Rootsweb is changing the operation of its mailing lists. You should probably have already received a message from Rootsweb, advising that the lists are to be changed. When this list has been changed, you should get a Welcome message, advising that you have been subscribed to the new version of the list. That should not mean that you have been subscribed to an extra mailing list, only that your subscription to the list to which you are now subscribed, has been transferred to the new version of the list. When you receive that Welcome message, please read it and keep it. Amongst other information, it will have the new email address to which messages are to be addressed, for posting to the mailing list. For any questions, or problems, please ask the Rootsweb helpdesk, by using the form at http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/form1.html I understand that I will have to go through all of the list settings, after the list has been changed, so a period of time, may occur, during which the list operates differently, due to the list settings having been erased. -- Bret Busby List Administrator Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of Book 1 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 ....................................................
Due to recent increasing misconduct by some people on this list, and the resultant prospect of us losing the benefit of having a Rootsweb-hosted mailing list relating to the use of Linux in genealogy, I have been forced to impose the equivalent of martial law on this list. This list has been changed to Moderated Mode, where all messages posted to the list, now have to be each manually authorised by me to be distributed by the mailing list. That may cause delays in messages posted in good faith, being distributed by the list. I had to go to a fair bit of trouble to get this list created, in convincing the Rootsweb administration that the list would be properly conducted, and would be an appropriate list for Rootsweb to host. That was shortly after a previous Linux-oriented list had been discontinued by Rootsweb, when the appropriateness of that list for Rootsweb hosting, was determined as being too questionable. I then had to give personal undertakings as to the conduct of this list, and I believe that I was significantly let down by what has recently happened on this list. I am particularly disappointed in the conduct of one particular person that I directly invited to take part in this list, due to the potential value to all involved, including that person. In the list archive, the first message that shows in the archive, states the limitations of what may be posted to the list. The Rootsweb Acceptable Use Policy also applies to the list. There are two other fundamental principles, which may not be stated in those two sources, that I have recently explicitly stated on the list, that are also applicable; one is that only the List Administrator, and no ordinary list subscriber, may regulate the list or rebuke other list subscribers, and the other is that messages posted to the list should be respectful of other subscribers. I appear to have been too lax in the past, in allowing some of the postings, and the continuation of some list subscriptions. Future postings that I believe to comply with those rules and limitations, and with the Rootsweb Acceptable Use Policy, and that are from people who have not offended against the applicable rules, I intend to authorise. Other messages will be withheld from the list. We have been granted the provision of this list as a free benefit, subject to particular rules. It is unfortunate that some have refused to respect those rules, and have caused this situation to develop, where this list has been jeopardised and these conditions have to now be strictly imposed. We have, and have had, subscribers who were subscribed to the previous Rootsweb Linux list, and I hope that they and the other subscribers will continue to be subscribed to this list and to maximise the benefits of this list. -- Bret Busby List Administrator Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 ....................................................
> You're making too much of a big deal of it. Administrator doesn't have to > be a bully. He made a minor mistake and appologized. Drop it. > bruce > Further discussion on the list, of this topic will result in summary removal from the list. -- Bret Busby List Administrator - Rootsweb Linux-Genealogy mailing list Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 ....................................................
