[16817] in athena10
Re: Debathena entry in the SIPB project roles document
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Geoffrey Thomas)
Wed Sep 18 09:28:38 2019
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From: Geoffrey Thomas <geofft@ldpreload.com>
In-Reply-To: <7284db04-e2a5-4260-a885-253245ffb2ca@email.android.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2019 09:27:56 -0400
Cc: Alex Chernyakhovsky <alex@achernya.com>, debathena <debathena@mit.edu>
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To: Cel Andromeda Skeggs <cela@mit.edu>
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I guess my question is, does it make sense to revive Debathena, or does it m=
ake more sense to effectively start a new project with the same goals of "ac=
cess Athena services from your non-IS&T-run Linux machine" and have that use=
Debathena code where helpful?
I'm certainly happy to help where I can be helpful, but, like, I don't even k=
now if the clusters still exist, I don't think I'm the right person to say w=
hat ought to be done with Debathena :)
--=20
Geoffrey Thomas (via mobile)
geofft@ldpreload.com
> On Sep 18, 2019, at 00:36, Cel Andromeda Skeggs <cela@mit.edu> wrote:
>=20
> On further consideration, I don't think it makes sense for me to be part o=
f composing this entry, since I'm not part of the project, so I'll leave the=
rest of you to it.
>=20
> Here's the document to put your entry into, in case you haven't gotten the=
link yet from elsewhere: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kq1h2vR4bmNd76=
wZU5XVbbWpA1maplb54TZy_DmgrN8/edit?usp=3Ddrivesdk
>=20
> Cheers,
> Cel
>=20
> On Sep 18, 2019 00:09, Geoffrey Thomas <geofft@ldpreload.com> wrote:
> Are students still interested in Debathena for personal machines? (Or woul=
d there be more interest in Archathena or whatever people use these days?) W=
e had Debathena as a SIPB-only project before any IS&T backing, and that was=
largely driven by what OSes people were running themselves and what package=
s they wanted - Kerberos and AFS config, Moira, printing and email back when=
that was relevant, etc., but not login config quite as much. Ignore the ins=
taller, ignore reactivate, etc.
>=20
> It might make sense as a first task/responsibility to figure out what part=
s of Debathena people are interested in using, and focus on getting those bu=
ilt for current Debian/Ubuntu/Mint/etc. releases, instead of planning to rev=
ive Debathena as a whole.
>=20
> Are there other SIPB projects running Debian that need an up-to-date debat=
hena-standard or -login? Are there dorm or lab servers that want debathena-l=
ogin?
>=20
> --=20
> Geoffrey Thomas (via mobile)
> geofft@ldpreload.com
>=20
> On Sep 17, 2019, at 23:40, Cel Andromeda Skeggs <cela@mit.edu> wrote:
>=20
> Are any of the current maintainers going to have the time to facilitate br=
inging someone up to speed who doesn't expect to have to do most of the work=
of bringing themself up to speed?
>=20
> If so, what do the requirements of someone to be a suitable candidate look=
like to you?
>=20
> On Sep 17, 2019 23:34, Alex Chernyakhovsky <alex@achernya.com> wrote:
> You're not going to get traction by telling students they need to "revive"=
the project up front. Whether Debathena should be revived is a different is=
sue as IS&T no longer has staff that work on it full time or use for it outs=
ide of the dialups.
>=20
> Sincerely,
> -Alex
>=20
> On Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 10:28 PM Cel Skeggs <cela@mit.edu> wrote:
> Hi debathena maintainers,
>=20
> My current understanding is that the main thing we need to get
> Debathena maintained by current students again (assuming that this is
> what we want) is to find a current student with appropriate skills to
> join the project and drive its revival, in the same way as what I've
> been doing with Scripts.
>=20
> I wrote a suggested entry for the new SIPB project roles document, which
> reads as follows:
>=20
> ** SIPB Debathena **
> Contact: debathena@mit.edu
>=20
> Debathena is a long-established SIPB project that maintains the
> operating system used by MIT=E2=80=99s athena clusters, and made available=
for
> installation on group and personal computers. Currently, it does not
> have any students actively maintaining it, and is entirely maintained
> by alumni in their copious free time.
>=20
> Roles:
> * Project Reviver: work on becoming the first new student maintainer
> of Debathena in the past few years, by coordinating with previous
> maintainers, learning how the system works, dealing with code
> improvements and bugfixes, and bringing new students up to speed.
> * Prereqs: significant experience installing and using Linux,
> significant experience with the Linux command line, previous
> programming experience, strong communication skills, strong sense
> of self-motivation
>=20
> ------
>=20
> Does this entry seem reasonable to you? Is there anything you'd like me
> to change? You are also welcome to throw this out entirely and put
> whatever you want in the document; I'm suggesting this to try to make
> sure we have something for Debathena.
