Recently we’ve been under attack by some rather pesky bots and even hacking attempts. I don’t condone hacking (unless it’s authorised stress-testing) and feel quite sad that some people would even consider trying to break into a harmless community supporting website.

There were several options for an upgrade, including a fresh install with a manual import, or perhaps just an overwrite of all the valuable files, but in the end it turns out the developers behind Xoops cared about backward compatibility and provided a guide for dealing with such situations.

During the upgrade process, and even when monitoring those would-be intruders I would like to highlight my host, OpticEmpire – their stunning customer service, personable support and hilarious working hours leave little to be desired. If you need a website host, I would recommend them.

Needless to say we are up to date again and I’ve got some upcoming plans for the BMR – but I think I’d better get Eadrax ship-shape first.

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Even if you know nothing about Blender, help me in this open-source dilemma, please read on.

Recently, Bart Veldhuizen over from BlenderNation.com started beta-testing for a new resource sharing system known as BlenderNation Links. BlenderNation, for those that don’t know, is the central news website for all things Blender related. It’s the central hub that Blender development and community news goes through – outside the official blender.org website, which is a bit more boring and just says “hey guys, new version” – as do most official websites. (Just joking!)

I was recently pleased to be given the opportunity to beta-test the new system. Well, this new BN Links categorises things as “individual” items – a model repository, as one might expect is not just one individual item, but instead a whole other resource system. The thing I’m wondering about is “how do I make the repository’s resources just as accessible through the BN Links system?“.

A while back I wrote the second part of my open-source analysis article, called “The Open-Source Market – Limitless and Forever Expanding?” (click it to read the article – it might interest you) One of the conclusions I came up with there was that in the short term, open-source should have plenty of choice and competition, but in the long-term, it must realise the synergy is what is needed to ensure its survival and continued growth. This is a perfect example of this concept in real life. There are two resource sites, one obviously much larger and more popular than the other, originally offering slightly different things. BlenderNation focuses on news, and has a small tutorials/resources section, whereas the BMR (Blender Model Repository) focuses on…hosting models and tutorials. Now BlenderNation wants to increase its focus on tutorials and resources, thus duplicating the BMR’s function somewhat. Is this, perhaps, the time to synergise?

Firstly, let’s get the facts down:

• BlenderNation is much more popular and well known than the BMR. It also has a cooler name.
• The BMR is a hub for models. I have no legal right to give all my models/let them be published on BN Links.
• Competition is good, but function replication is not.
• I do have the legal right to “link” to each individual model, but such manual addition is tiresome, and will have to be constantly updated as new models come in.
• The BMR does have a built-up reputation for those that know it. It’s not very nice to say “hey guys, we’ve uh, disappeared – check out this cooler site“
• The BMR is running on depreciated technology – sad but true. Whoops, did I just say that? But hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
• The BMR is a bit like a music collection with some missing metadata. Some files are hosted elsewhere, some don’t have preview pictures. This means that links die out.
• The BN Links system, from what I’ve seen, seems a lot more flexible and makes it much easier for users to find what they want, which is great for the community.
• I juggle a lot of projects. BMR maintenance is somewhat of a gypsy on my todo list.
• I’m human – try ask someone else to delete a section of their site so somebody else can run it. (Ok, that sounded very selfish and attached)

Well. Here’s where you guys come in. To what extent can I realistically share resources, how should this be done, and tell me – is this the time to synergise?

Please leave a comment. Even if you know nothing about Blender.

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