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Post by Gokhan on Feb 6, 2011 11:29:25 GMT -8
ruh roh. A weeks worth of posts are missing. I know it's been a quiet week...but not *that* quiet! I had posted to note the installation of a TAP-card dispensing TVM at Rosa Parks station. (I hate the system behind this forum; properly backing-up the archives should be the first priority of the forum administrator. I wish we could move to a different forum provider) Yes, this is happening for the second time in less than a year. Last night the board crashed. Many posts were lost, in particular the important posts about the Phase 2 contract. These crashes and resulting losses are making this board useless. We need a board that has a backup. |
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Post by matthewb on Feb 6, 2011 12:44:44 GMT -8
I strongly support moving to a different board system. How about google groups, for example?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 6, 2011 14:30:01 GMT -8
I agree. I don't post often here and really dislike the whole system behind it, but I'm willing to join whatever new group you go to. Gokhan, if you make it, I'm sure everyone will go to the new one. Losing a month's worth of posts a time (twice in a year) is unacceptable.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Feb 6, 2011 15:17:23 GMT -8
I agree, we need to get off this. Google groups is nice and its more reliable. Let me know if you need any help Gökhan, I can set it up very quickly if you need help. I assume Bart is in agreement?
Also, if we do use Google groups, there may be a way to move existing posts over. Give me a shout when you have a moment,
AK
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Post by Justin Walker on Feb 6, 2011 19:47:28 GMT -8
IMO, the current discussion board format is vastly superior to the Usenet format of Google Groups for our purposes. I have posted on and moderated groups on Google Groups and it is very inflexible. Google Groups is more geared toward group emails and group mailing lists than for hosting many categories of semi-regular discussion that we have.
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Post by matthewb on Feb 6, 2011 20:07:19 GMT -8
I don't care how great the user interface is if messages get deleted a couple times a year. Whether it be yahoo, google, or someone else, I think anything would be better. This forum serves many purposes, including archiving ideas people have about transit, the progress that gets made, and how the press covers these developments. It will be a valuable resource for transit planners and advocates to learn from in the future, if it's still around. Googling "message boards" gives lots of hits to alternatives. I think we should choose one that's not run out of someone's basement and make the switch.
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Post by ieko on Feb 6, 2011 20:16:41 GMT -8
Server that runs the website should be able to handle running *proper* forum software.
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Post by jamesinclair on Feb 6, 2011 23:23:27 GMT -8
I agree that google groups is a bad idea. It's just not very good for an active forum, especially one with pictures and news article links.
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Post by LAofAnaheim on Feb 6, 2011 23:30:25 GMT -8
I have 3 google groups accounts, and they're just basically for mailing lists, not so much group discussion like proboards. We can always search for something (Skyscraper???), but I would not recommend Google Groups.
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Feb 7, 2011 6:39:47 GMT -8
Well, gosh. Setting up this exact same software and hosting it on a properly maintained server would cost, perhaps $20 a year. This would also maintain our old posts, message count and accounts.
Should I contact Bart and get it going? How do we make a decision on this?
A
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Post by matthewb on Feb 7, 2011 11:00:30 GMT -8
Perhaps we should make a list of possibilities and start a poll to get more feedback about what people think in general. Of course, keeping the current setup should be one of the options. If there's a way of sending "digest" emails every day from the current setup, it should be possible to have a hybrid system - current or similar setup for posting, and some other reliable system that would receive those digest emails and keep them in a stable, searchable archive. If Bart were supportive, he could even advertise the poll in the weekly email so we could be sure it was democratic and involved anyone who might have an interest.
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 7, 2011 14:30:05 GMT -8
I like the current format, but losing posts is obviously ridiculous.
if the problem could be solved by switching servers, I'd be all for it.
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Post by bobdavis on Feb 7, 2011 17:03:31 GMT -8
This has not been a good day--the Market Street Railway website is unavailable and now I read this. Sheeesh!
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Feb 7, 2011 18:07:47 GMT -8
I talked to Bart and he's also pretty miffed at this. I have identified the server software used here and will get something set up to try very shortly.
Ideally I can import the posts and accounts over - but that's a big "if." Apparently this board is known for its poor management and they run a version of the software that is not officially supported - so importing may be difficult. More info to come.
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 8, 2011 2:33:35 GMT -8
For what it's worth, this board was better than the previous one.
Here's hoping that version 3.0 of the Expo Rail message board/ forum will be even better!
Dang, I'll probably have to find an all-new anime-themed subway avatar to celebrate the occassion ;D
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Post by Alexis Kasperavičius on Feb 8, 2011 12:15:42 GMT -8
OK, worked it out with Bart and if all goes as planned we should be able to start testing the new board by early next week. Still not sure if all posts and accounts can be moved over, but feel pretty confident something should work. Stay tuned.
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Post by matthewb on Feb 9, 2011 15:43:36 GMT -8
I hope the new URL will be advertised clearly on the front page of this server / sent out in the newsletter so we don't lose members of the community.
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 9, 2011 16:00:35 GMT -8
Ah well. You gotta have patience. The Roman subway wasn't built in a day.
