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[The Reefuge]

Hello,

I am going to be setting up something similar to GIT for the forums. It will not be as complex, but it will do the job you all need it to do. Basically, it will be the same as the marketplace, but you will all be able to add your code and programs and uploaded releases. The manager will keep track of version releases and allow downloads to take place of each version. To update a release, you can just go in and update it. It will follow version numbers as you would like them. This will be running very soon.

This is where I would like to hear some feedback. I would highly suggest that developers make their code modular. This is to say that devs should be creating a framwork for their project (you can all work together). Then allow modules to be added to the framework (lighting, salinity, temperature, etc). This way users who would like to download your code can add in what they like as they wish to do so.

We can discuss what you will all like to do here. It is also suggested that each project (Arduino, Raspberry, etc) have its own micro-community where discussion can take place.

Thanks.

 

[Neillw]

This is awesome.
That is all

 

[Gordon]

Wow the reefuge just keeps getting better. Will be great to have a mini community to bounce ideas around and share content! Look what Xbmc achieved by sharing ideas!

 

[Rob]

FTP / Code management sounds great and I would use this, thats if I had code to publish mind you.. haha Although this is good I wonder how many projects we have on the site that would make use of it. In general a lot of "software" based projects on masa reefcentral etc forums never really get finished thus the code posted may not be usable or difficult to reuse by others. In saying that we probably have a couple of threads that could do with a host site. However see others have already created a git site for the aquapi. So not really sure of development effort ver use will pay off.

Microcomunities: The reason I have not embraced this for the Raspberrypi is that they are somewhat hidden. At the moment if someone is interested in DIY stuff they will browse the appropriate forum and if interested look at the thread. Micro community topics I think are somewhat hidden from the casual browser(user) of the site. We could spend a long time creating the relevant topics in a microcommunity but google will still hit the main thread on someone looking for sites/knowledge on the topic. Maybe an idea for mcirocommunity exposure is that we associate them with a topic area and a micro community link is shown in the top of the relevant forum. I'm still old school and just like a mega thread jumbled up with various conversations based around the thread title. (This is kind of like the TJ area -I think general conversation within the TJ threads have reduced now they have become broken down into logical sub threads.) i.e. I have not simply poked a user to update his TJ or randomly discussed a topic since this new layout as I don't wont to clutter up his well layed out tank journal, they have kind of become wiki like.

I don't wont this to come across negative as I really like the reefuge, its a very progressive forum and leads the way in forum layout and features worldwide. I suppose its up to us all to educate ourselves on how best to make use of these features.

 

[Gordon]

FTP / Code management sounds great and I would use this, thats if I had code to publish mind you.. haha Although this is good I wonder how many projects we have on the site that would make use of it. In general a lot of "software" based projects on masa reefcentral etc forums never really get finished thus the code posted may not be usable or difficult to reuse by others. In saying that we probably have a couple of threads that could do with a host site. However see others have already created a git site for the aquapi. So not really sure of development effort ver use will pay off.

I get what your saying here but what if the purpose here was for others to contribute to projects rather than just download and run. Many more projects could be finished and everyone could benefit. Programmers would get the benefit of assistance from each other and reefuge members would also benefit potentially from sharing free code. We could almost start our own library off code with common tasks such as running LED's or turning on fans etc. people making their own controller could just copy the bits they need or want for example. I think it has huge potential.

 

[Rob]

@Gordon I agree, however there is few forums where there has been contribution from various members. For this to happen, collectively forum members would have to agree on a project framework then all work for a common goal. To date I do not know any "Aquarium" related forums where a community has developed a project, its generally an individual that ultimately runs out of time...
The key to this is to:

• Identify forum member capabilities and skills
• con them into becoming an active member of a project
• Collectively brainstorm and select a project
• Document the project and get it underway

Unfortunately I don't see the above really happening, although would be a great endorsement for the Reefuge if in fact we did select a project and actualy completed it as a community...


@reefuge Oops sorry getting way off topic -yes hosting code is great, hope we get a thread where we can really put it to use.

