[Lnc-business] L-Pedia

Tue Jun 21 13:06:31 EDT 2016

As a followup to the above, I do not know the structure of how we are
presently hosting our site and other IT assets.  Do we have a dedicated
server?  Are we buying space on a shared server?  In either event, I do not
see why we cannot either get LPedia its own space or sandbox LPedia, then
let a volunteer run it.  The Party would maintain ultimate control and
ownership.  I understand we are in election mode and everyone is busy, but
that is a Party asset that is in danger of simply being lost,and we have a
volunteer who wishes to save it.

I am asking for this input and clarification so I don't craft some
half-cocked ignorant motion.

There is a significant portion of our membership that thinks that we, as a
Party, are careless stewards of our heritage and institutional knowledge.
This is one such resource (and I am one of the members that has that
opinion--- though now I am part of that "we").  We will always have an
excuse to put this off.

In Liberty,
Caryn Ann Harlos
Region 1 Representative
(Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
Washington)

On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 7:42 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos <carynannharlos at gmail.com>
wrote:

> We have one willing and able right now.  I would love to have more.  Right
> now, we are on a collision course with square one.  But yes, recruiting
> multiple volunteers would be nice.  James Gholston is a long-term and
> trusted member who has already been very involved with LPedia and known to
> the staff.
>
> On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 7:39 AM, Brett Bittner <brett at brettbittner.com>
> wrote:
>
>> If it were entirely up to me, I'd prefer to have multiple volunteers with
>> access. That way, if that one volunteer is hit by a bus or some other
>> tragic end or incapacitation, we don't start again at Square 1.
>>
>> Brett C. Bittner
>>
>> brett at brettbittner.com
>> 404.492.6524
>>
>> "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much
>> liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 9:32 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos <
>> carynannharlos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> That seems reasonable to me, but it seems to me that there is some
>>> reason that a volunteer was not allowed this access in the past.  Perhaps
>>> it was just because the right person didn't ask and pursue it.  Which is
>>> why I am asking and pursuing it.  Simply giving said access seems like it
>>> would solve this issue.  From what I understand James Gholston of Texas has
>>> the skills and desire to do this.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 7:27 AM, Brett Bittner <brett at brettbittner.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My thoughts:
>>>>
>>>>    - I see the historical content as valuable
>>>>    - I understand the constraints on staff time and budget
>>>>    - We are in the midst of the 2016 election cycle
>>>>    - A termed agreement (until the end of 2016, maybe?) with a
>>>>    volunteer for short term access for critical updates this cycle (due to its
>>>>    high page rank) could "band-aid" us through to allow for consideration of
>>>>    staff time and $$ allocation at our December 2016 session without taking
>>>>    away resources in the immediate term
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Brett C. Bittner
>>>>
>>>> brett at brettbittner.com
>>>> 404.492.6524
>>>>
>>>> "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much
>>>> liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." -- Thomas Jefferson
>>>>
>>>> On Tue, Jun 21, 2016 at 9:13 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos <
>>>> carynannharlos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Thank you David.  I am hoping for some discussion, particularly from
>>>>> those who have been here a while, on the best route.  It seems this an
>>>>> asset that the Party started and let lie fallow.  From this update it seems
>>>>> it is inevitable that it will be be undone through a hack exploit or needed
>>>>> software update if something isn't done, which requires certain server
>>>>> access which the Party does not want to give to an outside volunteer.  This
>>>>> presents at least these options (and I would like to hear more).
>>>>>
>>>>> 1.  Remove it and kill it (this is going to happen if nothing is done,
>>>>> I am very opposed to this option and am trying to prevent it)
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. Allot staff time and budget to re-open the site for registrations
>>>>> and administer it (this has been an option all along and not done, I
>>>>> presume due to lack of budget and need for staff time elsewhere---- if this
>>>>> is possible, this seems to be the best solution)
>>>>>
>>>>> 3.  Appoint and allow a volunteer to have the necessary server access
