If you're going to have high turnover, and you're still hesitant about using Git for version control, then I'd probably stick with something like Google Drive because the learning curve is almost zero. I don't think I'd go with Dropbox because is basically a file repository and you'd have to look at the dates when files are modified to see if changes have been made. Can you view the changes that were made to a file in Dropbox? I don't know. In Google Drive you can see the changes, but is it good for code projects? Not really. Have people written entire XML projects or any kind of code in a Word doc? Yes, but it's not good practice. I haven't seen projects that involved code using Dropbox or Google Drive because there are no mechanisms in place to stop bad code from entering the system. That's why most programmers use Git and that's why version control is not simply an exercise in tracking the dates when changes were made. It's inevitable that people will write bad code, but using a system that will allow you to accept or reject changes is better than putting code into the system then throwing your hands in the air when something goes wrong. Git shows you the changes and allows for moderation before connecting it to the master code.
I'd have to disagree with the comment that Git has a problem because it does not work with users' expectations and/or is too complicated. I learned it in a couple days. Just take a course on Code School for free. Millions of programmers use Git and Github daily without problems. You just have to follow certain steps in order to preserve good code and not push potentially problematic code into your system.
Saying that, if your students are working on digital humanities projects and are coding, they should learn Git. It's an essential tool that professionals use every day.
On Tuesday, December 30, 2014, Stuart A. Yeates <syeates@gmail.com> wrote:
https://ifttt.com/ - IF This Then That. It's a tool for getting
APIable or RSSable websites to work together.
There isn't a recipe that does this exact thing, but there are a bunch
of ones that do similar things:
https://ifttt.com/recipes/search?q=dropbox
https://ifttt.com/recipes/search?q=github
cheers
stuart
--
...let us be heard from red core to black sky
On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 5:49 PM, Daniel O'Donnell
<daniel.odonnell@uleth.ca> wrote:
> This sounds like music. Ifttt?
>
>
>
> On 14-12-29 09:39 PM, Stuart A. Yeates wrote:
>
> Answering in a completely different way, it may not be a choice between
> them. Ifttt should let you write a trigger that commits Dropbox or drive
> files to GitHub. That way your users see Dropbox and your backend sees
> GitHub.
>
> Cheers
> Stuart
>
> On Tuesday, December 30, 2014, Daniel O'Donnell <daniel.odonnell@uleth.ca>
> wrote:
>>
>> Maybe I should reask it. Is there a reason for not just using dropbox or
>> drive?
>>
>> I ask this not to disparage the advice for github, but because when I
>> switch, I need something that really eliminates this problem (that is to
>> say: be easily trainable to skittish people) rather something than replaces
>> it with something else. I don't mean eliminating it in my research projects;
>> only a project where there is a lot of turnover and people who need only
>> brief access.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 14-12-29 05:39 PM, Abdullah Alger wrote:
>>
>> Well, Github doesn't cause problems, it's really the user who messes it
>> up.
>>
>> However, if you get the idea of doing work on branches, then it is easy to
>> delete a branch, or reset a branch if it's not pushed to the master branch.
>> This might be a little confusing, but it's pretty easy to follow once you've
>> done it a few times. As long as people are working on different branches and
>> not messing with the master branch, then you should be fine. If they mess up
>> their own branches, then there are ways they can move back to previous
>> versions, or pull in the master again to their own project.
>>
>> That's basically how Git works. As long as students cannot push to the
>> master branch, you should be fine. They can always fork the main project and
>> make pull requests to add to the master branch, which could be set up so
>> that each commit (or modified file) to the master has to be approved. That
>> way you always know what's being added to the master. Once a commit has been
>> added to the master, then they are able to pull the new material into their
>> projects so everyone is up to date.
>>
>> I hope I didn't make this too confusing.
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 1:09 AM, Daniel O'Donnell
>> <daniel.odonnell@uleth.ca> wrote:
>>>
>>> A question I'd have is how easy is it for github to cock up?
>>>
>>> Subversion works great for us until a student does something unexpected.
>>> Then we end up having to go in and clean out all the locks and the like.
