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| The Last Brief? https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5496 |
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| Author: | Hume Kading [ Thu Mar 27, 2003 11:45 pm ] |
| Post subject: | The Last Brief? |
We are considering doing away with the RyPN News Briefs. We would do this reluctantly, but the problem is for a variety of reasons neither Bob Yarger, Erik Ledbetter, or myself has time to do them anymore. Bob is low man on the totem pole at the CN and working a very hectic schedule; Erik is handling the Interchange (our number one attraction) Moderator's position, which is pretty much a full time job in itself; and I am in the process of trying to land new business for my company that could well see me through retirement doing meaningful work if we succeed (and that's rare in the aerospace industry these days, or anywhere for that matter), and consistently working 56 plus hour weeks. I would personally prefer to keep the briefs going as I think over the years there is much information that was posted there that didn't get covered anywhere else. But, that flow of information has recently slowed to almost nothing, and, again, the current volunteer RyPN staff doesn't have time to go out looking for news. And, I am loath to keep the briefs online if they are not going to get updated for weeks or months at a time. Lots of good brief material seems to end up on the Interchange. And, although I am glad to see the news I am constantly puzzled why people will take the time to write essentially excellent news briefs, or even articles, on the Interchange, including photos, but can't make the slight extra to submit it as brief, or article. And, although we do keep an archive of Interchange postings, which has grown to mammoth proportions, it is not clear to me how we will be able to make that storehouse of knowledge available in the future. The data can be stored on a disk but it requires the bulletin board software to access it, and how to get this software to individual users, and it's also different software depending on what year the posts were made (we switched a couple of years ago, and are probably going to again in the not too distant future), is TBD. The briefs however, once put on a disk and put in your personal computer's CD pop up just like they do online. And, not disrespecting all the good stuff that makes it on to the Interchange, there's also a lot of prattle (mostly good prattle) through which a potential researcher would have to wade. All of the above is coupled with the fact that there is now much daily news in the Flimsies section (thank you Keith Albrandt), and which seems to be well received. Plus, we used to cover events in the briefs too, but the Timetable sort of renders that brief's function redundant. Anyway, one solution to the above could be if somebody out there would like to join the all-volunteer staff (the pay is terrible but the hours are long) and handle the briefs. There are a number of sources for material out there if somebody had the time and was willing to collect it and post it. Any takers? Another solution might be to go ahead and dispense with the briefs, but encourage groups (museums or whatever) to post links to their websites of news and events on Flimsies. Keith is doing a great job but I had envisioned more of this type of participation from our readers when we put Flimsies on line. Regardless, if a group or individual didn't have a website, we'd be happy to provide server space for the item, and then it could be linked to from Flimsies. Anyway, it's not all bad news. We still have a good influx of articles, and occasional editorials (we're always up for more), and with the Flimsies and Timetable, not to mention the Interchange, the site is far from a static, out of date, source for preservation news and events. But, I'll still miss the Briefs if we stop them, and unless something changes soon, that's what's going to happen. Open to comments and suggestions. RyPN News Briefs hkading@rypn.org |
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| Author: | dave [ Fri Mar 28, 2003 7:13 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Last Brief? |
Being a fan of Interchange, Flimsies and Briefs I would hate to see any of them leave for good. My one criticism is we have seen a bulk of postings recently which contain nothing but a link to another site somewhere, many of which require some sort of membership to access or take quite a while to download just to see what the link was for in the first place - those two word captions don't narrow the field down too much. Interchange probably isn't the place for these, but might be if the posters would add a synposis of the item to which they are linking. Or, if the news is of greater interest, rewrite it and post it as a brief. Flimsies is wonderful - it provides us all with an outsiders POV of things of interest to us from many corners of the globe. I just wish the media with the web sites didn't clutter them up with all that graphic intensive BS surrounding the story that also takes forever to download, but we can't control that. If I wasn't computer challenged I would volunteer to run Briefs - but it would cost Hume and Erik more time just to fix my mistakes than to do it right the first time. Surely there is a computer savvy person out there who can take on this job? I will try to do my part and write some more bits and pieces. Dave |
