Musings on the Future of Free-DC

[Dyyryath]

I'm not sure how many people here are aware of it, but there are some things changing behind the scenes here at Free-DC. Some of the responsibilities for the site are being shifted around and the roles that some of the original leaders have played are changing. With that in mind, I've decided that it might be a good time to give some thought to where things are headed. Since this isn't a community of one, I think this is something everybody here should be involved in...

For those of you who don't know, Free-DC was originally started by a handful of guys from the Ars Technica DC forums: IronBits, ColinT, JTrinkle, Marc_1, and Dyyryath. I'm not sure of the exact date, but it seemed like it was sometime around Christmas or New Year's Eve that we first started talking about doing something different. I won't speak for anyone else, but at the time, I was looking for something a little different than what I had at Ars Technica.

I had nothing against Ars Technica (it's still one of my favorite tech sites) or the DC community there (a great bunch of people), but I didn't really want to be affiliated with a non-DC site while I was involved in one or more DC projects. I was (and am) a regular reader at AnandTech, Ars Technica, HardOCP, and a host of other sites. I didn't really want to give my allegiance to any single site just for the purpose of DC. I was also interested in a place where we had a little more freedom to do whatever we wanted. Free-DC seemed like a good fit.

Well, it's a year later (roughly) and I've been quite happy with my decision to get involved. I think some people may have had a little higher expectations than I did, but all in all, I think things have worked out quite well. The forums, while not nearly as busy as the ones at Ars where we came from, have seen a lot of use. We've got members in teams for just about every conceivable project. Hell, we even led the DF project for a really long time! I never expected us to be a real powerhouse without a large tech site to draw users in, but we've managed to hold of Ars Technica in Distributed Folding for a long, long, time, and I doubt we'll drop below 2d place any time in the near future. :thumbs:

So, if things are going so well, why this post talking about change? Well, for starters, over the next week or so, the site, forums, and domain registration will be moved. For most of you, this should go pretty much unnoticed. The backend will be moved to my servers and the DNS will get redirected there. Things will continue on as usual. My question, and the reason for this post is: should that be the only change?

I've been wondering for some time whether we're making the best use of our resources around here. Some of the other people who started here with us used to say "we want Free-DC to be a clearinghouse for DC information". Not a bad idea, but I was never really sure how that might be accomplished. What we are now is a group of DC enthusiasts operating under a common banner in a variety of different projects. Not quite the same thing. While we do have people from other teams that come visit in the forums, we are generally regarded as a 'team' just like any other.

While I wouldn't ever suggest the dissolution of any Free-DC teams, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe we shouldn't be quite so team oriented? One of the things that I've always enjoyed most about Distributed Computing is the people involved. The more people we have around, the more interesting things are. We've got the resources and know-how to support far more people than we're currently doing through the Free-DC teams alone. One solution to this would be to get more members for Free-DC's teams. Now, I'd say this is the IDEAL solution, but not the only solution...

There are probably quite a few teams out there with very little infrastructure (web sites, forums, IRC, etc) who could benefit from what Free-DC already enjoys, but don't because they want to maintain their identity. They don't want to become part of a Free-DC team, which I can certainly understand. Now, if we just want to be "Free-DC the team", which is the traditional way of doing things, we can certainly keep doing what we're doing and that'd be fine. But what if we tried to take a more active role in helping other teams? In using what we've got to help promote DC in general? We've already taken a few steps down that path by hosting forums for two projects that are not otherwise affiliated with Free-DC (Distributed Folding and Seventeen or Bust). Why not go the rest of the way?

While this is all still just a hazy idea in my head, I think what I'd like to see is Free-DC taking a more active role in promoting DC by not just having it's own teams, but by offering things for any team, project, or individual that wants them. I've mentioned it before, but I'd love to see a central news place like Slashdot just for DC stuff. There's so much going in the various teams and projects that it's hard to keep up without reading forums at Ars, AnandTech, KWSN, Team Ninja, DPC, HardOCP, Stanford, Berkeley, etc, etc, etc. I don't know about anybody else, but I just don't have time to read 900 forums. ;)

What if we set up a Slashdot like system and encouraged anyone and everyone involved in DC, regardless of team affiliation to post there? What if we started posting news that would be interesting to people outside of just Free-DC? I'd love to see interviews with various people in DC. I'd love to hear what RichardAdams or lemonsqzz have to say about running large farms. It'd be cool to read a bio on Larry Loen from Ars Technica, or Ridcully from Team Ninja. How about an interview with Jodie from Team OCN describing how she designed the farm she used to kick everyone around earlier this year? How about hearing Statsman from statsman.org or reader50 from Team MacNN give some insight into how stats tracking systems work?

