Newbie attempting to install Flamenco (open source, python-based, faceted interface)

[Brett Bonfield]

Hi,

I am a library student at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. My
goal is to aggregate information about the Library and Information
Science profession (e.g. conferences, mailing lists, blogs,
professional associations, accredited LIS schools, scholarships,
etc.). Ironically, no one else has documented my chosen profession, at
least not online. My hope is to create a self-sustaining community
that sees the value in faceted interfaces and shares my appreciation
for the importance of using open source software to organize open
information.

I have an excellent host, TextDrive, that is committed to open source
development and does a very nice job with its machines, but my server
runs FreeBSD, and Flamenco <http://flamenco.berkeley.edu/index.html>
seems to be Linux-centric: "Please note that we have only tested the
code on the Linux OS (Red Hat 2.4.21)." By changing the path to Python
in its install script and replacing cp -a with cp -pRP, I've gotten it
most of the way installed, but not all the way -- I can't get it to
install the data itself, what Flamenco calls instances.

My hope is that someone on this list who is comfortable with Python
and MySQL might try installing Flamenco and see if it's possible
within the FreeBSD environment. I realize it seems like a lot of
bother, but check out Flamenco's examples
<http://flamenco.berkeley.edu/demos.html>, especially the Nobel Prize
winners <http://orange.sims.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/flamenco.cgi/nobel/Flamenco>.
The developers have created a gorgeously clean interface, and they're
hosting the project on Sourceforge -- but the Flamenco community
hasn't yet gotten to the point where it can provide its own support.
My hope is that a visible project, like the one I'm undertaking, might
get the ball rolling.

I've tried Flamenco's seemingly solid documentation, Google, FreeBSD
documentation, TextDrive forums, TextDrive's help desk, and I've
contacted the developers. I'm not sure what else to try given that
I've been working on this since November 26, at least a few hours per
week. I realize I could use MIT's Longwell, but I much prefer
Flamenco. I hope at least one other person on this list will see the
value in Flamenco and will be able to figure out what needs to be done
to make it work within FreeBSD.

Thank you,

Brett