Help Immortalize Bluelight

B

blowjay

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
369
Posted in Science and Technology where it will most likely never be viewed, I would like to motivate some people who know how to get involved with this.

I have no experience in doing this sort of thing but I think it would be tremendously important for bluelight to have itself archived and distributed through torrents. I can use Rhodium as a prime example. Without a backup of the site, Rhodium would have been gone without a trace. I think an easily dispersible/downloadable archive of bluelight would be very useful for many bluelighters.

So I am basically asking for the computer savvy who are willing to create these archives in the name of common interest. Sites like bluelight could be gone any time and much of the discussion on here is the only of its kind in existence.

So is anyone up for this? I would seed the torrent once someone creates an archive. I would say that saving the archives to ISO's for easily burnt DVD's would be the best way to go about this. I would just really like to have an archive of bluelight to use.

So here is my plea. If anyone has an archive already, make a torrent and share it. If not, I think this should be done.

I would also appreciate if someone does the same to The Shroomery or maybe the nexus, anything really would be appreciated.

Bluelight is a must for archival. Someone please step forward, I am not experienced enough and do not have free time.

Thank you and mods please move this to wherever it fits best, I think here works just fine.
 
This belongs in the Support forum, and I am not sure what they will do with it there.
 
I think this has to be done really, anyone who is serious about any of this stuff most likely has their own erowid and rhodium archives just in chase, why not bluelight?
 
I appreciate what you are trying to do here, but BL does get archived as it goes along... you can find lots of archives of it around the net. I'll leave this open for now and see what an admin has to say about it, but I cant promise that its going to go anywhere...
 
Blowjay, you have a remarkably similar thread in S&T at the moment. Please rather than crosspost the same post in different forums just ask mods (by PM or by using the report function) to move your thread around. Crossposting brings out hostility in moderators and members. I'm in a good mood so I'm able to give you a heads up without any growling at the moment. :)
 
If there are already downloadable archives then point me towards them. I am unable to find any that are able to be used offline. The point in doing this is because I don't think bluelight will continue forever for everyone. There is a large amount of information on here and it just goes away if not backed up.

The US is getting crazy with how the internet is being accessed and wants us all to have an id which would tell them exactly what we look into. I think this would probably be one of those sites that they did not like people using so much and when the time comes access could be taken away. My opinions on the matter may be a little far fetched but the world is losing a lot of freedom.

I would simply like a personal archive so that I could use it offline. I thought that others would possibly use this if it were available too. Bluelight contains more experience reports with RC's than erowid and has so much information contained in it that are valuable to anyone interested. I would try this by myself for myself, I just suck at this. All I really want to do is be able to search bluelight as an archive in the future.
 
blowjay said:
If there are already downloadable archives then point me towards them. I am unable to find any that are able to be used offline. The point in doing this is because I don't think bluelight will continue forever for everyone. There is a large amount of information on here and it just goes away if not backed up.
Click to expand...
Right click thread link > "Save link as". You now have an offline copy. If it says you cannot open it with the right software on your computer, set it to open with whatever web browser you use.
 
blowjay said:
If there are already downloadable archives then point me towards them. I am unable to find any that are able to be used offline. The point in doing this is because I don't think bluelight will continue forever for everyone. There is a large amount of information on here and it just goes away if not backed up.

The US is getting crazy with how the internet is being accessed... My opinions on the matter may be a little far fetched but the world is losing a lot of freedom.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your concern, and I can appreciate it. However, the site is, in fact, backed up in case of server failure - we do have some protection in that regard. It has also been suggested before that we offer some sort of historical time capsule of the site for people (CD, DVD, whatever....which would all very easily port into a torrent file) but it's never been followed up on. Why? Because the database is live, and evolving, and more importantly it contains people's (somewhat) personal information (profile info, IPs for a short time frame). In order to export something that stripped out all the personal data...well, that's a significant undertaking, but also an exercise in questioning 'what to export'? Just the Drug forum content? All the social stuff as well? If so, would anyone object to having all that stuff out there forever like that where they could not come back and delete it at some point if they had a need (members often return to delete their posts and move on without a way of others tracking them back to here). So, ultimately the decision is to NOT create an exported version for this purpose, and retain the integrity of the site for the members and their postings.

The closest you can come to it is this:

addictivepersona said:
Right click thread link > "Save link as". You now have an offline copy. If it says you cannot open it with the right software on your computer, set it to open with whatever web browser you use.
Click to expand...

Where you save what things you feel are pertinent to you and of use to you offline.

Another wrinkle to this is that over the years, we periodically prune our database - deleting certain threads and posts as no longer being needed. We try to use this as an opportunity to refresh and revive the key harm reduction information whilst improving server performance by eliminating a lot of the other non-value-added postings over time. This means the 'compendium' would be a thinned down and eliminate a lot of the crap data that would be in the way, but it also means that sometimes (unintentionally) we eliminate quality, value-added posts or discussions. It happens :\


In an ideal world, yes, we could condense the Harm Reduction value of the site down to a few pages of PDF content and distribute them globally. Maybe someday we can do that (and still, the social people will cry about getting a keep able copy of their stuff). Perhaps the closest we're coming to it at this point is our BL-Wiki where we are in the progress of moving a lot of the key historical Harm Reduction discussions and essays into a wiki format. The intent is that the site and it's forums continue with live and evolving discussions for the active members, and the wiki is a reference touchstone for the facts when needed. Perhaps at some point, the wiki can be published for off-line viewing (PDF or other torrent distributable and printable format, as well as perhaps a down loadable version for off-line viewing). But for now, even the wiki remains a work in progress.





One last comment as you voiced concern over restrictions for your online viewing - the AUS region is already facing a national internet filter of this nature. It was aimed at stopping child pornography and the like from reaching IPs in their region, but the implication is that it also can be used for blocking sites like BL with at least gray, if not wholly subjective, criteria. This is a reality, and it can spread...but there will always be people who find a way around it. And efforts like BL will not be squelched - we will continue to broadcast and exist as a place for people to meet, to share information, and to educate themselves as well as one another.
 
Is there a way that the guides type threads could be archived without all the hassle? That is really all I am looking for. There is too much value in the dosage and storage and everything and it would take weeks if not months to download and organize all of those threads.

Can someone at least help with that? I know those would be of great help to many many people.
 
I am just asking for the simplest way to do this to download this stuff. I love the wikis and the big and dandys and want them downloaded. Someone tell me the best spider/scraper to do it or make a torrent for me. I just want this like the erowid archives, bluelight has so much but nothing is backed up which is ridiculous.
 
*cough* I'm sorry if I am out of place here, but isn't it only backed up in case of server failure, not in case of being shut down by some new law or form of censorship?

Seeing how they are capable of destroying evidence that cannabis reversed cancerous tumors from a scientific study it is not too far fetched to think that all the valuable and scientific information on this website could be taken away, so even the information on those servers are in danger. He is saying those back ups should be able to be freely/easily distributed amongst those who want the information in case something like that were to happen.

Mind you, I am not offering any solution, just saying, it is technically backed up, but not to the extent the sense that the OP sees that it should be..
 
OP might consider the idea of reading each post on BL, writing them all out in a notebook; then depositing the notebook(s) in a secure offsite underground location in case of nuclear attack or fascist governmental interference. ;)
 
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