Bringing Cel Collecting into the 21st Century and etc.

[Jadeduo]

Thanks for the tips, ^_^ Most of the original site was written in HTML with some Java sprinkled in from my code Generator, I think the one I was using at the time was Dreamweaver, so I am going to have to go through it and see how it stands up. I had the whole thing backed up on my laptop setup the same as the directories on the site so if it worked on my computer locally it transferred pretty well over to the host.

From there I am going to go shopping I did some poking a few days ago I am going to need at least $100 to get started up, but it covers at least whole year or more from what I understand. I will keep in mind the types of code you prefer so if I need help I have a buddy ^_^

And as everyone on AB knows I am Frugal/Cheap so when it comes to making an investment in something research is key.

[zerospace]

Ooops, my bad, JD! I misunderstood you. I thought you were going host shopping for the new site. HAHA! If you stick with what I just said, you could totally run my gallery software if you wanted.

[Jadeduo]

LOL no worries, if we do this I want to make sure that I have a private site that I can be proud of to hook into the new hub. I think we shouldn't be shopping for a place to put the hub until it is built, and we have figured out funding. I think that your idea of working on your home server Zero is a great idea and that way we can control access while it is being built.

So far for funding we have commitments from, Jadeduo, CB, Kuroitsubasa, and Lunacels.

For Time COMMITMENTS

Development: Zerospace, Maxsidious (you guys should totes work together on this so we have a unified design) Lunacels says she would be willing to learn some basics to help out.

Testing: Cutiebunny, Jadeduo

Content - Cel Collecting Primer: Still working on this, I have updated the thread viewtopic.php?f=61&t=30629 Go there to volunteer, and add your thoughts.

[zerospace]

If bulleta is willing to help, she's fantastic with custom graphics, so she would be a great resource for design (I'll have to beg her, though. )

*pokes bulleta*

[Jadeduo]

Haha, I didn't even think of graphics!

Yes pwease! Graphics minded people please volunteer! I've been told my graphics design looks like something out of the 70s, they are not wrong :/

I was also thinking what should we call this creation other than The HUB... ???

[zerospace]

Haha, I didn't even think of graphics!

Yes pwease! Graphics minded people please volunteer! I've been told my graphics design looks like something out of the 70s, they are not wrong :/

I was also thinking what should we call this creation other than The HUB... ???

Indeed... a name would be a good idea! Maybe I can pester bulleta into making a logo .

[JWR]

In case you have not had a chance to read Jason's post on that thread on RS here is what he said,

"Hey y'all. I read through some of this and it would be awesome if something better existed (or this had someone with more time to devote to it).

The reality is that there isn't enough of a profit motive here to build it into anything bigger. If this were run as a business, it probably would have been wound down.

The good news is that it's in a relatively durable position. The data center isn't going anywhere anytime soon (half of RS is on Amazon, the other half would be moved if I had 1-2 weeks off to do it).

If I had to write this from scratch, it would be all on AWS because f- rackmount servers. I hope to never purchase another one for the rest of my life. It's like buying a jet turbine instead of buying a plane ticket.

I'd be happy to give/share the data to a qualified team, but it would have to be a *truly qualified* team or person. Not a dabbler... a software architect with serious historical MS chops who has copious free time or serious motivation. It would be a nontrivial transferral... think ASP.NET v2, NT2000, and MSSQL 2000. That's not a typo. Also, there are various bits of software from long-dead companies that we'd hope documentation can be found archived somewhere. It would take a few weekends and a lot of patience and no guarantee that it would be able to be moved without pulling the entire box out of the rack and shipping it.

Joe once described this as Battlestar Galactica and that's pretty apt. How many pieces of software do you use today that are essentially 10+ years old?

That's really the problem. There's no clear legacy path for this. I don't *need* to shut it down and I'm actually quite happy to share.

My in-theory migration plan would be something like.... virtualize the Rubberslug image or throw it in Docker, then spend the next 6-12 months, refactor the database into a more flexible document store, then refactor the code into a microservices architecture to decouple concerns, using various cloud services where possible for durability and availability. No idea how you'd make enough money to pay for this, but at that point you just connect your credit card to it and it'll run until the heat death of the sun.

Believe you are qualified for the task? E-mail me at jason{at}orchidflux and I'm happy to discuss!"

