Oolite Bulletins

the Expansion Pack forum.

After discussions on the forums and in PMs with many OXP authors, I've come to the realisation that the only place in which OXP information will be reliably updated is the Expansion Pack forum and so I've updated the OXP wiki site to say this.

I heard how Oosat failed because it crashed. A replacement like OXPCentral would probably have a similar fate unless it had multiple server administrators to ensure backups and stability. This would be a large job. If there were an open CMS server somewhere, which does backups, this might work better.

The wiki will not stay up to date not because OXP authors are lazy as some have suggested to me, but because the wiki is locked down, so editing it has unnecessary hurdles. Other wiki sites remain world access by giving the person editing a mathematical sum to do before the edit is committed thus preventing spambots (for now). Unless something like this is done for the wiki, it is likely to become increasingly out of date. Wiki editors will try to maintain it, but this is not a solution. Autogeneration from the wiki does not solve the problem either, as it needs maintained pages on the wiki to autogenerate from.

Sorry if this sounds very negative but I've had another sleepless night over all this.

So the conclusion is that the OXP Expansions forum is the best source of information. Autogenerating off that somehow could be a solution, but I have no idea how to do that. We need a solution that somehow involves the one place where OXP authors are guaranteed to put their OXP information.

Its only a game. If you are having sleepless nights over it, then its time to take a break.

The best place for OXP info is the wiki, and the solution is to use the wiki properly. Anyone who wants one can get an account they just need to be patient. Perhaps it takes longer than it should, but that is just one of those things.

There have been any number of abortive attempts to do something better, and so far nothing significant has come along. For now, everything is cool

The internet is a place of shifting sands.
Web pages come and go.
Even the giants aren't immune to the ravages of time.
Most websites don't last 5 years.

I think Commander James is right that the Wiki is still the best source of OXP info. This is particularly true now, after all the work that you (Mcarans) have put into it. It genuinely is much better now and I for one am sorry to hear that you seem to have ended up dis-heartened.
The fact is you have tried to do the impossible. With things the way they currently are there is no 'Perfect Solution', there probably never can be because of many factors, notably Human (or Fat Yellow Lobster or whatever) Nature.
What we have now got though is a much-improved Wiki that really does what it should - help people find the OXPs thay want, and stands a good chance of being kept more up-to-date than it might have done otherwise.
Now, go get some sleep

Thanks guys.

When thoughts of Oolite are of tension and problems rather than enjoyment and fun, then you are right - I need to take a break.

mcarans, you do a sterling job, but make sure you don't burn out, just like Giles did

You are right. Please discuss at the original location here: https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=45