Robowiki has down for several days, anyone knows what happened?

bum fod <[email protected]> Thu, 28 Jul 2016 23:14:12 -0700 (PDT)
Newsgroups gmane.comp.java.robocode
Message-ID <[email protected]>
Robowiki has down for several days, anyone knows what happened? 


On Monday, July 27, 2015 at 6:52:12 AM UTC+8, Patrick Cupka wrote:
>
> On a more positive note, I just got the archived rankings and 
> @roborumble Twitter account working again: 
>
> http://robowiki.net/wiki/Category:Archived_Rankings 
> https://twitter.com/roborumble 
>
> Missed ~20 months of RoboRumble activity. Maybe I/we can get these 
> running on the server instead of my laptop while we are doing 
> housekeeping here... 
>
> On Sun, Jul 26, 2015 at 6:42 PM, Patrick Cupka <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> > On Thu, Jul 23, 2015 at 3:26 PM, fnl <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> >> Hi Patrick, 
> >> 
> >> If it is possible to keep the RoboWiki up and running with the help of 
> other 
> >> user stepping up with admin responsibilities as you propose, this would 
> of 
> >> course be the best option. :-) 
> >> Would that be sufficient for keeping the RoboWiki up and running? 
> > 
> > It won't hurt. :-) I guess we can wait and see if/when there is 
> > another big outage before doing anything drastic. But I do think a new 
> > admin that's both seasoned (trustworthy / knowledgeable) and active 
> > (available) would be helpful. It's pretty much me and Skilgannon and 
> > we both have plenty of other stuff going on. (Heck, I even have a 
> > competing game.) 
> > 
> > As for bots, Rednaxela has a pretty sweet automated bot archiving 
> > system which saves them here: 
> > http://robocode-archive.strangeautomata.com/robots/ 
> > 
> >> 
> >> - Flemming 
> >> 
> >> Den tirsdag den 21. juli 2015 kl. 22.22.40 UTC+2 skrev Patrick Cupka: 
> >>> 
> >>> > Anyway, it seems that hosting a stable mediawiki instance is a bit 
> too 
> >>> > much 
> >>> > of a bother at current. Seems like a great idea to see if it can be 
> >>> > exported 
> >>> > to SF. If that doesn't work, then just exporting a static HTML site 
> is 
> >>> > an 
> >>> > alternative: 
> >>> > 
> >>> > 
> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Publishing_from_MediaWiki#Built-in_methods_of_exporting_data_via_the_command-line 
> >>> 
> >>> Ditching the current MediaWiki altogether seems a bit drastic. How 
> >>> many instances of down-time have there been in the last couple years? 
> >>> There was a big outage over the holidays in 2013 and then this one in 
> >>> May. I doubt migrating the pages to a free host would work to 
> >>> anybody's satisfaction. We couldn't migrate users, we have custom 
> >>> MediaWiki plugins, even one that communicates with the LiteRumble 
> >>> server. The RoboWiki is pretty huge and gets quite a bit of traffic. 
> >>> The wiki would be a shadow of its former, uh, self. And who knows if 
> >>> the reliability would improve, anyway. 
> >>> 
> >>> Our current setup is pretty good. I use VPSLink for my BerryBots, too. 
> >>> We just don't have any admins that still have the passion for 
> >>> Robocode. When there is down-time, there is still the Wayback Machine 
> >>> (at archive.org). If we can also offer a dump of the RoboWiki pages 
> as 
> >>> a big download, I'd be pretty satisfied with that setup. 
> >>> 
> >>> When my passion started to fade, I made sure to give admin (MediaWiki 
> >>> and SSH) access to some trustworthy folks that were still active: 
> >>> Skilgannon, Rednaxela, and Darkcanuck. But I guess their passion has 
> >>> faded too. (That's the same access that I have. David has that + the 
> >>> admin console at VPSLink, for "hard" reboots.) Maybe someone like 
> >>> Chase would be willing to step up with server admin responsibilities? 
