The Raccoon Archives – The Latest
Last night I received a file.
Actually is was two files – so damn big it had to be split.
It is a complete download of the entire site. Our thanks should all go to Pete, who shall remain anonymous simply because I have no further information apart from an email address.
For those of a nerdy bent, there are nearly 51,000 files totalling 4.9Gb, downloaded using HTTrack.
I am currently in the process of uploading just the core Anna Raccoon files [42,000 of ’em weighing in at a mere 4.2Gb.
I now have a problem.
The files I am uploading act as the original site, with all the pages, posts and comments. Some images may be missing but on the grand scale of things that’s not too important. Some links don’t work, such as any “contact” or “comment” links which is only right. The pages appear in a frame which involves a bit of scrolling which is a pain.
However, there are no search facilities. The very least an archive should have is some means of finding individual articles, or navigating around the whole site.
My project therefore is to leave the site displaying the raw archives, but in the meantime I shall make an attempt to convert all those hundreds of static pages into a database similar to the existing Archive site.
In the meantime, the Archive site is updated with the new stuff – head over and try the new menu entry in the middle.
Please pass on my thanks to the Masked Man.
Regarding the search function, it might be worth looking into http://www.postvorta.co.uk/ . I’ve used them a lot over the years and they are truly excellent. No idea if they are compatible though.
I have already thanked him a multitude!
The problem is that each page is raw html in a complex directory structure. A search would have to ignore any words that aren’t in the actual body of the page and would have to step through many directories. For example a word contained in a title would appear several times on one page. It is of course possible, but would be extremely slow, inaccurate and would be very server intensive. A search on a database however is a lot more efficient – it basically just searches through one field in one table of one database.
The link above incidentally seems to be just an alternative to the WordPress [database] search?
Yes the link isn’t actually very helpful, I realised that when I re-read your post and began to understand what you were on about. But by that time your shortened ‘edit’ timer had run out. I was going to post a correction but of course got ‘stuck’ reading one of her posts…OCD having compelled me to check out the latest additions. To think just over a week ago we were still wondering just how much could be racconstituted.
And here, Boys and Girls, is the latest addition to the ‘Famous Last Words’ file, uttered by Granddad himself on the 16th of this month: “You want to forward the file[s] to me? Just to have a look.”
Fantastic!
Great stuff Grandad! Agree about the search facility, it’s a must with blogs IMO.
Thanks for the sterling work on the project.
For your efforts to preserve the writings of the dear departed Anna Raccoon you have our total support. She, of fond memory, was brilliant in her forensic investigations into some very pertinent subjects which are still subject to investigation. Her spanners remain in the media works, they cannot be ignored.
May herself rest in well-deserved peace.
This is wonderful, thank you so much I loved reading the old posts, just like listening to Anna again.
Thank you to everyone involved in this project. I was a semi regular lurker at the Racoon Arms but never posted there. Wish that I had just to tell Anna how much I enjoyed reading her work (more often than not until the wee small hours having got hooked on a story).
I shall raise several glasses of my namesake to Anna, her family and to you all 😉
The very best of luck.