Idea for new service for webmasters/developers/etc

[Michael Dugan 1240047]

This has dawned on me more and more in my meager workings as an ARTCC webmaster. The VAT(SIM|USA|etc) resources are pretty scattered throughout the web. At VATUSA, webmasters have access to a code library, I would guess something similar exists in other regions as well as VATSIM itself. The idea is this:

 

Developers and webmasters (and really anyone looking to build a tool that interacts with VATSIM at a web level) have a few common needs: version control, resources, packages/libraries, API refs, etc. It would be awesome for these folks to have a micro-community of their own with the resources they need to do their job. With software like Gitlab and a suitable frontend (Discourse anyone?) we could not only give developers the docomeentation they need, but provide a centralized resource for reference and integration.

 

If you are unfamiliar with Gitlab, it is a self-hosted git web service, akin to GitHub. It is open source, built with Ruby, and has a growing feature list for private organizations to manage their git repositories out of the public eye. This would enable developers to create free private, internal, or public repositories, create sub-groups of their own, and collaborate with other developers working on projects of interest. A front end could conceivably contain docomeentation, a forum, tutorials, etc for anyone who needs to reference them.

 

This is an idea in its infancy, but I'd love to hear some community (and VATSIM) feedback on it!

[Mike Burke 1145825]

I've just recently started on a PHP/Laravel "ARTCC in a box" solution that is on github and stems from a lot of the same thinking.

 

I'm all for the idea of a WRC of sorts to work like the Pilot Resource Center does on VATSIM, as much out there is either outdated or buried deep in forum threads.

 

Mike Burke

Webmaster

ZHU ARTCC

http://zhuartcc.org

[Alex Long]

I've had the same thought to try and bring all the resources needed under one place, and to make it user friendly to webmasters with all varying levels of skills and experience. I'd be interested in helping out with a project like this!

[Luca Benelli]

As long as it works it's welcome (and we provide some space if needed)

 

What scares me the most is the fact that this can lead to a whole new area of [Mod - Happy Thoughts]istance requests which we can't manage... But maybe using the webmasters forum as a "single point" might be a possible solution.

On the other hand we can't expect to [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ist whoever comes here with no knowledge whatsoever of php / mysql / whatever and wants to create a fully fucntional website...

[Alex Long]

Has anyone made progress on a project like this? If anyone is still interested, I'd like to get a group of you together and we could discuss bringing a project like this together.

[Michael Dugan 1240047]

It's still on the radar, but RW and ZBW things have jumped in the way. I've actually got a reasonably solid base for it, I just need to get around to making it more generic.