--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "Barrett" <linuxratz@...> wrote:
One item to remember is that the existing yahoo forum can be deleted
by it's owner -Ray So it might be wise to copy all files/photo/etc
contents now.
...which I highly recommend that anyone with the desire and capability to do so with a minimum of effort, to undertake with all practical speed.
About the only area I wouldn't bother saving, would be the Calendar. It hasn't worked properly or been updated for several years. The only item in there that I know of that's worth preserving is the (still ongoing) monthly W6TRW Amateur Radio Club swap meet held at the Northrop/Grumman facility in Redondo Beach, California. If anyone wants to search back through the past events for any others that are still valid, you're welcome to do so, but I believe it will be something of an arduous and thankless (possibly fruitless) task.
If at all possible, I would like to see the photos preserved at what Yahoo calls "original" size, and the associated uploader credit & captions info to also be saved. A while back, Yahoo's code was such that anytime a moderator edited a photo's caption, the upload credit was changed to that of the moderator. As soon as I noticed that lunacy, I started providing the original uploader credit in the edited captions -- so whomever undertakes this project should be aware, that there is also some editing to be done, by examining all photo upload credits attributed to me, and checking the captions to see if the photos actually belong to someone else, and if so making appropriate changes to both the uploader credit and the caption.
Taking it even further:
Although I'd never think the Google group might be lost, perhaps
someone could propose a way to ensure it couldn't be?
I can't think of any way to absolutely ensure that it wouldn't, though having multiple mirrors would be a strong step in the right direction. Also, a way to help avoid problems such as we now face, would be for the new group to have more than one trusted active owner with full privileges at all times. That way, if one of the owners turns absentee or otherwise ceases participation, the one(s) that remain can appoint a replacement. Having mirrors would ensure that if one of the owners were to turn rogue and attempt to sabotage the group, it could easily be restored. If possible, NO ONE should have the ability to delete the group, even including its creator.
A.J.
