Some Firefox users may need to log in more than once to log in. It's a known Firefox bug. Check "keep me logged in," it might help.

Es posible que algunxs usuarixs de Firefox tengan que conectarse más de una vez para iniciar sesión. Es un error conocido de Firefox. Marca "keep me logged in" (mantenerme conectado), puede ayudar.


Tech meeting 2022.07.28

From Bike Collectives Wiki

Agenda

  • Assess tech priorities

some possible priorities

  • can we get a bug tracker please?

bikecollectives.org

  • replace background image at bottom of bikecollectives.org
  • integrate with bikebike.org

wiki

  • get the wiki running at a usable speed (where it doesn't sometimes take several tries to save edits)

* make it so people can use the visual editor.

  • Make it easy to add an org

bikebike.org

  • replace bikebike.org software
  • contact form

hosting

  • We need to switch away from shared hosting to a high-availability VPS for bikecollectives.org. - i wrote a whole thing about this in the OCF tech donation page. We can worry about it when we have $$ i guess

Minutes

Misc

  • can we get a bug tracker please? Bugzilla is nice :) Gitea has a bug tracker.
  • replace background image at bottom of bikecollectives.org (should be relatively simple; just needs doing)
  • bikebike.org contact form & info@bikebike.org - this goes to Godwin; it is full of spam but he still checks and responds to things. Godwin, please feel free to forward questions to B!B!E! organizers. You don't have to answer all of them yourself.

Wiki

Stats on wiki usage:

Seems like the wiki is mostly used for the list of organizations. The bikebike.org database is almost certainly more comprehensive, but we haven't made it publicly accessible. (was accessible on the frontpage of bikecollectives.org, but it's been down for a long time) It has information from everyone who has signed up for Bike!Bike!, and continues to collect that information even though it isn't viewable anywhere.

One benefit of exposing more of the bikebike.org functionality through an API would be easier access to that database of organizations.

We need to get the wiki running at a usable speed (where it doesn't sometimes take several tries to save edits)

Idea: try putting a fresh MediaWiki install on dreamhost and see if it's them or if it's our wiki specifically. something about bikecollectives.org database?? (vs a fresh database)

Other things that would be beneficial on the wiki:

  • make it so people can use the visual editor.
  • Make it easy to add an org

hosting

  • We need to switch away from shared hosting to a high-availability VPS for bikecollectives.org. - i wrote a whole thing about this in the OCF tech donation page. We can worry about it when we have $$ i guess

bikebike.org

  • replace bikebike.org software - one of the biggest conversations, we could talk for hours on this
  • integrate bikecollectives.org with bikebike.org - in the long run this would be great; set up a single sign-in and integrate some of the data. Will be easier if they're both hosted in the same place

We might benefit from using existing open-source conference management software, so we aren't developing it all by ourselves. Darin searched around and here are a few promising options:

  • Indico - Conference software developed by CERN and used by the UN and IAEA; has interface localization but does not have content localization. Has a plugin framework and an API, so we can modify it some
  • ACT (http://act.mongueurs.net/) - May not be actively developed any more; is "fully multilingual" (whatever that means)
  • frab (https://frab.github.io/frab/) - Development is slow; docs imply that it has both interface and content localization but I have yet to see a working example of it
  • pretalx (https://pretalx.com/) - active development, found it b/c a conference that used to use frab has migrated to it, offers hosting services, interface & some content localization, plugin framework

Darin will look into these when he has time. (Alternative strategy: Try to get other conferences to use our software so their devs will help us maintain it?)

Otherwise, we're building something from scratch again. In which case:

  • Use a language and framework that is established enough to have a strong base of coders who can maintain it in the future, but is new enough to attract beginner coders and students who want to practice their skills - they're the ones who have free time
  • Establish a solid frontend / backend separation with a good API so new developers can easily add frontend features without potentially breaking something else

It's easier to do some of the early planning, decision-making, and development with a small group, otherwise you spend more time debating development decisions than you do coding. We can maybe bring in another dev or two, but it's probably best to knock out the initial API specification and do some preliminary development with just a small team.

Easiest way for Godwin to get a project done right now is to dedicate a weekend to it and work with other people. When can we schedule a weekend? Godwin needs to check with family about scheduling. Maybe during B!B!E!? We could have a secret zoom room running for coders to go hang out and work when they aren't attending workshops.

NEXT MEETING 8 Pacific / 12 Eastern in two weeks (Aug. 11)

  • Updates on anything Darin's been doing
  • Ideas / questions from Jonathan and Godwin re: planning for a weekend coding sprint
  • Check in about scheduling the weekend coding sprint