Should we move on?

[esgici]

... not only to meet the costs of the forum...

[Rathinagiri]

Dear friends,

The total cost of maintaining this forum in the web is less than $50 per annum which is affordable by me.

It is not the problem of money. IMHO, hosting on a respectable open source server will fetch more users for HMG because people first look and search into that servers.

[srvet_claudio]

IMHO, hosting on a respectable open source server will fetch more users for HMG because people first look and search into that servers.

+1

[apais]

Hi Ratti

I think the most effective way of attracting new users is an attractive web page.
It should have a downloadable installer up to date, faqs, begginers guide and some tutorials.
A blog with Articles from forum members would be a big plus.
Do your hosting have some space for it ?
What about bandwith ?

Best Regards
Angel

[serge_girard]

an attractive web page

Maybe a screenshot from an old Clipper-Dos beneath a screenshot of a the same in HMG-look?

Serge

[Rathinagiri]

Hi Ratti

I think the most effective way of attracting new users is an attractive web page.
It should have a downloadable installer up to date, faqs, begginers guide and some tutorials.
A blog with Articles from forum members would be a big plus.
Do your hosting have some space for it ?
What about bandwith ?

Best Regards
Angel

That is a nice idea. Regarding space, we have more than a GB. Regarding bandwidth, we don't even reach 10% of the upper limit at any time.

[CalScot]

If we allow downloads from an HMG Website, would (could?) we still use SourceForge/GitHub as an alternative source? I agree that there is value in having it available from a known, major download source, but I remain curious about what the arrangement with SourceForge or GitHub would or wouldn't allow.
The argument has been made about the manpower and administration requirements of doing it "in house", but if each version (or maybe just a link to it?) is just loaded on the website, could that be managed at a minimal level?

Also, it might be a good place to have a section which has a directory of downloadable Patches for each version. (Or could we just do that here in this forum?) Unless or until we get to having 3.1.5.a, 3.1.5.b, etc., having to search through posts on this forum to try to make sure that you've found every patch for any version is not the easiest thing, and could easily discourage the new users we'd be trying to attract via a promotional website.

Thanks & Regards,
CalScot

[Rathinagiri]

CalScot,

Pooling of all the versions is done already at http://hmgforum.com/site/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As Angel said, it will be better if we have a full fledged web site.

[CalScot]

Thanks, Rathi.

Pooling of all the versions is done already at site/

I was totally unaware of the existence of http://hmgforum.com/site/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, which contains the downloads for each HMG version; that's good to know. Maybe we can point to it from the new website? Also, does each of its downloadable files include all the latest up-to-date patches for that version, or do they still need to be patched?

As Angel said, it will be better if we have a full fledged web site.

Agreed. Should suggestions for what should be included be made here, or should we open a new thread?

Sorry - so many questions!

Thanks again.
CalScot

[Rathinagiri]

IMHO, we can install a wiki site so that our members can also edit the site easily.