I think our Distributed Folding and Seventeen or Bust forums have worked out well. What if we offered other projects who lack these things similar arrangements? Wouldn't it be cool to find a central place with links and info on an array of projects all in one place?

What if we offered to host forums for any team that needed it with their own moderators, design, etc? Or invited any team who wanted one to set up a channel in our IRC servers, or combine their existing IRC servers with ours? We could let teams maintain their autonomy and identity, and still benefit from what we have to offer. We have a hell of a lot of administrative, programming, design, and hosting resources at our disposal, what if we offered to share them with the community at large? Obviously the large tech-site affiliated teams might not have any need for this stuff, but there are an awful lot of smaller teams (or individuals) that might. And even some of the large teams might be missing one piece or another that we could help with. It seems to me that the more we can bring the DC community together, the better it would be....

Even if we decided do all these things, would there be any interest? Who knows. The only way to find out would be to try it, but it'd be interesting, that's for sure. :D

Of course, all of this is still just "what if". I'd be interested in hearing what everyone else around here thinks. I certainly wouldn't take it upon myself to make such decision alone. Free-DC isn't mine to do with as I'd please. This is something we'd need to be in agreement about. I'd love to hear suggestions, comments, complaints, whatever, and certainly not just by Free-DC people. If you're from another team or even no team at all and you have an idea or comment, I'd love to hear it...

[Digital Parasite]

Hi Dyyryath,

First I just want to say that I am VERY glad that Free-DC is around and I hope it doesn't go away. The services you are offering like hosting forums for DF and SoB have been very helpful and I think even contributed to a larger user base for those projects.

The fact that you have spent lots of time creating third party stats for other teams besides Free-DC is also been a great benefit to the DC community.

I normally crunch for Ars Technica but I like to check out the boards here because the people that hang out here are great. Like you said, there are lots of great DC people on many of the big teams and it would be a benefit if more people hung out here to help each other out or even just have fun.

The Slashdot news/interview idea for DC related projects I think is great idea. I'm sure you will find a number of people willing to post news items and interviews of various people in the DC community. I know I would help out with that.

If you have the resources to allow other smaller teams which can't set up their own boards to have their own customizable section which they can moderate then by all means offer that to people.

Even though I am not on a "Free-DC" team, I am still willing to help make the Free-DC site a great place for DC available to anyone who is interested.

Jeff.

[FoBoT]

good ideas Dy , you da man! :thumbs:

[magnav0x]

Dyyryath,
You have touched base on everything I would love to see Free-DC to become. When I first felt the need to join a DC team, the last thing I wanted, was to join some big team, just because they were #1. I saw no need to add myself namelessly to a team who I could not relate with. When I first ran accross Free-DC it was heaven for my DC needs. Though the site lacked a lot of information (which I love to spend hours on end weaving through), I was very impressed with the comradery that was present in the forums and extremely overtaken by the absenty of flaming against other teams. Whatever the future holds for Free-DC, I'll stand along side you and give 100% of my support.

What services I could provide other than being a supporting member would probably be very limited, but I would do whatever I could to help the cause.

[Darkness Productions]

Dyy -

I gotta say, that's actually what I've been thinking about for a while. I would love to see a slash based site, so that we could have some members that posted news about DC all the time, or maybe even collaborated information.

I think that with a little bit of work (after all the transitions) that free-dc.org could become one of the premier DC websites around (though, I believe, personally, that we already are).

The forums are great, and I think that the idea of hosting forums for a project is a good idea too. People have always wanted to be able to get ahold of the respective project admins, and this is one of the best ways to do so.

I also like the IRC idea. Each team/project/whatever could have their own channel, where they could converse or do whatever it was that they planned on doing.

