Oolite.org down?

[phkb]

If anybody has access to server - plz backup data.

I've now got a backup of the download manager database.

Nick, do you have access to something more than database? f.e. can you add/bind one more domain to server? When oolite.org come back - just stay one more "mirror" domain - why not?

Sorry but all I have is DB access.

[timer]

Sorry but all I have is DB access.

at least we can be sure that users table not lost )


Interesting - why current site code not sync with git?
Who editing it last? How were the screenshots uploaded?
Is anybody has ftp access?
@another_commander do you have any access to the site server?

[another_commander]

@another_commander do you have any access to the site server?

Sorry, I have no access at all. I think Getafix may have some kind of access to the site for screenshot uploads etc., but I am not sure what the limits of his access are.

The github website code should be updated, but I do not know how to get hold of its latest version.

[timer]

I can spend a couple of days and try to recreate the site actual version from the available git sources and the current web version (the first step without DB => no OXP management), then it will be possible to develop and improve the administrative part of the site. As a result, we can get a developing resource under full control. Folk, what do you think about this?

When the original oolite.org was designed, and when I solicited a redesign some time ago, using a CMS (or any other large tooling) was explicitly rejected. This is partly because I have hated every CMS I’ve ever met with the heat of a thousand suns, but mostly because it would introduce a significant maintenance burden on a site that’s intended to be mostly static. I reject the idea that oolite.org needs easy addition of “content”; being small and focussed on “here’s what it is, here’s where you get it” is a feature, not a bug. The gallery needs updating, but the small amount of HTML editing involved is not the obstacle, it’s the editorial work.

A site with many updates, stuff about OXPs and a gallery of a thousand pictures would be good as a community site. That’s not the same as being a good site for the game itself.

I agree with Jens, but... IMHO this is not mean that site have to be "frozen" - we can continue improve admin section at least.

[hiran]

I can spend a couple of days and try to recreate the site actual version from the available git sources and the current web version (the first step without DB => no OXP management), then it will be possible to develop and improve the administrative part of the site. As a result, we can get a developing resource under full control. Folk, what do you think about this?

...

I agree with Jens, but... IMHO this is not mean that site have to be "frozen" - we can continue improve admin section at least.

I do agree with both of you. We don't need a huge site - the few functions required can be created directly as well.
But: Security flaws can also be included, and they take maintenance. The site just does not come for free.

I'm not sure what the admin section will cover. Is it image upload/management? Is it synchronization with the site on Github? Is it the OXP manager?
The last one is where I see good potential for improvement. In the past I came up with a java based proposal but that is likely overkill. But the usecase per se should be covered somehow.

[timer]

I do agree with both of you. We don't need a huge site - the few functions required can be created directly as well.
But: Security flaws can also be included, and they take maintenance. The site just does not come for free.

I'm not sure what the admin section will cover. Is it image upload/management? Is it synchronization with the site on Github? Is it the OXP manager?
The last one is where I see good potential for improvement. In the past I came up with a java based proposal but that is likely overkill. But the usecase per se should be covered somehow.

so, first pass done.
Made many small changes,fixes,improves (css/html/js). WIP, f.e. not refactored some js and css need still improve.
Basically - updating content is now easy, ie. one new "news item" is a tiny html-file file like:

Code: Select all

The stable version of Oolite 1.90 has been released. Take a look at <a href="/whatsnew">new
features</a> and download it <a href="/download">now!</a>

if it is uploaded - it will be displayed automatically.
"whatsnew" is managed by similar files, version navigation(totally rewrited) automaticly recognize them.
And so on...

And the main difference - now it's not PHP - it's a PERL(no perl-trash, everything is written culturally) framework that can be installed on any Linux distribution from the native repository, so all the backend code has been rewritten. The site is still simple, but now we can easily change and update it.