On Sat, 3 Sep 2005, William D. Tallman wrote: > > Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 12:01:47 -0700 > From: William D. Tallman <wtallman@olypen.com> > Reply-To: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > To: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [LINUX-GEN] Forays into genealogical database modelling > Resent-Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 13:01:50 -0600 > Resent-From: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > > On Sat, Sep 03, 2005 at 08:49:59PM +0200, Leif B. Kristensen wrote: > > On Saturday 03 September 2005 20:36, William D. Tallman wrote: > > > This is a geneaology email list for users of the GNU/Linux operating > > > system on whatever hardware platform. Your software does not > > > function under those conditions, requiring Microsoft proprietary > > > operating software. Your post, then, is inappropriate here. > > > > Huh? > > > > My articles deal with how to convert the contents of a database from a > > closed-source Windows application to an open source platform, using > > PostgreSQL in conjunction with Perl, PHP and later Python as well. I do > > believe that is highly on-topic here. > > -- > > Leif Biberg Kristensen > > http://solumslekt.org/ > > My apologies, sir! I have blundered badly, it seems. > > I failed to read the correct URL and got the software site instead, > where I read the information I quoted. Perhaps my descendents should > read "He shot himself in the foot once too often...." > > Bill Tallman > > This message is for Bill Tallman in particular, but for other subscribers to read, so all subscribers know what I am addressing to Bill Tallman. You have indeed blundered badly. You are a subscriber to this list, and, not the List Administrator. It is not for you, a subscriber to this list, or any other list in which you are not the List Administrator, to lay down the law to another list subscriber, and it will not be tolerated. It is only for the List Administrator, or, in extreme cases, the Rootsweb administration, to determine and advise that a posting is inappropriate for a mailing list. It is not for one subscriber to publish that a posting of another subscriber, is inappropriate, or to pretend to be the List Administrator. That is not just my ruling; it is a fundamental operational principle of Rootsweb mailing lists, and is basic mailing list etiquette. The thing to do, if a subscriber has a problem with a posting by another subscriber, to to address the concerns directly to the List Admninistrator, off-list, using the list administration email address (in this case, linux-genealogy-admin@rootsweb.com), not to publish such concerns on the list. I am the List Administrator, and you are formally warned against repeating that behaviour. I am posting this message to the list, so that all subscribers are clear about this principle, and my intention to enforce it. I have also noticed in the past that some of your postings have been disrespectful to other list subscribers. I strongly recommend that you consider carefully what you post to this list in the future, as another principle of mailing list etiquette, is to be respectful of other subscribers, and future transgressions will not be received favourably by me. Thus are you warned. -- Bret Busby List Administrator - Rootsweb Linux-Genealogy mailing list Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 ....................................................
On Mon, 2005-09-05 at 11:15 +0800, Bret Busby wrote: > > You're making too much of a big deal of it. Administrator doesn't have to > > be a bully. He made a minor mistake and appologized. Drop it. > > bruce > > > > Further discussion on the list, of this topic will result in summary > removal from the list. > > -- > Bret Busby > List Administrator - Rootsweb Linux-Genealogy mailing list I originally subscribed to this list to learn more about the needs of typical users under the Linux environment and to assist members with any problems that they encounter when using GRAMPS (the Linux based genealogy project that I run). I found many of the comments and insights from users to be useful and informative. Since I will be unsubscribing from this list (before I accidentally say something that will get me removed :-) , no one from the GRAMPS development team will be monitoring the group for GRAMPS related issues. While it may be a bit of an inconvenience for members of this list, you may report GRAMPS issues to either gramps-bugs@lists.sourceforge.net or gramps-users@lists.sourceforge.net. Don Don Allingham GRAMPS project leader http://www.gramps-project.org
Another list needs to be found to replace this one. I too would prefer a user friendly list where issues can be discussed without fear of being kicked. If anyone knows of an appropriate list, I would like to know of it. David Morgan On Sunday 04 September 2005 21:46, Don Allingham wrote: > > I originally subscribed to this list to learn more about the needs of > typical users under the Linux environment and to assist members with any > problems that they encounter when using GRAMPS (the Linux based > genealogy project that I run). I found many of the comments and insights > from users to be useful and informative. > > Since I will be unsubscribing from this list (before I accidentally say > something that will get me removed :-) , no one from the GRAMPS > development team will be monitoring the group for GRAMPS related issues. > While it may be a bit of an inconvenience for members of this list, you > may report GRAMPS issues to either gramps-bugs@lists.sourceforge.net or > gramps-users@lists.sourceforge.net. > > Don > > > Don Allingham > GRAMPS project leader > http://www.gramps-project.org >