I just wish I could have been a more active person (back-end wise) from the very beginning, instead of stepping up now to try and help out.

[TheOtherPhil]

I like the /. idea. A central place to find out all the latest developments in the DC world would be cool.

PS, your stats rock :)

[Paratima]

Yeah, what they said! :thumbs: I offer my services for proofreading and possibly other things. After 1/1/2003.

Looks to me like whatever ideas you've got, we're all Ars ...uh, ears! Ears, that's what I meant to say. Definitely ears.

[MAD-ness]

First of all, I have to say that I have a great respect for Free-DC, both the founders and the members whom I have watched join Free-DC, especially via the DF project.

The idea of a centralized DC news page is something that I have been thinking about since I first got involved in DC (although this wasn't really all that long ago). The resources that you guys have put together are truly enviable.

In fact, there was a time when I got a bit exasperated with the lack willingness over at the Ars DC forums to do anything ambitious or forward thinking and I seriously considered joining Free-DC. I think I understood how you guys felt when you left and founded Free-DC.

That said, I can't see myself ever leaving the Ars DC community, but I still love visting these forums and I wish I could have my cake and eat it too. ;)

Anyways, the idea of a centralized Distributed Computing resource is wonderful. There are so many things that a new "team" has to do figure out. Hosting, stats, forums, etc. Mostly, people re-invent the wheel each time. :( However, between what you have done and what people like Heretic have done, a lot of the common obstacles to high quality DC have been overcome.

I am fully in support of continuing to knock down those barriers.

If there is anything I can do to help, holler. :)

[pointwood]

/me likes :thumbs: :)

Paratima :rotfl:

[Jetta]

what they said!! :D

I would love to see a centralized news area! I hardly ever have enough time to check all the sites, and usually only do so when i see a link to other info from here or at ars. Having news someplace where I can easily find it, and get to it withought having to wade through pages and pages all over the internet, well that fine sir, is a good thing! :) and I think would be a good attractor for busy people on many many teams!

And the interview thing, well that just sounds awesome! I often wonder what makes a lot of the DC heavy hitters tick. The stuff they have to go through to keep their amazing production up, and just what is behind the "name". As well as the trials and tribulations of the small cruncher, trying to peice together a machine or two for DC, and keep everything going. DC is a lifestyle, and reading about it is fun to me, if you can make it easier, better for that, well :notworthy

[Randy48]

I don't know if ya'll remember, but a few months back, several people from ExtremeDC, the Dutch Power Cows, and Team Allegience started building DC'ers.com (http://www.dcers.com) and you as well as most teams/sites were invited to help with this project. There hasn't been much interest and other "time consuming" things have come up, so currently things are at a stand still.
If you'd like to help rejuevenate the project, that would be great, or go ahead and start over.

[TheJet]

Excellent idea Dyy!

I would be happy to donate (and maybe even make it easier to customize) the d.net stats engine that I've created to any that would like to use it. Its requirements are a little high (SQL 2000 + ASP.NET), and I don't really have the resources to host it (TBR dev and Free-DC dev are about all I can handle), but I would certainly be willing to help anybody get it setup for their individual site.

TheJet

[Auritania]

Here are some of my observations/comments.

Free-DC the concept is great. A clearinghouse of DC information covering the projects and even the teams (team database?) would provide people the resources to discover a project and research a team they feel they would fit into. Such a resource would be valuable to even those established in the DC community as teams die off and people's interests change. The Free-DC "home teams" could be a little confusing but I am sure that there exists a way to deal with that.

I can't comment as to the organization of Free-DC past, present or future but obviously there is some confusion. Many members seem to come from Ars. There was a great brain drain when Free-DC formed. Since it's inception it would appear that some early adopters have shelved their enthusiasm for the project voluntarily or involuntarily. No matter which, if there isn't a clear path with clear intentions, expectations and requirements then most of this will prove to be a futile experiment.

The first months of Free-DC showed great promise with lots of information and up to date postings and notices. In time, things well.. died. The forums dried up with the exception of the project forums and the front page was stagnant. Content is something that clearly needs to be present and frequently updated. It may have been a reverse cause-effect relationship, but it seemed as the articles slowed in frequency, so did the posting.