Next, I implement the admin panel for managing extensions - I will not leave the original admin panel design - the admin panel should be functional, not beautiful - I will use bootstrap framework. Also, if possible, a simple filling of the site will be implemented - uploading news / screenshots / releases.

For the admin panel, I'm going to use LetsEncrypt.

folk, please rate and give your opinion about current version (especially interested in criticism of the difference between the original and the dev version of the sections "whatsnew" and "screenshots"): http://dev2.oolite.site

[hiran]

if it is uploaded - it will be displayed automatically.
"whatsnew" is managed by similar files, version navigation(totally rewrited) automaticly recognize them.
And so on...

And the main difference - now it's not PHP - it's a PERL(no perl-trash, everything is written culturally) framework that can be installed on any Linux distribution from the native repository, so all the backend code has been rewritten. The site is still simple, but now we can easily change and update it.

Next, I implement the admin panel for managing extensions - I will not leave the original admin panel design - the admin panel should be functional, not beautiful - I will use bootstrap framework. Also, if possible, a simple filling of the site will be implemented - uploading news / screenshots / releases.

For the admin panel, I'm going to use LetsEncrypt.

folk, please rate and give your opinion about current version (especially interested in criticism of the difference between the original and the dev version of the sections "whatsnew" and "screenshots"): http://dev2.oolite.site

Do you have access to the site's repository? I believe it makes sense to have the code in Github - just in case that history repeats.
The connection to the server should then be automatic scripts. Since scripts that push content from GitHub is problematic (where to store the credentials?), a pull mechanism could help. Of course that pull script would be covered in a repository as well, and for pulling from a public repo no credentials are required.

So far the code for the site was here - but you probably know: https://github.com/OoliteProject/oolite-web

[another_commander]

@timer do you have a github account? If so, send me a PM and I will set you up for write access on the oolite-web repository.

As a first step, perhaps it would be best to apply your changes and any work-in-progress features to a new branch and we can consider merging to master when the changes are considered matured and sufficiently tested.

[timer]

Of course I know about the repository. Above, I wrote to you that the code there is old, and that I deployed it on a http://dev.oolite.site and that you can see how much it lags behind the current version http://oolite.space.

I didn't expect oolite.space to become a "permanent" solution so quickly... My decision to start writing a new version of the site was a precaution - the current server may also stop paying and the site will disappear again - forever. And we do not have access to the latest version of the site code - obviously it is only on the server itself, access to which has not yet been found.

Therefore, I decided not to wait for the next crisis and decided to sketch a new system. BUT I already wrote above that my code is not a continuation or a variant of the existing code from github, I borrowed some parts of html/css/js from there, some of the images and code had to be pulled out through wget or just copied from the browser, but in general this is a completely different structure and the project, and most importantly it's written in a different programming language - I won't be able to merge it into an existing repo (oolite-web). It is clear that such things are not written from scratch - I used various parts of my previous web-projects, some of which are still in production today. There are a lot of commented out parts in the code.

Of course I will upload my project to github as soon as it is neat, but for now this is a raw draft, the work of which you can see on http://dev2.oolite.site. Just like with the domain name - I did not and do not assume that the result of my work (dev2.oolite.site) everyone will like it, because no one even left any reviews - maybe I'm trying to make a new site in vain. Summing up, I can say that it makes no sense to upload my code to github right now.

PS this text is typed in google translator (with tiny self check), sorry if something is not clear. Not enough time - high work load :(

[hiran]

Of course I know about the repository. Above, I wrote to you that the code there is old, and that I deployed it on a http://dev.oolite.site and that you can see how much it lags behind the current version http://oolite.space.

I may not have understood the difference between these sites yet. Is it not that you configured oolite.space, and therefore it is the current (and up to date) site?

I didn't expect oolite.space to become a "permanent" solution so quickly... My decision to start writing a new version of the site was a precaution - the current server may also stop paying and the site will disappear again - forever. And we do not have access to the latest version of the site code - obviously it is only on the server itself, access to which has not yet been found.

