02-15-2007, 04:25 AM
Hey,
I'm a little concerned about the way the mansion repository works right now. For one thing, it's a lot of work for Freddy! I mean, even though I'm sure he doesn't mind, even the most devoted of volunteers burns out eventually. Circumstances change, and, even if it's a few years down the line, someone always needs to maintain that repository.
It's also inflexible for the users in that it doesn't store much information (only as much as Freddy maintains by hand). It seems impermanent as well; I mean, it's all stored by the forum software's upload facility, right? Well, what if you decide you want to change forum software?
Etc., etc. What I'm saying is, we need a dedicated mansion repository. For an example of what I'm thinking, have a look at Ambrosia Software's addon files repositories--they have one for each of their games. Under such a system, anyone can upload, but an administrator must approve an upload before it becomes available for download. Approving (or denying) a submission would be as easy as pushing a button.
What's more, we could store metadata such as description, version, author, date, download count, etc. We could even allow for user ratings. You get the idea.
This isn't just an idle suggestion; I'm willing to put my money (or time, at least) where my mouth is. I would volunteer to write the code (or help out at the least) needed to get this up and running. I'm working my way through school as a webmaster for a University department ( http://www.elc.byu.edu ), but I think I could steal a few hours of MM playing time to work on it.
What do others think?
I'm a little concerned about the way the mansion repository works right now. For one thing, it's a lot of work for Freddy! I mean, even though I'm sure he doesn't mind, even the most devoted of volunteers burns out eventually. Circumstances change, and, even if it's a few years down the line, someone always needs to maintain that repository.
It's also inflexible for the users in that it doesn't store much information (only as much as Freddy maintains by hand). It seems impermanent as well; I mean, it's all stored by the forum software's upload facility, right? Well, what if you decide you want to change forum software?
Etc., etc. What I'm saying is, we need a dedicated mansion repository. For an example of what I'm thinking, have a look at Ambrosia Software's addon files repositories--they have one for each of their games. Under such a system, anyone can upload, but an administrator must approve an upload before it becomes available for download. Approving (or denying) a submission would be as easy as pushing a button.
What's more, we could store metadata such as description, version, author, date, download count, etc. We could even allow for user ratings. You get the idea.
This isn't just an idle suggestion; I'm willing to put my money (or time, at least) where my mouth is. I would volunteer to write the code (or help out at the least) needed to get this up and running. I'm working my way through school as a webmaster for a University department ( http://www.elc.byu.edu ), but I think I could steal a few hours of MM playing time to work on it.
What do others think?