> >>> I certainly trust him and he knows his way around the wiki. 
> >>> 
> >>> > On Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 8:03 AM, Peter Strm <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> >>> > Very interesting mail thread! I know I used to be one of those 
> >>> > advocating 
> >>> > Robocode game play should stay as clean and simple as it was, but I 
> do 
> >>> > not 
> >>> > remember ever thinking it through on a level even close to 
> Patrick's. 
> >>> > 
> >>> > I'm also sure there are still major innovations to be made, even 
> though 
> >>> > the 
> >>> > interest for the platform might fade before that happens. I can 
> relate 
> >>> > to 
> >>> > how discouraging it could be to go about trying to compete with 
> DrussGT 
> >>> > and 
> >>> > Diamond and realise you will have to perfect every existing trick in 
> the 
> >>> > book... 
> >>> > 
> >>> > Anyway, it seems that hosting a stable mediawiki instance is a bit 
> too 
> >>> > much 
> >>> > of a bother at current. Seems like a great idea to see if it can be 
> >>> > exported 
> >>> > to SF. If that doesn't work, then just exporting a static HTML site 
> is 
> >>> > an 
> >>> > alternative: 
> >>> > 
> >>> > 
> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Publishing_from_MediaWiki#Built-in_methods_of_exporting_data_via_the_command-line 
> >>> > 
> >>> > Regardless, when the export is done, let me know the hostname/IP of 
> >>> > where it 
> >>> > is published so that I can repoint the DNS things. 
> >>> > 
> >>> > /PEZ 
> >>> > 
> >>> > 
> >>> >> On Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 11:47 AM, fnl <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> 
> >>> >> wrote: 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> Hi Patrick, 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-) 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> It would be great if we could move the RoboWiki to another Wiki or 
> >>> >> similar 
> >>> >> (static pages?), e.g. using the Export feature of the MediaWiki 
> >>> >> (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Export). 
> >>> >> Perhaps it could be moved to the Wiki for the Robocode page on 
> >>> >> SourceForge? It should be enabled first. Currently the developer 
> pages 
> >>> >> on 
> >>> >> SourceForge are down (is being restored after a disk breakdown). So 
> I 
> >>> >> am not 
> >>> >> able to see, if it is possible to import the MediaWiki export 
> (yet). 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> At least I want to let people access all the vital knowledge to 
> make 
> >>> >> good 
> >>> >> Robocode robots. And people get upset when the RoboWiki is down. 
> But I 
> >>> >> fully 
> >>> >> understand that you (PEZ) and David Alves don't what to be involved 
> >>> >> with the 
> >>> >> RoboWiki anymore. The best thing would be to put it somewhere where 
> >>> >> more 
> >>> >> people is able to maintain it - and hopefully without to pay for 
> >>> >> hosting 
> >>> >> etc. 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> When the developer pages of SourceForge (SF) are up and running 
> again, 
> >>> >> I 
> >>> >> will see if I can import the RoboWiki pages to the SF Wiki somehow. 
> >>> >> I will also try to make an export of the RoboWiki pages, when I get 
> >>> >> time 
> >>> >> for it (probably tonight). I expect that it will not be possible to 
> >>> >> export 
> >>> >> the RoboWiki users. So this will be an issue. 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> Regarding the development of Robocode. I am only maintaining the 
> >>> >> current 
> >>> >> Robocode with bug fixes etc. If somebody want to add new features, 
> they 
> >>> >> should go ahead and implement these. I will help with the 
> integration 
> >>> >> etc. 
> >>> >> if the features are not too complex to handle. But I won't be the 
> one 
> >>> >> doing 
> >>> >> all the work (anymore). 