Again I'm afraid I do not understand. Who is paying for oolite.space? How is it managed?

Therefore, I decided not to wait for the next crisis and decided to sketch a new system. BUT I already wrote above that my code is not a continuation or a variant of the existing code from github, I borrowed some parts of html/css/js from there, some of the images and code had to be pulled out through wget or just copied from the browser, but in general this is a completely different structure and the project, and most importantly it's written in a different programming language - I won't be able to merge it into an existing repo (oolite-web). It is clear that such things are not written from scratch - I used various parts of my previous web-projects, some of which are still in production today. There are a lot of commented out parts in the code.

Of course I will upload my project to github as soon as it is neat, but for now this is a raw draft, the work of which you can see on http://dev2.oolite.site. Just like with the domain name - I did not and do not assume that the result of my work (dev2.oolite.site) everyone will like it, because no one even left any reviews - maybe I'm trying to make a new site in vain. Summing up, I can say that it makes no sense to upload my code to github right now.

You are doing something, and you have all my kudos for that. The project's web presence entry point is in important thing to have.
Be aware you are taking several steps in parallel and due to the age of the code I agree that they are necessary. But for me, they are still different steps:
a) make the site available. If necessary, on an alternative URL
b) update the site's content

You worked on a), and oolite.space is up and running. Thank you so much for that. After all having a web presence is important.
You started working on b), and this is necessary as the old code may need some revamp badly. Especially when looking at the admin section, logins and privileges are required which somehow need to match today's security requirements.

But as important as it is to look at improving b), it will also be an ongoing task. Therefore I am not worried where you are taking the project or whether everybody will like the result. Whoever wants to improve should get a stab at it and contribute. Hence my idea of putting everything into version control, even if it is not ready.

If oolite.space may suffer from the same illness of being managed by one individual only, maybe we can shift to Github Pages that are directly fed from one of the Oolite Project's repositories? Updates to the site can then be run as pull requests, just as it happens with the Oolite engine's source code?

[Cholmondely]

I may not have understood the difference between these sites yet. Is it not that you configured oolite.space, and therefore it is the current (and up to date) site?

Of course.

But apart from a couple of mentions here (in obscure threads which will soon be lost), a couple of pages of our wiki (I'm not too sure where else to mention it) and the "Oolite (video game)" page on Wikipedia, it is the oolite.org which is popularised.

Eg:

1) ditto for the various YouTube clips (eg: Yamik's recent review)
2) Slant's What are the best space combat simulation games for PC? (2023) links to oolite.org


While on Google/Yahoo/DuckDuckGo it is not on the first 2 pages when you search for "Oolite", neither is oolite.org - and one hopes that the messages on our wiki and here on the BB are obvious enough to help the bemused and bewildered

[hiran]

@timer do you have a github account? If so, send me a PM and I will set you up for write access on the oolite-web repository.

As a first step, perhaps it would be best to apply your changes and any work-in-progress features to a new branch and we can consider merging to master when the changes are considered matured and sufficiently tested.

Speaking about OoliteProject@Github, I can see there are 5 owners of the project. Three of them have moved on, so actually we are down to only two. How about adding a couple of guys here?

[timer]

@timer do you have a github account? If so, send me a PM and I will set you up for write access on the oolite-web repository.

As a first step, perhaps it would be best to apply your changes and any work-in-progress features to a new branch and we can consider merging to master when the changes are considered matured and sufficiently tested.

sorry, for answer lag :(

I am here
https://github.com/stimer

[another_commander]

sorry, for answer lag

I am here
https://github.com/stimer

Invite sent. Please accept it to obtain write access to the oolite-web repository.

[timer]

something happened
Since April 8, the original server has stopped responding to requests from my VPS server... but the server responds from other addresses if you access it by the original name oolite.org (provided that it exists in the hosts file).
I will try to set up downloading the extension data file directly from my server.