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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.
SteveOur sincere sympathys the the family and can’t possibly imagine what they are going though.
Its an exrodinard exemplary od Naures strength extraordinary dancers during tis time if year.
If the circustances warrant I would like to some effort too help them.I’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!!!
At some point, not imminent but not in the distant future either, I am going to want to hand over the bigtreestech torch. The original webmaster ran it for about seven years and I think I’ve run it now for about twelve years.
When I took it over, while I did have some computer programming background, I knew nothing about the web or hosting a website. It was a very steep learning curve and I spent many long days and nights learning what I needed to get the site running and evolving.When I’m ready to hand it over, the recipient will have to use their own hardware and develop their own website (I can help some if help is wanted). I will donate the two PTZ cameras if they are wanted by the new webmaster as they were paid for by donations from BTT members. However, the new webmaster will have to figure out their own means to get the images from the cameras to the website (though I can describe how I do it and provide source code).
If anyone is interested, get in touch and I can describe how the current site works (most of the time). If possible, I would like to see BTT continue with little or no interruption but at some point (certainly after winter) I am going to walk away from it.
all the best,
joe
joe at bigtreestech dot comWasn’t there a fatality at the crossing? There is a memorial marker just downstream from the bridge with the date of the slide. Still gets fresh flowers on a regular basis.
MEDIA RELEASE
Release Date: 2/10/17
Release Number: 1Calaveras River Drowning
(Valley Springs, CA) On 2/10/17 at approx. 10:59 AM, Calaveras Sheriff’s Dispatch Center received a 911 call regarding a 3-year-old female that had fallen into the Calaveras River. According to statements, the 3-year-old, her mother, and an infant male, were walking on a dirt trail in the area of the River of Skulls Nature Trail, approx. ¼-mile below Hogan Damn, when the 3-year-old fell down an embankment into the river and was swept away.
Calaveras County Sheriff’s Deputies and investigators, along with Hogan Rangers and firefighters from Calaveras Consolidated Fire and CalFire responded to the scene and began an immediate search. Hogan Rangers located the child on the riverbank and pulled her from the river, where CPR was started. The child was transported to Mark Twain Hospital where she was pronounced deceased from an apparent drowning.
The Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office wants to reiterate to the public that due to the large amounts of precipitation there is a flood and high water advisory for all creeks, tributaries, and rivers throughout Calaveras County. Caution must be taken when near these sources of water to prevent injury or death to yourself or others.
For full details, view this message on the web.
