Koozali.org: home of the SME Server

a sad day for e-smith

Steve MacGregor

a sad day for e-smith
« on: December 14, 2001, 02:02:48 AM »
I know that most trouble comes from user error, but damn, I haven't done a thing to the server and it keeps causing trouble. I suppose what really bugs me is that I have recomended e-smith/mitel to so many people it is embarrasing when they email you and say "yo your server is down again." Something tells me I should have stuck with the 4.12. I had a gut feeling about that which I unfortunately ignored.

I had that feeling because of the e-smith community. Things seem to have gotten a little too somber around here. Too many arguments. Users bitching. E-smith folks bitching because the users are bitching. Everyone seems to try to make their own case, and for what it is worth, they are all right. I guess the magic just went away after Mitel took over. I am not complaining, I am more sad than anything because I really loved and was proud of how far 'we' had come.

E-smith was my introduction to open source. The encouragement of so many people combined with their belief in the product kept an electric feeling in the air. I think that is gone now. Perhaps it has run it's course as all things must, but I must express my sadness. I also want to extend my gratitude for all all of the opportunities, in particular my involvement with the PostNuke CMS Development Project, that came about because of my participation in the E-Smith community.

Many thanks to everyone,

best regards,

Steve MacGregor
PostNuke Documentation Project Manager

Steve Kau

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2001, 03:07:10 AM »
I sort of agree with this.  I am not entirely convinced the mitel thing was good either, and for the recored, I never even thought about upgrading to sme5....Its one big bug.

Steve MacGregor

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2001, 03:16:13 AM »
I have a funny feeling that you are not alone.

steve

Steve MacGregor

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2001, 03:18:47 AM »
Has anyone used axon? Is it stable yet?

steve

Chaloner Hale

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2001, 03:53:53 AM »
I am using this GREAT PIECE OF WORK on numerous clients, and all are running smoothly. I used to run 4.12, but upgraded as soon as V5 came out. I have never had any problems at all.

Perhaps the hardware you are using is not as great as you think it is....


Chaloner Hale

Dan G.

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #5 on: December 14, 2001, 06:46:36 AM »
I've been trying to get a straight answer on the future of Axonlinux, but it's an uphill battle.  They seem well-intended enough, but I don't know if they are organized enough to put out a reliable package --- with a future.  They trumpeted their 'new' effort a month ago, invited participation, then stonewalled any attempt to communicate with them.  I have just about lost my interest in that project --- and I have been a supporter since I first installed it several months ago.

Dan

Steve

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2001, 08:26:12 AM »
Try EnGarde.  I am in the process of learning the interface, but it looks sweet and well developed


http://www.engardelinux.org/

AlecN

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2001, 04:00:31 PM »
I'm surprised you feel that way. I've been with this product since 4.0 and can't get over how well it runs. I presently run SME5/update3. Considering that it cost me NOTHING, it is exceptionally good value. Where else can you get anything like this that is relatively bug free and so easy to setup. I run quite a few instances of PostNuke and I have no problems at all.

I also find PostNuke to be very good value, but I could argue to the contrary as I have never had any feedback from the support forum nor have I had a submitted story published there yet.

(Back to SME etc).  ... OK, sometimes I don't get a reply straight away from the EUF Phorum community ..... a quick re-phrase and I always get a useful reply second time round.

I strongly advise that you check your hardware or ISP.

Charlie Brady

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #8 on: December 14, 2001, 06:59:25 PM »
Steve MacGregor wrote:

> I guess the magic just went away after Mitel took over.

Mitel did not take over. Mitel kept us going. We are the same team with the same plans (well, actually, with expanded plans). Would people really rather we had shut the doors like so many others?

Steve, if you feel you have troubles with SME5, first make sure that you have applied all updates, then then if you still think there's a problem, send a detailed report to bugs@e-smith.com. Is that too much to ask?

Charlie

Peter@northwestlinux.co.

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #9 on: December 14, 2001, 07:33:21 PM »
Had a good look at v5.1 beta 3 to day apart from a small hich with ISDN looks real good Well done All!

b stephen harding

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #10 on: December 14, 2001, 07:41:16 PM »
I don't normally reply to emails like this, but I couldn't ignore this thread.  I would like to put my support behind SME.  I've been using this produce since 4.1, both here at work and at home.  I've experienced no problem with this software, that I could say is the fault of the developers or poor implementation.  I use numerous open source projects and they all go though good times and bad.  There support forums also go through periods of highs and lows, bitter disputes, and flame wars.  We all have opinions, if you are active in a list/forum it is because you care or you feel you have something to offer.  Having been doing this sort of thing for a while I've found it useful to baton down the hatches to sail through the difficult times, cause there is always sunny skies on the other side.  One must remember that all software is not perfect or are its users or developers.   Open Source software has the advantage of communities that surround projects caring and nuturing them.  As a result we can contribute to making it better.

I'd rather stick with SME and see it get better than abandon it for something else.

Sincerely,
 
Bruce Harding
Manager: Computer Books For Less
Manager of Procurements: Computer Supply House

105 O'Connor Street
Ottawa ON K1P 5M8
Canada
Phone: 613-233-7418
Fax: 613-233-6823

http://www.computerbooksforless.com

Steve MacGregor

Re: a sad day for e-smith
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2002, 06:52:50 AM »
After over a month, I would like to post a follow-up and offer my apologies to the E-Smith/Mitel development team for my posting. It was frustration that got the best of me. Frustration due to the fact that my server was down 'for no apparent reason' and my beloved PostNuke documentation project site was unavailable to our users.

As I have learned with PostNuke, sometimes software doesn't work when you don't configure it properly. When it refuses to work and you feel cornered in a production environment, the little dust bunnies under the bed tend to turn into big mean monsters.

Now that I have got my monsters in check on the server and the new documentation site launched I will turn some of my energies back to E-Smith, back to the place all of this started for me. I will begin to contribute to the E-Smith/Mitel and PostNuke communities simultaneously as they are such complimentary tools. More will follow about these projects, but I wanted to get this off of my conscience before I got the ball rolling.

Best Regards,

Steve MacGregor
PostNuke Documentation    http://www.docs.postnuke.com
The Grape Server Project     http://www.grape.dyndns.org