Hi Aki, Sorry for the history, but I thought dream.co.ke was a good url. I also congratulate all those who have made www.projectskenya.info a reality. We have a skunkworks logo. I can help put it where its supposed to be. I'm combining my projects' progress list. I will post them either here or on the wiki, by Monday 5th October.

not really surprised...same thing happened to the thread about improving the SKWs blog. Somebody took all the ideas and quickly registered a domain ( www.since97.com) and is now asking SKWs members to contribute. It would appear that most people are just short of ideas and are merely looking to SKWs to 'borrow' ideas rather than share. Of course i'd assume the end goal is making money and thus the need to control the sites through privately registered domains. Go to Website <http://sites.google.com/site/usbdiskintegritychecker/>

From the CC website (http://creativecommons.org/about/):

"We provide *free* licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof." An idea is not a *creative* work so it isn't covered. We wouldn't be having this conversation had the .co.ke wiki been stable and running. I seem to remember Aki asking about the wiki on .co.ke, no one with direct responsibilty responded. I know it's all volunteer work which is why no one expects someone to be on call 24/7 whenever the .co.ke server goes down. On the question of local content: does *physical* location make it local? Or is only the content? Or the primary audience? Or all of the above? This may have been discussed to death before, if it has please point me to the links. saidi On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 2:14 AM, Rad! <conradakunga@gmail.com> wrote:

I think it is disingenuous to accuse aki of borrowing ideas rather than sharing!

As for the content, why don't we agree on a license for these discussions to avoid all these issues who hosts them and where they are hosted? Can't we adopt one of the creative commons licenses?

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 9:10 AM, Jacob Ayienda <jacobayienda@gmail.com>wrote:

...

not really surprised...same thing happened to the thread about improving the SKWs blog. Somebody took all the ideas and quickly registered a domain ( www.since97.com) and is now asking SKWs members to contribute.

It would appear that most people are just short of ideas and are merely looking to SKWs to 'borrow' ideas rather than share. Of course i'd assume the end goal is making money and thus the need to control the sites through privately registered domains.

Go to Website <http://sites.google.com/site/usbdiskintegritychecker/>

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On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 9:18 AM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com> wrote:

worse still, it could be a 'backdoor' to kill skunkworks.

arent you over-reacig ? there is no copyright on an "idea". it is completely possible that 2 people had the same idea. surely fire was discovered independently by multiple people ... otherwise someone would have copyrighted it :-) ashok

I think it's alright to start from some point. Maybe in future, Aki will move the project to a .ke! On 02/10/2009, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:

@Alex and @ Jacob, I'll send my comments shortly. :-)

-- Solomon Mburu P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041 Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way to the side of a hill! AND It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous generosity! blog: http://desires-and-dreams.blogspot.com

Its was about time someone (aki) took action was long overdue ................and no one gave a timeline of when the local wiki will be resolved even as the problem was identified and acknowledged On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 10:38 AM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:

We always debate what is right and what is wrong here, but we never code/develop!

2009/10/2 Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu@gmail.com>

I think it's alright to start from some point. Maybe in future, Aki

...

will move the project to a .ke!

On 02/10/2009, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:

...

@Alex and @ Jacob, I'll send my comments shortly. :-)

-- Solomon Mburu P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041

Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way to the side of a hill!

AND

It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous generosity!

blog: http://desires-and-dreams.blogspot.com _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

-- with Regards:

Lessons we learn from from friends we lost to misdiagnosed illnesses; at my blog: http://gramware.blogspot.com

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On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 10:52 AM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:

@Alex, Jacob. The issue on using a backdoor to " kill" skunks is not true, nor copying anyone. Skunks has its own life and cannot be killed. However, I do consider your comments as a low blow. In future, please do follow threads well so that you know where what and how.

For the avoidance of doubt, I support all contributions that improve skunkworks. However, we must always avoid "putting the cart before the horse." Exactly 1 year ago, I wanted to spearhead a "skunkworks database" for all you that are local IT SMEs. Before proceeding I contacted skunkworks pioneers then shared my idea. <snip> "..Of immediate interest/need right away related to access to government opportunities and general business advocacy are: a) a clear IT providers skunkworks database (dis)qualification, b) clear criteria for striking out an entry, c) hosting services for the database, d) transparent database administration, e) its admin overheads and cost recovery/compensation.." <snip> But because there was no consensus on it, I was compelled to abandon it. It was generally felt that, and I also agreed, that the community first needed to encourage and build on more collaboration. Anything less was feared risked threatening this budding community of techies. It is in that context I caution against each and everyone one of us running off with what is/has being collectively begun to take shape. And Jacob has given a most recent example. My 'backdoor' provocation is to encourage you to come out in the open to at least some of skunkworks events/collaborations and contribute. regards, Alex PS: I encourage reading "3.5 Opportunities for expression and public participation" on http://www.freedomofexpression.org.uk/files/Kenya_FoE.pdf Parting shot: "Kenyans basic problem is everyone's too much 'kujichania' until we all look daft to correct which first 'Hakuna Matata' now urgently needs to be expunged from our phrases" AG

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:08 PM, <ashok+skunkworks@parliaments.info> wrote:

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:01 PM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com> wrote:

...

My 'backdoor' provocation is to encourage you to come out in the open to at least some of skunkworks events/collaborations and contribute.

i think you are forgeting about the basic principle of 'assume goodwill' ?

"Hakuna matata"?

in the absence of information to the contrary -- you cannot assume that either aki or since97.com are upto something devious.

