How about: "The SPF Library"

Orionblamblam

Orionblamblam

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As recently mentioned, the CGRIS site with the Jim Penland files went kaput, taking all those files with it. How much storage capacity does the SPF have? Would it make sense to have an archive of its own? I know you can add files to posts, but perhaps a dedicated directory - on Dropbox or some such - that can be browsed, searched, added-to and *not* deleted from could be useful.

I could fill in a quarter or so of the Penland files.
 
Another member downloaded a bunch of files too so hopefully we can combine and recover most of them.
Capacity is basically unlimited but costs money.

It's a good idea to think about.
 
There could be "request" posts, "answer" posts and "weekly/monthly here's the new stuff" posts. Scraping all the PDFs already added in the forum into an archive somewhere... dunno if it'd be as easy as copy/paste, or if it would be a labor intensive nightmare. But if there was a single archive, you can bet that there'd be some forum members who would keep full copies, so when something inevitably happens to the SPF - New Zealand gets swallowed by a tsunami or whacked by a CME, say - it can be reconstituted.
 
Its a great idea but surely would need quite a bit of work to keep it organised and to prevent it becoming a dumping ground for material gleaned from Wiki and similar, not to mention duplications.
 
Schneiderman said:
Its a great idea but surely would need quite a bit of work to keep it organised and to prevent it becoming a dumping ground for material gleaned from Wiki and similar, not to mention duplications.
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Agreed. A way to make it not suck would be to have the archive be administered, so that only useful submissions get sent there. Anyone (or any forum member) could look at the archive and download, but regular schmoes would not be able to alter or delete files. Submissions would be by way of the current posting system; if a post is pointless or redundant, the attached file would not go to the archive (and the post could be deleted). That sub-forum could be administered with an iron hand, with strictly enforced rules about "post useful stuff, make relevant requests and discussion, and otherwise keep your yap shut."
 
Fantastic idea... couple of thoughts, firstly Copyright. How would this be policed? Secondly Meta-data. A comprehensive set of meta data for all entries would make the archive exceptionally useful, new entries could have it as part of the upload process (dates, relevant people, companies, organisation, associated project etc), entries scraped form existing posts have it added at a later date... this would be a *cough* big job...

Zeb
 
zebedee said:
Fantastic idea... couple of thoughts, firstly Copyright. How would this be policed?
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If it starts off as a collection of files that *used* to be on public archives - CGRIS, DTIC, NTRS, etc. - but got lost over the years due to website changes and entropy, copyright would not seem to be an issue. The usual rules of the forum, such as "don't post meaningful chunks of books that can and should be purchased," would seem to be a useful rule to continue.
 
I've long wanted to share the many tons of Pdf I have on my HD but I really don't know where and how to start. Be warned: 90% of the stuff is space-related. Notably RLVs.
 
I've thought along these lines as well, but was worried that an organizing effort could have an unnecessarily disruptive effect on the "flow" of the site (for the regular visitor, at least).

Very strict administering of an archive may not be necessary as not many people will really have the wherewithal to actually do any actual work on it , at least if the example set by Wikipedia is anything to go by. A core group of capable archivists will emerge. Some safeguards (backup ability) may be necessary to guard against malicious activity because, you know, the web.

If this should be done here, proceed thoughtfully. "Move slowly and preserve things" is my wish.
 
A reply to a "WTF, where da files" email request to NASA-Langley just came in:

The site where these files originally were had to be taken down because a classified image was found during a security scan. We are in the process of starting a history and archives program at NASA Langley so we can determine which files can be returned to a public site. Currently, there is no access to any of these documents. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Bah.
 
Orionblamblam said:
As recently mentioned, the CGRIS site with the Jim Penland files went kaput, taking all those files with it. How much storage capacity does the SPF have? Would it make sense to have an archive of its own? I know you can add files to posts, but perhaps a dedicated directory - on Dropbox or some such - that can be browsed, searched, added-to and *not* deleted from could be useful.

I could fill in a quarter or so of the Penland files.
Click to expand...
I have a NAS with several terabytes that aren't doing anything.
 
