Benjamin Scott wrote:
> That would be very, very cool.
>
> Question: If I were to provide a Linux box in the
> form-factor you wish, could we use that instead? Not
> that I (and, I'm sure, the rest of us) don't appreciate
> MCL's generousity, it is just that I would like GNHLUG to
> have a server of its own, that we can call *ours*, and do
> what we wish to.
I can somewhat understand this. It's nice to have something that you
can call your own, but that may not happen reguardless of who purchases
the hardware.
> Hosting DNS and any web sites is an obvious start. But
> there are lots of things we could be doing that we are
> not. Some things I or others have mentioned that might
> be useful:
>
> - A central location for mailing lists
> - Searchable mailing list archives
> - A GNHLUG Internet Relay Chat server
> - FTP space for whatever projects GNHLUG is working on
> - CVS server for GNHLUG projects
> - Interactive web applications for LUG organization -- > things like
> calendars, contact lists, and so on
> - A place to demo things Linux can do (LDAP, for
> example)
>
> If we, as a group, have our own server, we are free to
> do what we want with it. If someone has a neat idea and > the willingness to work
>on it, we can let them at it, and
> not have to worry about the politics of Someone Else's
> Stuff.
This isn't 100% true. Sure, you can own the box and put whatever
software on it that you want, but that doesn't mean that you can "do
whatever we want". No matter who put's out the cash for the hardware,
there are still going to be restrictions as to what the box can be used
for. Some of the things that you mention above are extreamly intensive
on resources other than just the box itself (IRC and LDAP can tax a
network), and some of them may violate basic network security policies
(FTP). These things would require changes to firewalls and possably
network infrastructure.
> What do you think, Paul? What do others think?
I think I answered that (for myself, anyway).
Just my $0.000001
Kenny
