Your opinion on lowendguide.com

mikho

Hello fellow members of the forum.

I recently updated the theme on my tutorial/guide website to hopefully make it easier to browse it and find interesting articles to read about.

I would like your opinion on the current state. If you visited in the past and remember the old look, feel free to say if you like this better or the old one was better.

I hope that if you reply with "good" or "suck" it would be nice of you to tell what you think is "good" or "suck".

Thank you for reading and hope I will get many comments.
I do still work on theme changes and some were applied as late as yesterday. More changes will be done but feedback is always appreciated.

If you find something you like and want to repost it, read this:
All the text on this website is free as in freedom unless stated otherwise. This means you can use it in any way you want, you can copy it, change it the way you like and republish it, as long as you release the (modified) content under the same license to give others the same freedoms you’ve got.

Site is in the title but here is a click able link: lowendguide.com

NameStuff

great tutorials.
I suggest you also take time to read the blogs from this one: http://www.slashgeek.net/

awson

A mailserver guide would be neat.

azzavps

really good, some good info, well done

NickGH

@awson said:
A mailserver guide would be neat.

My friend @jstapleton is working on a mail server install script for debian 6 32-bit. I think he is done the absolute basic install and the admin script is basic but functional. He plans on branching out but thats about where he was when he last updated me ~a week ago. PM him if you want to try it out.

Patrick

People could use http://www.iredmail.org to make life a lot easier

NickGH

@Patrick said:
People could use http://www.iredmail.org to make life a lot easier

They could use that or they could use http://workaround.org as I believe my friend is basing his around. Everyone has their preferences.

mikho

Thank you all for the comments

mikho

Asking again, is there a specific guide you would request?

sundaymouse

Maybe set up an IRC channel for everyone to discuss problems with using low end boxes?

mikho

Like #lowendbox #vpsboard #unixio on freenode? I'm there and so are "a few" others, ready to discuss.

VPSDATABASE

Like sundaymouse said.
It would be awesome to have an IRC channel so everyone can discuss and talk.

trexos

I really like your site please more tutorials :P e.g nginx tutorials would be nice.

VPSDATABASE

@MikHo
You should add some SolusVM tutorials that aren't listed on their website and that are needed.

mikho

@VPSDATABASE said:
MikHo
You should add some SolusVM tutorials that aren't listed on their website and that are needed.

Anything special in mind?

AnthonySmith

@MikHo turn them all in to a nice simple collection ready to plug in to WHMCS as knowledge base articles and sell them on, I would buy them, especially if you have a solusvm section in it

VPSDATABASE

@MikHo said:
Anything special in mind?

Yeah, How to add IPV6 on main node so VPS may use them.
A tutorial for it would be great. Tried to find one online and had 0 luck.

mikho

@VPSDATABASE said:

Well, for that I would need a SolusVM licens for sure
Perhaps I should get something rolling, not sure there are providers willing to let me have a go at their database/installation.

VPSDATABASE

@MikHo Something like this I mean ; http://kbeezie.com/ipv6.txt

seriesn

@VPSDATABASE said:

It is allover on solusvm doc.

VPSDATABASE

@seriesn I only see Prefix http://docs.solusvm.com/ipv6_prefix_sizes

seriesn

OpenVZ wiki
http://openvz.org/IPv6

mikho

@sundaymouse said:
Maybe set up an IRC channel for everyone to discuss problems with using low end boxes?

@VPSDATABASE said:
Like sundaymouse said.
It would be awesome to have an IRC channel so everyone can discuss and talk.

You requested it and I created it, the channel #lowendguide on freenode.
Join it! I dare you.

mikho

@AnthonySmith said:
MikHo turn them all in to a nice simple collection ready to plug in to WHMCS as knowledge base articles and sell them on, I would buy them, especially if you have a solusvm section in it

Missed this one before

What type of solusvm guides did you have in mind? General usage or something more "advanced"?

mikho

@Jack said:
How to lick a window by the look of his post/s in this thread.

That reminds me of this:
Walk into an Apple Store after eating something that would upset your stomach, chili is suggested.
Make sure you walk right into the center of the store and fart as loud as you can.
Then walk out watching the employees angry faces since both you and they know they don't have Windows there.

FFFlip

@MikHo said:
Then walk out watching the employees angry faces since both you and they know they don't have Windows there.

Snigger

AnthonySmith

@MikHo said:
What type of solusvm guides did you have in mind? General usage or something more "advanced"?

