[DECtalk] Status of the archive

shaun everiss shaun.e at xtra.co.nz
Wed Sep 23 03:07:16 EDT 2009


well I think it has, no more dectalk externals and the dectalk bar the access32 system is becoming a quite old system.
I think the archive should still exist for those that want to get it, but I suspect there will probably be no real contributers.
I think its time to change the archive, who said that dectalk could be the only thing used.
I wander if one should encourage other users of different synths to  do music in those things and put it up.
I know there are other synths up there but still I wander.
At 06:43 p.m. 23/09/2009, you wrote:
>I've seen a decline in the interest in making DECtalk sing. For a while 
>before I decided to hand the archive over to Tony, I didn't get any uploads. 
>And yes, I did turn it over to him because of bandwidth issues, which is the 
>strange thing. People seem to be infatuated with the archive. I don't know 
>what it is, but it seems either tons of people discover the archive 
>constantly, which seems rather unlikely. Or the same people download the 
>same files over and over and over again. I know that shouldn't be it either, 
>as it's rather simple to save a local copy of a downloaded file so you can 
>play it whenever you want, as many times as you want, forever, without ever 
>downloading it from anyone else again.
>     Sad though this may seem, I pretty much agree with Tony that the 
>DECtalk archive has outlived its usefulness. When making DECtalk sing was a 
>hugely popular thing to do, there needed to be an archive of people's 
>creations. But now that's died off. That having been said, I don't think the 
>archive should be totally destroyed. Any time there has been an archive like 
>this one, I think it ought to exist in one form or another as long as 
>there's someone out there willing to allow it to do so. What I envision 
>happening to the archive is possibly a DVD ISO being made, or something 
>similar. That way, it can continue to exist, and be available in its 
>entirety if someone is willing to host it, as an archive now closed to new 
>submissions. That is, the archive is what it is, and will forever more stay 
>the same.
>Thoughts? Comments?
>Jayson
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Tony Baechler" <tony at baechler.net>
>To: <dectalk at bluegrasspals.com>
>Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 1:54 AM
>Subject: [DECtalk] Status of the archive
>
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Please read this carefully.  Nothing has been decided yet.  I am seeking
>> input from the list before I do anything.  Your thoughts are appreciated.
>>
>> To give a little history, the archive was first managed by Andre Louis.
>> He abandoned it and it was taken over by Jayson Smith who still manages
>> this list.  Finally, I took it over from him because of bandwidth
>> issues.  I've noticed a decline in new files since Jayson took it over
>> with only one or two people regularly uploading.  Since I've taken it
>> over, no mention has ever been made of anyone wanting to upload
>> anything.  Therefore, I'm thinking that perhaps the archive has reached
>> the end of its interest and usefulness.  The main reason why I never
>> bothered to set up ftp uploading is because no one asked.  Likewise, I
>> didn't set up rsync for the same reason.
>>
>> Here are some things that I'm considering.  When I originally took it
>> over, I had great plans for it.  I wanted to go through every file and
>> do some reorganizing, such as by creator or author.  I wanted to move
>> some of the text files and software around.  As you can see, that didn't
>> happen.  The fact is that I really don't have time to deal with it
>> anymore.  I have severe health problems and am undergoing evaluation for
>> a kidney transplant.  My kidney function is 25%.  I have way too much
>> stress right now to give it the time it deserves, especially if people
>> start uploading again.  That's why I've been quiet on the list and
>> haven't asked people to upload.  Also, something that I wasn't planning
>> on was a lot of hardware problems.  The machine it's on seems better now
>> but was very unstable for months.  That's why the archive would go down
>> for days at a time.  That should be permanently resolved now.
>>
>> I would like to make something very clear.  I am not immediately closing
>> the archive.  Bandwidth isn't a problem for now.  I'm undecided what to
>> do which is why I'm asking for input.  If I don't hear anything, I'll
>> probably retire the archive in a couple weeks and eventually remove it.
>> If someone else wants to take it over and can give it the time it
>> deserves, feel free to volunteer.  It still gets a lot of hits and will
>> suck your bandwidth without a limiter.  I guess I'm leaning towards
>> closing it by the end of the year, but for now it isn't going anywhere
>> and nothing will change immediately.
>>
>> Finally, there's something else to consider.  That is that a lot of the
>> archive is either illegal or adult material.  I'm taking a big chance by
>> making it available for download.  So far it has been fine but that
>> could change without warning if my provider finds out.  It's low profile
>> enough that I'm not too worried, but keep that in mind if you want to
>> take it over.  I'm putting myself and others living here at risk because
>> we could lose our Internet if I get caught.
>>
>> In conclusion, I haven't done anything with it since I took it over from
>> Jayson and I have no immediate plans to change anything.  I'm looking
>> for input on what to do, but I'm thinking of closing the archive due to
>> lack of interest.  I can't really keep maintaining it and no one has
>> asked to upload anything.  Unless I hear otherwise, I'll probably close
>> it by the end of the year.
>>
>> Tony Baechler, current DECTalk archive maintainer
>> tony at baechler.net
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> DECtalk mailing list
>> DECtalk at bluegrasspals.com
>> http://jaybird.no-ip.info/mailman/listinfo/dectalk 
>
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