On Sunday 04 September 2005 11:03, Bret Busby wrote: > On Sat, 3 Sep 2005, William D. Tallman wrote: > > Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 12:01:47 -0700 > > From: William D. Tallman <wtallman@olypen.com> > > Reply-To: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > > To: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > > Subject: Re: [LINUX-GEN] Forays into genealogical database modelling > > Resent-Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 13:01:50 -0600 > > Resent-From: LINUX-GENEALOGY-L@rootsweb.com > > > > On Sat, Sep 03, 2005 at 08:49:59PM +0200, Leif B. Kristensen wrote: > > > On Saturday 03 September 2005 20:36, William D. Tallman wrote: > > > > This is a geneaology email list for users of the GNU/Linux > > > > operating system on whatever hardware platform. Your software > > > > does not function under those conditions, requiring Microsoft > > > > proprietary operating software. Your post, then, is inappropriate > > > > here. > > > > > > Huh? > > > > > > My articles deal with how to convert the contents of a database from > > > a closed-source Windows application to an open source platform, > > > using PostgreSQL in conjunction with Perl, PHP and later Python as > > > well. I do believe that is highly on-topic here. > > > -- > > > Leif Biberg Kristensen > > > http://solumslekt.org/ > > > > My apologies, sir! I have blundered badly, it seems. > > > > I failed to read the correct URL and got the software site instead, > > where I read the information I quoted. Perhaps my descendents should > > read "He shot himself in the foot once too often...." > > > > Bill Tallman > > This message is for Bill Tallman in particular, but for other > subscribers to read, so all subscribers know what I am addressing to > Bill Tallman. > > You have indeed blundered badly. > > You are a subscriber to this list, and, not the List Administrator. > > It is not for you, a subscriber to this list, or any other list in which > you are not the List Administrator, to lay down the law to another > list subscriber, and it will not be tolerated. > > It is only for the List Administrator, or, in extreme cases, the > Rootsweb administration, to determine and advise that a posting is > inappropriate for a mailing list. It is not for one subscriber to > publish that a posting of another subscriber, is inappropriate, or to > pretend to be the List Administrator. > > That is not just my ruling; it is a fundamental operational principle of > Rootsweb mailing lists, and is basic mailing list etiquette. > > The thing to do, if a subscriber has a problem with a posting by another > subscriber, to to address the concerns directly to the List > Admninistrator, off-list, using the list administration email address > (in this case, linux-genealogy-admin@rootsweb.com), not to publish such > concerns on the list. > > I am the List Administrator, and you are formally warned against > repeating that behaviour. > > I am posting this message to the list, so that all subscribers are clear > about this principle, and my intention to enforce it. > > I have also noticed in the past that some of your postings have been > disrespectful to other list subscribers. I strongly recommend that you > consider carefully what you post to this list in the future, as another > principle of mailing list etiquette, is to be respectful of other > subscribers, and future transgressions will not be received favourably > by me. > > Thus are you warned. > > -- > Bret Busby > List Administrator - Rootsweb Linux-Genealogy mailing list You're making too much of a big deal of it. Administrator doesn't have to be a bully. He made a minor mistake and appologized. Drop it. bruce
On Mon, Sep 05, 2005 at 12:03:31AM +0800, Bret Busby wrote: > This message is for Bill Tallman in particular, but for other > subscribers to read, so all subscribers know what I am addressing to > Bill Tallman. > > You have indeed blundered badly. > > You are a subscriber to this list, and, not the List Administrator. > > It is not for you, a subscriber to this list, or any other list in which > you are not the List Administrator, to lay down the law to another > list subscriber, and it will not be tolerated. > > It is only for the List Administrator, or, in extreme cases, the > Rootsweb administration, to determine and advise that a posting is > inappropriate for a mailing list. It is not for one subscriber to > publish that a posting of another subscriber, is inappropriate, or to > pretend to be the List Administrator. > > That is not just my ruling; it is a fundamental operational principle of > Rootsweb mailing lists, and