Another possible issue could be draining of people from other sites. Free-DC shares a close bond with the Ars DC community. The undercurrent of discontent with the powers that be have provided a crop of DC people waiting to be harvested by somewhere that welcomes, encourages and appreciates who they are and what they can do. This wouldn't be an Ars specific issue either.

A last issue that I can't really think of a solution for is actually a team issue for those that jump projects. As is the situation at Ars, you seemingly get associated with the project you run. When you don't have a clear cut project, you tend to always be an outsider in any project you are running. Free-DC might be the solution if it is done right. Something remotely similar to the Ars Flying Squadron, a group of people that really aren't part of any one project yet have something in common. The team without a project concept.

This is all an interesting development for me personally. I am getting tired of DC. I've turned machines off even. Something needs to change for me to continue with the whole DC scene. Free-DC could be the answer. While I consider Ars to be a home, that is all it is. Home is where you hang your hat. Should I find the right hook elsewhere, well.....

Sorry for the length and the rambling. I too offer my assistance and/or opinions to Free-DC should it be requested.

[theseum]

somebody brought this up over at ars...
are you aware of http://www.dcers.com/ ? it is an attempt to do this without being directly affiliated with any particular team. This sounds like a much better idea to me. Right now though it looks like they could use a lot of help. Check it out!

[whilden@ars]

-Theseum-

I got that link from Randy's post above, sounds a bit with what Dyy's posts was stating.

I think it would be great if more teams jumped on board with dcers.com and kept their Team Affiliation at the door.

[Dyyryath]

Originally posted by theseum
somebody brought this up over at ars...
are you aware of http://www.dcers.com/ ? it is an attempt to do this without being directly affiliated with any particular team. This sounds like a much better idea to me. Right now though it looks like they could use a lot of help. Check it out!

I hadn't seen that before. It does seem to be something very similar in conception. If they'd been around a year ago, I'd have probably pushed for us to either join forces with them or I'd have gone over there to help out myself. As it is, it doesn't seem practical to close up Free-DC and go to DCers.com, despite our obvious common ground. :(

Free-DC already sees far more traffic (especially with the Distributed Folding and SoB forums hosted here). Somebody also mentioned the Free-DC home teams being "confusing" in an earlier post, but I'm still rather partial to the idea. One of the things I'd like to see Free-DC continue to offer (for those who want it) is an option to join a team not affiliated with anyone outside of the DC world. That, as I said, would purely become an option, though. Just another feature of the place that people can take advantage of if they'd like, or ignore if they so choose.

Back to the DCers thing, they certainly do seem to be thinking the same thing as I am...obviously a very intelligent bunch of individuals over there. ;)

randy48, you said things are pretty much "at a standstill" over there, how would you (and any of your fellow admins) like to become admins over here and help me point Free-DC in the direction you wanted to go anyway? I don't know (or care) what teams or projects you're on, I'm not looking for recruits, but rather DC enthusiasts to help me move Free-DC away from such a team oriented site to something that could be of use to everyone.

If you'd rather continue pushing with DCers.com I can certainly understand that and I'll try to ensure that Free-DC supports DCers.com any way that it can. However, given our common interests, it seems only reasonable that we work towards the same goal from the same place. ;)

[Geordie]

Dry,

I'd like to echo the sentiments above. I think this is a cracking idea.

There are endless possibilities. Expanding the ars super computer to include other users/teams springs to mind.

Centralisation would be cool.

I'd be glad to contribute in any way (as long as its SETI related ;) with guides, etc etc.

[TheOtherZaphod]

When I first encountered Free-DC I looked around a bit and came to the conclusion that Free-DC was founded as "a team for people who didn't want to be on a team". That is a tough role to handle on a continuing basis. It reminds me of the Groucho Marx quote (paraphrased here): "I never wanted to join any club that would have me as a member."

I think that given the slightly odd nature of that mission that Free-DC has done an outstanding job of acting as a clearinghouse for project information (for DF in particular), as well as hosting un-teams for a number of projects.

