My new OPML Community Server installation

I'm getting ready to release the new OPML Community Server, which will make it possible for people to host their own OPML weblogs, directories, instant outlining networks, etc.

I'll release the full source code of the server under the open source GPL, so you're free to make changes, add features, and share those features with others. It could be the beginning of something pretty cool.

Aside from spawning a developer community, I want it to be virutally foolproof and support-free, which is hard to do for server software. But I've done it before with Radio, which is server software that runs on the desktop, so there's hope.

The first step in the release process is to test the second server with some real users, to see what I missed that still needs fixing before creating a third, fourth, fifth server. If you follow these instructions, if all goes well, you should be writing to a different server shortly.

How to test the new server

0. These instructions should work in either the Mac or Windows version of the OPML Editor.

1. Make a backup copy of your OPML folder so in case anything goes wrong, you have a copy. I usually don't call stuff like this out, but your only sure way of being able to go back to the world you've set up is to have a good backup.

2. Launch the OPML Editor, choose Get Latest Code from the Community menu.

3. Choose Change Community from the Community menu. Enter rpc.tagcamp.com then click on OK.

4. Now you have to register in the new community. Same process as before. Choose Register from the Community menu (it's the top item).

5. Then it's up to you how you'd like to test the new server. It should behave in every way like the old server. I'll probably post some ideas for testing here in a bit. If you have ideas, post them in a comment here.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

0. If there are problems, please be patient. It's hard to debug this stuff. If you want to report a problem, remember to say What you did, What you expected to happen, and What actually happened.

1. When you want to go back, use the Change Community command and enter support.opml.org. You have to register again. Use the same email address and password as before and your account will still be there, as it was when you left.

2. I expect this community server to run about as long as the original one will, which means I don't know how long it will run. It's probably a good idea to think about forming groups to host your own communities as soon as the software we're testing now is released.

3. Pings still go back to the home community server, so we can see all the OPML blogs update. When there are too many OPML blogs, I plan to ask Verisign to run a server for us. (It's in the contract that I have to ask, but of course I don't mind.)

4. As soon as we verify that this process works, I'll explain how to set up your own community server.

5. I haven't figured out how we'll redirect from the original server to new servers, but it's clear that we'll have to.

# Posted by Dave Winer on 11/15/05; 2:42:58 PM - --