is basic mailing list etiquette. > > The thing to do, if a subscriber has a problem with a posting by another > subscriber, to to address the concerns directly to the List > Admninistrator, off-list, using the list administration email address > (in this case, linux-genealogy-admin@rootsweb.com), not to publish such > concerns on the list. > > I am the List Administrator, and you are formally warned against > repeating that behaviour. > > I am posting this message to the list, so that all subscribers are clear > about this principle, and my intention to enforce it. > > I have also noticed in the past that some of your postings have been > disrespectful to other list subscribers. I strongly recommend that you > consider carefully what you post to this list in the future, as another > principle of mailing list etiquette, is to be respectful of other > subscribers, and future transgressions will not be received favourably > by me. > > Thus are you warned. > > -- > Bret Busby > List Administrator - Rootsweb Linux-Genealogy mailing list > > Armadale > West Australia > .............. > > "So once you do know what the question actually is, > you'll know what the answer means." > - Deep Thought, > Chapter 28 of > "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > A Trilogy In Four Parts", > written by Douglas Adams, > published by Pan Books, 1992 > > .................................................... I apologize for having invaded your domain, sir. My subscription to this email list is at your pleasure. My unsubscription, however, is at my pleasure. Bill Tallman
On Saturday 03 September 2005 20:36, William D. Tallman wrote: > This is a geneaology email list for users of the GNU/Linux operating > system on whatever hardware platform. Your software does not > function under those conditions, requiring Microsoft proprietary > operating software. Your post, then, is inappropriate here. Huh? My articles deal with how to convert the contents of a database from a closed-source Windows application to an open source platform, using PostgreSQL in conjunction with Perl, PHP and later Python as well. I do believe that is highly on-topic here. -- Leif Biberg Kristensen http://solumslekt.org/
I have published a new "article" on my current work with a home-grown genealogy database application, where I dive into the physical data model along with a lot of comments. As I have been using The Master Genealogist for seven years, my own application will neccessarily have to deal with the TMG database at a "legacy" level. The tables and internal data structure do look an awful lot like TMG, but I have lately come up with some nifty extensions. I'd love to receive some comments on this stuff. The first article: http://solumslekt.org/forays/tmg.php The second article: http://solumslekt.org/forays/blue.php -- Leif Biberg Kristensen http://solumslekt.org/
On Sat, Sep 03, 2005 at 08:49:59PM +0200, Leif B. Kristensen wrote: > On Saturday 03 September 2005 20:36, William D. Tallman wrote: > > This is a geneaology email list for users of the GNU/Linux operating > > system on whatever hardware platform. Your software does not > > function under those conditions, requiring Microsoft proprietary > > operating software. Your post, then, is inappropriate here. > > Huh? > > My articles deal with how to convert the contents of a database from a > closed-source Windows application to an open source platform, using > PostgreSQL in conjunction with Perl, PHP and later Python as well. I do > believe that is highly on-topic here. > -- > Leif Biberg Kristensen > http://solumslekt.org/ My apologies, sir! I have blundered badly, it seems. I failed to read the correct URL and got the software site instead, where I read the information I quoted. Perhaps my descendents should read "He shot himself in the foot once too often...." Bill Tallman
On Sat, Sep 03, 2005 at 04:58:39PM +0200, Leif B. Kristensen wrote: > I have published a new "article" on my current work with a home-grown > genealogy database application, where I dive into the physical data > model along with a lot of comments. > > As I have been using The Master Genealogist for seven years, my own > application will neccessarily have to deal with the TMG database at a > "legacy" level. The tables and internal data structure do look an awful > lot like TMG, but I have lately come up with some nifty extensions. > > I'd love to receive some comments on this stuff. > > The first article: http://solumslekt.org/forays/tmg.php > The second article: http://solumslekt.org/forays/blue.php > -- > Leif Biberg Kristensen > http://solumslekt.org/ Interesting. From the site: ----------------------------- Hardware Requirements The Master Genealogist requires a Pentium 166 with 64 Megs of RAM (256 recommended) running Windows 98, NT, 2000, ME, or XP. A screen resolution of at least 800x600 is strongly recommended. Web searching and chart uploading features require an Internet connection. ----------------------------- This is a geneaology email list for users of the GNU/Linux operating system on whatever hardware platform. Your software does not function under those conditions, requiring Microsoft proprietary operating software. Your post, then, is inappropriate here. Sorry, Bill Tallman