There is nothing advanced really imo from a user perspective, just a general how to per function, getting started, reinstalling, rdns, etc.

But if you combined about 5 - 10 solusvm howto;s with a bunch of your others it would be a great little package to sell for a one time fee and then a lower fee for update packs.

mikho

Suggestions on software to capture screen and make instruction videos?

DennisdeWit

@MikHo: Camtasia Studio by CamSmith?

jcaleb

Coments/suggestions:

• I like the disclaimer.
• contact so we can ping you and request for tutorials.
• home page seems not many tutorial. but when you click pages on top right, then you will discover other good articles. i prefer to see most in home so i know this is a good site.

I want to request a guide to setup a mailserver on a 128mb. First basic one. Then maybe second tutorial is to put GUI (e.g. administration gui, then webmail gui).

jcaleb

btw, thanks for the site and for sharing your knowledge

Spirit

@DennisdeWit said:
MikHo: Camtasia Studio by CamSmith?

by techsmith ;-)

mikho

@jcaleb said:
Coments/suggestions:

• I like the disclaimer.
• contact so we can ping you and request for tutorials.
• home page seems not many tutorial. but when you click pages on top right, then you will discover other good articles. i prefer to see most in home so i know this is a good site.

I want to request a guide to setup a mailserver on a 128mb. First basic one. Then maybe second tutorial is to put GUI (e.g. administration gui, then webmail gui).

Thanks for the comments!

The disclaimer is thanks to Raymii.
Home page needs some work on, a small text that you should use the menu on the left or top right options to find more would be enough. Some other changes should also be done.

Contact form was published on the old theme but got lost when I changed themes.
Current contact options are:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• PM (here, lowendspirit or on vpsboard)
• IRC (after request in this thread), it's #lowendguide on Freenode.

Finally a small question....
I have, after each post links to 3 "similar" posts. Would you rather these should be with images or without? Images draws more attention to them?!

jcaleb

@MikHo said:
I have, after each post links to 3 "similar" posts. Would you rather these should be with images or without? Images draws more attention to them?!

For me, definitely without image. Good title is more important so I know if this is something useful to what I'm looking for.

But human mind is complex. I remember there is a milk-tea store near my office, and their milk tea is not good, just average taste. But I keep buying milk tea from them every week because they have a huge poster of a cow with many breasts oozing with milk. It makes me think yummy. Then I discovered some of my colleagues were also buying from them just because of the poster, and not the taste of the product.

But I don't know how you can make a sysadmin tutorial yummy like a cow's milk.

jcaleb

Another comment:

Make tutorials with a TLDR twist. The TLDR version is written with a companion script. Because most sysadmin stuff is something you will use so many times. And it's 2013, people are lazy.

For example, if you write a how to install mail server, you can do yada yada these are the steps. Then at the end, have a script and say... just fill up the config at the top and run bash ./install-mail-server.sh and you're done!

marcm

@MikHo I like it It's neat, clean, easy to navigate and read. I would also like to purchase an ad if you can squeeze us in ;-)

mikho

@marcm said:
MikHo I like it It's neat, clean, easy to navigate and read. I would also like to purchase an ad if you can squeeze us in ;-)

Link for buying adspace: http://buysellads.com/buy/detail/171959
As you can see it's currently sold out and I'm not ready to increase the number of ads on the site, no need to clutter it up more.

Perhaps sometime in the future I will add more spots and rotate among the ads but I need more visitors so those who bought a spot get their moneys worth.

mikho

Still looking for people who are willing to add content.

natestamm

@MikHo Have not spent as much time there as I want to-Real busy right now. But I like it a lot, layout, design, content.


I think it all gets an A++, domain name is great, I really hope it does well.

mikho

@natestamm said:
MikHo Have not spent as much time there as I want to-Real busy right now. But I like it a lot, layout, design, content.


I think it all gets an A++, domain name is great, I really hope it does well.

Thank you for the kind words!
You should follow on Twitter or Like the Facebook page to keep updated.
Added another guide a few minutes ago.

natestamm

@MikHo I will do that right now. Even though your Avatar freaks me out.

mikho

It should It's from "the ring"

natestamm

I know it's one of my favorites. But even scarier because there really is a tape-but it's "underground" for now..

mikho

Just giving a heads up that i posted an alternative to installing exim.

http://www.lowendguide.com/3/email/low-memory-usage-smtp-send-only/

emg

I am loathe to comment, but want to help, so here goes:

• Who is the target audience? Does the site address their needs?
  The current set of posts are way too advanced for those who are new to VPSs and Linux. You can't satisfy everyone. Decide who your target audience is, document it, and provide links to alternative websites for those who are too inexperienced or too advanced for what you intend to provide.

