Historic:MailingListUpdates

Also, IRC logs

Here are status updates sent via the mailinglist

Friday, 1:33 AM

The site now has forums with four user groups:

Code, Content, Style, and System.

Please go to the site and register as a forum user. There will be forums set up for each group to discuss topics relevant to each section, and people can participate in any forums of interest.

Start thinking of things you'd like to see at the site, do for the site, and so on.

(Just register for now - it may take a day or so to get admins in place and the actual forums set up)

Status:

We upgraded the hosting by two tiers - this should fix the problems people were having yesterday accessing the system.

The System team is working to install SlashCode right now. If all goes well, we expect to have a working system by Monday. Everyone agrees that this goal is achievable.

This is all very exciting, and it's looking more and more like we're going to get the community site we want!

Forums are here: AltSlashdot.org/Forum

Code - Javascript on the browser, some perl on the website.

Content - Submission guidelines, editing techniques, allowed/disallowed behaviour, &c

Style - Look and feel, style sheets, layout and presentation

System - Server, SlashCode, daemons, routers, load balancers.

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Thank you for volunteering to help AltSlashdot!

Life is coming at me pretty fast right now, so if there are problems please bear with me - I will make things right eventually. This E-mail was hastily composed, so if you think something is rude or short, please don't take offence.

1) If you want off of this list, let me know.

2) If you want to volunteer as editor *only*, please let me know. I'll put you on a different list for editors.

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1) Making money

I've devised a proposed business plan that I think will get people excited. You can view it here:

www.altslashdot.org/wiki/index.php?title=Finances

This plan addresses the issues of selling out in the future, making money, community support, and leaving me with an exit strategy in 10 years or so.

Summary: I plan to turn the profits form the site into $52,000 annuities for the employees.

2) New site name

I agree wholeheartedly with everyone that we need a new name. We only disagree on "when" we need it.

We can have a contest the first thing once the site is up, I promise! I'll even throw some cash in as a prize to get people interested.

For the near term, my focus is on managing all the volunteers and getting the base site working.

3) Slashcode help needed

If possible, I'd like the new site running on Monday. That means grabbing slashcode and bringing it to the host (BlueHost) and getting it to work, probably over the weekend.

I'll do this if pressed, but someone familiar with Apache, Perl, and MySql could do this much faster and free me up for other chores.

Someone willing to do this, and also some light maintenance over time, would be eligible for one of the annuities in the business plan (*if* that plan is feasible, legal, &c).

If this is something you'd like to do, and think you can do it over the next few days, please E-mail me directly.

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Please review my goals below. I'm doing this as a business, which means I'm the "benevolent dictator". "For profit" or non-profit hasn't been decided yet.

At the moment, I'm swamped from all sides with things that need doing. Would anyone like to take over these aspects of this project?

1) Setup an initial community support structure Chat room Mailing list Other things we may need

2) Manage the wiki pages (wiki.AltSlashdot.org) a) Adding/removing users b) Updating pages with status and progress c) Adding content that reflects the plan, community decisions, and such

3) Figure out how to install SlashCode

The "initial support structure" thing is just that - setting things up initially so that people have a place to talk, post ideas, and whatnot.

Managing the wiki does not necessarily mean doing a lot of editing, there will probably be volunteers available.

My vision for the new site:

The purpose of the site will be to attract and keep readers. I intend for the site to make money I intend for the site to hire people, and be a good employer I intend to listen to community feedback and do whatever makes the site better There will be monetization; however, this is secondary to the primary goal, which is to attract and keep readers. No user information will be monetized (ie we won't sell our user's contact info) We won't poach from Slashdot

Monetization will be largely what Slashdot does now: advertizing, merchandise, and job postings.