[Announce-NYCBUG] NYC*BUG Web Site Relaunch

[Announcements only list for NYCBUG (announcements are not cross-posted to other lists).]

NYCBUG Web  http://www.nycbug.org

NYCBUG is proud to announce the release of an updated website.  We have
a slightly new look, upgraded applications, and several new resources.
We hope this will make the website more interactive and useful for the
community.

We would like to thank New York PHP (www.nyphp.org) for hosting our web
service for the last two years.  We are now hosting our own web service
in the NYCBUG datacenter,  graciously donated by New York Internet
(www.nyi.net).

The biggest change is that most of the website is now interactive. That
means you, the NYCBUG community, can add data to almost every page.
Another big change, not obvious to the user, is that the backend was
ported from MySQL to PostgreSQL.

Note.. we implemented CAPTCHA on all input forms to help hold down
automated additions and spam.  So you will have to type a pass phrase
that matches the text in an image for all submissions.

We have more plans for the future so stay tuned.  Also, if you have any
ideas, suggestions, criticism, etc, please let us know.  You can send
us a note by filling out a little form on the About page.

Check out our brand new app, explained below: PortRequest.

Read on to find out more!

Regards,
NYCBUG webmaster



DETAILS:
==================================

MAIN MENU - this is the heart of what NYCBUG is about.

* Home - meetings listing
* About - about us
* MailingLists - our lists
* NYCBSDCon - our conference
* FAQ - questions and answers

THE WEB APPS

* WebApps Overview - this gives an over view of the current interactive
web applications and a short description of each.  This should be your
first stop when visiting.

* dmesgd - an old favorite that we spruced up with better search
capabilities.  We now offer more categories to filter and find what you
want to know.  You can now use Full Text Indexing and can combine
search terms. Boolean searches are supported. For example "em0 | hme0",
the | operator means OR. Other supported operators are & for AND and !
for NOT. Sample: "hme0 & !FreeBSD" .. of course, without quotes.

* Library - Here is your chance to share your knowledge with other BSD
users! Just fill out the form and submit it to us.  If your submission
is already published elsewhere, or, is too long to fit; then just type
the url in the "Internet Link" and put a description in the
"Submission" box. You may upload one (1) file, if needed.

* BSDTracker - this app was developed to help promote the use and
awareness of BSD.

* Links - links to BSD resources on the web.  This is one place we
could use your help.  You are encouraged to help us keep our links page
up to date by submitting links to the database.

* Gallery - a place to view snapshots from BSD events. If you have a
batch of snapshots you would like to have in an album, please contact
us!

* Store - NYCBUG branded stuff

* PortRequest - brand new app!  This was suggested to us by Richard
Bejtlich.

According to the FreeBSD ports page
(http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html): The FreeBSD Ports and
Packages Collection offers a simple way for users and administrators to
install applications. There are currently over 14,000 ports available.

Sometimes you come across an application that looks really cool to try,
but, there is no port. If you have the advantage of being a port
maintainer, or feel adventurous, you could write your own port. The
documentation
(http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/porters-handbook/index.html)
is an excellent guide.  But, most users are not up to the task and have
to wait until a port is built or install from source.  With that in
mind, Richard made the suggestion that there should be a central
database that let people submit requests for ports of applications that
are not in the ports tree yet.  That way anyone could peruse the
database and find ideas for ports to write.  NYCBUG took up the
challenge of creating a web application and that database; and host it
on their site.

The app provides:
1. A searchable frontend listing all available requests.
2. A way to submit Requests and add them to the database.
3. A way to comment on any Request.

In the future the app will provide:
1. A link to the actual ports tree so completed Requests can be marked
as such. 2. A Watch List where anyone can submit their email address
and have changes to the database be emailed to them.

Anyone can Submit a new Request!  The form has several fields that
require filling in.  Submissions are visible immediately, so after
submission, you will be taken back to the main form and your submission
will be the default selection.

Anyone can Comment on a Request!  The form has a few fields that
require filling in.  You can even send a copy of the comment (or
question) directly to the Requestor, if they have explicitly allowed
this feature.  Again, comments are visible immediately, so after
submission, you will be taken back to the main form and your submission
will be the default selection.

Disclaimer: As a precaution, NYCBUG reserves the right to modify any
submission deemed to be inaccurate or inappropriate.

END