[Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

Original Link.

TMO forum started being part of maemo.org more than 3 years ago with funding from Nokia. Previously it was part of the web site Internet Tablet Talk, privately founded by Reggie Suplido and dedicated to the initial Nokia Maemo devices.

The Internet Tablet Talk first and TMO later, have been the glue for this amazing community that we have, providing an efficient way of communication between developers and end users, not just a place for discussion and comments.

Reggie has been the administrator and owner of forums since the very beginning, and thanks to him a lot has been accomplished. However, now that Nokia is stopping activities around Maemo and Meego, continuation of forums was at risk.

The cost of maintenance for current host solution was too expensive ($468/month) to be funded by the Hildon Foundation. Continuing in the same way was clearly difficult so migration to a cheaper solution was somehow mandatory.

Finally, Reggie has decided to donate the forum to the Hildon Foundation:

"I will be stepping down as the TMO administrator effective January 1, 2013. I have decided that I will be donating the database to the foundation."

"I saw my name mentioned in one of the board meetings about the possibility of becoming the admin of maemo.org. I appreciate the offer but I have to decline as of this time."

From the Hildon Foundation we want to thank Reggie for this contribution and for all the time and efforts he has shared with us.

Now we have different constraints that affect the migration of the server:

• Lack of funds to pay a new hosting service and a vBulletin license. Please donate!
• Man power to migrate and administrate the forums. Board and Council are conducting a survey to address it.
• Concerns about data privacy laws if we move the service from the U.S. to Europe.

Migrating to an OSS might be doable in the near future but at this point it could be very difficult to accomplish, as we lack resources and time. However, if anyone with the required knowledge is interested in starting such a project for migration, please contact with Council.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

thanks for all the hard work, everyone. how do we donate?

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

Scan Me (I now work)
Link striaght to PayPal

http://qrfree.kaywa.com/?s=8&d=https...Q" alt="QRCode

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

Added donation link in first post.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

FYI fixed the QR Code in post 3 to go straight to PayPal if you wish to use it elsewhere.
Like on HFO for example.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

It's been some time since I've posted but I do read through posts still. I'd hate to see this resource go away. Already donated and wanted to wish luck in achieving the funding goal.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

I wonder what those might be. A genuine question. I know there is for example a Data Protection Act in place in the UK which, if I understand it correctly (IANAL), states that an organization cannot keep your personal data for longer than 6 moths (which is why my Blockbusters card expired and some headhunters keep calling me every 6 months just to keep my account alive). Is this the kind of thing you have in mind?

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

i'd like to donate, but i won't touch PayPal with a ten foot pole. is there a more acceptable way?

i, too, like to know what that refers to.
common opinion in this part of the world is, that privacy laws in the US are not much to write home about

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

I believe that's the issue. Transferring user information to/from parties (eg from Reggie to Board) can be a royal nightmare because of the privacy laws in the EU.

In some cases/countries the laws have special requirements when moving from one service provider to another, even if the data in question is overseen by the same legal entity. So changing from one host service to another could trigger this all over again if we need to hop severs 6, 12, or 18 months down the road. The fact that the US lacks such rigid laws in this case would be a plus, because it allows for easier transfer from one host/operator to another in the event it needs to happen again.

The worry isn't that the laws will allow the spread of user information; the general morality and make-up of the Board, Council, and community volunteers should prevent that. The issue is when countries have such strict laws "for the user's safety", it can become a challenge to move or continue a service without making it a huge hassle for everyone involved (as the "Block Buster" example above shows).

As it stands, after the move right now there's a good chance that lots of personal information will be purged from the database because of current laws. We'll likely have account names, and their current hashed passwords. That means people will need to go back in and re-enter their e-mail address, avatar/icons, and the like after logging in on the new server. Forgot your password and want to use e-mail to validate? To bad, that's gone... Forgot to reset that after the change & need it 2 months later? Oops... We need to move the server again in 6 months because of budget concerns? Let's do all that over again! :confused:

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

So, you need a US host. Is this a problem? US hosts are often quite cheap, and with paypal, you should be able to pay for it from outside the US. If they need a real US address, I'm sure there's a T.MO member who'd be willing to support us that way.

Edit:
also, in a few months when I get my home fiber connection, I'd like to offer up server space & bandwidth towards hosting whatever's needed - be a mirror for the Tablet images or something.

I've also donated $10 in the near term, because I have a job and /can/.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

An Update -

Hildon Foundation has purchased a vBulletin license and is arranging for the forum to be migrated from Reggie. Thanks to Reggie for his past and present contributions to the community through this forum.

Chemist, who has been a forum moderator for several years, has agreed to take over the functions previously performed by Reggie. There will be some tweaks to the forum next year to reflect the slight shift from Nokia sponsorship to maemo software. Please contact either Chemist or Maemo Council regarding tweaks to moderation, or other day-to-day supervision, operation and administration of the forum.

http://hildonfoundation.org/new-vbul...cense-for-tmo/

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

It's laws and regulations like the Data Protection Act that we have in mind because they impose overhead requirements such as but not limited to the 6 month rule you mentioned. We have no desire to release data to third parties, but we don't want a regulatory system that would for example mandate that people re-opt-in every 6 months as we would not disturb and would not be calling people every 6 months like your Blockbusters. There is no actual concern about the Data Protection Act because AFAIK there is no suggestion to put the TMO forum in UK.

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

So just on the update part; if a vBulletin licence has been purchased and data is being migrated, where is the TMO database now going to be hosted?

Re: [Board] TMO forums donated to Hildon Foundation
 

The current intent is that it be hosted in Finland, at least temporarily. Please note this sentence in the privacy policy:

You expressly accept and give your unambiguous consent that your Personal Information gained in connection with your use of the Site, with respect to the Site, may be transferred across international borders to server locations supporting the Site (mirror sites), including but not limited to transfers from those locations back to the country of your registration, for operating and developing the Site or for the purposes of storing the data in the relevant database, which may be located in Finland or in some other country or countries within the European Union.

Update: I have just found out that there is some cost related uncertainty to where the tmo forum will be located - so stay tuned!