>>> That's the bit that is causing us trouble. It happens probably twice a year
>>> and leaves them all very nervous in the meantime. They aren't confident
>>> enough to google solutions and fix them themselves. So we have good
>>> interface with subversion via Oxygen; but it occasionally throws an error
>>> that sends everybody scrambling.
>>>
>>> My fear is that Github would do the same: I'm willing to sacrifice
>>> version control for something consumer friendly.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 14-12-29 03:38 PM, Abdullah Alger wrote:
>>>
>>> Easy answer is Github. If your assistants do not have very technical
>>> skills and are uncomfortable with a terminal, it's very easy to use from
>>> their downloadable UI for both Mac and Windows.
>>>
>>> https://mac.github.com/
>>> https://windows.github.com/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Monday, December 29, 2014, Daniel O'Donnell <daniel.odonnell@uleth.ca>
>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I have a technical question that isn't really medieval. I run several
>>>> journals out of the Lethbridge Journal Incubator (you can learn more about
>>>> the model here: http://journalincubator.org/). Until now, we've used
>>>> Subversion as our central cloud storage. This year, however, I had a
>>>> complete turnover in the graduate assistants, most of whom were not very
>>>> technically inclined and I'm finding Subversion is more hassle than it is
>>>> worth (it mostly works well, but if something goes wrong, the students can't
>>>> fix it).
>>>>
>>>> What we need is a cloud based repository system, preferably one that
>>>> allows us access to arbitrary revisions (students find it comforting to know
>>>> they can always correct mistaken overwrites), and preferably does version
>>>> control of some kind--either locking or svn-type comparison. Best, however,
>>>> would be something very low maintenance, drag and drop, and preferably
>>>> doesn't require the use of a special client for file manipulation (that's
>>>> where our subversion issues come).
>>>>
>>>> I'm thinking Dropbox or Drive, though I don't know anything about
>>>> setting those up for an organisation. Does anybody have any other tips?
>>>>
>>>> -dan
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> From my Ubuntu notebook
>>>>
>>>> Daniel Paul O'Donnell
>>>> Professor of English
>>>> University of Lethbridge
>>>> Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4
>>>> Canada
>>>>
>>>> +1 403 393-2539
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Digital Medievalist -- http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/
>>>> Journal: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/journal/
>>>> Journal Editors: editors _AT_ digitalmedievalist.org
>>>> News: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/news/
>>>> Wiki: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/wiki/
>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/digitalmedieval
>>>> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49320313760
>>>> Discussion list: dm-l@uleth.ca
>>>> Change list options: http://listserv.uleth.ca/mailman/listinfo/dm-l
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> From my Ubuntu notebook
>>>
>>> Daniel Paul O'Donnell
>>> Professor of English
>>> University of Lethbridge
>>> Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4
>>> Canada
>>>
>>> +1 403 393-2539
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Digital Medievalist -- http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/
>> Journal: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/journal/
>> Journal Editors: editors _AT_ digitalmedievalist.org
>> News: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/news/
>> Wiki: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/wiki/
>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/digitalmedieval
>> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49320313760
>> Discussion list: dm-l@uleth.ca
>> Change list options: http://listserv.uleth.ca/mailman/listinfo/dm-l
>>
>>
>> --
>> From my Ubuntu notebook
>>
>> Daniel Paul O'Donnell
>> Professor of English
>> University of Lethbridge
>> Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4
>> Canada
>>
>> +1 403 393-2539
>
>
>
> --
> --
> ...let us be heard from red core to black sky
>
>
> --
> From my Ubuntu notebook
>
> Daniel Paul O'Donnell
> Professor of English
> University of Lethbridge
> Lethbridge AB T1K 3M4
> Canada
>
> +1 403 393-2539
Digital Medievalist -- http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/
Journal: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/journal/
Journal Editors: editors _AT_ digitalmedievalist.org
News: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/news/
Wiki: http://www.digitalmedievalist.org/wiki/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/digitalmedieval
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49320313760
Discussion list: dm-l@uleth.ca
Change list options: http://listserv.uleth.ca/mailman/listinfo/dm-l
--
Sent from my iPhone