November 26, 2000 was the launch date of http://bsdvault.net/. "The Vault" is a site dedicated to supporting all BSD users, however it specifically targets FreeBSD users. Along with the most active BSD message board seen recently, there is also a user-supported help files section.

While the OpenBSD and NetBSD sections are still more or less vacant, the FreeBSD section boasts many tutorials on topics from adding color to the ls(1) command, to using cvsup(1) to update your source tree. The message board boasts over 1000 posts in under a month, with over 100 users in the first 3 weeks of activity... 91% of which are repeat users. Another feature of the message board is an area targeting newbies. This is a place for the more experienced users to help out some of the people not so familiar with the OS. This also gives other newbies a chance to share recently acquired new talents for setting up that new box. From there, you will find other sections catering from database and web server setup to networking and security. Even if you don't have a question, perhaps you could answer a few ;-) This is a 100% user-supported site, and all feedback (both positive and negative) is appreciated.

If you are a BSD user, you will also love the links section. Developed around PHP-Nuke, this site has been modified to be specifically targeted towards BSD users and the resources they might seek on a regular basis. The links section already contains over 100 active links and is growing daily.

One of the most attractive things about the site is the user input. Any user of the site may, at any time, submit an article or help file to either [email protected] or [email protected]. At that time, the article will be reviewed by one of the admins who will test the document for accuracy. From there, the article will be posted in the appropriate section (assuming the content is accurate).

If you are interested in doing some volunteer work for BSDVault, please contact one of the persons mentioned above, or one listed on the site itself. Be sure to check out this new site as it grows over the next year.

- Raymond Hicks

Return to the January 2001 Issue