Call for Action: Public Content Directory

Posted 7 Aug 2002 at 09:14 UTC by shlomif Share This

Aside from being an open-source advocate and hacker, I also like to write stories and screenplays when I get inspired. I decided to put the stories on the Net, hoping to get peer review. Nevertheless, it still cannot duplicate the "Freshmeat Effect" of a software that appears there, release after release for a given time.

I recently made a collection of fortune files that I collected publicly available on my web-site. I posted an announcement for it on Freshmeat only to discover that its operators have decided to stop accepting fortune collections. Recently I wrote the first episode of #!/usr/bin/perl, which is a series of screenplays for a sitcom - distributed under the Open Publication License and which deals with users of free software. It too was rejected claiming that Freshmeat was not intended for such things.

I do not intend to defame Freshmeat here, just to point out that there is a need for a directory and release board that will focus on other things besides software and technical documentation. I believe I'm not the only "Net Publisher" around, who just wants better publicity. I am fully willing to contribute part of my time for setting up the server and for moderating it. But I need references to existing codebases, and a web hosting.

Those who support this cause and wish to join me, please send me an E-mail. I think that expanding open source to other fields is a very promising direction, and I do not want it to lose momentum out of lack of proper resources that are present for its software-equivalent.


Are you sure we need new tools?, posted 7 Aug 2002 at 10:48 UTC by jul » (Master)

Maybe if there is no freshmeat for open contents, it may means that most of Libre Software community thinks Libre Software is only a matter of software/tools.

I don't think so, and I face the same problem as you do. But when writing, is is seldom a problem of tools (such as a portal) but a problem of finding the readers creating a new dynamic.

I find your idea interesting.

<true lie>By the way I coded exactly what you wanted this night http://dmoz.org/. :P </true lie>

Andamooka and The Assayer, posted 7 Aug 2002 at 16:37 UTC by abraham » (Master)

How about publishing at Andamooka and submitting it to The Assayer for reviews?

Check out ibiblio, posted 7 Aug 2002 at 19:16 UTC by jbuck » (Master)

The resource you're looking for already exists. Check it out. ibiblio is an outgrowth of the old UNC SunSite, and they have expanded their mission considerably.

The person in charge was recently interviewed on Slashdot. Read it to learn more.

Existing Resources, posted 8 Aug 2002 at 07:56 UTC by shlomif » (Master)

Andamooka is a place where authors can put their work online. Cool, but hosting for works is usually not a problem. The Assayer seems like a concentration of reviews, but I'm just looking for ways for people to learn about the piece and be informed of its releases. That and a comprehensive directory.

ibiblio is so huge that I cannot find the Freshmeat-like part of it as far as linking to content is concerned.

peer review, posted 9 Aug 2002 at 11:48 UTC by abraham » (Master)

You wrote you hoped to get "peer review", and both Andamooka and Assayer exists to give the author, if not peer review, at least feedback.

For publicity, you can always try to publish them on some existing online journal. kuro5hin accepts most everything that is properly written (and a lot that isn't), and I'm sure there also exist some appropriate Usenet group. Both places will give you feedback as well, and neither are exclusive.

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