If I were not already affiliated with one group of anarchists, Free-DC is just the kind of un-team I would be likely to not-join. :confused: :confused: :confused:

I don't know just how you would go about dissolving the project un-teams you have. It seems to me that most of your non-members would rather be poked in an uncomfortable place (like the back seat of a Volkswagon) with a pointy stick than go back where they came from.

Like Voltaire's God: if Free-DC did not exist, then man would create it. And as you can clearly see, that has already happened.

[Dyyryath]

I don't see Free-DC teams going anywhere (I still need a home, you know! :D), though I can see how they might be construed as a problem. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to deal with that, but I'm working on it. ;)

Besides, as you've already pointed out, they're a good place for people who won't necessarily want to be on a major team for whatever reason (divided loyalties, team size, etc)

Another thing I think they offer is a place for people in smaller projects. Some of the big teams are becoming more and more reticent about having a presence in new, smaller projects. Ars has discussed this on many occasions. Since we're not really in any position to fight the good fight with the big teams, we haven't worried so much about being spread to thin. The rule here has always been "do what you want" and if a new project crops up and someone is interested in it, then we'll make a team for it. It's been kind of a happy-go-lucky arrangement, but it's worked well for us. :)

I'm almost beginning to see Free-DC's teams as generic teams for people who want to be on a team for stats tracking & such, but don't want to commit to one of the big guys...

At any rate, it's all still just conjecture right now. I'm still trying to determine whether this is the way we all want to go, and if so, how to best go about it. :thumbs:

[Dyyryath]

Originally posted by Geordie
Dry,

I'd like to echo the sentiments above. I think this is a cracking idea.

There are endless possibilities. Expanding the ars super computer to include other users/teams springs to mind.

Centralisation would be cool.

I'd be glad to contribute in any way (as long as its SETI related ;) with guides, etc etc.

Heh, almost missed this! Expanding the ars super computer IS a good idea. I've been toying with the idea of creating something like Jim's brainchild for some time now (and possibly tying it into my new stats). Offering it to any team/individual would be sweet...

BTW, it's good to hear from you Geordie, it's been awhile! :thumbs:

[ColinT]

Offering the smaller teams their own super-computer is a good idea.

I feel right at home here. Heck, I am even running SoB for Ars now. And it's OK to do so. Let's see a /Free. I see it as a team free place to keep up to date on new porojects.

[JTrinkle]

Nice book you wrote there Dyy :)

I personally had envisioned FDC being a repository of data for all projects.. including benchmark DB's, machine tweaking, etc. but as we can all see that didn't happen for reasons I'm not entirely sure about.

Also, I was (and still am) going to redo the ARS supercomputer into a DC supercomputer but a receiving 3 inch gash in the back of my head, prostate surgery and a divorce have kinda taken it outta me for the past few months.

I have bought a new place and have almost completely settled in, thus giving me time to work on projects like the above. the only problem is that if EVERYTHING got moved to Dyy's server then the ASC is toast too as it requires a Windows server box. And since I have no experience at all with php/mySQL I can't be the one to rewrite it for Dyy's stuff. (I would be SOOOOO easy to modify the existing code too) :(

As far as the team thing goes... I don't care which way it goes... right now I'm hunting LGM for TLC. so what ever is decided is fine with me.

If we disband the FDC teams then I won't have to bitch about recruiting in our forums :)

OTOH:
If it ain't broke....


-Jim

[Geordie]

BTW, it's good to hear from you Geordie, it's been awhile!

Tell me about it. I still read over here from time to time and have been in IRC about once every 6 months or so.

I don't post over here as much as I thought I would have considering the folks who left, but hell I hardly post/posted over at ars anyway, unless of course something gets my attention where I have no choice ;)

I posted in the thread over at ars another couple of things I thought may be nice to have located at a central location.

Reviews of the latest project and its pro's and con's.

Hardware reviews specific to DC and also project specific (ie which hardware runs which project best. (We do this (@ars) but there is no formal information in a central location).

Get hardware manufacturers to send kit ;) to review like the hardware sites but with performance specific to each DC project. (Common benchmarks instead of every team running its own site).

Edit: And a common benchmarking site. Updated more than once a year. ;)

Most of this we do over at ars but its mostly in threads and disjointed, I have "some" information on my site that I cobble together when I get the time (not as often as I'd like lately).