If posts don't migrate, rebuilding them ought to be easy. I migrated the "fare gate" argument over to the Cal HSR board (with Spokker's help) with no trouble ;D
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Post by ieko on Feb 12, 2011 1:40:32 GMT -8
Just realized that some of you guys may be interested in this forum: cptdbor more specifically.. this sectionIt's not so much an advocacy site but a transit fan site. However, I think a lot of the things discussed here would fit rather well there. |
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Post by jamesinclair on Feb 12, 2011 18:23:34 GMT -8
A transit forum that actually talks about buses? Holy crap.
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 12, 2011 21:17:40 GMT -8
It's very much from the outside looking in. And it's very rail-fanny.
And it's America's Hat. ;D ;D
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Post by ieko on Feb 12, 2011 22:36:05 GMT -8
I always thought the stuff discussed here and the stuff discussed there fit well together  Plus, that forum never crashes haha and there's more than just people from LA. |
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 12, 2011 23:33:43 GMT -8
Well, a lot of it does fit well together. Trains are trains, you might say. But for advocacy... which is what I like to think this board provides.... it pays to have the local perspective. For example, I grew up in Torrance, the South Bay and San Pedro. I like to think that I KNOW the area better than somebody who's just drawing random lines on a AAA map or on Google. I know where Honda is, where the shopping malls are and what Old Torrance looks like and why the old Pacific Electric route in Redondo Beach is going to be impossible to convert back into a rail line. I know what Little Tokyo, Nisei Week and Obon season means to certain people, which is why I butt into the Regional Connector conversations. I'll admit I don't know the San Fernando Valley or other regions well, so I tend to stay out of those. Some issues are universal. I know what SUICA does on a daily basis, and I know the technology is no different than TAP. I know what a subway station with lots of exits looks like, as opposed to one with just a few entrances. I know that stores, shops and Famima!! make a train station more welcoming. It doesn't really matter if you're from Canada or New York or Aoyama Dori. For these things, a more general perspective doesn't hurt. But I do think that for a Southern California rail advocacy group, Canada just doesn't quite cut it. Sorry. It's nothing personal. No hard feelings?  |
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Post by ieko on Feb 13, 2011 0:03:44 GMT -8
Actually most of the people in the western US section are from LA... sometimes the canadians chime in, but it's rather rare.
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Post by James Fujita on Feb 13, 2011 1:09:58 GMT -8
Part of the problem also is that there are way too many groups, several of which I am a member of. There are Yahoo groups, and I know there's a transit community of sorts at Flickr. Then there's the whole Cal HSR board and then there's Streetsblog.
And other blogs I comment on when I remember to. It's impossible to catch up with it all.
At the same time, something like Streetsblog can be too narrowly focused. It can talk about Westwood for a week and maybe get to the South Bay or the Green Line to LAX once in a while. Certainly individual commenters have little or no control over the content.
The Transit Coalition is unique because it combines all of these into one multi-functional board. There are conversations on here which I will never catch up with, but at least they are avaliable, and they are specific and specified to one single rail line, bus line or concept. Or place. It's the only place with a board dedicated specifically to "Famima!! and other eateries at Union Station" ;D
I have nothing against the Canadian board, except it is too broadly focused.
We need our own Southern California Transit Coalition [one flaw in the TTC name is it doesn't say SO. CAL in there] board. If not this one, than the next generation of transit boards, which we have been told will be arriving soon.
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Post by ieko on Feb 13, 2011 1:45:56 GMT -8
All you'd have to do is create those threads there. It isn't anymore complicated than that. A forum is defined by the threads it has, you can focus on whatever you want.
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Post by matthewb on Feb 19, 2011 16:57:50 GMT -8
Is there any plan to move the board to a new platform? Given the track record, the board is bound to crash again at some point. Is there any sustained desire to do anything about it, or should we just accept that periodic crashes are part of the transit coalition site? What do people think?
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Post by Transit Coalition on Feb 20, 2011 9:58:51 GMT -8
Is there any plan to move the board to a new platform? Given the track record, the board is bound to crash again at some point. Is there any sustained desire to do anything about it, or should we just accept that periodic crashes are part of the transit coalition site? What do people think? The authorization and work on moving to a new discussion board platform began on Monday, February 7. I believe a reliable discussion board is very key to our movement. This board captures a lot of our transit history as we are making it and it needs to be preserved. With that said, while you reading this board may not perceive a cost, there are thousands of dollars needed each month to keep The Transit Coalition, a nonprofit public charity alive. That is where you can help! Consider and act to keep Transit Coalition growing and thriving. How? A contribution, a tax-deductible donation, an offering, a gift, an action to keep us functioning: Donate. |
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Post by ieko on Mar 26, 2011 10:29:53 GMT -8
Sooooo........ Any news here?
I think it'd be better to start from scratch and just put a link at the top of the new forum to this forum if you want it for historical purposes. At least then we can move to something easier and more reliable immediately.
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Post by rubbertoe on Jun 1, 2013 15:38:01 GMT -8
Wow, like the new look so far, just saw it for the first time... Bart, can you provide some input on what exactly is new besides the look itself? Do you have a new host and will the board work faster? Also, any change in the policy regarding pictures no wider than 800 pixels RT |
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Plus, that forum never crashes haha and there's more than just people from LA.
