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Who wants to volunteer to help photo.net grow?


philg

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photo.net has grown quite a bit in its nine years of operation. The

growth has been accomplished partly through heroic individual

efforts (the ArsDigita founders in the beginning, Rajeev and Lisa

more recently) and partly through volunteers working at a

sustainable pace.

 

<p>

 

I"m writing this new and more formalized call for volunteers because

(a) the heroes are getting worn out, (b) I'm going to be away from

mid-May to mid-October (flying from Boston to Alaska and back; see

<a href="http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/alaska-

job">http://philip.greenspun.com/flying/alaska-job</a> if you want

to come along), and © the growth keeps outstripping our capacity.

 

<p>

 

To gauge the amount of untapped volunteer energy in the community,

I'd like people to post replies saying (i) what they're willing to

do, (ii) how many hours per week they can contribute, (iii) what

skills and background they can bring to the tasks, and (iv) whether

their willingness to volunteer would be significantly enhanced if

photo.net converted to a 501c3 non-profit corporation.

 

<p>

 

Please make your reply a public response in this forum rather than

private email. That way your communication won't be lost and also

the entire community can see how much potential there is among

current community members.

 

<p>

 

Here are the categories where we need help:

 

<ol>

 

<li>user account management: making sure that new registrants are

using their real name and a real email address; helping people

who've lost their passwords or registered three times and want to

merge those accounts; making sure that people who've paid their $25

fees get an email address or whatever else they paid for. Skills

required are primarily Web form interaction plus perhaps some

telephoning (best way to find out if someone is legit).

 

<li>user handholding: if someone emails because he or she can't

figure out how to find something or how to accomplish a task,

answering that email with a helpful suggestion. Skills required are

email and Web forms.

 

<li>user expulsion: we want a community where the majority of

content is on-topic. A reader 5 years from now shouldn't have to

wade through an archived thread or photo of the week with 150

responses, most of them User A arguing with Users B and C (example:

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=0020w8">this thread in which one user calls another a

racist</a>). We need volunteers to look at the discourse in various

areas of the site, find the troublemakers, ask them to mend their

ways, and ban them from the site if they won't. Skills required:

taste and judgement, Web forms.

 

<li>bug tracking and reporting: if a user finds a bug and reports

it via email, getting it into a standard format and perhaps into a

Web-based bug tracking system so that a programmer can find it and

fix it. Skills required are email and Web forms and an ability to

distinguish between bugs and confusion. (Of course if a big

percentage of users get confused in trying to accomplish a task,

that is itself a bug in the software.)

 

<li>managing editorial: helping get new articles onto the site by

nagging authors, converting author output into our standard HTML

format, placing articles in the correct directory, making them

commentable. Sadly this requires experience with the Unix shell,

Unix text editors, and the CVS version control system as well as

basic HTML experience and an organized mind.

 

<li>programming: fixing bugs, improving subsystems by developing

and documenting a careful design and/or following one that has been

developed by others and approved for data model cleanliness. Skills

required: Unix shell, CVS, AOLserver API, ArsDigita Community

System, Oracle (SQL, PL/SQL).

 

<li>sysadmin: kicking Solaris and Linux when they are down. It

would help if you lived in the Boston area but we are going to try

to make sure that we have remote console so that it won't be

necessary to live here or physically visit the colo (in Cambridge,

MA). You'll need to know about or be willing to learn about

AOLserver (a few days) and Oracle (a lifetime).

 

<li>database administration: Oracle, Oracle, Oracle. We're on

8.1.6 now but should be on 9i.

 

<li>network administration: load balancing router.

 

</ol>

 

Well, that's enough for tonight. Let's see if anyone wants to do

these things!

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I'd love to help. One thing I don't know is what you mean by 'web forms.' Filling out some sort of automated web form? If you could tell me what you mean by web forms I'd really appreciate it (i just don't keep up with internet jargon like I should). I'm not sure if you need us to make them, or fill out some sort of web forms.

 

(i). As you've probably heard me say before, I'm not a fan of programming... soo. The user expulsion/moderation category sounds good, as well as hand holding. Something I can handle easily from here.