>>>>> to do number 2 (this seems to me to be the next best option, but I presume
>>>>> there are security concerns - not sure why these could not alleviated with
>>>>> vetting and agreements - a properly vetted volunteer is no less secure than
>>>>> a staff member)
>>>>>
>>>>> 4. Allow LPedia to be transferred to an outside server (paid for by
>>>>> the Party at a cost not to exceed X dollars), retain access, ownership, and
>>>>> ultimate control of site, and appoint a volunteer to run
>>>>>
>>>>> 5. "Give" LPedia and all the rights to it away to a volunteer or
>>>>> perhaps see if the LSLA were interested in taking over.
>>>>>
>>>>> These are options that seem to present themselves.  I do not know
>>>>> which is the best of these or other that may be added to the list.  Number
>>>>> 1 is unacceptable for such a valuable resource.  I have used LPedia quite a
>>>>> bit, and am one of the few that has editing permissions.
>>>>>
>>>>> In Liberty,
>>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos
>>>>> Region 1 Representative
>>>>> (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
>>>>> Washington)
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, Jun 20, 2016 at 8:01 PM, David Demarest <
>>>>> dpdemarest at centurylink.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Caryn, I would be happy to co-sponsor the motion you suggest below.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *Celebrate Life, Set the Bar High and LIVE FREE!*
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *The War on Cronyism Begins Now!*
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ~David Pratt Demarest
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Region 6 Representative, Libertarian National Committee
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Secretary, Nebraska Libertarian State Central Committee
>>>>>>
>>>>>> David.Demarest at LP.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Secretary at LPNE.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>> DPDemarest at centurylink.net
>>>>>>
>>>>>> David.Demarest at firstdata.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.LP.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.LPNE.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cell:       402-981-6469
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Home: 402-493-0873
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Office: 402-222-7207
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *From:* Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] *On
>>>>>> Behalf Of *Caryn Ann Harlos
>>>>>> *Sent:* Monday, June 20, 2016 8:09 PM
>>>>>> *To:* lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>>>>> *Cc:* James Gholston <jamesg at dimensionality.com>
>>>>>> *Subject:* [Lnc-business] L-Pedia
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I do not recall this being brought up, and this seems like an issue
>>>>>> who's time for addressing is far overdue.  I inquired with James Gholston
>>>>>> who has been an administrator of accounts there, and he provided me with
>>>>>> this information and request.   I'd like to get this discussion going, and
>>>>>> perhaps if there is interest, speak with some of you about co-sponsoring a
>>>>>> motion to get this going.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ====
>>>>>>
>>>>>> As probably everyone I'm sending this email to knows, our party has a
>>>>>> history-centric wiki (since 2005) that has very high PageRank and shows up
>>>>>> heavily in searches. It is likely the biggest online repository that lists
>>>>>> names of people who have participated in the Libertarian Party (with access
>>>>>> to some party data, we could crank out a lot of biographical articles).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Situation: MediaWiki is not designed to be maintained without shell
>>>>>> and ftp access, but only paid contractors and staff have this level of
>>>>>> access. Meanwhile, the LNC Staff does not have time to maintain react-text:
>>>>>> 196 LPedia.org /react-text
>>>>>> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FLPedia.org%2F&h=IAQGLgKMN>,
>>>>>> and the party doesn't have the resources to pay someone to maintain it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> What problems do we have that result? Two big ones are visible on the
>>>>>> front page. Three years ago account creation was temporarily locked down
>>>>>> when we were getting more than 100 garbage articles and accounts added per
>>>>>> minute and it's still temporarily down. Also, a needed image permission is
>>>>>> broken on the server preventing image uploads while the wiki settings
>>>>>> prohibit linking to external images. The really pixellated image of John
>>>>>> Hospers isn't really an image. It's a table. ...And it's roughly a third of
>>>>>> a megabyte. A PNG or JPEG would be a tiny fraction of the size and would
