TexasCHLforum.com

Russell wrote:We are getting close folks! (As you can tell I'm pretty excited. The website is turning out very well!) List and search of records are done. All that is left is a few tweaks and building the moderator control panel and it will be ready for opening!

I would like to inquire among you all who would like to be staff for the website? I would like 2 or 3 moderators for the website who would like to watch the entries, make sure they are being placed under the correct catagory, etc once the website is open. Also I would like these folks to help beta test the website for me, hunt down bugs, and basically try your best to break it!

Let me know if you are interested in one or both of the "positions" above.

Thanks!

I'd like to help in whatever way you deem appropriate. I have had some experience in moderating online chat rooms (though it was many years ago), and believe I have a pretty level head on my shoulders. I'm also a sysadmin (as you know), so would probably be useful in the debugging process. :) Lemme know if you'd like my help.

yay!

You should put up a filler "Coming Soon" page or something.

Looks like there's already a site that does national listings of anti-ccw businesses:

http://anticcw.com

It doesn't look very organized, or at least I didn't immediately see anything as far as a comprehensive list, just submissions organized by date.

Also, PHP-Nuke is not the solution I would have gone for when building a site like that.

Anyhow, just FYI.

Russell wrote:Just wanted to let everybody know that I've started working on the website. It'll be slow going at first since classes and my job take up most of my time, but I'll be chipping away at it pretty much everyday, and once this semester is over I'll have a little bit more free time to work at it.

I would have had a lot done last night but ran into issues with php generating html tables. Internet Explorer likes to render things differently than the rest of the browsers out there

I do have all of the code worked out in my head however, so it should go fairly quickly since I don't have to figure anything out

Yeah, IE's adherence to standards (or lack thereof) is really irritating. IE7 seems to have made it worse. Another case of MS taking a standard, then breaking it because they think they are above following standards in pursuit of their own interests.

By the way, do you mind sharing the technicals of how you're going to set up the site?

It looks like you're hosting a Linux box with Apache/MySQL. Are you gonna go for a standard PHP/MySQL setup? Using any cool CMS tools like Drupal? I'm a sysadmin, so it always interests me how people go about accomplishing things like this.

Russell wrote: I'll only have a radio button where you can select if it is either a 30.06 sign or a 51% sign. Persons with a CHL should already know that schools and gov't buildings are prohibited :)

Well, there's the ambiguous issue of government buildings with unapparent courthouse facilities located in them. We've had this discussion in other threads, and the fact that there is no requisite sign required for such facilities is really where the problem lies. An otherwise purely administrative building can be prohibited because there is a small court facility located within that is not generally apparent. This seems to be pretty common ocurrance in smaller towns and cities.

txinvestigator wrote:

NcongruNt wrote:

txinvestigator wrote: WHat is a speed trap, how do the police lure people in to commit the crime?

My best friend's grandfather got a ticket in something that is probably a little more than a speed trap, but fits the bill. I believe it was in Arizona out in the middle of nowhere, and he was pulled over for speeding. The sheriff cited him with a speed limit change that he did not observe. The grandfather saw no such speed limit change, and had the sheriff take him back to show him the sign. When they got there, the officer took his jacket sleeve and wiped off a thick layer of mud from the sign. Naturally, the grandfather took this to court, but got no sympathy from the judge and was ordered to pay the fine.

As it turns out, the judge and sheriff had an arrangement of sorts, and the entire thing was a setup that had been going on for a long time to generate ticket revenue. Once it came out what was happening, the judge and sheriff were deposed from their positions and those ticketed were exonerated.

I wish I knew more specifics, but the grandfather has since passed on, and this predated the popular use of the internet, so I can't find any of the details online.

Although I don't doubt the possibility, how would the fact that the judge and Sheriff had an arrangement be known? Stories tend to morph as they are told down the line, especially ones this old. I also can't imagine a LEO taking a person back to the speed limit sign.

Intentionally hiding a sign would be, IMO, a trap. However, to most people the term means ANY speed enforcement. It just ain't so.

I agree that the spectrum of what any particular person considers a "speed trap" varies widely from individual to individual. I think a proper definition would be more along the lines of the police/sheriffs taking advantage of poorly marked roads to issue tickets, rather than than working to remedy the problem with the clear posting of signs. It's not a black and white issue for sure. There are people that willingly speed and then there are people who unintentionally speed because of the road conditions. I've been on many a road that, because of the surroundings, had a relatively steep grade which was not apparent - a road where one can accidentally speed if not careful. Such places are a haven for police running radar at the bottom, waiting for speeders. Running radar has its place in keeping people driving safe, I'm not arguing that. It would probably cut down on violations to place a cautionary sign warning of the grade of the road, and a reminder to watch one's speed. The only place I generally see such a sign is where one could conceivably run off the road, such as a mountain pass. I think this would be a great step in the promotion of public safety, and prevent unintentional speeding in such a situation. Then again, maybe I'm too optimistic about the willingness of people to control their speed.

txinvestigator wrote: WHat is a speed trap, how do the police lure people in to commit the crime?

My best friend's grandfather got a ticket in something that is probably a little more than a speed trap, but fits the bill. I believe it was in Arizona out in the middle of nowhere, and he was pulled over for speeding. The sheriff cited him with a speed limit change that he did not observe. The grandfather saw no such speed limit change, and had the sheriff take him back to show him the sign. When they got there, the officer took his jacket sleeve and wiped off a thick layer of mud from the sign. Naturally, the grandfather took this to court, but got no sympathy from the judge and was ordered to pay the fine.

As it turns out, the judge and sheriff had an arrangement of sorts, and the entire thing was a setup that had been going on for a long time to generate ticket revenue. Once it came out what was happening, the judge and sheriff were deposed from their positions and those ticketed were exonerated.

I wish I knew more specifics, but the grandfather has since passed on, and this predated the popular use of the internet, so I can't find any of the details online.