Agreed, Frank, re Abuzz and A2K. One of the best things about A2K is that one can edit a post after it's been submitted. Or even delete one, if you're fast enough.
I also enjoyed Abuzz for a long time, but it's been taken over by some really strident individuals. The level of discourse here is much more civilized. Strong opinions are expressed, but there's less repetitive ranting. For that I am grateful!
Well, I'm glad to say the most recent crisis seems to have passed... abuzz is up and about, though not quite lucid.
I stopped by to drop off some flowers and a card.
I didn't see any doctor, so I can only speculate as to her condition... I'm guessing she could "depart this plane" at any time, but she may last until August.
All we can do is try to keep her calm and comfortable.
And try not to be too upset over the numerous seizures.
ETA: It's painful seeing her suffer so.
Welcome to Able2Know, Magus!
Agreed that plenty of bed rest would be best for Abuzz right now. And visitors should be quiet and respectful. No shouting or food fights, and no wildly pushing the poor patient's wheel chair through the halls...
Yeah, I visited myself.
Sure hope she survives -- but I am happy A2K is here, because she sure looks sick.
Abuzz was dead. Long live Abuzz.
I especially like the "Top Interactions" section.
Abuzz was a great place a long time ago, but A2K is even better than abuzz use to be.
I think I can agree with Montana on that. A2K probably already is better than Abuzz was at its best -- or at least the best that I ever witnessed. I came to Abuzz later than some of the regulars over there -- in February of 2001.
BTW -- I think it is out again.
Hi, Violet, long time - no see. What took you so long?
Frank
By Feb 2001, it had already started to go down hill, but A2K is still better than abuzz ever was.
I just checked on Abuzz. It's running, but the bad boys are wreaking havoc (again). Seems as though no one actually responds to anyone else's posts. What they do instead is begin a dozen or so threads (each) within a few hours, each ranting according to the weird theology of his choice. It's kind of fascinating, in a way. Then there's one poor person who starts a thread on how he can fix his broken clothes dryer...
Thanx, Dartagnan
I haven't checked back -- but I know what you mean about the serial poster bad boys.
Buncha newbies here ... Howdy, all. Yeah, I sorta miss the Abuzz of yore, but it is no more. A2K has warts, sure, but it is an extraordinary, broadly based, diverse, online discussion community. Such critters are rare enough in themselves. The civility and quality of interaction here, together with the bells-and-whistle features further set A2K apart from an already small field. Some effort goes into this, effort spread among the membership-at-large. I really enjoy A2k, and I really appreciate any effort from anyone to maintain its notably engaging, topical, civil style. I'm sure most members feel pretty much the same way. Obviously, one contributor to this thread seems to. Good job, Frank.
Hiya Roger! Nice to see you again. I've been keeping busy, and didn't know about a A2K. When Abuzz crashed recently, I did a google search on "abuzzer" and found A2K.
Oh, wow. I don't keep lists, but if I had happened on one of your posts over there, I would surely have tried to contact you. Sorry.
I think Abuzz may need a complete 'rewiring', if it is to continue at all.
Judging from the arcane nesting of URL directories, I'd guess the whole thing is built with Perl scripts, probably using lists of directory paths to keep track of threads instead of a relational database. That might explain the long delays and occasional messages 'lost in transit'.
On the other hand, A2K is based on PHP and apparently uses MySQL or other relational database as the backend. I'll bet it can support many more concurrent users and messages as a result.
I never thought I was particularly thin skinned, but the venomous abuse you get when you post honest opinions on Abuzz was starting to get me down. Hey - if I want to be treated like that I can always go talk to my boss - at least I get paid for that.
Kevin,
I suspect you are right about Abuzz.
As to this site, yes, it is php driven (with a bit of other cgi) and it is a forked version of phpbb . The forked version uses less database queries than a vanilla phpbb because of the heavy load this forum has to withstand. Because of the many backend modifications the A2K software will not be compatible with phpbb versions and will have to be developed with a bit more flexibility. I'm still active in phpbb modding and development but will soon create a fresh template and fork even further.
And yes it runs off of mysql databases.
And yes, you are correct in that this setup can support many more concurrent database connections that Abuzz can. So can the server.
This current version of A2K still needs some work. I am in the process of overhauling my forked version and A2K 2.0 is in testing phase right now.
Just visited Abuzz for the first time in eighteen months and thought it was pretty sad.