 

(ii). How many hours a week? Hell I don't know I'm a college student. My schedule is all over the place. I'll make a guestimate... 8-10 is my current guess.

 

(iii). Skills and background, well I've been active with photonet for a couple of years. Constantly learning new stuff about photography here and in class.

 

(iv). I plan on sticking through the thick and the thin here. As long as my photographic interest stays alive, which it should since I plan on working in the industry, I'll still be here. That is unless I take up something like flying and head for Alaska :-p

As far as the 501c3 goes, as long as it doesn't kill the atmosphere of this site which for the most part is very good, I'll stick.

 

So while I don't have the exciting credentials of some of the other older folks here, I'll learn whatever I don't know. And if I suck I can still do what I've been doing which is important too. Without folks answering questions, this site would fizzle out.

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I would be glad to help with number 3, user expulsion. However, my perspective would more accurately be called "user mediation"; One of the reasons I love the forums is because of the rigorous debate and give-and-take when opinions are requested, then proferred. Nonetheless, one of my pet peeves when reading a thread is when they veer so far astray from the original question that I think the members are confusing somebody's well thought-out question with a casual chat room.

 

One way I would handle it would be the way Mr. Greenspun advised: I'd e-mail those clogging the forum and suggest they do what I've done in similar cases, to wit, e-mailing the other person in my private conversation off-forum.

 

Also, I'd remind people not to get into direct, personal attacks on those with whom there is a simple difference of opinion. On the other hand, I'd protect members the right to their opinions -- so long as they are pertinent to the original thread's question -- no matter how strong, politically or aesthetically incorrect, so long as they are not accompanied by direct personal attacks on other photo.net members.

 

If given the honour of performing these duties, I'd be glad to devote two to three hours per week, promise to be fair, cognizant of members' rights of free speech, and will encourage members to interject some sorely needed humour (so long as it's not way off on a tangent) in matters technical, an area in which many members are so literal-minded that they become "terminology nannies," pouncing mercilessly on those who make (due to inexperience, differing experiences, or lack of proofreading) technological errors in their discourse. This "gotcha" style of responding does nothing but engender hurt feelings, and makes the perpetrators look like insecure children.

 

I have experience in collegiate debate (3 years, 1989-1991, Pi Kappa Delta East Coast champion, 1990; National Finalist, 1990), discussion (3rd place panel member, National Discussion Contest, 1991), and have worked as a chief-of-staff at a Jewish civil rights organisation in New York.

 

That's my resume, will be glad to help.

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Philip, I can help with Solaris/Linux admin, shell scripting, text

editing with vi, really basic HTML and web forms. I'm in the great

midwest, but I'm sure I could still do something useful just with

ssh access. I can also help you with some instructions on how

to set up a cheap remote console that's not an ongoing admin

task in itself. I'm currently undergoing Oracle indoctrination at

work, but I'm not up to speed on it yet. Please let me know if I

can help, I owe photo.net quite a bit in return for the education it's

given me.

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I just signed into this site yesterday, and haven't been able to pull myself away from the computer. This is an INCREDIBLE! service to all of us and I would be glad to contribute in any way I can from my PC here in California. I don't know anything about programming, but I could hand-hold, answer questions about the site, (yea, I know I've only been here a day, but I'm learning,) moniter discussions-user expulsion, and anything else. I got layed off recently, so I can offer lots of time at the moment. I do have a little HTML experience. And what is a web-form?
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I can help with categories 1 through 4. Sorry, not enough experience with programming or Unix to be helpful there. Right now I wouldn't want to commit to more than a couple of hours per week because our rural phones lines are fairly unreliable. As phone service improves (and it's better than a couple of years ago) I could commit to more time.

 

Qualifications...uh, gee...I have 30+ years experience as a photographer, mostly as a hobbyist but also a few years as a photojournalist. I'm also a painter - oil and watercolor - with training and experience in various graphic arts. I have no biases against any type or genre of photography or its use in combination with other art forms. I'm not a gearhead - even tho' I own way too much camera gear I'm no brand-conscious elitist. I love my ancient Canon AF35M and Olympus XA3 point and shoots as much as my Rollei TLR. I love my mom's Olympus iS-2 auto-everything ZLR so much I'm gonna swipe it from her someday when she's not looking. I prefer squirrel fur quill mops to sable for watercolor. I'm addicted to coffee and chocolate. I think my grandsons are adorable, even with poopy pants.

