Geeklog Forums

Hi, I have installed geeklog because I have heard it is stable. I suffered a lot with so called great packages ever since last Chrismas! Most of them are fine for kids that wish to practice their hackers skills. I have some gripes against geeklog too. What is this all about? I find it rather limited. I look at my page and wonder. Why would anyone want to come to this barren territory again. To use the calendar? or to read a couple os strories? Then I find the documentation is ludicrously poor. The explanations on the config file are full of circulat definitions. I am told that locale which is set to en-gb is for the locale. Well I am not in en-gb. What am I supposed to do? Lighr a fire and send up smoke signals? Static pages. I created one. I do not see it anyplace on the front page. I guess it must be secret pages? I can go on and on. My advice to the makers of this allegedly fine product ought to consider users that do not have the time or the patience to immerse themselves the geeklog cult but wish to just do the job. Don't be shy, spell it out spoonfeeding manner., What on earth are static pages, how can use them Conlcuding, yes I am grateful for the free software. Don't tell me that because of that I should keep my mouth shut. That logic is for morons that cannot chew gum and walk at the same time. Sorry for the typos MIchael

Michael, I will try my best not to sound defensive as I think you have some valid gripes but your input largely is useless. Here is why... First, I am sure you appreciate and respect that all you have with Geeklog is done with volunteer time. Nobody is paying us to write code and nobody is paying us to write docs. I promise you the day all that comes you can expect some big turn arounds in both. To address your first question, why would anybody come to your site? Well, quite simply, it will be for content. We only provide you mechanisms for publishing content via the core GL system or through third party plugins. Want a unique wrinkle? Have an itch to scratch? Great, there are ways within Geeklog to facilitate much of this. Just be willing to ask 'how' in either our mailing lists, on this site or live in IRC...our support is tough to beat, especially for an open soruce project. Furthermore, This project isn't run by a lone renegade. It is a team effort, a global team effort and each of us is willing to help anybody implement their GL site(s) including you despite the unconstructive gripes you've just given. Then you said "Then I find the documentation is ludicrously poor". Really? Well again, documentation is a volunteer effort and what you say is a slap in the face to a few people that worked really hard to get what you see in place. Documentation, like our code, is always evolving. We would be more than open to suggestions to improving our documentation but we can't do so with flaming comments like yours. Get specific. Or at least identify the sections of paragraphs that you felt really tripped you up. Simply rambling on about why you hate Geeklog is not constructive and, to be honest, boils my blood a bit. Us developers give time that could be spent with our wives, kids, friends and, instead, devote to building what we feel is a pretty damn good package yet people like you can't give a few minutes to give *useful* feedback. So to recap this paragraph, give specific, useful feedback on how to improve Geeklog and we'd be happy to consider the changes. Static Pages. You created one! Great! I created an HTML page on my site. Can you find it? No. Unless you have the ability to read the mind of a web server you will not be able to easily find HTML pages unless they are linked to in another document. Same thing for static pages. How about creating a block and adding a link to it there or, if you theme supports it, you can click the checkbox to add it to the header automatically for you. It's that simple. "I can go on and on."...well so can I ;-) "...consider users that do not have the time or the patience to immerse themselves the geeklog cult but wish to just do the job". Geeklog like any half-way feature rich package, requires sometime to learn. [sarcasm]My personally apologies for not making it so you can have you site running fully customized in five minutes. What was I thinking?[/sarcasm]. The fact you liken Geeklog to a 'cult' is ridiculous. Nobody is asking for your first born sons or organizing mass suicides on remote farms in Iowa ;-) We are just a few good people who enjoy coding, enjoy PHP and enjoy building something people find useful. "Don't be shy, spell it out spoonfeeding manner., What on earth are static pages, how can use them". Us, shy? Yeah, right. From the static pages README: "This Static Page Geeklog Plug-in is the source code and database that is used to for creating semi-static pages in Geeklog quickly." To expand, this plugins is meant to publish pages that will not change very often yet are searchable by GL's search engine. They are ideal for privacy policies, general documentation and other misc. content that won't change very often and provide you a slick way to wrap your look-and-feel around it instead of having to do all this via FTP or ssh using HTML. Finally for my favorite comment you made: "That logic is for morons that cannot chew gum and walk at the same time." Asking us to improve things and then ending your rant with this shows your arrogance. Everything, I have said to this point about being willing to take any specific gripes you have into consideration is true. Hell, I personally would even be willing to work with you one-on-one in IRC to overcome any problems you are having. But I can promise you at the end of the day you and I will not be sharing any beers. Your attitude and ineptness at communications is unbelievable. By the sounds of it you are the IT Messiah. I am guessing that every bit of code you write, like a score from Mozart, is perfect the first time around and the documentation for everything you do is impecable. I'm reminded of the familiar slogan, "Like Mike, if I could be like Mike!"---The reason people blame things on previous generations is that there's only one other choice.

