Toolserver/Stable server

Update: we have a server to test this idea on. If you want to move your tool there, add it to the candidates list below and contact an admin.

This is a proposal for a new toolserver project.

There are a number of important, well liked, and widely used tools on the toolserver systems. Currently the toolserver serves well over 1 million http requests per day to over 65,000 distinct IPs per day and there are a number of non-http based tools as well. The 3 to 4 most popular tools account for roughly 3/4 of the http requests.

Problems:

1. people write nice tools, then leave and don't maintain them. Users complain that their tools don't work anymore, until someone forks them and everyone updates to the new tool.
2. people's nice tools are broken by unstable tools which are still being developed.

Solution: a new server which only hosts 'stable', collaboratively-developed tools. Each tool would be associated with some set of users, who would have access to a shared subversion repository, and the ability to modify the live version of the tools.

Only tools which have shown themselves to be stable and efficient would be moved to the new server. At least a certain number of people (say, 2) would need to be available to maintain the tool.

This will encourage collaborative development of tools, and make sure useful, important tools are more reliable.

Candidates

To justify buying a stable server, we need people willing to use it. So, if anyone is interested in maintaining stable tools, please add your name to Toolserver/Stable server/Candidates.

Comments

•  Support The availability of the toolserver is to low in the moment for important tools, like CheckUsage, Geohack... . --Kolossos 17:55, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
• support. the general idea seems good, I suppose the details can be discussed later. DarkoNeko 18:41, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
•  Support That would fix the current problem we have with the geocoordinates. --Lambdacore on the german Wikipedia 84.44.175.133 15:33, 27 October 2007 (UTC)
•  Support and hope someone will maintain my tools when they'll be stable. Hope also there will be an amount of stable tools I will use to make my work simpler. Mashiah Davidson 21:50, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
•  Support Agreed with Kolossos. Yann 12:24, 12 January 2008 (UTC)
•  Support This will help with the load the servers currently has. Techman224^Talk 00:03, 6 November 2008 (UTC)
•  Support Agreed with Kolossos. Tealwisp 03:15, 6 December 2008 (UTC)
•  Support A real good idea --Joergens.mi 08:56, 22 December 2008 (UTC)