On Thu, Nov 13, 2003 at 06:33:25PM +0000, Gilbert Fernandes wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 13, 2003 at 01:47:10AM -0600, Richard Rauch wrote:
> 
> > The database hasn't exactly taken off, but it hasn't vanished, either.
> > (^&
> 
> :)
> 
> maybe we can improve this. a database of users per
> itself is not that interesting but.. if we can add
> information to it, valuable information, more people
> might be interested.
> 
> for example, maps should have dots for local user
> groups and be clickable so it jumps/pops to the
> name and address of the local user group.

Okay, two problems:

 * The map resolution is not so great.  Already names are
   overlapping in spots.  One remedy would be to produce
   a lot more maps, zoomed in over areas of interest.

   Another remedy would be to generate maps on-demand.
   I'm not sure that this would work well with (current)
   xglobe, which seems to want to find your X server and
   generate a map large enough to paper the root window.
   (My web-server doesn't generally run X, so this may
   require a special version of xglobe, or some other
   software.)

 * At present, the maps are generated pretty simply:
   I massage the .db file into something that xglobe can
   handle and run xglobe with half a dozen fixed views;
   thumbnails are created by a post-processing step.

   To support clickable regions would involve somewhat
   more work and perhaps require more or less jettisoning
   xglobe (or making a local specialized version).

Additionally, I think that a problem that I already have
(to some degree) is that I am just one site with a not-
terribly-fast network connection.  (I am behind DSL, which
is pretty good for receiving, but not so hot for sending.)

When I first put this idea forward, no one came forward with
offers of better-connected hosting, so I eventually put it out
on my DSL line.

This didn't matter before I put graphics on the page, of
course.  (Even now it's not so bad if you don't grab the
megapixel images linked from the thumbnails---or if your
receive speed is not so fast to notice the limits of my send
speed.)


I really considered the pictures as eye-candy for the web-
page, but making them a functional part is possible, if
there's enough interest.


> some people might accept to become what i call the
> "local guru". if you don't know netbsd and want
> to install it, learn from it why not find someone
> near your home that could come and do the install
> for you and teach you in exchange for a dinner
> and/or some beverages ? :)

I guess that I tended to assume that every user is
willing to do that if they are listed (with contact
info).  NetBSD has a good support community...


 [...]
> so we need to add precious information to your
> database so it gets a value to be used. i would

Okay.  My reservations (besides what I mentioned
above) are: It would be nice if the processing of the
database can be kept simple.  Even more important, it
should be simple to add to the database.  (It has already
been suggested that I should provide a web-interface to do
the latter---though I think for most people, the greatest
difficulty is going to be getting their geographic coord-
inates.)

Databases aren't really my thing as a rule.  The current
format is simple to manually use and simple to support.
If much more information is packed into it, a radical
change of format may be in order.  (keyword:value pairs,
perhaps, or using a more formal database system.


-- 
  "I probably don't know what I'm talking about."  http://www.olib.org/~rkr/