• What: Database and software to generate a website with 4000+ subject-classified and searchable Linux links for all levels of Linux users.
• Where: Loads of Linux Links (LoLL) home page, project page, file release area, SVN repository, mailing list, and the generated website which is the place to do your Linux searching!
• Why: Provides convenient access to information needed by all levels of Linux users.
• How: LoLL GPLed software and data (scripts, configuration files, and a bookmark file that contains the basic link information), are used in combination with bk2site to generate the Loads of Linux Links website.
• Who: Barbara E. Irwin and Andrew Willard .

The purpose of the Loads of Linux Links project is to collect, organise, classify and maintain important URLs about Linux and the Open Source movement for all levels of Linux users. The LoLL project now has 4000+ links which are updated regularly.

This project originally began as a service for the Victoria Linux Users' Group (VLUG) but in the true spirit of Linux, we decided to share this valuable resource with the wider Linux community by putting the Loads of Linux Links project on SourceForge. Like Linux, this is a work in progress, so stay tuned here for further update announcements concerning additional links and revised subject categories. Also, like Linux, no one owns this project -- it's GPLed so the project can never be hijacked by proprietary interests!

The current contributors to the project are Barbara E. Irwin, past Publicity Coordinator of VLUG with 30 years experience as a professional librarian; Andrew Willard, past President of VLUG with extensive experience with Linux hardware and software; and, most importantly, users of LoLL who submit new or changed Linux-related URLs for the project with the assurance that their contribution will remain under the GPL forever.

Link Selection Policy:

Our general policy is to include only the more important English-language Linux links. (English is the first language of both developers of this site, but we will consider non-English sites for inclusion if we can evaluate the site using automated translation tools, such as Babelfish.)

To evaluate the importance of a site, we use the following guidelines which are subject to change without notice. :-)

• We prefer linking to sites that have been recently updated.
• We prefer linking to sites that have decent documentation.
• We regularly use htcheck to delete or replace dead links on the LoLL site, and we prefer linking to sites that are similarly well-maintained.
• Sites must be browsable with open-source, standards-compliant browsers such as Konqueror and Firefox.
• We do not attempt to redo the meta-sites' job. For example, we only refer to the more important LDP HOWTOs and link to LDP for the rest.
• Commercial sites must have a strong Linux component. For example, we include oreilly.com because they have a large number of Linux books.
• We exclude links to alpha-version software packages.
• We exclude links to non-supported, outdated software, unless otherwise noted in the annotation.
• Our software links are biased towards Open Source Initiative (OSI)-approved licenses.
• We tend to link consultants and training companies indirectly via meta sites.
• A large fraction of a site must be accessible without any special registration requirement.
• The LoLL developers are Canadian so for the most part we only link to Canadian-based LUGs and refer to the meta sites for the rest of the LUGs.
• We generally tend to exclude transitory events such as meetings and conferences. We do link major Linux events such as the Ottawa Linux Symposium, but normally we rely on meta sites, such as the LWN Community Calendar, for listings of conferences and meetings.

Interpretation of Site Symbols:

The URLs that have this symbol () are "must see!" sites.

The URLs that have this symbol () are "cool!" sites.

The URLs that have this symbol () are sites that have been added within the past 14 days.


For all URLs this symbol () is a link that asks Google for all related URLs. It's an interesting way of finding other useful information. If you find something relevant to LoLL that we don't have yet, please let us know.