>>>>>> look far nicer, but it hasn't been possible to add one of those for a few
>>>>>> years.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Additional problems: The version of MediaWiki we're using is eight
>>>>>> years out of date -- and that update seven years ago was done by the LNC
>>>>>> staff spending money. Extensions are needed -- both to add features to
>>>>>> handle the data on react-text: 205 LPedia.org /react-text
>>>>>> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FLPedia.org%2F&h=wAQH_h6KR>and
>>>>>> to control attacks (our PageRank makes us a high value target).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Our main tool for controlling attacks is a bot that runs on my
>>>>>> personal desktop (written four and a half years ago when successful attacks
>>>>>> were exceeding what could be humanly controlled in a reasonable amount of
>>>>>> time as a workaround for lack of server access) -- and stops running
>>>>>> whenever my machine or Internet connectivity are down, allowing garbage to
>>>>>> accumulate. We have no meaningful extensions to stop things (a decade-old
>>>>>> CAPTCHA that's easily bypassed -- especially with the version of MediaWiki
>>>>>> we're running). With the bot ( react-text: 211
>>>>>> http://lpedia.org/User:WHUMP /react-text
>>>>>> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Flpedia.org%2FUser%3AWHUMP&h=mAQEXDhYU>)
>>>>>> it's possible to continue to allow anonymous contributions (most of our
>>>>>> contributions have always been anonymous -- many very substantial) and I
>>>>>> can bug people for usernames and email addresses and add the manually when
>>>>>> I know about them or personally recruit them, but reliance on these steps
>>>>>> is not optimal.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Also, what do we do when a PHP or SQL update breaks MediaWiki 1.12
>>>>>> altogether?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My suggested fix: Move react-text: 220 LPedia.org /react-text
>>>>>> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FLPedia.org%2F&h=KAQGIW0iR>to
>>>>>> a server where trusted volunteers are allowed under-the-hood access. It
>>>>>> doesn't need to be anything even remotely fancy or expensive: A shared
>>>>>> hosting DreamHost account would be more than sufficient. Additional
>>>>>> volunteer-maintainable party domains -- presently existing or merely
>>>>>> potential -- could be hosted on the same server and also be maintained by
>>>>>> volunteers (and/or staff and contractors, time permitting). The LNC staff
>>>>>> can retain control when they see a need or find time to exercise it, yet
>>>>>> not be a bottleneck when there's simply too many things to do, not enough
>>>>>> staff, and not enough time for even just the essentials.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There are other historical concerns and things that might be
>>>>>> relatively easy to do to help the volunteers who participate with react-text:
>>>>>> 226 LPedia.org /react-text
>>>>>> <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2FLPedia.org%2F&h=QAQES3Arj>(I'd
>>>>>> like to change the default licence to public domain and I'm concerned about
>>>>>> the mold/mildew risk to our unscanned surviving archival documents after
>>>>>> the basement flood), but let me focus on just this one thing right now.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> =======
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have cc'd James on this message so he can keep track and feed me
>>>>>> relevant information.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In Liberty,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Region 1 Representative
>>>>>>
>>>>>> (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
>>>>>> Washington)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> In Liberty,
>>>>> Caryn Ann Harlos
>>>>> Region 1 Representative
>>>>> (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
>>>>> Washington)
>>>>> Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> In Liberty,
>>> Caryn Ann Harlos
>>> Region 1 Representative
>>> (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
>>> Washington)
>>> Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Lnc-business mailing list
>>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>>
>>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Lnc-business mailing list
>> Lnc-business at hq.lp.org
>> http://hq.lp.org/mailman/listinfo/lnc-business_hq.lp.org
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> In Liberty,
> Caryn Ann Harlos
> Region 1 Representative
> (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
> Washington)
> Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
>

-- 
In Liberty,
Caryn Ann Harlos
Region 1 Representative
(Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, Utah, Wyoming,
Washington)
Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org
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