 

[Agent M]

Unfortunately I don't see the above really happening, although would be a great endorsement for the Reefuge if in fact we did select a project and actualy completed it as a community...

Hmm, sounds like you boys need to make history! :)

 

[The Reefuge]

Thanks for the detailed reply! This is the sort of feedback I love. I will answer as best I can.

FTP / Code management sounds great and I would use this, thats if I had code to publish mind you.. haha Although this is good I wonder how many projects we have on the site that would make use of it. In general a lot of "software" based projects on masa reefcentral etc forums never really get finished thus the code posted may not be usable or difficult to reuse by others. In saying that we probably have a couple of threads that could do with a host site. However see others have already created a git site for the aquapi. So not really sure of development effort ver use will pay off.

It will not be an FTP based system. It will work exactly as the marketplace does now (same system). Users can upload files and update accordingly. It will not keep track of each little edit, but it will keep track of releases. Here is an example.

Title: Rob's Framework for Raspberry Pi
Date: 10/01/2014
Version: 1.0.0
File: rpi.1.0.0.zip
Description: Something something...

Users can click "Download" to download the file. Now, let's assume you want to update it as you have made changes. You just go to your resource that you added and click on "Update". This will allow you to add in instructions/how to/changes made and upload a new file. It will however archive the old version for users who would like to download a previous version. Here is an example of how it will look.

Title: Rob's Framework for Raspberry Pi
Date: 20/01/2014
Version: 1.0.1
File: rpi.1.0.1.zip
Description: Added bug fix for something...

Title: Rob's Framework for Raspberry Pi
Date: 10/01/2014
Version: 1.0.0
File: rpi.1.0.0.zip
Description: Something something...

You can keep on overwriting it and adding in exactly what you changed/added and users can discuss this with you and with each other.

Microcomunities: The reason I have not embraced this for the Raspberrypi is that they are somewhat hidden. At the moment if someone is interested in DIY stuff they will browse the appropriate forum and if interested look at the thread. Micro community topics I think are somewhat hidden from the casual browser(user) of the site. We could spend a long time creating the relevant topics in a microcommunity but google will still hit the main thread on someone looking for sites/knowledge on the topic. Maybe an idea for mcirocommunity exposure is that we associate them with a topic area and a micro community link is shown in the top of the relevant forum. I'm still old school and just like a mega thread jumbled up with various conversations based around the thread title. (This is kind of like the TJ area -I think general conversation within the TJ threads have reduced now they have become broken down into logical sub threads.) i.e. I have not simply poked a user to update his TJ or randomly discussed a topic since this new layout as I don't wont to clutter up his well layed out tank journal, they have kind of become wiki like.

Google crawls content of the site regardless of depth. If the quality content is there Google will find it. This is not a problem from the "traffic" side of things. I do agree that micro-communities are somewhat hidden though, but I will work on making users more aware that they exist and users are able to create their own.

As far as the tank journals go it is just a matter of getting use to the system. I am not sure if you noticed, but there is a previous and next entry button on each journal entry. This allows you to follow the journal as you like. You can also subscribe to journals to allow you to be updated whenever a owner posts a new update to it. This is a much better system and I am sure you will love it if you take some time to play around with it and see how it works. I tried to make it as easy to navigate and user friendly as possible. I am always open for new ideas and feedback.

I don't wont this to come across negative as I really like the reefuge, its a very progressive forum and leads the way in forum layout and features worldwide. I suppose its up to us all to educate ourselves on how best to make use of these features.

Not negative at all, I enjoy hearing feedback as what I think the site should function like, and what users think it should function like may be two different things. If users disagree with me on something, I am happy to listen to what they have to say. If I think there is a point to be made I will do my best to fix the problem and/or implement the feature. If I think it is not worth doing or it is not a good way of doing something it will not get implemented - but at least it will always be at the back of my mind and may turn into something different at the end of the day.

Thanks.

 

[Rob]

Its sounds great you can use/expand existing functionality. Looking forward to it.