Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: storage of important files

[Henning Mortensen (hmortensen]

Hi Sharon,

I agree that nextcloud fits our ethos better then own cloud. Either will run on 
a Linux server. Not sure if a hosting service account will suffice, but these 
days you can just rent a server to work with. 

I see nextcloud primarily as a cloud file server and source of links for our 
documents. It does have a good calendar built in, but that would be just a 
bonus. For me, we trade off a bit of cost and some configuration and 
maintenance, to get rock solid cloud services, file services and links. 

I would be happy to set up a discussion over zoom for any that are interested. 
Time zones make that difficult but I am sure we can find a time where we can 
meet. 

Henning Mortensen

Sent from my iPhone

> On Oct 18, 2019, at 12:59 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> On Oct 18, 2019, at 1:55 PM, Henning Mortensen <hmortensen [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> 
>> I am currently ruminating about moving our files to NextCloud/OwnCloud.
>> 
>> NextCloud runs on a Linux server and requires a fair bit of work to get
>> running. This is not for those without technical help.
>> 
>> I would like to organize a group of computer volunteers to set up services
>> like this for communities who don't have the technical expertise, and
>> mitigate the risk of loss of your tech guru.
> 
> In terms of online stuff I’m one of two people who handle programming and 
> accounts. I read several links on NextCloud/OwnCloud and would probably go 
> with NextCloud. But still have a basic question — Are these open source 
> programs that can be run on  our own hosting account?
> 
> Is it similar to using/setting up a Wiki? What is the  advantage of this 
> service vs a wiki or even Wordpress. I have just set up a wiki using 
> Wordpress to store information about our facilities. Anyone working on 
> facilities can enter information, records of service calls, minutes, and etc.
> 
> I’m very leery of free services like Google  and Yahoo. Google has repeatedly 
> changed the terms of their sites/wiki to the detriment of what has  been a 
> very successful record keeping system. All the changes were without notice. 
> With great determination after several years of  this, I set up our own wiki 
> on our hosting account.
> 
> Several years ago Yahoo with no notice (or none that anyone here saw) they 
> stripped all the attachments from several  years of messages. Since these 
> were posted during the start-up phase we lost valuable historical information 
> and documents including drafts. We transferred from Yahoo to Groups.io as 
> soon as problems started at Yahoo and are happy at Groups.io. Last week, 
> Yahoo gave  1 week’s notice that they were stopping the YahooGroups as we 
> know it. There is a bit longer before they delete all archives. (There is 
> something confusing in their statement about continuing email and the ability 
> to email groups -- not sure what that means.)
> 
> Some teams use Google Docs for drafting docs and signups but these are 
> temporary documents. I’m totally put off by these  free services. The model  
> that Groups.io uses and Wordpress  plugins use I trust. They have a free 
> version but are supported with a premium version with support and more 
> features. Working off an income base of advanced services, means the basic 
> version is updated as well. Not abandoned.
> 
> A few years ago we  signed up with Association Voice, a  standard website for 
> condominium communications, and  had hoped  that we would be able  to 
> centralize all our communications, calendar, and files. No such luck. They 
> are only set up to work with a board so offer only a few email addresses, 
> limited kinds of storage, and a very limited calendar. Photos only to the 
> extent that they illustrate webpages. (We have an archive  of 1100+.)The 
> people who work on that site like it because it is so straightforward, but 
> that also means it is limited. Assoc Voice initially offered an integration 
> with the financial package our management company uses but  that was found  
> to be undoable. As a result, we have the main service for $50 a month as long 
> as we stay with them. Plus any programming we want to do. They have to do all 
> the changes and we can’t make some because we use a template that others use 
> — changes would have to apply to all those sites.
> 
> But as time goes by, we still have different locations for many things. The 
> calendar is with CalendarWiz. It has so many features and is so easy to use 
> that I doubt if we would ever change. We fairly often reserve 7 rooms/areas 
> in the CH, two guest rooms, two outdoor spaces, and several parking places.  
> Also keep track of birthdays and travel. (I highly recommend it.) 
> 
> We are adding a calendar on the door to reserve a room that teens want to 
> reserve for homework, etc. and they don’t access the online calendar.
> 
> Our hosting  account on Bluehost provides email accounts. The Wiki and the 
> photo archives are on Bluehost as well. But each one is a separate sign in to 
> a Wordpress installation. And now people are using free online services to 
> schedule meals and other help for those needing TLC, to find out who can 
> attend meetings when, etc. 
> 
> I have great hopes for Gather but it would be hard to persuade everyone to 
> switch.
> 
> Every once in awhile someone will ask what do you store in the common house?  
> What kind of cabinets, etc, do we need? Well, this long list is what you will 
> need for communications.
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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