[Jadeduo]

I was stalking the thread of DOOM which is what I've taken to calling it because of all the negativity, but I stopped because it was depressing, seriously peeps? I digress, it is interesting to hear about the technology he used in building RS but like he said it is over well over 10 years old... MSSQL2000 is over 15 years old at this point, as I believe it was written around 1999, and released sometime in 2000. In Computer techy terms this is ancient technology.

It is good to know that RS is in a stable place, and he is willing to keep it going in it's current state, which was said, many times, but many of us *although we appreciate what Jason did highly over the years* are unsatisfied with the current state of things. I don't have the technological know how to take on such a project as he suggests, and I don't know if we have any SQL Architects on the forum. What I do know is we have some very highly capable people that can figure this out together.

Part of the problem with RS is that it is really under the purview of one person who has complete control, and he got himself burnt out and or busy, and that is why this new project NEEDS to be a COMMUNITY PROJECT. Something that we all work on, and something that newbies if interested would be allowed to work on as well, websites in a vacuum eventually die, or just stay static.

To rewrite RS would be much harder than actually starting over at this point. RS is too lumbering for the current web we need something a little more svelte and adaptable, that can adjust to mobile and has social features because this is the way of the current www. I think the option of us creating something new that could tie into the old technology at least just linking it up as a resource or pulling an update feed from the main page onto the "Hub (unnamed project)" an excellent idea, and for those who don't want to move off of RS, and keep their gallery open over there, it will still keep them in the loop. We want to create something new that will be unique addition to the community and not a replacement, although that is something that I would be willing to discuss in the future, right now the hub is the focus.

I will also most likely maintain my RS as well, although I might make it a little leaner, I have not yet decided yet as I still have to go over my old Gallery code and decide if it is in a happy place, or I personally need to scrap it entirely as well.

Sometimes we have to start over, sometimes things have to change, what will define us as a community will be how we adapt to it.

[zerospace]

Oh my, those are ancient, aren't they? NT2000? Yikes. I like Windows for my home stuff, but I prefer linux for the web. So uh, yeah, not for me, thanks! I don't care for MS SQL or ASP.NET. I'm totally an open-source gal . Gathering dust on my bookshelf somewhere is an ASP book along with a reference on MS SQL, but I prefer PHP and MySQL. Or maybe I finally donated those books on ASP and MS SQL. I'm not even sure anymore. I'd say I'm a hobbyist. I've probably spent more time than most "dabblers", but less time than a pro. Whatever, though, this isn't about posting a resume.

I'm with JD on this -- time to move on and start fresh, rather than attempt to redo something that's as old as RS is. I thank Jason for his time & dedication, but I think we need to move on and let RS rest in peace. It's about bloody time anyways.

Thanks for posting that here, Joe, but if I'm not mistaken, this thread is about the future, not the past. .

[Jadeduo]

Hear, hear! To the future!

So far here are our volunteers, we could definitely use more, and while I started the thread it would be great to vote in an overall Project Manager to keep watch and keep us all on track I don't have the time right now. (Cel Contest) Although I have been pretty active on the thread...

Funding Commitments!!, Jadeduo, Cutiebunny, Kuroitsubasa, and Lunacels.

For Time COMMITMENTS

Development: Zerospace, Maxsidious (you guys should totes work together on this so we have a unified design) Lunacels says she would be willing to learn some basics to help out.

Testing: Cutiebunny, Jadeduo

Content - Cel Collecting Primer: Still working on this, I have updated the thread viewtopic.php?f=61&t=30629 Go there to volunteer, and add your thoughts.

We still need a name for the Hub, and comments/suggestions from our volunteers, take ownership guys this will be ours as a community so the more people that get involved the better!

[Maxsidious]

1) Maxsidious, I mean no offense, but I'd like to play a part here, considering this "social hub" site was my idea. Thanks. . I don't know about you, but everything I've suggested is something that's well within my programming skill set. I use JavaScript (hate it, but use it), PHP and MySQL mostly, and I currently have my own virtual private server at my disposal, at least for the development process (where this new site is hosted ultimately, I don't care). Perhaps we should be working together, unless you have a problem with that? I don't, provided we're working in the same languages. My personal preference is to plan out my project, slice it up into logical chunks, and then build each piece and start assembling them as they are finished and ready to test.

