Hi Terry.
> The HAM-HOWTO was initially designed to promote awareness of
> Linux as a computing platform ideal for amateur radio software
> and development. The LDP HOWTO format was adopted because it was
> widely known and there were no other mechanisms to fill the role
> of collating lists of software available.
> We've moved on and things have changed.
Nodz...
> There are a few reasons why I'd like to abandon the HAM-HOWTO in
> its current form. They are:
> 1> The LDP is restructuring and it is likely that a document
> rationalisation process will soon take place. The HAM-HOWTO does
> not technically meet the requirements of a HOWTO document, it is
> a catalog, a list, call it what you like, but it isn't a HOWTO.
> It doesn't provide you with details steps on how to do
> something.
The best one could say in this regard is that it provides details of
HOWTO find software related to Amateur Radio...
> 2> Other mechanisms do now exist. The Linux community at large
> has built mechanisms for announcing/cataloging/advertising
> software. There is no good reason why we should not use these
> mechanisms too. Examples are http://freshmeat.net/ and the Linux
> Software Map.
Also, a website on the subject would probably do a better job of
things than a document hidden away in some obscure directory where
people don't in general expect to find suchlike lists...
> 3> The idea of the HAM-HOWTO was that it would be a community
> generated document. That is, people would volunteer information
> about new software as it is developed and/or found. To their
> credit, some people have contributed, but I don't think enough
> have to call it a successful collaborative exercise.
I suspect that's largely because many were unaware of its existence.
I'd been using Linux for nearly a year before I even discovered that
HOWTO documents existed, and for considerably longer before I came
across that particular HOWTO. It's just not the sort of thing I had
expected to find therein.
> 4> I think it's time that the Linux/Ham community realised that
> we cannot afford to remain an insular community. We are part of
> the larger Linux community just as much as we are part of the
> larger amateur radio community.
> I see plenty of examples of a tendency amongst hams to only want
> to deal with hams on linux matters, this is inefficient and
> somewhat silly - the use of the linux-hams mailing list for
> non-amateur-radio related questions is prime.
I have to agree with this...
> To this end, I'd like to hear your opinion on what the best
> alternative solution to the problem of how to enable people to
> find amateur radio software for Linux.
> Some ideas that I have are:
> 1> Use freshmeat.net
> 2> Provide a web site, like Joops, and extend it such that it is
> able to automatically produce textual catalogs that could be
> posted periodically on usenet/mailing lists etc. for those that
> don't have interactive net access, and all else could use the
> web site when they're looking for software.
3> Provide a search engine similar to http://ftpsearch.ntnu.no that
specialises in amateur radio software, or persuade the existing
software search engines to include a specific category for amateur
radio related software.
> 4> your idea here.
Best wishes from Riley.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| There is something frustrating about the quality and speed of Linux |
| development, ie., the quality is too high and the speed is too high, |
| in other words, I can implement this XXXX feature, but I bet someone |
| else has already done so and is just about to release their patch. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
* ftp://ftp.MemAlpha.cx/pub/rhw/Linux
* http://www.MemAlpha.cx/kernel.versions.html
