sysadmin.ie

I have been working with Google for 3 weeks trying to get GADS to sync our passwords from OpenLdap to Google Apps. GADS kept saying in all the logs that the password was sync'ed correctly, but no luck. I worked with Google Support and we tried everything (almost) including generating lots of debug logs that said yep the passwords sync'ed ok, but they were not sync'ed. I searched for answers on the web - no luck.

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As a system administrator, you are probably already fairly aware of the SOPA and PIPA bills nearing voting in the USA congress.

Just in case you have managed to miss hearing about them, here are LOPSA's comments on the matter. This is also part of why we do not encourage complete black-outs; black-outs fail on the job of sharing information and more information rather than less is needed to try and spur those that care about the future of the Internet into action.

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This poll is to help us gather more data about why you joined LOPSA, what areas you think LOPSA should focus on, what you want out of LOPSA, what LOPSA does well now and where can LOPSA improve. Finally we would like to know if you are interested in volunteering for LOPSA. Your answers to this, just like all other polls, are anonymous as log as you are not logged into lopsa.org plus we remove any identifying information from the free form text fields.

Being a Python newbie, and having just converted my home SCC repositories from Bazaar to Git on OS X Lion, I thought I'd write up a basic how-to guide. I used Tailor, written in Python, to do the conversion. I decided to gain some fluency with Git after attending WordCamp Las Vegas recently, since many, many folks are using GitHub to publish their projects.

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LISA has been great this year. Good tutorials and a great hallway track. Please stop by the LOPSA table and renew your membership or ask about becoming a member. We look forward to seeing you.

cheers,

Ski

December's quick poll asks about your experiences with bias, discrimination, and harassment in your environment and how it has affected you. The goal is to get a general overview of the depth of the problem within the system administrator community. Your answers to this, just like all other polls, are anonymous as log as you are not logged into lopsa.org plus we remove any identifying information from the free form text fields.

LOPSA Board Project Priorities for 2011-2012

Summary

As mentioned in the LOPSA live event, the Board would like to summarize our top priorities for the remainder of the 2011-2012 year.

• Benefits
• Diversity
• Job Board
• Mentorship
• Volunteers
• Local Chapters

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I don't post here often, but this one is important. Make your reservations for LISA, now! Don't miss the early registration deadline, it's coming up soon and can save your organization significant money and increase your chances of getting to go!

LISA is in Boston. Nevermind the weather, Boston is a great town and the conference hotel is a nice place. Tom and I are really proud of the conference that the we, Usenix, and the program committee have put together. We know that you will like it too.

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I saw an article recently that talks about some of the ways in which "words matter". The article is spot on with regards to the sub-set of those scientists trying to communicate science with the general public:

Words matter via the AGU

That got me wondering what words or phrases I use in other areas of my life where jargon developed within the focussed community has meanings that differ when used outside of that community.

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November's quick poll asks for your favorite websites, RSS feeds, blogs, conferences, etc. that you find most useful for system administration information. Please answer by 11/15/2011 and we will post the results shortly afterwards.

Please join LOPSA board members in IRC on Wednesday, November 2 at 3pm EST. To participate, join #lopsa-live on irc.lopsa.org. This is your chance to ask the board questions about LOPSA so come and join us online. For more information about IRC see https://lopsa.org/irc.