Orionblamblam said:
A reply to a "WTF, where da files" email request to NASA-Langley just came in:

The site where these files originally were had to be taken down because a classified image was found during a security scan. We are in the process of starting a history and archives program at NASA Langley so we can determine which files can be returned to a public site. Currently, there is no access to any of these documents. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Bah.
Click to expand...
I thought that would be the case. Anyone download the image?

:)
 
sferrin said:
Orionblamblam said:
As recently mentioned, the CGRIS site with the Jim Penland files went kaput, taking all those files with it. How much storage capacity does the SPF have? Would it make sense to have an archive of its own? I know you can add files to posts, but perhaps a dedicated directory - on Dropbox or some such - that can be browsed, searched, added-to and *not* deleted from could be useful.

I could fill in a quarter or so of the Penland files.
Click to expand...
I have a NAS with several terabytes that aren't doing anything.
Click to expand...
I have the space to hold the files, just looking for some decent software to manage upload/download, collect metadata, allow search etc.
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
Orionblamblam said:
A reply to a "WTF, where da files" email request to NASA-Langley just came in:

The site where these files originally were had to be taken down because a classified image was found during a security scan. We are in the process of starting a history and archives program at NASA Langley so we can determine which files can be returned to a public site. Currently, there is no access to any of these documents. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Bah.
Click to expand...
I thought that would be the case. Anyone download the image?

:)
Click to expand...
To figure it out, we'd have to wait to see what Langley eventually puts back up, and compare to what they once had... assuming someone downloaded *everything.*
 
I'm looking at a system called Papermerge which is simple and easy and optimised for PDFs.
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
I'm looking at a system called Papermerge which is simple and easy and optimised for PDFs.
Click to expand...

Microsoft Excel or OneNote

Devonthink and Yep are excellent options for Mac users.

It depends on your needs
 
You aren't really on the same wavelength. I'm looking at server software to upload, host and download files.
 
overscan (PaulMM) said:
Orionblamblam said:
A reply to a "WTF, where da files" email request to NASA-Langley just came in:

The site where these files originally were had to be taken down because a classified image was found during a security scan. We are in the process of starting a history and archives program at NASA Langley so we can determine which files can be returned to a public site. Currently, there is no access to any of these documents. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Bah.
Click to expand...
I thought that would be the case. Anyone download the image?

:)
Click to expand...
Similar has happened at the British National Archives, several files on nuclear subjects that were released in the 1990s/2000s have since been retracted back under lock and key.

I guess the dangers of hosting this is that at some point more material might be reclassified. They probably can't do anything about people who downloaded or photographed files quite legally for personal use at the time, but hosting potentially classified information might be problematic.
 
Yes there would have to be a way to report content.

One thing to bear in mind - just because something is available for download doesn't make it something you can redistribute. I've been asked to remove a book that was originally free to download that is no longer available.
 
Hood said:
overscan (PaulMM) said:
Orionblamblam said:
A reply to a "WTF, where da files" email request to NASA-Langley just came in:

The site where these files originally were had to be taken down because a classified image was found during a security scan. We are in the process of starting a history and archives program at NASA Langley so we can determine which files can be returned to a public site. Currently, there is no access to any of these documents. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Bah.
Click to expand...
I thought that would be the case. Anyone download the image?

:)
Click to expand...
Similar has happened at the British National Archives, several files on nuclear subjects that were released in the 1990s/2000s have since been retracted back under lock and key.

I guess the dangers of hosting this is that at some point more material might be reclassified. They probably can't do anything about people who downloaded or photographed files quite legally for personal use at the time, but hosting potentially classified information might be problematic.
Click to expand...

I've downloaded a shitload of spysat related stuff from both CIA and NRO websites. Maybe I should avoid posting these just in case. Then again the way things go since 2012, even plain NTRS stuff may be considered critical. You never know, chinese spies with an apetite for porn may be hanging around...
 
Of course you are totally right Orionblamblam,for years there is a huge upload of interesting documents here on SPF,unused properly by the members,I believe that the case of a library is inevitable,and imminent.There are websites of lesser importance,not like the stature of SPF and yet they have an archive section.Thanks
 

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