I never termed either "devious" as you put it, I hope your did not assume it.

you should feel happy someone has acted on your year old idea.

But if some people perceive such as "premature" should I not be concerned that my *great ideas*;) risk ending up as still-borns? Seriously, (and unrelated to Orange) "Together we can more"

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:22 PM, <ashok+skunkworks@parliaments.info> wrote:

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:16 PM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com> wrote:

...

I never termed either "devious" as you put it, I hope your did not assume it.

there was some suggestion that someones ideas had been borrowed and stolen.

Suppose that instead everyone volunteered, offered to fix arising problems, installed and run their contributed resources at the skunkworks community online space?

I hear you. But let's leave this issue open since others may wish to contribute also? On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 12:35 PM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:

@Alex, no harm done. Lets move on to other things . :-)

Rgds. _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science:  http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi:     http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 1:12 PM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:

Haiya Alex, leo ni friday....on a more positive and techie note its been a hell 17 hours learning something I've not done before. I've used a wiki or 2, but never setup one and I must say it is this one was different experience. There are many Wikis out there but seems the best one for public domains is MediaWiki due to its settings. There are over a 100 pages to go over just for the localsettings.php file. Interesting route, I think the other day PS Ndemo mentioned of a Kenyan Wiki, seems this thing is very possible ( not me, am tied down over the next 12 months ). BTW, I had to find the settings.php file ( easy for a lot of gururs ) to edit as the closest I've come to the nuts and bolts of sites is .asp on which I set a few databases using Ms Access some years ago.

So the experience was well worth it. So kama kuna mtu ako na shida with Wiki settings ( not db pls ) we are here to answer. :-))))

Thumbs up, Aki! It's time to task, not to talk. BTW. MediaWiki is so prone to being defaced by spammers. Please ensure you take all steps to lock it down, only authenticated users to post, and don't forget to backup frequently just in case. Unfortunately I don't have the details about locking it down. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

The political mind: We want to talk,talk, talk and take no action. Yet when someone takes action, we start complaining that he shouldn't have taken that particular action. Even after someone has taken action, we want to continue talking.. politicians indeed. Well done @aki for taking action. Ps continue doing so, while people talk.

i dont watch soaps this day i just read skunkworks treads .aki go ahead the idea part was fun that the conception stage sasa umezaa mwana kazi ngumu ni kulea. On 10/4/09, Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu@gmail.com> wrote:

A thought for today and apologies to non-Christians, somewhere in the book of Proverbs, there is a verb which aptly states: too much talk leads to poverty. Aki, carry on with the idea and good work!

On 03/10/2009, Njoroge Tito <titonjoroge@gmail.com> wrote:

...

The political mind:

We want to talk,talk, talk and take no action.

Yet when someone takes action, we start complaining that he shouldn't have taken that particular action.

Even after someone has taken action, we want to continue talking.. politicians indeed.

Well done @aki for taking action. Ps continue doing so, while people talk.

-- Solomon Mburu P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041

Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way to the side of a hill!

AND

It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous generosity!

http://desires-and-dreams.blogspot.com https://smiley2.wordpress.com www.takingitglobal.org/mburu _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 7:44 AM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com>wrote:

On Fri, Oct 2, 2009 at 1:11 AM, Clement Ongera <cnongera@gmail.com> wrote:

...

Sorry for the history, but I thought dream.co.ke was a good url.

Why couldn't you wait for someone to fix the skunkworks db problem?

Sometimes waiting is not an option, and how long is it acceptable to wait? This could be indicative of the customer service quality one will get in future should e.g. the server get hacked etc.

Why rush to register your domain with Tucows then hosted it at Houston, United States?

1. Its cheaper, compare http://www.eacdirectory.com/, http://www.pct.co.ke/products with http://www.opensrs.com/domains/pricing.html 2. The features one gets from hosting abroad are much much better than the local providers; see http://www.siteground.com/ 3. Reliability; Has any Kenyan, no, make that African based hosting provider made it to http://news.netcraft.com/? Is it right for you to put up community-owned

skunkworks content on your privately-owned domain hosted abroad yet *everyone* here preaches local content?

Aaah, the endless issue of local content. Probably you could define local content since I think there could be as many definitions are there are skunks here.

Yes, you contribute so much onlist - most appreciated. But why do you never attend physical skunkworks meetings and collaborate on-the- ground community efforts, introduce yourself, if just, to remove all past expressed suspicions, motive doubts, or somehow just reinforce whatever trust exists?

You contribute a lot, very well, but local collaboration even if on

just one, completed, project may perhaps be far more beneficial than so many *incomplete* initiatives?

The Google "Beta" philosophy seems to work well for them, i.e. many "unfinished" projects. Is it necessarily a bad thing?

Africa has an abundantly rich history of being a source of raw materials. Now comes the "Knowledge Economy" and thus forestalling local knowledge thefts through 'raw material knowledge' whose 'Intellectual Property' belonging to an 'anonymous' virtual 'aki'

I think brain drain robbed Africa a long time ago, its not about to end any time soon :-)

Provocative, but I mean every letter of it. _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

Hi @Dennis, to be fair there are at least two times I've received an invite from others but had to turn it down due to personal reasons and commitments. I hope in the near future we shall meet and have many things to discuss but online makes it much easier for me to make my contributions while balancing other things. I think we should close this thread and move on. Thanks to everyone who responded. With Kind Rgds. :-)