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The reason people blame things on previous generations is that there's only one other choice.

I am a big fan of open source projects. While most of the time I am not able to contribute becuase of my lack of knowledge or lack of time, I respect the simple idea that people do these things for free. This is a project people are working on simply becuase they like it. If you like the project and find faults, explain it to the developers, they are usually pretty willing to listen. When you don't like a project, there is no need to come to thier website and tell them how much it sucks, you simply do not use it. I personally don't like the PHP-Nuke project, but I don't go to thier site and post flames about how much it sucks becuase I appreciate the effort put into such a large project. Show a little respect for what these people have done with their own free time.---Boredom's not a burden anyone should bear. Constant over stimulation numbs me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Boredom's not a burden anyone should bear. Constant over stimulation numbs me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am with Tony on this one. I do not think that GL is built for the person that can't set the timer on their VCR. It cannot be everything to everyone. It is great for me however. The documentation is not the greatest, but the community is very supportive and the config doc has most of the info that is needed for the basic install. I use it for a couple of sites, including a site for my family. They think I am a web guru now thanks to this. Using GL is a little like staying in a Hoiday Inn Express - You may not be an expert, but they will think you are.

I really do not understand people like this. Did he also post a rant on the websites of all the other packages? Is he asking for his money back? I remember as a young man, my father made me get registered to vote as soon as I was able and then bugged me until I voted every-time I could. He said I could not gripe about how the country was run unless I at least voted. To those who gripe about Geeklog, I say, you do not have the right to gripe, until you make your contribution. But you say 'I am not a programmer'! You can write prose can't you? As everyone is quick to point out, good documentation or translations of existing documentation is lacking. But no, you will gripe until you get Geeklog running and then you will go on your merry way. TomW Not anonymous like the whiners.

I am totally in agreement with Tony. The critisism given is in no way constructive and shows a complete lack of respect. When asking for assistance you should tell the people you are asking for assistance what you have done thus far to assist yourself. The Docs are good and the product rocks. If you want someone to do everything for you, hire one. The way you state your expectations are completely inappropriate. You should read what you post before you click submit because from reading the post above you come off as someone nobody would be willing to deal with. Saying things like "I look at my page and wonder. Why would anyone want to come to this barren territory again." makes no sense. It is like building a house and yelling at the lumber supplier that he has not laid your foundation. The content of the page is up to you. Give your users a reason to come back. You can't rely on someone else to build your page for you, you have to do the work. Think!

It is non-productive to start complaining without being specific on what the problem is and provide a recommended solution. The developers here are doing this work without any compensation, and they are not mind-readers. Geeklog and other CMS' merely provide some tools to make it easier to create and maintain a website. Each of us, that includes YOU, are responsible for the site's content. If you're wondering "why would anyone want to come to this barren territory again", then the problem is the content which is YOUR responsibility. Building a successful website takes time, creativity, and energy. It's not just slapping some info from various news feeds or slurping up another person's WebPages. If you don't want to dedicate time and effort to building your site's content, then take it down and do something else. Alternatively, you can PAY someone else to run your site and provide interesting content. As for the documentation, this is an area which could be improved upon. Why haven't YOU done anything to help out here? You didn't even spend five minutes outlining specific areas that could be improved upon. How basic of a document do you need? Be specific on which areas are too far above your head or not covered enough.

Sheesh. Here I thought we were going to get some QUALITY hate mail, and all we get is this rubbish! Where do I write to complain about the sub-par quality of the hate mail around here?

This guy sounds familiar. Some people in this world are just spoiled. Or, like the Book says, "Don't throw pearls to the swine." He doesn't even know what he is getting. Just a waste of time! Rocky

This guy is an idiot -- that or like someone else said, he can't set his VCR. As a reverse testimonty, I got it going in a few hours.

I heard about the GeekLog software 2 days ago from a friend that does web development. I Found out I needed to install a bunch of other stuff first. Did I mention I'm not running a Linux Box? Why be simple? So, I add that to the complication.

I found PHP, MySQL, Apache in one neat package, thank you http://www.firepages.com.au/!! I installed it onto my XP Box by double clicking (after the D/L). I NEVER read the docs. Just clicked away.

Today, I D/L'd GL -- the purpose of this lunch-time project, dropped it onto my XP Box, configured it, hacked at it to get some quality play time in, D/L a weather plug-in (block?). and got it going too.

I did all this without really understanding the base software at all!

Tonight, I'll do something really cool like develop a theme, create cool icons or just scrounge some more on the Net.