FYI Many people use PDAs to assist in genealogical searches. How safe is your data? I stumbled on an article on PDA security and pass it on to you. It came from the July issue of PC Today, a popular computer magazine here is USA. see http://www.pctoday.com/Editorial/article.asp?article=articles/2005/t0307/29t07/29t07.asp&did=906&aid=26864 JimS
There is an interesting site at http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ But this site does not work with Firefox and perhaps other browsers. If you have problems, consider writing to gazette-comments@tso.co.uk JimS sindbergj@pobox.com
Thank you Bill, I have no problem in learning HTML code. I would loe to be able to write a script which would do that for me, rather than hand-edit the page before it goes out. I did this the "easy" way, as someone had sked if we had a posssible connectiopn way back, in a family which had several generationd of repeated names. So All I did (never thinking of possible consquences) was to do a save (as HTML page) of the aporopriate page,, using the Konqueror brower. As you surmise, i am a relative newbie to Linux, having thrown out my Windows OS only a year ago. I suppose I could open the same page now in a text editor, then find the code, and rewrite it. I would be especially pleased if someone could tell me how to write a script which would do that after creating the page, from a command-line window. That sounds easiest. I would like to see how such a script, or little C prog should read. I very much would like to be able to do that. There are several changes which I would like to make whenever I create a page like this, before sending one out to others for their use. Thank you for your input and for not laughing so awfully hard (grin) I appreaciate your kind response. Liz J --SuSE 8.4 for one more week/ten days --then on to Fedora-something which my brother will install on the new (bigger) hard drive. On 7/28/05, William D. Tallman <wtallman@olypen.com> wrote: > On Thu, Jul 28, 2005 at 01:19:58PM -0400, E Johnson wrote: > > Hi group > > > > I have a question about sending Geneweb pages as HTML files. > <snip> > > The names in the HTML page I created, appear to be live links, which I > > never expected to be linked to anything. But they are! If I click on > <snip> > > Can someone tell me how to prevent this from happening, if I send out > <snip> > > --how can I disable the links if I create a page from my Geneweb > > database, as an HTML page? I don't especially want to rename my > > database becase of Stewie! > > > > Thank you > > Liz J > > I would gather that you know nothing about HTML code, and probably have > had no reason to think you would need to know such things. If you did > know, you would not have had to ask this question. Please understand > that these observations are not a judgment; not everyone is interested > in such things and rightfully so. > > The short answer is that if one reads the source code for the pages, one > will find the link code, which can simply be deleted, leaving the names > as information only. Doing so is tedious. I would write a shell script > or a wee C proggy to handle the task, but that requires the ability to > write such code in the first place. > > The longer answer is much more ambiguous, I'm afraid. You're left with > a number of options, and I don't know what they all are. If there is no > provision for configuring out such links in the generated HTML code, it > seems your choices are 1) live with it. 2) use other code generating > applications. 3) remove the offending HTML code however you can do so. > 4) rethink the entire project, etc, etc. > > In any case, generating web pages without the ability to edit the > generated code itself has these sort of consequences. Do you think it > might be worth learning something about HTML, at least enough to > recognize link code in the page source? It really is not all that hard > to do, I think you may be surprise to discover! > > Bill Tallman > > > ==== LINUX-GENEALOGY Mailing List ==== > To find information about this list, go to the web page at > http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Software/LINUX-GENEALOGY.html > Email for list administrator: linux-genealogy-admin@rootsweb.com > > ============================== > Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more. > Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx > >
