Old Board

[seductivebarry]

Just thought I'd mention it....it looks like the old board has come back up.

[Ian]

Yes, it has reappeared but we don't know how long it will remain there for so we are currently looking at ways to archive the old posts or move them here.

[seductivebarry]

Yes, it has reappeared but we don't know how long it will remain there for so we are currently looking at ways to archive the old posts or move them here.

I've never done it - but perhaps we could get it archived at https://archive.org/ ?

[Ste]

@Ian the below is assuming there's no handy way ActiveBoard can allow you to download the data in a better way - please tell me if you're able to!

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It's possible to batch update archive.org, but it's painfully slow, about 50 seconds per page when I tested earlier, and for batches requests need to be staggered to avoid getting blocked for flooding. I've got a list of links to all discussions pages, and there are 3803 of them, though I'm sure there's overlap.

It's midnight now, but tomorrow I'll take a look at at least ripping the HTML from each page and saving them, if it goes well I'll upload them somewhere so we at least won't have lost anything.

[seductivebarry]

Ok give me a shout if you'd like any help.

I might be able to code something to scrape the pages. Might be a little difficult to get it to do the pages of each thread but I'm sure there might be a way.

[Ste]

I think I got them all

I wrote a little parser to compress it down into very rough json; all those years, 46MB... I know there's no real reason not to post it now (though I still need to verify it properly) but I'll wait on feedback from the head honchos here.

I know the data's out there in public and I'm definitely overreacting/being paranoid (we all made the content together so it 'spiritually' belongs to us all!) but this is more like a prepared database snapshot than a site viewable online by anybody.

[seductivebarry]

Excellent, well done @Ste

Just realised my post might have seemed a bit rude - it was only to try to preserve the history. Really appreciate the work you've put in @Ian to get this up and going.

[Ian]

@Ste so can you set it so that the posts move to this forum?

I have a friend who has been helping me (although his field of expertise is software) and he managed to download everything though there were a few issues.

@seductivebarry it's ok, anything you can do to help would be great. We don't know how long the old forum is going to be there for so it would be great to get some sort of offline copy. I can set up another sub forum here (archive) if necessary.

[Ste]

@Ste so can you set it so that the posts move to this forum?

I can't do that, but I can give you a sorted list that looks like this:

Forum
- Threads (all of them, ordered by desc date, containing)
    Thread Title
    Thread DateCreated
    - Posts (all belonging to the particular thread, ordered, containing)
        Username
        Post (full HTML, and anybody who's ever edited their activeboard posts know how messy it'll be!)
        DatePosted

- in a machine-readable format.

So it could be imported (though assuming in software is often a hiding to nothing!) if you have full database access here. How simple that part of it remains to be seen though! Trying to bridge the usernames would be a massive administrative faff, and I recommend not bothering with that - rather just use a manually made Archivist user and see if you can import the posts!

Another, easier option would be just to have them preserved for posterity, in read only mode just in HTML.

(I know you run the FEELINGCALLEDLIVE site, so apologies if I'm preaching to the choir - best to cover all bases )

[Ian]

Sounds good to me, I have full access to the database here. I may be able to import it all and yes, as you say, mapping usernames across sounds really tricky. I could set an admin account up called "Archive" or something and import that way including the original username in the post.

Apparently, I can import from a .csv file so if you have one, it would be great. Would you be able to email it to ian@baritalia.co.uk

Don't worry, you're not preaching to the converted  . I haven't designed a website since I was a student and FEELINGCALLEDLIVE is run on WordPress.

[Ste]

I might be able to code something to scrape the pages. Might be a little difficult to get it to do the pages of each thread but I'm sure there might be a way.

That was exactly the problem I worried about It could have been a ballache but I accidentally stumbled across the fact the main forum pages listed all pages within a thread. It would have been nasty without that - especially as the paginator at the bottom of each thread's page was loaded by JS.

@Ian Barcroft just posted on the old forum, perhaps you or some other mod should make a new thread over there directing people here?

[Ian]

Will do. I will also put a banner at the top of the page and I will lock the old forum once we are certain that everything has been transferred.

[Sr. Helvetica]

Hi again! Maybe this was asked in another thread, not sure... will finally be possible to do the migration of the threads from old forum board to new one? Anyway we could contribute? Should i start a new thread here about songs that sound like Pulp    or wait till old one is recovered here?

[Ian]

Hi again! Maybe this was asked in another thread, not sure... will finally be possible to do the migration of the threads from old forum board to new one? Anyway we could contribute? Should i start a new thread here about songs that sound like Pulp    or wait till old one is recovered here?

Good question. As it stands, someone has kindly provided an offline copy of the old forum. They are hoping to migrate all topics to this forum. However, mapping usernames across is prohibitively complex so the chances are, the old posts will be moved to a read-only archive forum and will show as being posted by the same user (though original poster names may be included at the top of each post). I will keep you all posted. If this doesn't work, I will upload the offline copy and people will be able to view old posts that way.

This forum has the ability to merge topics so if you do create a new one around songs that sound like Pulp, I should be able to merge it with the original one.

[Jayenkai]

Here's hoping a method can be found. Good luck!

[Lipglossed]

I think I got them all

I wrote a little parser to compress it down into very rough json; all those years, 46MB... I know there's no real reason not to post it now (though I still need to verify it properly) but I'll wait on feedback from the head honchos here.

I know the data's out there in public and I'm definitely overreacting/being paranoid (we all made the content together so it 'spiritually' belongs to us all!) but this is more like a prepared database snapshot than a site viewable online by anybody.

Ste,

This is a wonderful act of archival. I remember sifting through the old posts on Bar Italia and seeing that they dated back to as long as I'd ever been alive — including the breakdowns of every song (how gratifying that the site founder *also* thought that 'Lipgloss' was the best Pulp track, ha ha). I think back to my third year of my four-year degree, being basically unable to write essays because I was sitting there, in the library, feeling so utterly compelled by this deep repository of Pulp fandom, digging into it, scouring all the pages, avidly consuming it all.

So Ste and Ian, and anyone else involved with this act of web preservation — thank you. I think a lot of Pulp fans, in years to come, will be grateful.

[arrgee]

This forum has the ability to merge topics so if you do create a new one around songs that sound like Pulp, I should be able to merge it with the original one.

Sssh!  I want at least a dozen posts on RFH gig in next fortnight 

[Sr. Helvetica]

Hi! Sorry for the delay, ive been on holidays!  One last question: Shuould i open those threads (songs that sound like pulp, or pulp songs covers by other artists) in the general category, or better do in the off-topic one?

Hi again! Maybe this was asked in another thread, not sure... will finally be possible to do the migration of the threads from old forum board to new one? Anyway we could contribute? Should i start a new thread here about songs that sound like Pulp    or wait till old one is recovered here?

Good question. As it stands, someone has kindly provided an offline copy of the old forum. They are hoping to migrate all topics to this forum. However, mapping usernames across is prohibitively complex so the chances are, the old posts will be moved to a read-only archive forum and will show as being posted by the same user (though original poster names may be included at the top of each post). I will keep you all posted. If this doesn't work, I will upload the offline copy and people will be able to view old posts that way.

This forum has the ability to merge topics so if you do create a new one around songs that sound like Pulp, I should be able to merge it with the original one.

[Ian]

You can open them in the main Pulp forum. Hopefully, we will be able to get the archive updated so correct post dates are shown then I can merge any topics necessary.