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| Author: | Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Fri Mar 28, 2003 7:57 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Last Brief? |
> Being a fan of Interchange, Flimsies and > Briefs I would hate to see any of them leave > for good. Ditto. Question: Would it be possible to construct a Do-It-Yourself Brief Creator, similar to the Flimsies construction kit? If you can reduce the Briefs role from architect/builder/moderator to moderator with an occasional hand in building, we might be able to find a moderator--like yours truly. I could help you with various aspects of said construction, if need be--such as the reminders not to post copyrighted material or press releases unless you are the originating representative. lner4472@bcpl.net |
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| Author: | John Craft [ Fri Mar 28, 2003 8:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Last Brief? |
Hume - a couple of comments, the first relating to Sandy's "DIY Briefs" below. I've been playing with both the latest generation of BB software (PHPBB, vBulletin, etc.) looking to create just such a thing for SteamCentral. (The functionality is essentially the same as a "moderated" BBS, just a different application.) The concept is that readers would "file" a story, complete with photos and links, and I would edit it and make it "live." I realize you're afflicted with the dreaded Redmond Syndrome, but perhaps we can combine forces on a solution. There are two other possibilities: PHP-NUKE, a website operating environment (a bit of overkill for what we want to do, but it has all the functionality - see the link below and click "submit news"), and at a lower scale systems called "wikis." Wikis allow a LOT more viewer control than I would be comfortable with, but again the basic functionality is there. Do a Google search on "wiki" to bone up on them. Second, regarding the Interchange archives, I've been talking with another WebBBS user with the same cache of great information in postings to move up to an SQL-based forum package. I've actually got PHPBB working at SteamCentral as a self-training excercise, but the world needs ANOTHER BBS like it needs a war in . . . well, never mind. (If you want to look at it, go to http://www.steamcentral.com/forums.shtml and click the "view forums" link at the bottom. You can't post without registering, and I won't be processing any registrations from lookie-loos except the "Interchange" crew, but you can look around. The "stock" version of the software is visible at Doug Bailey's steamlocomotive.info - http://scripts.sunserver.com/steam/phpBB2/ My point is that WebBBS just can't handle the volume of postings Interchange has generated, while an SQL-based system can. I visit one forum where there are THREADS that are 250,000 posts long and have been active for over a year. There are literally millions of posts - and it's still lightning fast, without a separate archives section. Converting the interchange archives wouldn't be too difficult. JAC php-nuke installed at johnacraft.com |
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| Author: | Rob Davis [ Fri Mar 28, 2003 10:45 am ] |
| Post subject: | I'll do it |
Hi Hume, I'd be happy to take over the Briefs if you like. I have been trying to revive Ahead of the Torch in spits and spurts and the problem is that it is too much to do for one person. I'd rather be part of a team. If you want to discuss, drop me a note. All the best, Rob Davis trains@robertjohndavis.com |
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| Author: | Ted Miles [ Fri Mar 28, 2003 12:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Last Brief? |
> Hume - Please try to keep those briefs coming! They seem to be covering the things that do not show up anywhere else. I am too old to be one of your computer savy staff but if you put instructions some place here I'll try to add a news item if I find them. I am mostly interested in Traction News. how does one . for example create a link to another site? ted_miles@nps.gov |
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| Author: | Smokebox [ Mon Mar 31, 2003 12:24 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: The Last Brief? |
I hope someone can help out and or take over the duties of the "briefs" page. Thanks to all of you that have put in the time, work, and stories on the "Briefs" page. I read every brief. Smokebox "orhf dot org" |
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| Author: | Keith Albrandt [ Mon Mar 31, 2003 8:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: I'll do it |
> I'd be happy to take over the Briefs if you > like. I have been trying to revive Ahead of > the Torch in spits and spurts and the > problem is that it is too much to do for one > person. I'd rather be part of a team... Rob, Thanks for your efforts on the behalf of our RyPN "Briefs". It's appreciated! Cheers, Keith Albrandt kalbrandt@rypn.org |
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