Begin posting for 2010

I had to create a Google account for the transition from BlogSpot to Blogger. My intent is that this may be a better venue for follow up remarks on the SAIL reunion, 22 November 2009, than the www.SAILDART.org Wiki which would require close attention to security and access control given the differing functionality of running a large slow moving ARCHIVE verses a fast turn over BLOG.

Web archetecture

Here are some ideas:
Try to keep the home page simple but provide links to supporting documents and services.
Search the public archive (including private files that have been made public) either by file name or words, possibly within a specific time frame.
Show SAIL participants both by ID and by real name and indicate which of them has an active SAILDART account. Allow individuals to post pointers to their personal web sites and email, each of which are to be made accessible either just to others with SAILDART accounts or to everyone, as they specify.
Deal with the recycled IDs by partitioning the files on the basis of time and either adding a numerical suffix (0, 1) to distinguish them or make one upper case and one lower. However for those with unique IDs allow either upper or lower case on login.
Provide pointers to:
An account of SAIL hardware changes over time;
A description of the SAIL character set and keyboards and how the character set developed and differed from ASCII.
SAIL photo gallery
SAIL movies
Related web sites, such as Computer History Museum & Charles Babbage Institute
An account of how the SAILDART web site came about, plans for future development and solicitations for workers
A place where derivative works can be posted.

For private files, allow individuals to either purge or declare files public and to change passwords.

For administrators, make it straighforward to enable new accounts and set passwords. Also, view login-logout activity by ID. Provide channels for users to both post questions and complaints about the web site and to ask technical questions and post answers.

SAILDART Mission

First cut at a mission statement.
SAILDART aims to preserve the records and stories of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and make them publicly accessible insofar as possible while respecting the privacy of the participants.

I met today with Les Earnest concerning setting up a SAILDART blog tool, a forum tool, and changes needed to the main web site page for www.saildart.org and policy for permitting user access to the old SAIL DART tapes. The ToDo wish list is over on the Forum pages, a couple of the early wishes is to improve the PEOPLE data base, improve and document the bin5/ bin8 formats, and to get the full text index back online. BgB.

First Post for a simple SAILDART blog.

Bruce Baumgart and Les Earnest are looking around for a simple blog service to discuss the SAILDART tape archive.