Siteframe
In 1997, I acquired a Contax T*IX camera. It used APS film, and was small and light, and had an extraordinary Carl Zeiss lens. After a year or two, I upgraded to a Contax G1, an innovative autofocus rangefinder camera in 35mm format (which also had superb Carl Zeiss lenses). Looking for more information, I found an Internet mailing list for other Contax G enthusiasts. By 1999, I had purchased the domain contaxg.com and had set up a primitive website for sharing photos among the members of the mailing list. People would email me the photos, and I would manually edit the pages and upload the images.
In 2000, I moved from England to Silicon Valley. I converted an old PC to run Linux, and I started running contaxg.com over my DSL line. Managing the site manually had become a burden, so I built a somewhat less primitive site using PHP where people could upload their own images. I had never had a lesson in the Internet protocols, and I didn’t know the difference between GET, POST, and HEAD, so I made a lot of mistakes, but I learned a lot, too.
I took that learning and created what I called a “website toolkit,” a set of code that could be used to deploy an image-sharing website. By February of 2001, this had become the first version of Siteframe, a website framework that encapsulated much of what would become known as “Web 2.0″—it supported user-submitted content, it allowed online editing, it had comments, notifications, “skins,” and most of the features that differentiate dynamic, user-managed sites from the static websites of old. The web had become a toolbox, not a display window.
My experience with Siteframe helped me get my first Internet-related job as a PHP developer at Yahoo! News. Siteframe went through multiple iterations; it was used as a legal search engine and it was used as an internal content-management system for some Yahoo! sites. When the Indonesian tsunami hit in 2005, someone used Siteframe to set up a website that was used for the next several years to share documents and information among various international relief agencies.
At its peak, I was receiving about 20,000 email registrations per year for Siteframe. Alas, the pressures of time and family and other commitments kept me from working on it, and it stagnated. As hackers became more and more sophisticated, more and more security vulnerabilities were revealed. Techniques that were commonplace in 2002 for building a website turned out to open gaping holes in the site’s (often minimal) defenses.
Earlier this year (2010), someone used a vulnerability in Siteframe to hack one of my servers and use up more than 22 terabytes of bandwidth in just a few hours. The resulting charges caused me to take down all my remaining Siteframe sites.
The code for Siteframe is now available on Github, but I strongly recommend against using it for a production website. Hopefully, someone will take it over and maintain it, but I would not bet on it. There are newer, better technologies available for the same purpose.
I like to tell people that I invented Web 2.0 and, to a certain extent, it’s true. contaxg.com allowed people to take control of their web content long before sites like Flickr and Picasa came on the scene. I learned a lot about photography, PHP, HTTP, the Internet, and security. And I met a ton of really creative people along the way. Many thanks to everyone who participated.
Glen Campbell
San Antonio, Texas
28 December 2011
Links
Impressive my friend!
You created something magical.
Thanks for being here!
I'm trying to get in touch with Glen to save the images and copy I posted on Non-Contax G Pages under "Vintage Andy Andrews." I didn't save the material because I am 77-years old and am not sophisticated regarding the internet and have had computer troubles and gaps when I had no computer.
Hi, Andy — I'll see if I can rebuild the site to get your images back. There's no longer space on the original server, but I'll see if I can hack something together.
Oops! Sorry Glen. I'm barely computer literate. I didn't realize you had posted a reply. Anyway, thanks for the great site. I had fun and got to meet a lot of nice people through it. I'll try to resurrect my pictures. I have 71 years of negatives to go through and no filing system! But that will probably be easier than rebuilding the site.
What about Glen … a very pity. Anyway, thank You so much for everything you have done and to know and have friendships and shared photographs. Thanks for sharing and Best Wishes. Fed
Hello Glen!
Me, like Fed, I want to thank you for all this effort over this years.
Your "Contax-webs" were a very special meeting place and thanks to you, today I've more friends.
I confess that I have liked other "The End".
Maybe we could have built another Forum, but I know also that this possibility would has been a sad subtitute.
No more, thanks a lot again and Happy New Year !
I can't help feeling that if you moved from the UK to Silicon Valley, computers and electronics are running around in your bloodstream and although your description above sounds very impressive (you lost me in a couple of lines!) I can't help feeling you would have done it all in your sleep. Either way, Glen, it's people like you that inspire others to greatness and kind deeds. May you enjoy a long, happy and healthy life. I would have added prosperous too but I can't help feeling you don't need that boost. Thank you.