• What does the website do that is unique and special?
  Decide what makes this website compelling and unique and different. Focus on that, and cut out anything that doesn't further those goals. So far, it looks like just another hodgepodge of tutorials. Sorry, but there are lots of those websites all over the Internet.

• This is a random collection of tutorials with significant holes.
  Once you know your target audience and their needs, you can identify what you have and what is missing. Take the time to develop the big-picture structure of your future website, and then create placeholders for necessary posts that do not exist. The placeholders will signal to new visitors where the gaps are (so they can search elsewhere) and to encourage contributors to fill them.

• Don't reinvent the wheel.
  As I said above, there lots of tutorials already on the Internet. Are the tutorials on your website unique and special? Are they so much better than what is already out there? Otherwise, be gracious and provide a link to a superior tutorial elsewhere on the Internet. Of course, the posts on your website represent a lot of hard work from you and your contributors. Nonetheless, if you are serious about what your website stands for and maintaining high standards and quality, it doesn't make sense to post them for vanity's sake alone.

• How does a user decide which posts apply to their needs?
  In its current state, the website expects the user to be sufficiently advanced to know which tutorial applies to them.

I hope I have not been too harsh or abrasive, but I hope that this honest and frank assessment helps.

mikho

@emg said:
I am loathe to comment, but want to help, so here goes:
I hope I have not been too harsh or abrasive, but I hope that this honest and frank assessment helps.

Honest and detailed feedback is always appreciated and I'll try to answer as good as I can.

@emg said:

• Who is the target audience? Does the site address their needs?
  The current set of posts are way too advanced for those who are new to VPSs and Linux. You can't satisfy everyone. Decide who your target audience is, document it, and provide links to alternative websites for those who are too inexperienced or too advanced for what you intend to provide.

The site is still young and the content is still adding up. Target audience actually any intermediate user who wants another input on topics they find interesting. Another reason I write is that I find those topic interesting and have tried it myself.

@emg said:

• What does the website do that is unique and special?
  Decide what makes this website compelling and unique and different. Focus on that, and cut out anything that doesn't further those goals. So far, it looks like just another hodgepodge of tutorials. Sorry, but there are lots of those websites all over the Internet.

The unique and special part is that it's made by me.
I understand it may look like a hodgepodge of tutorials stuffed into a website that could be a copy of many other sites from the internet.
As content gets added, I hope it can grow into a categorized site with easy to follow guides for the general public.

@emg said:

• This is a random collection of tutorials with significant holes.
  Once you know your target audience and their needs, you can identify what you have and what is missing. Take the time to develop the big-picture structure of your future website, and then create placeholders for necessary posts that do not exist. The placeholders will signal to new visitors where the gaps are (so they can search elsewhere) and to encourage contributors to fill them.

I have asked both here and on other forums if there would be someone interested in writing tutorials/guides for the site but unfortunately that never took off.

@emg said:

• Don't reinvent the wheel.
  As I said above, there lots of tutorials already on the Internet. Are the tutorials on your website unique and special? Are they so much better than what is already out there? Otherwise, be gracious and provide a link to a superior tutorial elsewhere on the Internet. Of course, the posts on your website represent a lot of hard work from you and your contributors. Nonetheless, if you are serious about what your website stands for and maintaining high standards and quality, it doesn't make sense to post them for vanity's sake alone.

If everyone that started a new website or opened a new business was thinking like that we wouldn't have that many VPS providers in Buffalo, would we. Jokes aside, if someone other then me find them useful and from what I've read, some do, then I'm happy.

@emg said:

• How does a user decide which posts apply to their needs?
  In its current state, the website expects the user to be sufficiently advanced to know which tutorial applies to them.

I'll be honest and say that almost 60% of the hits are from search engines and I do hope that whatever the people searched for they found it on my site.

If you have any suggestions on either tutorials/guides to write about or other things to update/change for the better you are more then welcome to suggest changes. You can either post them in public here or via pm or email.
send them to [email protected]

Radi

Requesting an IRC server on 128 MB RAM guide.