Heya Zero!
So first things first. I am not a web designer or programmer by trade. Instead, I am a Network Engineer and Project Manager. Although most my certifications are in Network Infrastructure, I do happen to have two certifications in web architecture and design; however, that translates into very little when it comes to the years of experience that some individuals have. With that being said, I do have at my disposal years of experience in the creation of much larger projects than this. Which leads me to my first point, I mean no offense as well but making statements like "this was my idea" is one sure way of having a project crumble at its base. Social networking is not new, so the concept of it being any one individuals idea is trivial when it comes to creating a new site.

Secondly, I personally do not program in JavaScript and often avoid it when I can (just a personal choice.) In as far as working together, I am definitely okay with working with other individuals including yourself; however, in my experience I have never seen a site successfully coded by multiple individuals with vast geographic differences. I live in Tokyo and planned on working on this project after work and on the weekends; therefore, it would likely drive me and any other participant involved, insane if I were to discover that my hard work has been changed by another individual without full knowledge and/or agreement. Therefore, to get to the point of all this. I don't want to be stepping on any toes by working on this site when their is already individuals who are 100% dedicated to making a new site a reality, and I also don't wish to be walking on eggshells if I were to start the task of programming this today. Although I would definitely want the input of all members of this and other sites, could and would get insanely overwhelming to collaborate and meet the demands of so many individuals. If you are truly dedicated to creating this site Zero, then by all means I don't want to be in the way. All I want is a new/updated platform to discuss this hobby with others on.

[Jadeduo]

I was going to wait to post on this tomorrow, but I am all stressed out about work, so I'm just going to go with it.

Thank for getting back to us Maxsidious, that you are a Project Manager by trade can only help us, so you should know how to compromise! Help us put a project plan together. I don't think any coding should happen until we have a project plan laid out. And because of the community nature of the project we really should not just rely on one person because that is what put us in the pickle with Jason in the first place, he did this huge thing for the community and was just done shortly after. RS was most likely an exhausting undertaking but letting it go down the way it is, just this static buggy thing, is no good and there are people who are still happy with it, but it is not something that I am happy with, I have found workarounds for my issues but it is just as much work just putting together my own gallery.

Long story short if we do this project the same way Jason did we will be in trouble, we will once again 5, 10, 20 years down the line lamenting the same things. So if a larger portion of the community is able to take ownership that would be immensely helpful. If a big overhaul needs to be done it should not have to be an impossible undertaking, and the idea of writing it in all open source code I am a huge fan of. As open source code is generally something that can be self taught or even taught to others. Lunacels even volunteered to help with the coding with some guidance, and I could probably do Copy Paste/repetitive stuff and testing that is the one thing I remember about Jadeduo.net, I remember the repetitiveness of owning your own site.

I also think that those who are willing to layout cash monies should be given the chance to!! We shouldn't let one person bear the financial burden of keeping a site going as I personally know it is not insanely expensive... well maybe RS is... But keeping up JD.net was pretty reasonable. So I can't imagine the hub might be different.

IDK I have more thoughts but I've been up since 6:30 and I need to get some sleep to go be tortured at work tomorrow. Please keep this thread civil guys and just talk to eachother, that's all you really need to do. Taking ownership is fine and encouraged but this project should still be SHARED ownership.

JD

[zerospace]

I'll just re-iterate what I think I've already said and what JD has been saying: This new site absolutely must be created by the community, for the community and owned by more than one individual. This is fundamentally what is wrong with Rubberslug -- it was all ONE guy. Creating a new site with the same fundamental flaw as its predecessor practically guarantees its eventual failure.

Going forward, I'll bug bulleta today on hangouts to see if she's willing to make a logo if we can ever come up with a name .

And I'll repeat what I said before on RS: I feel that this site needs to abandon the cel gallery hosting model entirely. Creating RS 2.0 wasn't my suggestion -- I don't want to deal with storing people's cel scans or images (there's a reason RS has been labeled a pr0n site by a lot of web filters!). The modern web has MANY places where collections of images can be curated very easily and for free. Those who want to move off Rubberslug but still have a personal cel gallery on the web, quickly and easily, might want to check out WordPress with a gallery plugin. You even get a blog out of that deal . My point is that there are options. My suggestion was to create one central site to the hobby where people come to catch up, interact, share & maybe even learn.

[Jadeduo]

PREACH!

[zerospace]

PREACH!

You're killing me, girl. Have I ever mentioned how much I love your Unikitty avatar? She was my favorite part of that entire movie, especially when she went crazy! *snort*