On Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:26:49 -0400 "Ivica Ico Bukvic" <ico@xxxxxx> wrote: > I certainly agree some consolidation could be a good thing. What I am > wondering about though, is the possibility of truly using the > linuxaudio.org as a portal. In order to do this I think several > things would be needed from my standpoint.... > > > > See http://portal.linuxaudio.org <http://portal.linuxaudio.org/> > > > 1. A centralized basic information about all applications (wiki > already in existance, good start) > > > > http://apps.linuxaudio.org <http://apps.linuxaudio.org/> has all > apps that have been a part of Dave's website. They can be also sorted > according to jack/ladspa/whatever support and entries are open to > community contributions. There were a number of people here very > vocal how they would not contribute to a wiki that was password > protected. Well, it hasn been open access since its introduction > little over a year ago, yet we had little or no contributions since. > It would be nice if we would be as determined about our contributions > as we are about our preferences, no? > > > > 2. A centralized repository of general linux audio information(ie > What is realtime, why/when should you use it, FAQs etc.) > > > > http://lowlatency.linuxaudio.org/ (yes, it could be much better, > volunteers are always welcome) > > > 3. A centralized place to go for announcements from all projects at > once... > > > > http://lists.linuxaudio.org <http://lists.linuxaudio.org/> > > > > we are hoping to also implement forum.linuxaudio.org > > > > > - This would likely entail using a RSS feeds for all members of the > linuxaudio consortium, and subscribing to those feeds to be displayed > on the news page. I am sure there is a better way, but this is what > sticks out to me at the moment, filtering of the announcements might > be necessary. I suppose another option would be to utilize the > linux-audio-announce mailing list instead so as to have a natural > filter preventing things like general informational posts. > > > > Linuxaudio.org main page has RSS feeds. > > > 4. I am not against a centralized forum either, however I think app > specific forums and websites are still a good thing, which leads to > the next point couple of points... > 5. Tight integration between all of the above. On the wiki we have > links to the forums for those peices of software, or from the > FAQ/Info sections links to the forums, or from the Forums to the > wikis, with the news announcements a link to the wiki for the > software the announcement is about, etc. > > > > This is in progress but again, most of the work you've seen so far > has been the fruit of maybe half-dozen people including myself. > > > 6. A single login for linuxaudio... And I don't just mean > linuxaudio.org, but all member projects if possible. This is the one > most difficult to implement, and probably most contreversial, but > would allay some of the problems that Dave and others have, which is > having to sign up for hundreds of forums with logins to remember > etc. Having one place to go for that would be great. This could tie > into the centralized forums, by having direct links to each of the > projects individual forums, if applicable, and auto-login. OpenID is > making good strides in this area, but as I mentioned I do expect this > to be the most contreversial of my suggestions I suppose, along with > still being the most difficult to implement. > > > > See above. Some users complain about having to log in so we left it > open for the sake of greatest possible target audience. > > > > Best wishes, > > > > ico > > > But the goal with these would be to provide a single portal, from > which you can get all levels of help by utilizing all the availiable > resources out there. > > Seablade > What I think would be a good idea is not to centralise anything as such but to have a central place to go for directions and information, call it signpost, call it portal, call it whatever you want. One criteria it would need to fulfil is to be up-to-date, another to offer a real overview, a third to be well structured. It would require quite some and constant work to reflect the real situation, outdated and wrong information would only be misleading (once it is established, that is). I guess that some people would be needed to do this job, a team of people who are willing to invest a considerable amount of time and effort, not just for a brief period but in the long run. Else, I don't really see hope for that. On the matter of a forum: I used those for quite some time, but pretty much stopped doing so when I got more and more into Linux audio. I don't really know why, but I can't stand them any more. It is hard for me to find valuable information an a forum and asking to get information is more cumbersome than on IRC or a mailing-list. A mailing list is a far more standard-way of communication and more accessible in many ways, everybody, including people without eyesight, like Julien, can access it. That's something that is impossible with a forum, to my knowledge at least. What I wish for a mailing-list like this a good way to search it, placed so that everyone can easily find and use it, to avoid unnecessary repetitions as far as possible. >From my experience it is a very common and big problem of fora that people are asking the same questions over and over again, and knowledgeable people get tired of answering and/or redirecting. IRC and mailing-lists may have the same problem, but it appears to be not as big a problem. The key to solve that may be a good wiki or something like that, where people write something down once, instead of answering a hundred times. A good and active wiki, in combination with a good mailing-list search placed at a prominent position may provide the informational backbone. A forum may be an addition to it, but I personally would like to have the vast majority of information on the wiki and the list. The wiki has the sign-up-problem as well, for contributions at least, and I don't know how to get rid of that barrier. When writing the above, I had mostly the technical aspects in mind. I can well imagine a forum as a place for more musical and community related communications. A place for communications of a low priority from a technical point of view, where it is possible to talk on a more personal level because you don't disturb anybody. I guess that's the one good thing about fora, communication that would be considered inappropriate on a list could be fine there, under the premise that important information is present and easily accessible elsewhere. It is all just from my limited experience, and it's just how I imagine that it could work, and I think it could. What it would require is a lot of constant work from a bunch of people with different expertise. It may well be that I was unclear on some points, please don't hesitate to ask. What is imagined, described, and understood may well be apart a lot. It would be nice if it all came true, let's see who makes it happen. Best Regards, Philipp _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-user mailing list Linux-audio-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-user
