POFFS - Offline Forum Database!

[Gary Beene]

Great balls of fire! I can't believe what I just read! There's an offline database of the PowerBASIC forums called POFFS? This is worth a whole thread to itself!

How can I have gone through months of forum reading and not heard about this? You'd think there'd be a FAQ on it, a daily mention of it - something!

RTPOFFS, or something like it!

Now that I searched for it, I see that I missed a few opportunities to pick up on it. It just never jumped out at me until I read a post today.

Online is great and I love the almost realtime dialog with all of the kind folks here, but for simple browsing, even a fast internet connection is snail speed compared to an offline database. I want a copy!

But the files at the URL are only good through Aug, 2007 - how can that be? What about all of the post-PBWin9 entries. That's of special interest to those of use who just entered the PB arena (and yes, I understand that much of the code, esp. the SDK stuff, still applies). How about a plain text version for really simple browsing/searching/cut and pasting/close proximity content reading?

Has anyone done an extraction / organization of the source code that's in there? I'm doing my own Top 100 list at my site, but I'll never match what must be in a forum history.

Does PowerBASIC still support the idea? What's the format (I'll go download the older files and check it out)?

I'm writing support right now and asking for an update. And how can we ensure that we get a 1/4ly update as well?

Anyone with more recent experience on the topic have any information to share?

This is way cool.

[Edwin Knoppert]

http://www.reonis.com/POFFS/index.htm

But afaik it's only for the old board.

This is such a board:

http://www.powerbasic.com/support/forums/Forum8/HTML/003116.html

[Don Ewald]

I'm the current maintainer of the database and the POFFS sourcecode. I've not received permission from the fine folks at PowerBasic to update the database since the conversion to the new forums. Should I receive the legal approval, I'm more than happy to provide an update.

[Dave Biggs]

Sent to [email protected]

"Please allow updates to the POFFS offline database files again.

I love the new search features on the forum but still use POFFS on a daily basis too".

Thanks Don

[Kev Peel]

Chalk me down for that as well. This forum's nice but the POFFs search is so fast and exact, it's great. Plus, it can be used offline. Really, I think it would be a good addition to the PowerBASIC 9 distro CD.

The POFFs parser might need some changes though as I expect the data for this forum is laid out differently to the 'ol UBB.

[Gary Beene]

Thanks guys, for adding your two cents. Now if the over 3700 forum members will add their name to the list, how can PowerBASIC refuse the will of the people!

Of course, I could understand the thought that online-only information helps ensure a greater number of forum visits, but it would be an excellent demonstration of customer support to have the offline version available too.

[Gösta H. Lovgren-2]

I'm the current maintainer of the database and the POFFS sourcecode.

It should be noted here POFFS is maintained by Don at his own expense (at least as far as I know) as an unheralded service to the PB Community and we are all indebted to him for that.

==========================
"We didn't lose the game;
we just ran out of time."
Vince Lombardi
==========================

[Heinz Salomon]

I'd too like to see the POFFS database updated. POFFS makes access to the contents of the PB forums easy and comfortable. Many thanks to Don Ewald for maintaining and updating POFFS!

Heinz Salomon

[Iain Johnstone]

Add me to this one. It's the first point of reference which has saved me many postings of simple queries!

Iain Johnstone

[Fred Buffington]

Put me on the list too for wanting the update. I use poffs a lot. Thanks Don for your work on it up to now.

[Albert Richheimer]

Me too!

I would like to see continuation of Borje's excellent work. Thank you Don, for volunteering.

Cheers
Albert

[John Montenigro]

I'd like to add my name to the list of those asking PB to allow Don to create an update.

Don, my thanks for your efforts! If you get the go-ahead, let me know how I can help you.

-John

[Bern Ertl]

It might or might not be symptomatic of a larger issue, but I was contacted via PM some months ago about some code I had posted on the PB forums before the switch to the current vBulletin software. The post apparently got truncated in the conversion to the new forum. The full code can still be found in POFFS though with a search on the old thread URL info (001481.html).

Don, if you ever do get permission to update the POFFS database with the current forum, please keep an archived copy of the old forum available. $.02

[Cliff Nichols]

I could not tell you the number of times, that my internet connection was down, and needed help working on a concept.

BINGOOOOoooooo.....Its POFF's to the rescue.

I got my work done, and figured the concept out, and did not lose a wink of sleep because someone in IT goofed and lost the internet connection.

[Ian Cairns]

POFFS at PowerBasic.com?

I can't access REONIS from work, as it is red-flagged by our IP group.
Would it be possible for PowerBasic to make POFFS available on their website?
It makes a lot of sense to have POFFS, which is permitted by Bob, (thanks Bob) available on the same great site that has all the wonderful uptodate info available.

Regards, Ian