Glenn, is it a great sadness to lose the ContaxG site. If not for that site I never would have purchased a G2. Your site allowed me to see what the camera and lenses were capable of and sold me on the camera. I then enjoyed the many wonderful pictures the members posted there and became a frequent poster as well. The loss of your site is huge and has left a true vacuum in the amateur film world. Thank you for all you did. Perhaps someone will step up and create a new G site. We truly need it.
ContaxG pages was the best website I ever posted my images. It was elegant and easy to use, and allowed downloads of fairly big images, so all the detail that Carl Zeiss lenses are capable of could be shared with other Contax G users. Now I post some images on rangefinder website, but the limit of file file size makes them blah. Glen did fantastic job and I regret having lost an amazing tool for the community of Contax G shooters.
Glen. Because of the ContaxG website closing I lost email contact with some photogs. Would it be feasible to to get email addresses of 5-6 individuals that I'd love to keep in touch with?
If you send me email, I can probably get those for you. Or, you could ask on the mailing list for them to contact you directly.
I've been depressed ever sine my beloved G site has been gone. Every other site is SHIT and full of techno geeks obsessed with digicams, pixels etc.
What're the chances of the G site opening again under a different set of codes/web tech? i mean the G site plus the HoF's and the complete catalogue of images??
Such a great loss! Thanks for your work during all these years. I will always be proud for having participated in this contaxg site.
please put the site back up
please put the site back up….
Thank you Glen for all that you did. The website inspired me to purchase my G1 and more recently my G2. I recall with great fondness the excitement I felt when one of my images was ranked highest (for a few days anyway). It was great fun getting honest feedback from people who had the same passion I did…and still have. It made you feel as if you were part of something special. Something limited to a select few who knew that the Contax G is a great camera. Know that your hard work was very much appreciated and thanks again.
It was one of my favourite sites, I hope it reappears. Meanwhile, there is a fledgling Contax G section on purelight-photography.com.
This was also one of my favorite sites, and the first community site I had ever joined. Thanks, Glen, for everything that you built and maintained–and that includes the wonderful community that was ContaxG.com!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this!!
Gleen, thank's for everything, no chance for a new contaxgpages? By from italy
Thank you Glen for all the time you spent to gather the users of Contax. I learnt a lot watching the pictures and reading the advices. Hope that your website will inspire another one as good as yours. See you soon. Julien Lécuyer
Muchas gracias amigo!
Any chance of a new Contax G site, complete with all the past HoF's?
There must be someone willing to take on this project?
It could be a site for G lenses in general??
Anyone?
Fred??
Glen – A bit late (as usual) but I wanted to add my two cents here – IMO you had the best CREATIVE and INTERACTIVE photo website ever. Those of us who have been forced elsewhere know this absolutely. You are a webmaster beyond category, and we (the photographers) all miss your creativity and verve. Let us know what your next move might be. Phil
Great site – wish it was back…oh well…I do appreciate what you acccomplished… – Klamcake
When i try to acess the fujirangefinder.com site i get hijacked by this plonker!
fujirangefinder.com was one of those I hosted and have shut down.
BRING BACK A WORDPRESS VERSION OF THE CONTAX G SITE AT LEAST – WITH ACCESS TO VIEW THE H.O.F. PLEASE SOMEONE.
Hello,
Hi Nicolai,
I am currently in the process of finding the right everyday companion camera for me. One that is always with me wherever I am. I think I will go with the Contax G1 or G2.
In this APUG thread
http://www.apug.org/forums/viewpost.php?p=534530
you posted a link with a feature comparison
http://contaxg.com/contaxuser/#features
which does not exist anymore. The link brought me here.
Do you still have that chart? I would be very interested in that. You seem to favor the G2 over G1. Would you say that there is an aera where the G1 is better than the G2 (e.g. I am not sure I like the focus dial in the front of the G2).
I want to build my website through siteframe that's why I need exact help to start CMS system.
I miss contaxg.com bring it back please.
I cant install siteframe in wamp or xampp server getting error on setup.php any ideas??
Sorry; I don't know what wamp or xampp is, and Siteframe is no longer supported or recommended for use.