I came across geeklog just 1 month ago, knowing NOTHING about MySQL, or PHP, and with only a basic working knowledge of HTML. I was able to get a good site going! Is this person's home library filled only with pop-up books? Good grief! Yes, it takes a little time and effort, but to my way of thinking, that what gives you the right to be proud of what you've accomplished!

I've found that the GL community has been extremely helpful and friendly, and for that, I'm very grateful! Thanks especially to Tony, Tom, Danny, and Blaine - those who've extended to me the greatest assistance. You guys are awesome and I hope that the occasional nay-sayer doesn't distract you too much from those of us who genuinly appreciate all your efforts!

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~Brian

I must agree about the little "poor" documentation. As a non english, non geek non "hacker" I had some troubles, especially on "go to lib_common.php and replace..." parts. I am very dedicated to another open source project (geoshell, a great windows shell replacement, btw and I liked to participate in some way even if I can't program. As we had a lack of documentation too, we decided to setup a wiki documentation what is a web based documentation with a quite easy and simlyfied taging and read/write(!) access for everyone. So every user who is in the mood to help, can write something he wants to explain in his words. We had a quite good success this way. If you are interested, you may look at http://docs.geoshell.com Of course you need some(one)? who spent the webspace (can be sf.net, but it's a bit unreliable in the past, (that's why we moved the docs from there) and some(one)? who setup and maintains the wiki, but it really could be worth the effort (IMHO) geKow

This guy should trade his computer with a Nintendo game console...

I think he might be a little confused with a Nintendo. A lot of buttons the same color, and what the hell is all this A B stuff above them. Start = Pause, are these people insane? He would be asking Nintendo to build a different controller with the buttons labled for each game, rather then taking the time to remember what each button does. I really doubt he would be willing to help with the documentation. He just wants it all done for him. Go get a commercial product and complain to them, at least you would have contributed something to the makers of that $$.

And I thought I was stupid. And I was right. But, this character needs an Etch-a-Sketch. Only two knobs to fool with. And if you get it wrong you just shake it and start over. As a newcomer to all this I appreciate the hard work of the GL folks and I've learned much from browsing here. Every dumb question I've asked has been answered promptly and clearly. Plus the price is definitely right. Bill

this is not the first time you can read such useless stories submitted by Anonymous arseholes and everytime they start huge debate on the part of THE GREATEST GL COMMUNITY (I love you guys all though we haven't met). This is good even great cause you can see the true commitment. On the other hand we all know that GL is GREAT (The true value defends itself). Next time why not ignore such posts by not commenting them (maybe someone should delete them before submiting ;-). This is simply not worthy, however I had this urge to write my share.<br><br> And now a few words from our sponsor:<br> Up yours Mr. Anonymous Wanker!!!

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Geeklog Polish Support Team

>But I can promise you at the end of the day you and I will not be sharing any beers Hi, I enjoyed your letter. You are ok, and geehlog is ok. I still have it running on my page, and am trying to learn more about it. I did not mean to be rude, but I guess I was. I am sorry. Yes, it is cruel to criticise people who work on volunterer basis. I will not read the rest of the responses. I am sure they loose their temper...At another site I was called all kind of names by the support team...That is not nice... You are a gentleman, an I would drink a beer with you. Best of luck to you and geeklog, and my site too. And to the rest of the guys who wrote and yelled, calm down.

If this guy lives in the USA, he is excising his constitutional right to speak anonymously. That is a valued and protected right which neither you nor anyone else here can take away. Many famous men like Benjamin Franklin, former President John Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and many others who molded the USA in its early beginnings distributed their political and philosophical works anonymously. Most of them hid their identities for decades with some going to their graves without revealing their role. No one should make another feel ashamed for exercising his country's constitutional rights. Most people who speak anonymously speak freer and more honest than those who put some name on their post. Perhaps you don't agree with his opinion which I don't but he is entitled to speak anoymously. As you can see, I am exercising my right to do the same. It doesn't matter if my name is Mike, Jim, or Mary. I could put anything in a registration here, and it doesn't change the meaning of a post's content.

Then how do we know it was e.g. Madison or any other outstanding figure from US history ;-)

Publius

It continues to amaze me at how many idiots are out there. If you have nothing better to do than post trash [anonymously at that], you can borrow my 9 MM, put it to your head and pull the trigger. Hell, I'll watch if you want me to. I don't get it... I really don't. These guys have put God only knows how many hours into this kick ass project, share it with whoever wants it and all you can do is whine and gripe because you have to actually learn something. Damn I am sooo sorry... Wait. I'm sorry... someone twisted your arm and made you download, setup and run Geeklog right? What was I thinking... the one thing [well actually more than one] I wish that could be changed with the internet is being able to see these people and make them step up to the plate and not be some wanna be tough guy posting an anonymous post... what did I do with that box of tissues? SEMPER FI...