Hi group I have a question about sending Geneweb pages as HTML files. I made a page from my database, and sent it as an attachment to a corresponsdent. After I sent it, I looked at the page by clicking onto the attachment as shown in my "sent" mail. I had created the page using the Konqueror browser, through which I was working my Geneweb database. I mailed the page out using my firefox browser, with which I retrieve and send out mail from the e-mail account I have here. The names in the HTML page I created, appear to be live links, which I never expected to be linked to anything. But they are! If I click on any name, I am automatically redirected to a page: "ThingsYouNeverKnewExisted" featuring, "Stewie Rules"!! With ads for kid's helmets, assorted kid-gear, and even one of those funny noses you can wear! Their address is http://www.johnsonsmith.com/website/aspfiles/home.asp How embarassing! I suppose I will have to rename my database --my surnames are really Johnson and Smith. Wow. Also, there was a little logo in the lower right corner of this newly created HTML page, which I checked for properties That has the following properties: Link Properties: Address: http://johnsonsmith/? (will open in New Window) --this must be my browser preferences (Firefox) Image properties: Location: http://images/gwlogo.gif. Width 64 px; Height 72 px Size of file Unknown (Not cached) Alternate text: .... So what's going on? How can the gwlogo.gif --which also now seems to be a live link, send me to the Stewie page?? I dearly hope this did not happen to the person to whom I sent my HTML page! This did not occur in my Konqueror browser. I thought all of the links would be inactive --so this must be some hidden glitch in the Firefox, which searches for the most likely match on the web. In Konqueror, the gwlogo.gif redirects to the mail Geneweb front page. But wowza, what happens to someone who is running a Windows OS! Who knows what they might get if they decide to click on one of the names on this or another HTML page I might make. I am running SuSE 8.4, just about to change in a new hard drive next week, to the newer Fedora... but for now --what's with Stewie? Can someone tell me how to prevent this from happening, if I send out another HTML page to a "normal" Windows user? I suppose I could rename my database --but in general --how can I disable the links if I create a page from my database, as an HTML page? Being a Johnson-Smith has had its disadvantages, but here is one I never dreamed might happen. Okay, everybody laugh --now what?? That is, --how can I disable the links if I create a page from my Geneweb database, as an HTML page? I don't especially want to rename my database becase of Stewie! Thank you Liz J
On Thu, Jul 28, 2005 at 01:19:58PM -0400, E Johnson wrote: > Hi group > > I have a question about sending Geneweb pages as HTML files. <snip> > The names in the HTML page I created, appear to be live links, which I > never expected to be linked to anything. But they are! If I click on <snip> > Can someone tell me how to prevent this from happening, if I send out <snip> > --how can I disable the links if I create a page from my Geneweb > database, as an HTML page? I don't especially want to rename my > database becase of Stewie! > > Thank you > Liz J I would gather that you know nothing about HTML code, and probably have had no reason to think you would need to know such things. If you did know, you would not have had to ask this question. Please understand that these observations are not a judgment; not everyone is interested in such things and rightfully so. The short answer is that if one reads the source code for the pages, one will find the link code, which can simply be deleted, leaving the names as information only. Doing so is tedious. I would write a shell script or a wee C proggy to handle the task, but that requires the ability to write such code in the first place. The longer answer is much more ambiguous, I'm afraid. You're left with a number of options, and I don't know what they all are. If there is no provision for configuring out such links in the generated HTML code, it seems your choices are 1) live with it. 2) use other code generating applications. 3) remove the offending HTML code however you can do so. 4) rethink the entire project, etc, etc. In any case, generating web pages without the ability to edit the generated code itself has these sort of consequences. Do you think it might be worth learning something about HTML, at least enough to recognize link code in the page source? It really is not all that hard to do, I think you may be surprise to discover! Bill Tallman
John, I am trying Geneweb again, using the Geneanet server. I have a database there of about 5000 people. I find that the search tool does not work well to find people. If the person is entered with a middle name, or a middle initial, then I must know that and know which one. Otherwise the search by first and last name fails. Is there any way around this? David
On Sun, 3 Jul 2005 22:47:03 -0700 "William D. Tallman" <wtallman@olypen.com> wrote: > One very large problem with LUGs is the inevitable politics that > arise. I can't let this statement pass without comment. I have been a member of HantsLUG (Hampshire UK that is) for quite a few years both as an ordinary and as a committee member and there are almost no internal politics. One individual may fall out with another but that is normal to human relationships. There has also been an attempt to form a local LUG in Portsmouth but from what I understand this hasn't attracted too many people away from HantsLUG. One reason for the attempt to set up a local group was the fact we lost a venue in Portsmouth that we had used for LUG meets. There was an attempt some years back by one individual to suborn the group to his own ends but this was quickly squashed by the members. It was at this