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looking into groupserver From: Richard Waid Date: Apr 02 21:05 UTC Short link

It should be fine on that configuration. Obviously it depends exactly what your
load will be, but we've certainly run it on pretty modest hardware before. The
upcoming release (yes, it's coming!) is a lot faster than the previous release,
and the previous release wasn't that bad.

Will keep you posted on when the release will be made, but it shouldn't be too
far away now. We will probably be looking for a few pre-release testers in
GroupServer Devel soon: http://groupserver.org/groups/development

Best regards,

Richard Waid
Technical Lead
http://onlinegroups.net

looking into groupserver From: jglockling Date: Apr 02 17:12 UTC Short link

Hi, this is my first post while I await for someone to respond to my request
for an installation package.  I'm just walking around looking at the features
and one question that comes to mind is what sort of platform is this site
running on top off?  I'm likely to end up installing on 1 or 2 DELL 2950
systems with 8GB of RAM that are already moderately loaded. One supporting a
couple dozen Apache Vhosts, a dozen CVS and SVN repositories, and FTP. So I'm
wondering about performance issues. I'm guessing that potentially several dozen
simulataneous users of this product would be added on.

looking into groupserver From: Mike Woods Date: 2007 Jun 22 12:17 UTC Short link

So knowing what you know now. If you had to start over and build this
the way you wanted would you use zope?

looking into groupserver From: Richard Waid Date: 2007 Jun 21 22:51 UTC Short link

I just want to add to this ... do I find Zope frustrating at times? Yes.
But I have never found a system that I *didn't* find frustrating at
times.

looking into groupserver From: Richard Waid Date: 2007 Jun 21 22:25 UTC Short link

On Fri, 2007-06-22 at 10:03 +1200, Bernard Spiegeleer wrote:
> thank you for taking the time to answer.
> i just got an email from someone who worked on sympa and who mentions
> that ZOPE is very greedy in ressources.
>
> i must also say that , by reading this article
> http://www.subzane.com/2006/08/21/why-zope-should-be-avoided/ that i am
> not very excited about Zope.

I'd have to say that I agree with *some* of that analysis. There is a
lot of poor documentation. But then, comparing it with PHP is rather
pointless, because PHP isn't a web framework as such, it's basically a
language with significant web development features. (As opposed to Zope
which is written in a *real* language). Does the Zope documentation
suck? Yes.

The community part of it is complete and utter rubbish. Not only does it
have an active community, it is an expanding community, particularly
when you consider that Plone is, in fact, Zope. I have no idea where he
came up with the idea that most of the information is in German -- I've
pretty much never come across any German information. I know there *is*
an active German community, but I don't see it regularly.

The very fact that he mentions writing code using forms and submit
buttons suggests that he's about 3 years behind the state of play.

The Zope Database ... well. Where do I start on that one. Suffice to say
that basically *every* sentence is incorrect. We operate databases that
regularly hit 4-6GB in size, I have *never* seen corruption, it's
completely incorrect to talk about 'virtual files', if you remove a user
the objects are still accessible and it's *totally* incorrect to talk
about it being incompatible with new versions of Zope. There are a
number of different backends for ZODB.

As for installation... well, I personally find it extremely easy to
install. You untar a file, run a script and visit it on port 8080. No
amount of documentation can assist someone who doesn't seem to follow
instructions.

At *best* his analysis applies to Zope 2. That was state of the art for
Zope about 3 years ago.

If we were to do it all again would I still use Zope? Maybe, Maybe Not.
There are a number of good python frameworks available now, and I would
need to look at them hard. Having said that, Zope enabled us to go a
long way in a short period of time. And Zope 3 is almost an entirely
different world ... the parts of our code that are Zope 3 like are like
night and day compared with the Zope 2 code. Even with the crappy
documentation. One day I'll document why I like Zope 3, even though the
documentation isn't fantastic (actually, the documentation for it *is*
quite good now, it's just that isn't non-obvious as to where it's
documented :)).

Would I use PHP, ever? No.

looking into groupserver From: Deryk Wenaus Date: 2007 Jun 21 22:24 UTC Short link

hey bernard, did you read the comments of that article, it doesn't
seem like the guy who wrote the article was very well informed. plus,
he started to delete comments on his own article.

a few more articles I found:
http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/3/21/184222/896
http://www.serverwatch.com/stypes/servers/article.php/16229_3617276

looking into groupserver From: Bernard Spigolo Date: 2007 Jun 21 22:01 UTC Short link

hello Dan ,
thank you for taking the time to answer.
i just got an email from someone who worked on sympa and who mentions that ZOPE
is very greedy in ressources.

i must also say that , by reading this article
http://www.subzane.com/2006/08/21/why-zope-should-be-avoided/ that i am not
very excited about Zope.

looking into groupserver From: Dan Randow Date: 2007 Jun 18 02:38 UTC Short link

Hi Bernard,

I'm glad you are enjoying GroupServer!

