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Joe
Thanks very much for the service you have provided thst has created a sense of community, especially for us part-timers, as well as an ongoing source of information about this special place we know as BTV.
As previously mentioned, if nobody steps forward to assume responsibility for Bigtreestech, “Nextdoor” might be a workable alternative. I believe it would require someone, probably a full-timer, to serve as lead and invite a small group to get it started. Another option might be for the homeowners association to take on the project, but that may be beyond its scope and ability.Good luck to you in your next “career,” and thanks for the memories.
Joe,
I would like to add my sincere thanks for the great work you have done over the years in maintaining this most helpful website. As “flatlanders” who get up here almost very month we have come to rely on the service to determine weather conditions and keep up on what is happening on the mountain. Thank you once again.@lawver,
I did not have a question about linux. I was saying that I have a small linux box in my home that runs python scripts that retrieve weather data from the weather station and images from the cameras and transfers these to the website.My webhost runs linux machines so there is no need to add another layer there.
The main problem is that the weather station is not internet connected and there is no way to get the data other than via a local computer with USB connection.
I am sure that over the last decade significant progress has been made with interconnected weather stations that could support data being pulled from a remote server rather than having to have it pushed by a local machine. It will be up to the new webmaster to figure that out as I will not be transferring either the weather station, the local computer, nor the code I use for images and weather data (I have no desire to have to support code I wrote many years ago on a version of Python and Linux that is probably not even supported anymore)
Joe’s question about Linux is easily solved with a VM and a single host. Download VirtualBox from Oracle and CentOS6.xx.iso from centos.org with a few gigabytes of disk space and your Linux system is ready as an app on your wordpress host.
Joe,
I echoe the appreciation for your service and devotion over the years and hope we get someone who is at least half as capable as you have been. You have really contributed to making us feel like a true community.
SteveI would agree that you have gone above and beyond for our community. I hate to see you give it up! Thanks again for all you have done for us too! Ths has to be a lot of work.I always enjoy your sense of humor on facebook too!
Adam Snider Snow RemovalI would argue that the Lube Room should be keeping the Lube Room page up to date. 😉 They’ve got a couple of locations, so they should have some marketing budget. I’m a huge LR fan too, really glad they’ve taken it over.
In terms of publishing weather, you can post webcams via weather underground…
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Originally, what made bigtreestech popular was the real time snapshots and weather information. For those of you who weren’t around way back when (12+ years ago), the original site only had a few webcam images, information from the weather station, and pretty much nothing else.
These days I think people like those original components as well as the forum, easy access to forecast and road condition info as well as the business directory. I’ve also gotten complaints about not keeping the Lube Room page up to date so someone must be trying to use it.Having done IT stuff for 23 years, I feel your pain (don’t do it anymore). It’s a tough job, and thanks for doing it so long.
I’m not advocating it, but several folks seem to like Nextdoor –
https://nextdoor.com/about_us/
It serves a lot of purposes like community message board, events calendar, etc. It’s hosted so you don’t have to do the care and feeding of technology, but unclear what else is required (ie. moderation, group setup, etc).
Maybe a foolish suggestion: rather than going through all of the hoops required to set-up and maintain a web site: why not use an existing social media venue and create a page there. Facebook could host a closed (accessed and used only by approved peoples) “Big Trees” page moderated by a couple people by and for the people who call Big Trees home (or home away from home). Would not have all of the functions and features we now enjoy, but could create a no cost low maintenance solution. I belong to two such pages on FB, seems to work ok.
here are the fundamentals of BigTreesTech.
Wordpress is the backbone of the the current incarnation of bigtreestech.
The bbpress plugin for the forum.
I use the Weaver II theme.
Security is provided by the wordfence, Stop Spammers Spam Control, New User Approval, Captcha by BestWebSoft, and Akismet plugins.
The business directory is provided through the Business Directory Plugin.I have a Vantage Pro II weather station and two Toshiba IK-WB21A cameras (discontinued). The weather and camera images are retrieved by a small (very small) linux computer. The computer runs a program written in Python called WEEWX (an early version) for the weather data and another python program that I wrote for the images.
Things I would do differently…
1) I would probably build the site on WordPress again but this time with a plugin called buddypress rather than bbpress. Buddypress has a very rich “social” feature set.
2) I would use one of the newer themes by the developer of Weaver II. Weaver II works fine and has been very reliable but why not go with the latest and greatest?
3) I would try to find a way to not have to have a separate computer running linux and python. I’m guessing that there are plugins for wordpress that could directly access a newer webcam. I could not provide any assistance in this area having never really looked into it.Things you should know.
1) A basic understanding of how to install and maintain a wordpress site. WordPress.org has a lot of great tutorials and documentation. There are also a slew of books on the market. Just make sure you are not learning about older versions. WordPress is always evolving.
2) A basic knowlege of CSS might be helpful. CSS is the technology used to control things like colors, width, height, separation, borders, etc of website elements. You could probably get away without this and just use “out of the box” theme settings to begin with.
3) If you are going to use WEEWX then you will need to set up a linux computer and have the ability to do some work with Python. With the newer “internet connected” weather stations and cameras (which I know nothing about) you might be able to get away with not having a separate computer.Joe, your completely unselfish donation of your time towards maintaining this site is apprecidented and greatly appreciated by so my.. (by the way, without betraying any confidences, how many members are there?)’I have come to realize how much Imdepend i on it for local the wider are information.
Is there a way you could could put together a “primer” on what it woud take to coninue them public service?
Perhsps we con convene a small group of concerned citezens to breanstorm on how or continue this valient effort.I hope ”this message starts a dialogue going forward.
SteveI’ve always been a fan of BigTreesTech. It’s the first site I go to after checking my email. I don’t have the smarts to take over. I sincerely hope someone will step up.
ScottJoe,
Thank you so much for everything you have done for Adam and I and everyone in the community. This has been a great source of info for a lot of us.
Thank you,
Jessica and Adam SniderJoe, you’ve been my long-distance link to all things Big Trees and a huge source of info and reassurance to me since I’m a long way from my home there. Thanks for all you do…and I hope someone will be able to take over the reins and keep up your good work in the future…but hey, nobody’s rushing you, that’s for sure!!!
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