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Re: gEDA-user: PCB footprint mapping



I'll chime in here.

gedasymbols.org was put up by Marvin Dickens after he posted a query
about places to find symbols and footprints for gEDA/PCB.  Since there
was (and still is) no central repository for these things, I
challenged him to create a site (as I recall), and he rose to the
challenge & created it.  Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to
flesh out the site. Marvin issued a call for volunteers to help with
the site, but it looks like nobody stepped forward,  Meanwhile, John
Luciani put up his big footprint archive.  Also, most gschem symbols
come bundled with gEDA/gaf, and an upload mechanism is in place on
seul.org for contributed symbols. 

I can feel Marvin's disappointment w.r.t. the response to his call for
volunteers.  But my experience with open-source is similar:  some
people participate, but most sit back and enjoy the freebies without
contributing.  And that's fine, since it's part of the bargin you make
as an open-source contributor: you know ahead of time that most people
can't or won't contribute.

Anyway, I'd suggest to Marvin that if some volunteer steps up to take
over the site, perhaps he could just transfer it to the new
volunteer?  If you, Biff, are willing to take over the domain and make
it into something, why don't you contact Marvin directly?  It would be
sad to see a potential gEDA resource get taken over by one of those
stupid faux portal sites, or a porn site [1]. 

Stuart

[1]  I suppose that I could take it over too, but I already have a lot
of gEDA stuff hosted on my vanity domain.  Also, I don't have time 
anymore ...  But perhaps in the fullness of time this could become a
project of the Free Dog Foundation (or the gEDA Foundation) once we
incorporate it & get a donation system up and going.  Hmmm ...



> 
> 
> gedasymbols (as a domain name) is cool, however the links suck, and it pr=
> ovides almost
> no information, especially for the noob :-(.  There are three dead links =
> on the first
> page.  Even if nothing is hosted on it, it could at least point to the wi=
> ki, and some of
> the links posted to this list. =20
> 
> Who hosts it?  Do they have to pay for bandwidth?  What OS is running?
> 
> It looks like about 30 minutes work would result in considerable improvem=
> ent.  If someone
> wants to give me shell access (or whatever is needed for changing the lin=
> ks) I=20
> can have a go.  (Send me PM if you like).
> 
> cheers,
> 
> -biff.
> 
> --- Phil Taylor <phil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> >=20
> > Karel I agree that the s/n is an issue that geda/PCB faces.  It is a re=
> al
> > issue.
> >=20
> > I do suppose though, that I would warm up to your comments about scrapp=
> ing
> > gedasymbols (which isn't even your work) if you had some other recommen=
> dation.
> >
> > What are you doing, besides your salvos of improvement suggestions, to =
> better
> > the symbol/footprint system for geda/pcb?
> >=20
> > Phil
> >=20
> >=20
> > Karel Kulhavy <clock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >=20
> > > On Sun, Feb 19, 2006 at 07:32:50PM +0100, kmk wrote:
> > > > Phil Taylor wrote:
> > > > > Karel Kulhavy <clock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > > >>I suggest also "Finally, a special-purpose website has been creat=
> ed to
> > > > >>distribute gEDA symbols and footprints: http://www.gedasymbols.or=
> g/, but
> > > > >>it currently needs donations." to be deleted from
> > > > >>http://geda.seul.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=3Dgeda:pcb_tips
> > > > >=20
> > > > > uhh, why not find out what's happening with that site ...
> > >=20
> > > Why? To increase the signal to noise ratio. See
> > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_overload
> > > "Large amounts of currently available information, a high rate of new
> > > information being added, contradictions in available information, a l=
> ow
> > > signal-to-noise ratio, and inefficient methods for comparing and
> > > processing different kinds of information can all contribute to this
> > > effect."
> > >=20
> > > CL<
> > > >=20
> > > > Right now, the wiki seems to imply that www.gedasymbols.org is a pl=
> ace
> > > > where symbols created by users can be retrieved. Actually this is n=
> ot
> > > > possible. This sheds an unfavorable light on the project as a whole=
> . In
> > > > fact, when I first looked at geda and got to this dead end, I got t=
> he
> > > > impression that geda is one of these infamous abandoned open source
> > > > projects.
> > > >=20
> > > > On the other hand, there is
> > http://geda.seul.org/tools/symbols/contrib.html
> > > > If I understand Ales correctly, this is currently the way to go to
> > > > donate a symbol.
> > > >=20
> > > >=20
> > > > > instead of trying to censor a wiki?
> > > >=20
> > > > Well, it is not really a wiki. Outsiders like me cannot log in and
> > > > change  the content.  I'd be willing to improve the advice for newb=
> ies...
> > > >=20
> > > > ---<(kaimartin)>---
> > > > --=20
> > > > Kai-Martin Knaak
> > > > kmk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > > > Blog: http://lilalaser.dyndns.org/blog
> > >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> 
> 
> 
> 	=09
> ___________________________________________________________=20
> Win a BlackBerry device from O2 with Yahoo!. Enter now. http://www.yahoo.=
> co.uk/blackberry
>