> i have another question. do you guys know Sympa ? if yes how would
> you compare it with groupserver ? The more i use groupserver , and
> the more i appreciate it.

I am not closely familiar with Sympa, but from a quick review, my
impression is that Sympa is a sophisticated email list server. It has a
  SOAP interface, which is a strength. It has web-based administration,
and a shared document repository, but no web archives interface of its
own, so is often implemented with MHonArc.

GroupServer is also a sophisticated email mailing list server, and it
has a mature integrated web interface, offering core functionality more
ore less equally as well via both interfaces. The web interface is built
on an expandable framework that has capabilities well beyond online
conversations and file-sharing. Examples include the "chat" feature, and
the survey feature (not currently implemented on a public site, but in
active use in at least one private site). The online groups can be
integrated into regular website structure, content and presentation.
With customisation and development, there is significant potential for
expanded or specialised functionality. While there is no published API,
some functionality can be accessed using GroupServer's http interface.
And a variety of web services could quickly be made available.

Please, if you have corrections to or comments on any of these, please
post them.

looking into groupserver From: Michael JasonSmith Date: 2007 Jun 17 23:22 UTC Short link

On Sat, 2007-06-16 at 04:51 +1200, Deryk Wenaus wrote:
> As an admin I was trying to edit a user's email in groupserver but I
couldn't.
> Is there a way to do this?

Not from the standard administration interface, but it is possible from
the underlying ZMI (it is stored in the "Properties" tab of the user in
the "Contacts" folder). There are plans to make it possible for an admin
to change a user's email address if — and only if — the email address is
"bouncing", but not in the general case as it introduces *H*U*G*E*
security holes.

looking into groupserver From: Dan Randow Date: 2007 Jun 16 00:20 UTC Short link

Hi Deryk,

> As an admin I was trying to edit a user's email in groupserver but I
> couldn't. Is there a way to do this?

With ZMI (Zope management interface) access, yes you can. We have not
enabled this through the web interface as it is impossible to do this in
such a way that it could be used for nefarious purposes.

looking into groupserver From: Deryk Wenaus Date: 2007 Jun 15 16:48 UTC Short link

As an admin I was trying to edit a user's email in groupserver but I couldn't.
Is there a way to do this?

looking into groupserver From: Bernard Spigolo Date: 2007 Jun 15 15:22 UTC Short link

hello ,
i have another question. do you guys know Sympa ? if yes how would you compare
it with groupserver ? The more i use groupserver , and the more i appreciate
it.

Technical Architecture From: Michael JasonSmith Date: 2007 Jun 15 00:28 UTC Short link

For those of you who are interested in the technology that makes up
GroupServer, I have updated the technical architecture page
  http://groupserver.org/groupserver/architecture/index.html
Enjoy :)

looking into groupserver From: Richard Waid Date: 2007 Jun 14 02:52 UTC Short link

On Wed, 2007-06-13 at 18:29 -0700, Deryk Wenaus wrote:
> hi Dan and Bernard,
>
> I think a big issue for us is how we would integrate our members
> database (mysql) with the groupserver setup. In a previous post
> richard mentioned that you are in the process of migrating user data
> to PostgreSQL. Would it be possible for us to add or remove users
> from groups using our own php scripts, accessing the PostgreSQL
> database directly? or is there another way to accomplish this?

Yes, that would be a possibility.

looking into groupserver From: Deryk Wenaus Date: 2007 Jun 14 01:30 UTC Short link

hi Dan and Bernard,

I think a big issue for us is how we would integrate our members
database (mysql) with the groupserver setup. In a previous post
richard mentioned that you are in the process of migrating user data
to PostgreSQL. Would it be possible for us to add or remove users
from groups using our own php scripts, accessing the PostgreSQL
database directly? or is there another way to accomplish this?

thanks,
Deryk

-----------------------------
Deryk Wenaus
<email obscured>
Phone: 250.352.1101
Skype: dwenaus

Blue Mandala Communications
Box 536, Nelson, BC  V1L 5R3
http://www.bluemandala.com
-----------------------------