 

I was in nursing for several years and volunteered for community service groups (nope, not as a result of court-ordered probation). My communication and people skills are pretty good. Sometimes my sense of humor doesn't translate online - I try to watch out for that. I'm always ready to admit when I've made a mistake and apologize when necessary. I'll stand my ground when I believe I'm right. I prefer to say what I have to say once and don't feel it necessary to continually defend what I meant to say. I sometimes don't take the Christmas tree down 'til March. In four years of trying I've never been able to teach my terrier, Scraps, to fetch anything. In fact, she runs like hell whenever I pick up my Nerf football. Heck, I've only actually nailed her with the thing a couple of times, and it's just foam rubber. Sometimes I digress.

 

Interested?

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<p>

(i)<br>

I can do 4, 5, and 7 at least. I'd volunteer for others but I'm not much of a people person and sometimes I can let my emotions get the better of me. Though when I did support at BU as a student I was told I had the patience of a saint. Go figure. I can probably be persuaded to do 1 and 2 as well, but only as a last line of defense. Number 3 is something that I don't want to touch.

 

<p>

(ii) and (iv)<br>

I probably have five to ten (5-10) hours per week that I'd be able to contribute to this venture. As for the non-profit thing: it really doesn't matter to me. I just want to keep this place alive and hopefully improve it in whichever manner I am able.

 

<p>

(iii)<br>

As for the whole experience issue. Well, I'm an electrical engineer (but ASIC design, not software, so don't make me suffer :P ) and have a lot of experience with Unix, bash/sh/tcsh scripting, Perl, Linux, Slowlaris, and CVS. I've been a Linux user for about eight years if that means anything (probably not). I live in Davis Square so the whole <em>"It would help if you lived in the Boston area"</em> thing applies. That doesn't mean I wish to wear a pager though.

 

<p>

I also want to say thanks for the whole crew of elves that keep this place working. I came here about three years ago looking for information on replacing my point and shoot camera (APS no less) and you all got me back into a hobby that I had started as a five-year-old. It's been a hell of a lot of fun and I've learned a lot from this place. I'd really like to give something back and seeing as how I don't have that much photo experience yet, helping to keep this place running would be a great place at least to start.

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Thanks for organizing the tasks in order of complexity.

 

I volunteer five hours a week to do tasks 1 through 5. Anything more would be an unrealistic commitment. I know how to write HTML, how to use CVS to check in and check out source, and how to use most Unix text editors. I'm good at explaining things to computer users who are not technical people.

 

Photo.net's 501c3 status is not important to me.

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Expanding on my midnight scatterbrained state, I'd like to add that category 4 sounds good for me too. 1 might require more time than I have to spare in a contiguous chunk.

 

More qualifications: I like pizza, teasing my department head, sleeping and talking about how bizarre my calculus prof is.

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I would love to help out. I think #5 would suit me best. I dont have extensive programming knowledge, but I have lots of Unix experience and html know-how.

 

I could throw in 6-7 hours a week.

 

P.S. I wish I wasn't going to Europe June 7 - June 28 or Id drive your RV to Alaska. I think I would pay you to let me drive. If Europe blows up or something, count me in.

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i wish i had any skills whatsoever so i could help out. half of what i know comes from photo.net, the other probably from thinking about what i have read online while im in physics class or math class. i have avoided programming at all costs because i dont want to have the same job as my dad (unemployed programmer who walks around the house in his underwear), ha going into physics, wuess where that leads?!

anyway, i can do some simple tech support, dont mind fielding some emails explaining dummystuff, but i really dont hink im all that usefull, great technical knowledge of traditional photography, but the computer and i dont always get along.

i wish i were old enough to have a drivers liscence, driving your winnebego sounds like the best summer ever, but i cant drive so ill have to find something else interesting to do this summer.

anyway, i dont know what i can do here, but thanks for all that photo.net has done for me.