> >>> >> Robocode is Open Source, so if somebody else want to take over the 
> >>> >> development, they are free to do so. I just hope he/she/they will 
> have 
> >>> >> skills enough to get it in a better shape. ;-) 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> - - - - 
> >>> >> I am still working on a "Robocode 2", which is protocol based (on 
> top 
> >>> >> of 
> >>> >> WebSockets) making it possible to be language independent and also 
> work 
> >>> >> for 
> >>> >> web - e.g. using JavaScript. The development progress is slow as I 
> >>> >> don't 
> >>> >> have so much spare time as I had 10 years ago (when taking over the 
> >>> >> development/maintenance of Robocode). 
> >>> >> I am not sure if I will ever finish this new version, but at least 
> the 
> >>> >> development is still ongoing. Currently it is not open source as I 
> want 
> >>> >> to 
> >>> >> make a clean core and have the freedom to change anything at 
> anytime 
> >>> >> without 
> >>> >> being forced to coordinate with other developers. I see this new 
> >>> >> version as 
> >>> >> "my new baby", so it must be good enough before I let other people 
> in. 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> Best regards, 
> >>> >> - Flemming 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >> 
> >>> >>> Den lørdag den 18. juli 2015 kl. 20.04.23 UTC+2 skrev Patrick 
> Cupka: 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> Hey guys - late to the dialogue, but a few things to mention. 
> (Beware: 
> >>> >>> wall of text incoming.) 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> The wiki mostly runs itself and is hosted at VPSLink, which is 
> pretty 
> >>> >>> reliable. The problem during downtime is that neither myself, who 
> >>> >>> "owns" the 
> >>> >>> wiki (i.e., from PEZ), nor David Alves, who actually pays for 
> hosting, 
> >>> >>> actually care so much about Robocode anymore. When your heart's 
> not in 
> >>> >>> it, 
> >>> >>> there are plenty of other things that take precedence. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> I believe MediaWiki has a facility to export all the pages to an 
> XML 
> >>> >>> format. We could make the full archive available somewhere (eg, 
> >>> >>> someone's 
> >>> >>> Dropbox) every so often, if it's something people are interested 
> in. 
> >>> >>> Then 
> >>> >>> you can do whatever you want with it. It strikes me as the kind of 
> >>> >>> thing 
> >>> >>> people say they want, then nobody would actually download it. :-) 
> But 
> >>> >>> we 
> >>> >>> could try. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> There's certainly nobody acting as a gatekeeper here to keep it 
> single 
> >>> >>> sourced. There are no ads. PEZ and I gave a dump of the old wiki 
> to 
> >>> >>> someone 
> >>> >>> upon request a while back. The RoboWiki is all about sharing 
> Robocode 
> >>> >>> knowledge. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> There are plenty of other programming games, but nothing in the 
> same 
> >>> >>> league as Robocode as far as number of bots or active 
> competitions. 
> >>> >>> Then 
> >>> >>> again, people also complain that there is nothing new to be 
> innovated 
> >>> >>> in 
> >>> >>> Robocode, so it's a double-edged sword. I like to joke that it's 
> the 
> >>> >>> "Google 
> >>> >>> Reader of programming games" – it got a huge corporate push from 
> IBM, 
> >>> >>> it 
> >>> >>> smothers the rest of the market (tons of bots, history, Java, name 
> >>> >>> recognition), and might need to die off before all these other 
> games 
> >>> >>> can 
> >>> >>> blossom - hopefully with some kind of common community, as well as 
> >>> >>> communities of their own. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> I have my own offering: BerryBots (http://berrybots.com). You can 
> read 
> >>> >>> a 
> >>> >>> comparison to Robocode gameplay here: 
> >>> >>> http://berrybots.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17 ... Or even try it 
> in a 
> >>> >>> browser: http://playberrybots.com. Primarily, it features 
> programmable 
> >>> >>> stages, walls on the playing field, and a secondary weapon 
> >>> >>> (grenade-like). 