On Jun 13, 2007, at 5:36 PM, Bernard Spigolo wrote:

> Hello ,
> i am coming here after having received a notification from Deryk.
> This is a very nice piece of software that you developed.
> i was wondering how many people are working on this project ?
> I don't know much about Python other then seeing a demo online. It
> gave me the impression that Python enables you to develop quickly
> while picking your nose. i guess if we were adopting this software
> and wanted to adapt it to our need , we would be required to learn
> python right ? are there any other options ? We have at the moment
> a PHP/mysql online application that manages a member directory. I
> would like to integrate our existing system with groupserver (for
> instance: people would become members automatically of various
> groups in groupserver according to specific criterias in our member
> data, some would become admin for lists according to their staff
> position , people would register through a different system, login/
> password would be stored in a ldap server etc...). is that
> something that you think is reasonable ? do you provide some kind
> of documentation for that kind of process ? Ideally , i would
> imagine using PHP to interact with the back end of groupserver ,
> tweaking
>  the interface a bit while letting groupserver talk to our mailing
> server.
> thank you for your time and greetings from Germany
> Bernard Spigolo
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Full text of this topic:
> http://groupserver.org/r/topic/50MtgmSkOdaWZXfBLAV78E
>
> Info about Exploring GroupServer:
> http://groupserver.org/groups/exploring
>
> Info about Bernard Spigolo:
> http://groupserver.org/contacts/spigololo
>
> To leave Exploring GroupServer, email
> <email obscured> with "unsubscribe" as the subject
>
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looking into groupserver From: Dan Randow Date: 2007 Jun 14 00:47 UTC Short link

Bernard,

There are five people working on GroupServer, though not all full-time. We also
have some input into the requirements definition, interface design and
beta-testing processes from customers, and other members of the GroupServer
community.

Yes, some Python ability is required to customise GroupServer, but there is
much you can do by simply configuring it. This depends on your requirements.

Integration with LDAP, as well as with other applications is possible, but we
do not have any implementations of that, as yet. GroupServer always talks to a
mail server. It is closely integrated with Postfix. If you explain your
requirements more fully, we will be able to tell you more about what is
feasible.

with regards

Editing a post after it has been sent From: Dan Randow Date: 2007 Jun 14 00:43 UTC Short link

Hi Bernard,

In "looking into groupserver", you asked
   http://groupserver.org/r/post/53BUEI0GC9vbaNVSt9PUc8
> can i edit a post after it has been sent ?

That is not possible, I'm afraid. Even if it was possible to edit the
post on the site, it would not be possible to change it in the emails
that have been delivered. This would create a discrepancy between the
email version and the web version, which would break the basic way that
the system functions.

looking into groupserver From: Bernard Spigolo Date: 2007 Jun 14 00:35 UTC Short link

can i edit a post after it has been sent ?
Bernard

looking into groupserver From: Bernard Spigolo Date: 2007 Jun 14 00:33 UTC Short link

Hello ,
i am coming here after having received a notification from Deryk.
This is a very nice piece of software that you developed.
i was wondering how many people are working on this project ?
I don't know much about Python other then seeing a demo online. It gave me the
impression that Python enables you to develop quickly while picking your nose.
i guess if we were adopting this software and wanted to adapt it to our need ,
we would be required to learn python right ? are there any other options ? We
have at the moment a PHP/mysql online application that manages a member
directory. I would like to integrate our existing system with groupserver (for
instance: people would become members automatically of various groups in
groupserver according to specific criterias in our member data, some would
become admin for lists according to their staff position , people would
register through a different system, login/password would be stored in a ldap
server etc...). is that something that you think is reasonable ? do you provide
some kind of documentation for that kind of process ? Ideally , i would imagine
using PHP to interact with the back end of groupserver , tweaking the interface
a bit while letting groupserver talk to our mailing server.
thank you for your time and greetings from Germany
Bernard Spigolo

looking into groupserver From: Richard Waid Date: 2007 Jun 12 22:12 UTC Short link

On Wed, 2007-06-13 at 04:45 +1200, Deryk Wenaus wrote:
> Dan,
>
> What database does groupserver run on?

Sorry, not Dan, but I'll chime in here. GroupServer runs on two
databases:

1) ZODB - Zope Object Database and
2) PostgreSQL

At the moment we are storing content, users and metadata for files in
the ZODB. In 2 weeks time we hope to have shifted the users to Postgres,
and the metadata for the files shortly after that. That will leave us
with just the content in the ZODB (which is what it excels at).

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