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I'd be willing to help out with (5), though I may need to pick up one or two skills. One of my jobs right now is typesetting for a symbolic logic journal which, though superficially different (latex vs. HTML... paper vs. web) probably involves many of the same skills. I have a passable familiarity with unix and a few of the unix text editors, etc... but what's CVS? I could spare a couple hours a week.
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There doesn't look like being a single thing I can do there. I wish I wasn't quite so bloody useless with computers etc. Hell, I can't even italicise on here. Anything simple I can do? I suppose no. 3 I could do if it's a simple enough process - I probably spend 5 - 8 hours a day on here on average, reading the forums, and live on GMT (the forums are pretty quiet for most of my day, and I connect from work). Although I'm perhaps more in need of moderating than actually moderating. Let me know. I wan't to put something back for all the fun and knowledge I've got from photo.net.

 

Mark.

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As I have mentioned to a couple of different photo.net folks in the past. I'd be glad to help out. I've been around here a while and think I'd be a decent resource.

Sadly, like so many others, high end programming isn't really in my bag of skills. I would be really good at moderating, weeding out troublemakers, or creating editorial content (or overseeing that creation).

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I can help with user handholding and with parts of the editorial management...

 

I use e-mail on an hourly basis, am the person the rest of my department turns to when they want something off the internet, and usually try to be diplomatic. I can code the plain-vanilla stuff in HTML, so could at least convert author output into HTML. I can take care of the scheduling, nagging for deadlines (I've been nagging myself about the ones I mentioned for months, now!), and stuff like that. I'm used to working with multiple projects at the same time, urgent deadlines, people in different countries, etc.

 

Time contribution, probably 5-10 hours per week.

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If you can use me, I'd like to help out. I'm experienced in Unix Shell programming, Perl, Unix Systems Administration (mainly Irix, AIX, and Linux but some Solaris), HTML, databases (mainly MySQL), web server administration (Netscape Enterprise Server and Apache), and CVS.
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1, 2, & 3. 5 hours/week. Qualifications: I've been hanging around since 1997. I'm a knowledgeable, but not great, photographer. I understand and support the site's goals, the gray line between rough around the edges, pointed, constructive debate and unhelpful flaming. With a few exceptions, I've tried to calm things down when they got personal and have avoided wasting bandwidth by contributing to useless threads and debates. I usually communicate in a clear non-combative manner the error in someone's ways and suggest improvements.
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Since I am already a volunteer helper, this may be superfluous, but I'll go on record anyway. I can help with 1-3 for 10 hours a week sustainable and more from time to time. I am a retired high voltage engineer, deeply interested in photography and committed to this site and its founding concepts. I have many years of experience with all sorts of computers and programming, but much of my programming experience is with what are now pretty close to dead languages, it seems. Nonetheless, I certainly know my way around the web and photo.net. Having this be a 501c3 site is irrelevant to me.

 

One more thing: I think this sort of call to the photo.net community is laudable and I choose to take it as a return to the shared community spirit that I feel has been lost to photo.net lately. Those of us who want this site to succeed and thrive need to forget our differences and gripes and work toward the better rather than bitching about the less than ideal.

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Hi Phil, I am a student and can therefore spend a few hours a week helping out. However, since I am (stuck) graduating, I haven't been able to figure out how many. If you can use me, I'll be happy to do #1 (as long as I can avoid the phone, since I live in Europe and my resources are kind of stretched - who can survive without film?) and #2. <br><br>My qualifications? I'm unfortunately not an experienced photographer nor a software engineer. But I study history, so I can write and communicate a little (and read a hell of a lot). I have some technical background too. I am quite handy with computers, which means I can operate Outlook and IE. But I'd be happy to expand my knowledge of HTML. Recently I have been in touch with Kyle about the editorial plan and I am considering contributing to the static content. Any need for a historical look at photography and society?
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For Melanie (and the other non-USA people here) 501©(3) is part of the USA Tax code (section-paragraph-paragraph), run by the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). This section describes non-profit organizations. Once you are certified as a 501©(3) organization, you are exempt paying from certain taxes, and can accept tax-free donations.

 

I'd like to volunteer to help, but don't have enough of the skills required (except having time at work to read photo.net).

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