>=20
> Cheers,
> ~ Cel
>=20
>=20
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<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"content-type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3D=
utf-8"></head><body dir=3D"auto">I guess my question is, does it make sense t=
o revive Debathena, or does it make more sense to effectively start a new pr=
oject with the same goals of "access Athena services from your non-IS&T-=
run Linux machine" and have that use Debathena code where helpful?<br><br>I'=
m certainly happy to help where I can be helpful, but, like, I don't even kn=
ow if the clusters still exist, I don't think I'm the right person to say wh=
at ought to be done with Debathena :)<br><br><div id=3D"AppleMailSignature" d=
ir=3D"ltr">-- <div>Geoffrey Thomas (via mobile)</div><div><a href=3D"ma=
ilto:geofft@ldpreload.com">geofft@ldpreload.com</a></div></div><div dir=3D"l=
tr"><br>On Sep 18, 2019, at 00:36, Cel Andromeda Skeggs <<a href=3D"mailt=
o:cela@mit.edu">cela@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type=3D=
"cite"><div dir=3D"ltr">
<meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dutf-8">
<div dir=3D"auto">
<div>
<div style=3D"" dir=3D"auto">On further consideration, I don't think it make=
s sense for me to be part of composing this entry, since I'm not part of the=
project, so I'll leave the rest of you to it.</div>
<div dir=3D"auto" style=3D""><br>
</div>
<div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"">Here's the document to put your entry into, in c=
ase you haven't gotten the link yet from elsewhere: <a href=3D"https://=
docs.google.com/document/d/1Kq1h2vR4bmNd76wZU5XVbbWpA1maplb54TZy_DmgrN8/edit=
?usp=3Ddrivesdk">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kq1h2vR4bmNd76wZU5XVbbW=
pA1maplb54TZy_DmgrN8/edit?usp=3Ddrivesdk</a></div>
<div dir=3D"auto" style=3D""><br>
</div>
<div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"">Cheers,</div>
<div dir=3D"auto" style=3D"">Cel</div>
<div class=3D"gmail_extra"><br>
<div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Sep 18, 2019 00:09, Geoffrey Thomas <<a hre=
f=3D"mailto:geofft@ldpreload.com">geofft@ldpreload.com</a>> wrote:<br typ=
e=3D"attribution">
<blockquote class=3D"quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc s=
olid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir=3D"auto">Are students still interested in Debathena for personal ma=
chines? (Or would there be more interest in Archathena or whatever people us=
e these days?) We had Debathena as a SIPB-only project before any IS&T b=
acking, and that was largely driven
by what OSes people were running themselves and what packages they wanted -=
Kerberos and AFS config, Moira, printing and email back when that was relev=
ant, etc., but not login config quite as much. Ignore the installer, ignore r=
eactivate, etc.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>It might make sense as a first task/responsibility to figure out what p=
arts of Debathena people are interested in using, and focus on getting those=
built for current Debian/Ubuntu/Mint/etc. releases, instead of planning to r=
evive Debathena as a whole.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Are there other SIPB projects running Debian that need an up-to-date de=
bathena-standard or -login? Are there dorm or lab servers that want debathen=
a-login?</div>
<div>
<div>
<div><br>
<div dir=3D"ltr">--
<div>Geoffrey Thomas (via mobile)</div>
<div><a href=3D"mailto:geofft@ldpreload.com">geofft@ldpreload.com</a></div>
</div>
<div dir=3D"ltr"><br>
On Sep 17, 2019, at 23:40, Cel Andromeda Skeggs <<a href=3D"mailto:cela@m=
it.edu">cela@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div dir=3D"ltr">
<div dir=3D"auto">
<div>Are any of the current maintainers going to have the time to facilitate=
bringing someone up to speed who doesn't expect to have to do most of the w=
ork of bringing themself up to speed?</div>
<div dir=3D"auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir=3D"auto">If so, what do the requirements of someone to be a suitabl=
e candidate look like to you?</div>
<div dir=3D"auto">
<div dir=3D"auto"><br>
<div class=3D"elided-text">On Sep 17, 2019 23:34, Alex Chernyakhovsky <<a=
href=3D"mailto:alex@achernya.com">alex@achernya.com</a>> wrote:<br type=3D=
"attribution">
<blockquote style=3D"margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-l=
eft:1ex">
<div>
<div dir=3D"auto">You're not going to get traction by telling students they n=
eed to "revive" the project up front. Whether Debathena should be revived is=
a different issue as IS&T no longer has staff that work on it full time=
or use for it outside of the dialups.
<div dir=3D"auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir=3D"auto">Sincerely,</div>
<div dir=3D"auto">-Alex</div>
</div>
<br>
<div class=3D"elided-text">
<div dir=3D"ltr">On Tue, Sep 17, 2019, 10:28 PM Cel Skeggs <<a href=3D"ma=
ilto:cela@mit.edu">cela@mit.edu</a>> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote style=3D"margin:0 0 0 0.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-l=
eft:1ex">
Hi debathena maintainers,<br>
<br>
My current understanding is that the main thing we need to get<br>
Debathena maintained by current students again (assuming that this is<br>
what we want) is to find a current student with appropriate skills to<br>
join the project and drive its revival, in the same way as what I've<br>
been doing with Scripts.<br>
<br>
I wrote a suggested entry for the new SIPB project roles document, which<br>=
reads as follows:<br>
<br>
** SIPB Debathena **<br>
Contact: <a href=3D"mailto:debathena@mit.edu">debathena@mit.edu</a><br>
<br>
Debathena is a long-established SIPB project that maintains the<br>
operating system used by MIT=E2=80=99s athena clusters, and made available f=
or<br>
installation on group and personal computers. Currently, it does not<br>
have any students actively maintaining it, and is entirely maintained<br>
by alumni in their copious free time.<br>
<br>
Roles:<br>
* Project Reviver: work on becoming the first new student maintainer<b=
r>
of Debathena in the past few years, by coordinating with previo=
us<br>
maintainers, learning how the system works, dealing with code<b=
r>
improvements and bugfixes, and bringing new students up to spee=
d.<br>
* Prereqs: significant experience installing and using Linux,<=
br>
significant experience with the Linux command line, pre=
vious<br>
programming experience, strong communication skills, st=
rong sense<br>
of self-motivation<br>
<br>
------<br>
<br>
Does this entry seem reasonable to you? Is there anything you'd like me<br>
to change? You are also welcome to throw this out entirely and put<br>
whatever you want in the document; I'm suggesting this to try to make<br>
sure we have something for Debathena.<br>
<br>
Cheers,<br>
~ Cel<br>
</blockquote>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></blockquote></body></html>=
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