Re: [Lurker-users] Lurker 1.0 Survey

[Jamin W. C. <jco...@as...>]

On Thu, Apr 10, 2003 at 11:25:15PM +0200, Wesley W. Terpstra wrote:
> Ok, I am going to finally start work on lurker 1.0.
> 
> There will be sweeping changes in this lurker version, but I need to know
> some things about the current user-base first. I am conducting this survey
> verbally and non-anonymously so that I can get more than a simple x users
> for this, y for that. If your answers are open for public debate, reply to
> the list. Otherwise, reply directly to me.
> 
> After I collect this information, I will post a lurker 1.0 requirements list
> and design for further final feedback. After this is finalized, I will
> proceed to implement lurker 0.5, 0.6, ... 0.12 until it's solid -> 1.0.
> 
> If you would like lurker to be useful to you, please let me know:
> 
> 1.  Does your platform have g++ 3.2?

Yes, but it is not default.  Debian still uses 2.95 as the default
compiler.

> 2.  Is 'jam' available for your platform?
>     <http://www.perforce.com/jam/jam.html>

Yes.

> 2a. How much pain does setting it up cause you?

apt-get install
 
> 3. Rank the dependent libraries in order of *DEcreasing* pain:
>    libst, libc-client, libxslt1, libiconv

All avaliable libraries in Debian, so they are all equal in terms of
difficulty.

> 3a. Would you rather lurker.tgz include needed libraries?

Not unless there was some need for a specific version of the libraries.

> 4. Rank these lurker features in *DEcreasing* importance:
>    capacity, threading, caching, search, mime-support, multi-lingual, xslt
>    ... indicate the point where you stop caring.

search, threading, mime-support, capacity (this is the end)

> 5. Would you prefer lurker to run as a normal CGI or do you prefer it's
>    create-page-on-demand 404 error handler approach?

Prefer the create on demand.

> 6. Small database size or fast database?

Fast

> 7. Back-issue import w/o reimport or date-sorted search?

Not entirely sure what you're referring to here.

> 8.  Pretty or small html?

small html

> 8a. How big is too big for the output html?

15% more than necessary to do the job.

> 8b. Is lynx compatability (like now) important?

Should be kept if possible.
 
> 9. How much RAM is too much for lurker to use?

32-64 (not entirely sure what it uses now)

> 10.  Is cleaning up cached .html important or should I keep all valid html?

Should set a max cache size and keep anything valid that stays under
defined size.

> 10a. If clean up: cronjob or daemon? (supposing no normal lurker daemon)

Clean on an oldest out basis when the cache limit is reached.

> 11. Have you ever used lurker's xslt to customize the UI?

No.

> 12. Do you believe the majority of your users have an xslt-capable browser?

Not entirely sure.

> 13. What url-scheme for message viewing do you prefer? (bookmarks/google):
> 	message/message-id.xml	<-- current

Current's fine with me.

> 14. What should be improved most in lurker? (other than stability)

DB fault tolerance.  Possibly even with the option to automatically have
it start from scratch if it can't recover.

-- 
Jamin W. Collins