I'd always presumed that this is where Free-DC would end up but I guess these things take time. Maybe that time is now?

[theseum]

I still think that having a different domain/name for the resource site and the team is a good idea as far as gaining acceptance in the community. I personally wouldn't want to send my teamates over to free-dc for news/resources/etc and then worry weather they might stay and join the team. and some people would probably have more violent objections than that. So while it would be possible to do the site under the free-dc name I think it would be more useful to more people to use a different name.

Also the stats would be a great thing to collaborate on. imagine what we could come up with if dyyryath, darkness productions, statsman, reader50 (or whoever does the kickass macnn stats), dr nno, TheJet, KoW, and tellian all collaborated to do a stats engine for all projects? that would be beautiful.

[IronBits]

Originally posted by JTrinkle
The only problem is that if EVERYTHING got moved to Dyy's server then the ASC is toast too as it requires a Windows server box.
-Jim
The w2k box is not going anywhere, and the ASC is fine where it is, as is anything else you need/want to develop under the windows platform is fine with me. :D
Just the Free-DC.org Server is moving.
It will be more convenient for Dyyryath to work his majic and goodness.
:thumbs:

[Marc_1]

I tried to find some IRC logs of the actual conception date just for grins and giggles, but it appears even my vast collection of log files provides no clues. The forum however was opened for business on December 25th, 2001.

I'm sure that aside from the other founders, and those that were with us from the beginning, the majority of posters here don't know who I am, other than seeing my name highlighted at the bottom of the forum. I'm the silent type(until you get me in IRC). While I've not been active much in the forums, I've have been behind the scenes from day one. And as some of the others have stated, I have fallen prey to life's little quirks and had some of the focus taken off Free-DC. Only recently have I got my proverbial shit together and started to think more about the reasons we did this in the first place. As my main focus has been, and continues to be IRC, thats where I started, as some of you saw my recent thread about joining us in IRC. While I will continue to work towards making Free-DC IRC a welcome place for all DC Teams and Projects it's time I step up to the plate on other matters.

I share in Dyyryath's ideas. While Free-DC may not have turned out exactly as we had envisioned, it's far from dead. Deciding the direction it continues to take relies on all of us. We had some good ideas at the start, and some of those ideas are still present. New ideas have also been brought forward that deserve a consideration. As with any project of this scale input from the community will help avoid unnecessary failures. I think we've got one of the best communities going. And thats not meant as a dig to Ars or any of the other major players, part of the reason I say we have one of the best communities is because we draw a little something from those major players. The amount of DC knowledge and experience that flows between Ars and the rest, when consolidated, is massive. Putting that all together for the betterment of DC in another matter however.

I'll continue to work closely with Dyyryath so things from here on out move smoothly. I'll do whatever I can to further whatever goals we decide on. If anyone has any comments or suggestions regarding IRC, feel free to email me at Marc@mainetech.net

I'll have some more input on some of the suggestions already made once I put my eyeballs back in my head where they belong.


Marc

[Randy48]

Thanks for the offer Dyyryath, but like it says at DC'ers, it's independant of any team. Anyone is welcome to helpout in any capacity that they are able, whether it be adding a short News update on a DC project, jumping in on the forums to answer someones question, or going all out and grabbing a role of an admin (there's a few of those spots open!). Translators and stats people are more then welcome to show off their talents! There have been several people that claimed they could build stats for the site, but none of them produced anything!

Good luck with your project :)

[Dyyryath]

Thanks, randy, we'll see how it goes. I'm still not sure entirely *what* we'll end up with. ;)

Good luck with DC'ers. Depending on how tied up I get with stuff around here, I may pop in and see what I can do to help in the future. If there's ever anything in particular I (or Free-DC as a whole) can do to help you guys out, don't hesitate to ask. :thumbs:

[PY 222]

I joined Free-DC because you all are such a great bunch. I know, because I have been lurking around Ars DCA even before Free-DC started.

Being a professional lurker, I have always feel that I have been taking so much instead of giving in terms of knowledge and experience to the newbies. So here I am, starting to share my wealth, as all of you are doing right now.