time we set up a committee and wrote a constitution to prevent this sort of thing happening again. I think we are perhaps one of the most active LUGs in the UK but do not have the size of membership that some US LUGs have. Perhaps the fact that we are not too big helps prevent politics creeping in. >The possibilities of usefulness are all too often limited > thus. Nevertheless, any individual who so wishes can attach > him/herself to a LUG and operate as an independant consultant, > thereby avoiding the roleplaying games that arise within the > organization. Methinks you have had a bad experience that clouds your thinking about LUGs. Any one is welcome to join our mailing list or the IRC channel, it isn't restricted to people residing in Hampshire (for example I live in the adjoining county of Dorset). We even have one member who lives on the west coast of the USA. We have a wiki at http://www.hants.lug.org.uk/cgi-bin/wiki.pl and you will find out the sort of things we get up to on that site. There is also information on how to join the mailing list etc. -- John Lewis, Debian GNU/Linux and GeneWeb genealogy software
On Thu, 30 Jun 2005, William D. Tallman wrote: > > Linux is one of the UNIX-type operating systems. UNIX was designed for > computer professionals to operate computers as information tool systems. > Certainly Linux can be configured to perform as an appliance, and most > of us make good use of that possibility. But it is not, in itself, an > appliance management system, as are Microsoft products. It is a real > operating system that requires an operator (not just user) to > administrate it. As a Linux user, you have a choice: a) Obtain a > preconfigured system from a Linux distributor and be content with what > it provides you, or b) learn to configure your own system and discover > the remarkable scope of its power as an information tool system. Your > choice, but you cannot choose to escape the consequences of what you > have chosen. > > So ask yourself why you are using Linux, if the responsibility for > configuring your machine is onerous. > > Bill Tallman > -- > I think that you have missed a significant feature of some distributions of Linux, and how it operates, and that is package management. As an example, in Debian, using the apt facility, or, for users who prefer the GUI frontend, Synaptic, dependencies are generally taken care of, quite well. Connectiva, which was absorbed into Mandrake, to form Mandriva, created a package that was an apt utility for rpm-based systems. Linux is not necessarily as complicated as you make out, to use or administer, and the degree of difficulty of use, can be chosen by the user. I remind people that Linux User Groups tend to exist, that service most locations, and, Linux User Groups and their mailing lists, are useful resources for users with problems associated with Linux. It can be worth finding your nearest Linux User Group, and joining its mailing list, and becoming involved in the Linux User Group, to be bale to share Linux knowwledge and skills at a local level, as this can be quite useful, ehrn things go wrong, and to keep up with what is happening with Linux. A problem that I have encountered with GRAMPS, and, from what I understand, GRAMPS is not the only Linux-based package that has the problem (for users), is that the latest version of the software, apparently runs only on unstable or testing versions of Linux distributions. This means that the Linux that I am using, has once again been left behind in terms of the latest versions of some software applications, as I use Debian Sarge, which has now "been realeased", and is now regarded as "stable" (even though it is not so stable, to me, due to problems with releasing memory), so Debian Sarge is one of the distributions that has been left behind for some software applications development. I have previously commented about this, relating specifically to GRAMPS, with the wish that GRAMPS would switch to being something like a web-based application, with something like a MySQL/PostgreSQL backend, and a Perl/PHP frontend, with one effect of that, being probably cross-platform (Windows and Linux) portability. I believe that restricting the versions of the underlying software (the database backend and the scripting frontend), to, as an example, MySQL v4.x, or PostgreSQL v 7.x, and PHP v 4.x or Perl v 5.x, could incorporate all required functionality, and accommodate users with various versions of distributions, that are not more than a couple of years old. But, from what I understand, a number of issues are involved with that, including the philosophy of the application development project, and the skillset of the application development project. I am hoping to sometime, find the time, to myself attempt to create a genealogy application, with the software structure that I have mentioned, to eliminate (most) dependency problems. It is always possible, that the philosophy and skillset of the GRAMPS project, could change, to incorporate the software atructure that I have suggested... :) -- Bret Busby Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 ....................................................