To Committee Members - Hahndorf Community Association and NTSA Hahndorf Branch
Report on Current Situation re the new BarkerWiki Community Website and the Incorporation of the existing HahnWiki within it
This report covers the situation as at 1 January 2013 with regards to the existing HahnWiki and the resultant changes and provisions that have been or need to be made for its incorporation within the suggested new BarkerWiki Community Website. The reasons for the creation of the new BarkerWiki Community Website and the resultant additional requirements that will be necessary for it to be effective for the entire region are also stated.
Please note that this report is reasonably comprehensive, but this has been done to elaborate on the historical background and to ensure that the reasons for and the future requirements of the Community Website are recorded so that the system can be technically maintained, publicised and developed in the future.
Background of HahnWiki
The HahnWiki (the Hahndorf Community Website) was originally initiated by myself using personal equipment on a trial basis in July 2005 for about 6 months as a result of approaches by certain local organisations and individuals to evaluate a suitable non-commercial community based Internet presence for Hahndorf. After extending the trial period a further 6 months to the end of June 2006, it was considered that the degree and extent of support within the community was such that HahnWiki could be placed on a permanent basis. It then operated under the auspices of the Hahndorf Community Association (HCA) which in October 2006 received a grant from the District Council of Mt Barker for the purchase of a new server computer to replace the temporary equipment then in use.
During this period, HahnWiki was predominantly funded by a donation of $150 pa each from the Hahndorf Academy, NTSA (Hahndorf Branch) and HCA (total $450 pa). I made up any additional funding required over the amount received.
Towards the end of March 2009, it was decided to transfer HahnWiki from using its own server and become hosted remotely by the WikiSpot Project (a non-profit, member supported program based in Davis, California, USA) which enabled community wiki sites to be created and hosted throughout the world. This was done with HahnWiki being administered by myself using the 'hahndorf.wikispot.org' and 'www.hahndorf.org.au' domain names.
As the local computer server was not then necessary and no payment was required to WikiSpot, the annual donations from each of the above organisations was reduced to $100 pa (total $300 pa) for 2009/10 with no further contributions being requested thereafter.
Effect of Changes to Wiki Program Used
In June 2010, the WikiSpot Project received a US $350,000 grant to develop new software specifically for use in community based wiki sites for cities, towns and regions, rather than the modified program they had been using. As a result the LocalWiki Project was created to carry this out (I am a foundation member of this project, although not actively involved).
As the LocalWiki Project has now reached the stage (some months ago) where it can be used effectively, they decided that WikiSpot (and therefore HahnWiki) will now continue only on a temporary basis (for how long has not been decided), and that it will not be maintained anymore. However, LocalWiki will continue to be developed over an extended period and will be maintained thereafter.
This means that if HahnWiki is to be continued and the considerable data and information contained within it doesn't get lost, it needs to be changed to the LocalWiki program. It is desirable that this changeover be completed as early as possible in 2013.
Additionally, rather than being hosted on an overseas server at little or no cost, it will have to revert to being hosting on its own server which is now a requirement of LocalWiki. This will involve some cost which will need to be funded somehow.
What is Needed and Has Been Done to This Stage
One of the disadvantages of HahnWiki was that it operated from a relatively small user base (population of Hahndorf about 1850). This meant that contributions to it and administration was left to a very small group of people, although there is little doubt that it has been a success as average hits on it exceed 100 per day from all parts of the world.
To overcome this it is proposed to trial an expansion of the geographical area and towns covered to that encompassed by the District Council of Mt Barker (population 31,000 plus with expected growth of a further 30,000 within the next 15 years). The Community Website has therefore been renamed BarkerWiki to better reflect the expanded geographical area covered. The existing HahnWiki will be incorporated within the new BarkerWiki.
It is believed that by doing this, BarkerWiki will attract more coverage, more contributors and it could become a very effective community based asset for the total region. Also, it should be easier to find sufficient qualified people to administer the site.
The other significant change is that commercial areas (businesses and traders) can now use BarkerWiki to reflect and publicise their own operations. This was only allowed in a very limited way in the existing HahnWiki which did not allow commercial input.
The requirements/problems involved in setting-up BarkerWiki include:
-
Setting-up and hosting BarkerWiki on its own server.
-
Paying for the initial and subsequent costs.
-
Converting the existing HahnWiki data to the LocalWiki requirements.
-
Publicising BarkerWiki to other towns, regions, individuals and organisations within the Mt Barker District to attract users. This will require considerable work.
-
Organising a small group to technically administer the BarkerWiki hosting server.
-
Organising User-group/s to instruct and assist other Users in the use of BarkerWiki.
Hosting BarkerWiki
Cr Jeff Bettcher and I discussed this some months ago with the appropriate Mt Barker Council staff to see if they could host the BarkerWiki or could suggest who might do so. Without going into details, it was apparent from these discussions that BarkerWiki would have to be hosted by ourselves or arrangements made for a hosting company to do so.
The existing server is old and considered to be no longer reliable and is therefore not recommended for re-use. Also it would require greater management skills and appreciable additional costs if we purchased a new server for the purpose (cost of server approx $1400 + cost of appropriate Internet connection approx $700 pa).
An independently hosted virtual server was therefore deemed to be the best solution.
As a result, I have organised a virtual host server with Web24 Group Pty Ltd, which are one of the Australian based hosting companies who can provide the service needed.
The details of the Web24 Hosting are: A 'Standard XEN VPS – Silver' virtual web server, which provides 2 cpu cores, 2GB RAM, 60GB disk space, and 100GB traffic allowance.