I thoroughly enjoy myself here because of all of you and I don't really have an opinion regarding how this place is going to be. All I hope for is a place for a group of freaks known as DC enthusiast can come and share their experience, knowledge and pick a fight, once in a while.

While I do not hold as much information as you all, I would be more than willing to do my bit for Free-DC. You name it, bandwidth, hosting, news posting, writeups, website maintenance, and perhaps some monetary support as well. So use me, I am here to share! :thumbs:

[TheOtherZaphod]

3 inch gash in the back of my head, prostate surgery and a divorce

:scared: Those community property states can be a real b!^#h. :scared:

[fRaGgLe]

But, I like the ideas.

I feel that free-dc should really be a hub for the whole DC community, but also feel that having free-dc teams could be construed as a conflict of interests by some.

A year ago I was appalled at the IRC wars, that split many people into two (then) opposing servers, and then channels, in what I saw as an unnecessary event, it hurt me to have to choose, and there where too many personal agenda's at that time for me to actually take the whole thing as seriously as it deserved to be taken.

I love the hub concept, but feel it needs a lot of work....

[heretic]

I am certainly interested in this and would like to be of help where I can.

heretic

[runestar]

Dyyryath,


Truth be told, I like Free-DC like it is in terms of its setup and layout. I do very much encourage you to expand on what you ALREADY have rather than trying to scrap stuff and restart.

I think you are going to have Free-DC D.C. teams no matter how much you cajole or bribe or yell or whine. =) Some good-doer will either continue to contribute or create a team. Also, seeing the Free-DC name on the charts is what brings people to see what is this Free DC....

At the moment, I tend to equate Free-DC with Distributed Folding, just for the fact that you host the forums for them, and do quite a good job at it. =) I do realize Free-DC is much more than DF or just competing in various projects, without being affiliated to anyone or anything.

That's the one thing that has slowly been drawing me to Free-DC for a whiles. I wanted someplace that was willing to expand their horizons. For a one year-old project of yourself, Free-DC has certainly proven itself already... especially being currently number two in the DF project. Despite a rather young team in the D.C. team, you have a rather solid base amongst several projects and manage to hold some top titles.

Changing to slash something or dot something else loses the spirit you already have. I think you have already have the foundation built for many of the ideas you talked about. The foundation is down, the frame is up... let's start putting up our walls and roof so we can get moving on into to our home. =)

Those of you out there who are veterans of the SETI project remember a similar effort for SETI@home called SETIWEB.ORG. I think Free-DC is growing in that saying spirit, except its not just held down to any one project. Unlije SETIWEB, Free-DC seems to be in no danger of disappearing or being handled by a control freak... but I digress at that later note as I didn't come here to rant. ;)

BTW, Dyyryath, there is a saying in programming.... KISS... Keep It Simple Stupid... keep things simple and the point... don't go try and reinventing the wheel so to speak. If some can be done a better way without losing the heart of the project, go for it, else don't go screwing with it. =)

You've got a good community going here, and I'd be proud to help out in it if you would like a hand or two. As you said, who has time to read 900 forums and websites a day... but that doesn't because we don't we can't be knowledgable about things.

I know of some resources out there that might be a welcome addition to Free-DC. If they became a part of Free-DC, it certainly would be potentially a very powerful base for Free-DC to grow on.

If you like to chat sometime let me know, I'd be happy to swap ideas with you.

Best,

RuneStar½
~Above all else searching for a D.C. community without bounds...

[IronBits]

My, how time flys... :D

[dragongoddess]

Dyy.

Whenever a large number of people come together they tend to form groups and sub-groups within those groups. Informal leaders step forward. Competition naturally rises to the fore. This is a normal process when you have a large group of people with similar interests who come together such as what exists here and on other DC sites.

Teams should not be looked down upon. They are the natural outcome of a successful DC site. So don't look at the formation of teams as something bad. Take the time to recognize that they form part of the glue that holds this particular community together. Teams are a good thing and should always be an intergal part of Free-DC.

Now on the subject of becoming more then the usual DC site.

To evolve to the next level how about producing a weekly DC News Letter/ Newspaper. This will alllow you to move into those areas you have felt drawn too.

A weekly news letter would tell you if you would really want to take it to a daily production.


DG