Lars Aronsson wrote: > The point was that when I needed the toolserver, it didn't > provide the space I needed (in this case 160 GB), so I had > to use my own server, which uses cheap SATA disks. I was able > to complete my task, but not with the help of the toolserver. > This means others can't build on my work and people without > a server of their own will fail to complete such a project. > The idea behind the toolserver was not met by the actual > implementation in this case. It doesn't matter if it's > gold plated, if it can't be used.
Well, sure. The Toolserver is a free service with limited capabilities. I think the issue that you're running into is that the Toolserver doesn't have very clear governance. There are a lot of projects that the Toolserver could get heavily involved in: database dumps, providing high-level full-text access, pageview stats, OpenStreetMap, and so on. There are (financial) resources available for some of these projects (through grants, chapters, etc.), but not others. Ultimately, however, there doesn't seem to be a clear body that controls where the Toolserver puts its resources (besides maybe WMDE, which seems pretty hands-off). Some people would consider this hands-off approach to be a feature; some people would consider it a bug. Those looking to undertake very large project with complex and costly needs obviously see it as a bug. Wikimedia Deutschland seems to be focusing (part of?) its efforts on WikiData: <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiData_WMDE>. Whether they have additional resources (financial, staff, or otherwise) to devote to other projects is unclear to me. If you can make database dumps a priority for them (or other rich chapters), you can build a platform to do exactly what you want to do. It's not easy work, though. MZMcBride _______________________________________________ Toolserver-l mailing list (Toolserver-l@lists.wikimedia.org) https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/toolserver-l Posting guidelines for this list: https://wiki.toolserver.org/view/Mailing_list_etiquette