This should allow sufficient web server facilities within the foreseeable future but which can be readily increased at additional cost if ever considered necessary.
BarkerWiki has now been set-up on the above virtual host server using the new 'LocalWiki Project' program and to simplify setting-up and management of this program Ubuntu 12.04 Server LTS 64bit (Linux) was installed as the Operating System.
Use of both of the above programs will involve no initial or future cost.
The above hosting system was set-up on 19 August 2012 for a 12 month period.
The domain name 'barkerwiki.org.au' was also arranged through the Web24 Group for a 2 year period also commencing on the above date.
The above provisions do not include management of the virtual server and this will be required to be carried out by us.
The advantages of using a hosted virtual server are that we don't have to purchase actual hardware (computer server equipment), no additional Internet connection is required, and the total cost is considerably less.
Payments for Virtual Server
The total cost involved for both the virtual server and domain name is currently $600 pa. Note that the above cost would be the same if just HahnWiki was hosted.
The future funding arrangements for this will need to be decided some time within the next 6 months.
Payment is currently registered as being via The Hahndorf Community Association with myself (AM Finnis) as the responsible person. Payment for the first 12 months effective from 19 August 2012 has been paid for and donated by myself.
Future annual payments will need to be sorted out – any suggestions?
Conversion of HahnWiki
Conversion of the existing HahnWiki data is currently being carried out by myself with a couple of helpers (Mick Clifford & Meg Foreman). Hahndorf traders information is also being added, plus updating of existing pages is being carried out where readily possible.
Over 300 pages have been converted at this stage. It is anticipated that it will take about another 4 weeks or so to complete this to the stage that BarkerWiki can be fully utilised. During this time, all/most existing HahnWiki information will still be readily accessible.
Publicity
It would be helpful if publicising BarkerWiki could commence ASAP.
I am not sure of the best way to do this, but a number of people would be required to assist. I have had tentative discussions with a few people who have shown some interest.
Publicity is a very important aspect to ensure that all residents, associations, businesses etc become aware of what BarkerWiki can provide and therefore ensure its success. Any publicity would be required throughout the entire Mt Barker district and without it BarkerWiki as proposed would possibly only have marginal success.
HahnWiki content would continue to be developed, maintained and accessible irrespective of the overall BarkerWiki content (although additional support and input is definitely still required).
Any suggestions/comments with regards to this aspect would be appreciated.
Management of Virtual Server System
Management of the system is by ourselves. If basic management was to be carried out by Web24 (backup and updating) it would at least double the current annual cost. This additional cost is not considered to be justified at this stage.
I attempted to organise a small tech/admin group for HahnWiki during the past 5 years in Hahndorf with no positive result. Hopefully, with the advent of BarkerWiki, the scope to find such people willing and able should be much easier. The time involvement would not be great, and the technical expertise necessary is minimal, but a basic knowledge of server administration would be helpful.
Management basically involves regular backup of the data and system including off-site storage of the backups, restoring the system and data if necessary, updating the operating system and program, and ensuring that all necessary payments are made in time.
Payments and alterations to the Virtual Server parameters is made by accessing the Web24 'Parallels Business Automation-Control Panel' via a local web-client (Internet Explorer) and signing-in via the appropriate email address and password.
User names, passwords, shell commands etc required for the above would be made available by myself to each person allotted to carry out Server management as this information is definitely not for general use.
It is anticipated that once this is set-up, it should involve one person on average no more than 1 hour per week. However, to ensure the continuation of BarkerWiki, at least 2 or 3 people besides myself should be familiar with and able to carry out the above functions.
(note: Mick Clifford from Echunga has expressed interest in this, but being sight-impaired may limit his input – this is being discussed with him)
General Use and Management of BarkerWiki
Accessing content within BarkerWiki is no different than 'surfing' any other web content on the Internet. Anyone with an Internet connection can read the contents.
Creating content and editing pages within BarkerWiki requires that the respective 'User' initially creates an account and logs-in to BarkerWiki.
After that, input is reasonably simple and does not involve any great technical knowledge. The skill required would be no greater than the ability to use a word-processor such as Microsoft Word or similar at a reasonable level.
BarkerWiki is very much easier to use than the original HahnWiki was.
As anyone within the Mt Barker region can use the facility for any legitimate purpose, it is necessary that some degree of uniformity is maintained and that corrective action is taken in the case of misuse. It is therefore desirable that a number of people are available who are willing and available to undertake an overview of contents being included and provide assistance to other users when necessary.
This is a relatively simple requirement and can be undertaken at any time by any 'User' of BarkerWiki. It is only necessary for them to be given Administration Rights which will be done upon request.
It is desirable that at least 5 persons spread over the Mt Barker region should be available to carry out this function, however, the more the merrier.
Access to HahnWiki and BarkerWiki
Web Access is now currently available as follows:
BarkerWiki (new) ..... barkerwiki.org.au
HahnWiki (direct new) ..... barkerwiki.org.au/hahndorf or hahndorf.org.au
Hahnwiki (old) ..... hahndorf.wikispot.org
Sometime after all the existing HahnWiki data has been completely transferred to the BarkerWiki, access to 'hahndorf.wikispot.org' will be terminated.
Remember that BarkerWiki (or HahnWiki for that matter) is not 'owned' by anyone, but is a Internet (www) facility provided for community or individual use by anyone within the Mt Barker region for any legitimate purpose.
Please have a look at the BarkerWiki (mainly only Hahndorf information at the moment) and let me have any comments/suggestions that you may have – they will be appreciated.
Tony Finnis (email: [email protected])
28 December 2012
