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Posted: 02 April 06 7:53 pm
by Nosugrefs
We'd be happy to contribute financially to something as useful as this site. This is assuming its a money issue.
Posted: 02 April 06 9:12 pm
by caughtatwork
I don't think it's money, it's mainly time.
A number of people have volunteered time and skills but the big question is how do you keep a bunch of cowboys under control?
Posted: 02 April 06 9:59 pm
by riblit
caughtatwork wrote:I don't think it's money, it's mainly time.
A number of people have volunteered time and skills but the big question is how do you keep a bunch of cowboys under control?
one of those stun gun thinggys, maybe?
Posted: 02 April 06 10:13 pm
by Cached
I'd like to note at this point that Ideologys ability to remain impartial has been above reproach.
This community has mostly been allowed to guage its own direction and i! has shown great fortitude and strength of character in allowing this to occur.
I would be concerned that in the event of any future handover that this impartiality could not be found again.
Thanks again to i! for all the work he has done, and continues to do!
Posted: 03 April 06 12:15 am
by caughtatwork
riblit wrote:caughtatwork wrote:I don't think it's money, it's mainly time.
A number of people have volunteered time and skills but the big question is how do you keep a bunch of cowboys under control?
one of those stun gun thinggys, maybe?
Sounds like a good idea.
Now how do I turn it on and aim it in a particular direction?
Posted: 03 April 06 9:00 pm
by ideology
any more thoughts on this topic?
Posted: 03 April 06 9:42 pm
by Mix
I think the key thing about GCA is that it has grown from and always for the purpose of providing a “freeÂâ€
Posted: 04 April 06 4:25 pm
by Mind Socket
I don't think we need to go down the path of anything so formal as an association, but there would need to be something. As for "membership", I'd like to see an optional donation system trialled should the need for funding arise - one that _doesn't_ give any extra rights, features or stature to those that do contribute (the idea being that people can contribute in more ways than financially and those that don't needn't be disadvantaged).
Maybe something in the wiki to firm up the beliefs/philosophies/approach of GCA would form the basis of a loose constitution, and getting it done sooner than later means the input of the current "benevolent powers that got us this far" (that's BPTGUTF as opposed to TPTB
) is applied.
- Rog
Posted: 04 April 06 9:33 pm
by Grank
Mind Socket wrote:I'd like to see an optional donation system trialled
How much and account number please? I'll send it tonight/tomorrow.
1st GPSr = $300
2nd GPSr = $1,000
Maps = $400
Petrol = $$$$$$
Cach containers etc $600 (approx)
Enjoyment of caching and chatting with the LOCAL community
... you guessed it!
Posted: 04 April 06 9:44 pm
by C.A.S.
What resources and costs are we talking about in hosting GCA?
Is it possible for i! to post documentation on how the site currently operates giving details on hardware, OS, hosting location, domain registraation fees, time in administration/development, etc?
TimTam
Posted: 04 April 06 9:48 pm
by Grank
caughtatwork wrote:riblit wrote:caughtatwork wrote:how do you keep a bunch of cowboys under control?
one of those stun gun thinggys, maybe?
Sounds like a good idea.
Now how do I turn it on and aim it in a particular direction?
a quick demo for c@w of the successors methods<p>
<a href="
http://gallery.geocaching.com.au/grank/" >
<img src="
http://gallery.geocaching.com.au/albums ... .thumb.jpg">
</a>
Posted: 04 April 06 10:26 pm
by ideology
C.A.S. wrote:What resources and costs are we talking about in hosting GCA?
Is it possible for i! to post documentation on how the site currently operates giving details on hardware, OS, hosting location, domain registraation fees, time in administration/development, etc?
TimTam
the server is hosted in texas and is a dedicated dual xenon 2.8ghz/1gb box running ubuntu.
http://www.totalcontrolservers.com/prod ... tails.html
hosting cost for the server is about $4-$5k pa, but the server also hosts other sites which keep the costs down. domain registration is negligible.
total development time is in the hundreds, probably thousands of hours. admin takes about 1 or 2 hours per week, depending on what is going on.
we are not seeking donations. we just know that one day we will want to hand it over and want to make sure there is a plan in place.
Posted: 04 April 06 10:57 pm
by caughtatwork
There simply aren't enough
to express my appreciation at the cost that you guys go to.
Why the semi-dedicated machine?
Is it mainly the processor and RAM, 'cos it doesn't look like the bandwitch is the major problem.
Again
Posted: 05 April 06 2:00 pm
by Geof
46% Never crossed my mind. Well as they say ignorance is bliss to some
I think this is one issue where info is better than little info. The comments expressed here I think will go a long way to bringing that 34% down a bit and thats good as I have had the feeling that it's been up there to long. I thought this could be a good time, given the joke, to get this one out from under the carpet where it seemed to have slid.
We all know why Jeremy i$ in the game and it seems like a$ long as it can keep going he's not likely to quit even if he stuffs it up from time to time.
I'd also like to also thank
i! and those that help run this site for what they do. I know it's not something I could do given the knowledge (or rather lack there of) I have. As states thousands of hours must go into it and probebly $ too
.
It never hurts to keep people informed as to where things are headed and I hope this has given that a bit of a kick along.
Posted: 26 April 06 9:50 am
by ideology
ideology wrote:the trick is going to be choosing the successor/(s). we might as well start thinking about that now because we know that our interests will eventually move on and it's better to plan succession than do it in a hurry
here's what we would be looking for in a successor or group of successors
- someone who has credibility in the gca community
- the drive to keep it free and open
- someone who will make the same three commitments as above
- someone who'lll take it on for a reasonable length of time, eg coupla years at least
- a decent server (not one of those time-shared dreamhost things - it will max out)
- php/sql/html/css/java coding for maintenance and development
- someone who can ignore the people who just want to take and complain without contributing
we aren't sure what the best process of choosing a successor would be. there should probably be some general discussion to improve the list of things above. then perhaps followed by a discussion about how best to achieve that, ie just one person/team or multiple teams, or some kind of committee with local representatives, etc. then we guess falling out of that would be some people who would put their hands up and then some kind of community input into who is doing what. it might be worth asking the NZ and other overseas guys for input to see the pros/cons of their approaches
any more thoughts on this?
the biggest stumbling block for succession appears to be the "free" bit. if that is the case, we are open to advice about donations as some people have mentioned.
