abound will be all that's left and a "used to be a great place"

[musher0]

[Flash]

[Semme]

Makoto, not that I've noticed much of anything over the years, but, is John the only one that screws with the phpBB here, or do you and maybe ttuuxxx ever make any modifications or improvements?

Aside from the occasional hot-linked, oversized image, surely you know that beyond a certain amount of characters placed in either an attachments "file comment" or between "code tags" explode the page and create a horizontal scroll-bar.

I doubt it's a complicated mod, but, never fixed, huh?

Maybe John feels it's good enough the way it is?

People show, can post and get addressed.

Outside of here, he's got a real life.

Yeah, we get it. We got that too!

[Flash]

John Murga is the only person who can do anything with the forum software and he hasn't been active in the forum for a long time.

[Makoto]

Yeah, I was going to say that I don't think there's much I could do without access to the actual phpBB installation, especially since most of the changes wanted would probably require phpBB mods to be installed (without getting into upgrading the forum software).

Offhand, I don't recall seeing any options that would help with the 'long' post problem. I'd imagine it would need a mod (or board style?) smart enough to recognize when a post goes over the length and rewrap it or resize images (though that could be a problem with external image-hosting site links, and really, I'd prefer to do my own resizing than trust a forum to guess at it. )

[Mike Walsh]

Maybe this idea has been suggested in the past, maybe not. If it has, then apologies, but....

Does BarryK know how to get in touch with John? Because it does appear that John has gone out of his way to make it so that no-one can contact him online, in ANY way.


Mike.

[Colonel Panic]

[musher0]

[rockedge]

[musher0]

[wiak]

My own main concern is simply the danger of losing important information when this forum stops working, which could I fear happen. I'm not overly worried about the main threads that interest me since I have backups of my own main recent threads (only).

The other matter to consider is that it is not just a matter of old phpBB not being maintained, but also like all new software, on the whole it tends to be improved over time. Actually many things are better on new phpBB forum. I really like, for example, how you can drag attachments into the open post window without having to browse for them as an extra 'add attachment(s)' task. And also how you then get the option to embed them wherever you like in your post or simply as attachments at the end. That's especially beneficial for HowTo threads since you can embed diagrams inside the text explanations and at appropriate places in the text.

But there is also the issue that the old forum continues to grow, so even more is in danger of being lost the longer that goes on. Rockedge has been maintaining his site for long enough now that you can be pretty sure he knows well how to keep it in top shape. All software needs continuous maintenance or eventually it breaks or otherwise becomes redundant - I can't really imagine old murga-forum to be acceptable many more years from now either way, though I suppose it could be an archaic fascination to look at if the old light bulb was still flickering. Considering its large membership though, someone interested in it should, I'd say, be planning for its replacement though, rather than sitting around pretending it will always still be working (and satisfactorily) tomorrow.

I'm not sure at all what is being found lacking with rockedge's generous offer to the community, but I suspect it is just 'inertia' but the ostrich head in the sand effect is hardly wise.

wiak

[MochiMoppel]

[Mike Walsh]