> >>> >>> It also has a pretty sweet automation API with built-in 
> >>> >>> multithreading, 
> >>> >>> (optional) graphical form inputs, and the ability to save HTML5 
> >>> >>> replays of 
> >>> >>> matches. There are only a few bots, but I'd be hella impressed if 
> you 
> >>> >>> can 
> >>> >>> beat Sanic (from Frohman). 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> The other games that have caught my eye are FightCodeGame.com, a 
> fully 
> >>> >>> web based Robocode-inspired game; and NodeWar.com, which might be 
> the 
> >>> >>> only 
> >>> >>> truly inspiring / innovative gameplay I've seen. I'd also check 
> out 
> >>> >>> http://programminggames.org, which seems to be gaining steam. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> I sympathize with the desire to join a large, active community. 
> But 
> >>> >>> the 
> >>> >>> RoboWiki might make the Robocode community seem a lot more active 
> than 
> >>> >>> it 
> >>> >>> is. Good luck catching me and Skilgannon while we never update our 
> >>> >>> bots. ;) 
> >>> >>> At some point, we have to make something new. I suspect even 
> "Robocode 
> >>> >>> 2" 
> >>> >>> will have the same problems as the rest of the new entrants into 
> the 
> >>> >>> genre. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> Hope that's enlightening! Best of luck, 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> -- Patrick 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> Sent from mobile 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> On May 4, 2015, at 4:32 PM, Jesse Clark <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> I'll raise my hand.  I just don't know what would need to be done 
> >>> >>> though 
> >>> >>> since I've never done this before.  Would a service such as 
> >>> >>> http://www.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page suffice?  Can anyone 
> provide 
> >>> >>> some 
> >>> >>> other guidance on a good way to host that is minimal cost?  Also, 
> how 
> >>> >>> would 
> >>> >>> one obtain the current wiki content? 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> Question.  Is robocode still viable or are there other better, 
> widely 
> >>> >>> used, supported platforms along the same vein?  Please advise. 
>  I'm 
> >>> >>> looking 
> >>> >>> to work with a platform like robocode to ultimately compete 
> against 
> >>> >>> others.. 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>> 
> >>> >>>> On Sun, May 3, 2015 at 5:57 PM, ramn.se ‘¸ <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> >>> >>>> 
> >>> >>>> How do we get hold of the database? 
> >>> >>>> 
> >>> >>>> On Sun, May 3, 2015 at 8:31 PM, Pavel Šavara <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> 
> >>> >>>> wrote: 
> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>> Hi everybody, 
> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>> it would be perhaps good idea if all people who think robowiki 
> is 
> >>> >>>>> important would try to help. 
> >>> >>>>> Somebody may try to run mirror, or perhaps somebody would 
> organize 
> >>> >>>>> and 
> >>> >>>>> run it on more stable hosting ? 
> >>> >>>>> Perhaps people would donate some cash needed to pay for the 
> hosting 
> >>> >>>>> ? 
> >>> >>>>> Just suggestions, in the end it's community project, right ? 
> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>> Anybody at all ? Raise your hands ! 
> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>> Pavel 
> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>>> On Sun, May 3, 2015 at 11:48 AM, <[email protected] 
> <javascript:>> wrote: 
> >>> >>>>>> 
> >>> >>>>>> Yeah, I hope they fix it soon... It's really important for many 
> >>> >>>>>> people! 
> >>> >>>>>> 
> >>> >>>>>> -- 
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> >>> >>>>>> send 
> >>> >>>>>> an email to [email protected] <javascript:>. 
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> >>> >>>>> 
> >>> >>>>> 
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> >>> >>>> 
> >>> >>>> 
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> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> -- 
> >>> Patrick Cupka, [email protected] <javascript:> 
> >>> -- 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Patrick Cupka, [email protected] <javascript:> 
> > -- 
>
>
>
> -- 
> Patrick Cupka, [email protected] <javascript:> 
> -- 
>

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