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About Ultima Linux.com

About Ultima Linux.com

Ultima Linux.com (also variously stylized as UltimaLinux.com, without the space; ultimalinux.com, as just the domain name; and numerous other capitalizations and punctuations) is the official homepage of the Ultima Linux operating system. The site has been hosted on this domain since around February 2006, when it was purchased for the Ultima developers by MadTux.org. Prior to our move to the domain, the site was hosted on the developer’s private server, ultimapcs.dyndns.org, among other locations.

Software Configuration

The site and its design have been through numerous incarnations. The present site is hosted on a Linode 360 virtual private server, currently running a slimmed-down Ultima 8.3 installation (specific configuration details available on request). Most content on the site is dynamically-generated by a custom content manager called Überpage, which is coded in PHP and uses a MySQL database for storage.

Along with the main site, there is also a user-editable documentation wiki, powered by the same MediaWiki software running Wikipedia. (Note that as an anti-spam measure, the wiki requires that you register an account before you can edit pages.) As of July 2008, the wiki is still fairly small, and its content is written largely by the Ultima developers themselves, but in time it aims to become the definitive online resource on the Ultima Linux operating system.

The support forums are powered by phpBB 2, which has been customized on our site with various anti-spam modifications (among other changes). We deliberately configured the software such that forums do not require registration to post, although there are several advantages to having a registered account. The forums are actively monitored and administered by the “Forum Demigods,” a select group of experienced users (also often developers) hand-picked by the Ultima developers.

Design and Content

The current site design, titled “Evil Penguin Invasion,” was launched on October 14, 2007, although it has since received numerous updates and “tweaks”. It uses mostly-valid XHTML 1.1; uses CSS for all design; and gracefully degrades for non-CSS-compliant browsers (Dillo) as well as text-only browsers such as Lynx.

The site attempts to follow the same “flat and uninteresting” design as the operating system itself, thus minimizing distractions and making it easier to navigate. JavaScript is kept to a minimum, and is entirely optional. Proprietary content such as Flash is not used at all. For content such as videos, we attempt to follow open standards, but if necessary favor the de facto over de jure to make the content usable on as many platforms as possible.

External Services

For bandwidth reasons, the Ultima Linux distribution itself – including the package repository and ISO images – are hosted externally by trusted third-party services. The master FTP site is hosted by ibiblio; generally download links on the Get Ultima page are through this site, or a known reliable mirror (such as ibiblio’s own extensive network).

On some parts of the site, such as the aforementioned Get Ultima page, we also provide links to commercial vendors selling Ultima Linux CD’s and other relevant products. These sites have been authorized by the Ultima developers to sell these products, and usually share profits with the Ultima developers to allow us to continue developing the product. Be warned when buying from unlisted vendors: These sites generally have not received authorization, as required by our trademark usage guidelines, and may not be selling the authentic Ultima Linux distribution.

Advertisements on this site (see below) are also displayed through a third party.

Advertisements

This site displays sponsored advertisements, which help us pay for development expenses (including hardware, hosting, and bandwidth). All advertisements are provided through the Google AdSense program; we are not responsible for any advertisement’s relevance or content.

Site Security

All content on this site is available over an encrypted connection (currently using a self-signed certificate). Additionally, all developer access is provided over secure protocols such as SSH. This applies not only to Ultima Linux.com, but also to external services such as third-party download providers; we will not use any service that does not maintain properly secured connections at all times.

(In the case of download providers, note that public access to the files is generally over insecure connections, such as FTP; however, developer access is encrypted, ensuring that the distributed files are not tampered with during upload.)

Privacy Policy

No personally identifiable information is collected on this site. Some parts of the site, such as the forums, allow you to optionally provide some personal details, such as your birthday or physical location; what information you choose to post is at your sole discretion.

Many parts of this site use cookies to allow for i.e. remembering Web site logins. You may disable cookies in your browser, but some parts of the site may not function as intended.

Your IP address is logged in various locations, including the Web server’s internal logs and in the user/post databases on the forums. This information is inaccessible to other users, but can be retrieved by the site administrators, and can be used to trace your physical location. If you are concerned about privacy implications, we highly recommend the use of an anonymity network such as Tor, which protects your IP address from being as readily disclosed.

We are not responsible for the content or behavior of external sites and services, including download providers, nor are we responsible for third-party advertisements displayed on this site.