It seems to me a number of computer files have been developed that are of long term Dino reference interest. - wiring diagrams - silk screens of decals - scanned shop manuals - "Dino" artwork These are all on individual user's systems. You have to know who has them to get them, and if they are not around - too bad. Let's contribute them all to a single location (dinoregister.com?). They won't take a lot of space to host, and they will be useful for all.
Ghenne, your proposal is a great one. Having a single location, and it could be a sticky underneath the parts resource, would work and I for one, am all for it. Ignore how to carry this to the next level, as in the past, I made the suggestion of starting a "favorite" sources and "good guys" that we have had good experiences with, but it died in the Dinoland files. The "search" option works at times but is too lengthy and vague. Let's get this project going. Regards, Alberto
beginning of next year these things and many more will show up on www.dino-book.com I would also suggest some stuff could be set up on www.Dino246.com, as this side is a high quality one... regards Matthias
The reason I suggested dinoregister.com is that it is the likeliest site to be around for a long time. It has been around for years and has already survived one transfer of stewardship. It's great that new sites are coming along, like dino-book.com and dino246.com. There is no reason they can't host the information as well. Redundancy is good. (Matthias, let me know if you would like to modify dinoregister.com and need some help.)
I would be willing to host this info on Dino246.com and would expect to have the site around for a good amout of time as it is a pretty simple way of giving back to the community that has helped my brother realize his dream car. One challenge is that people forget that all of these lists and websites are the domain of enthusiasts who do not earn a penny (in fact it costs them money) to do it. Too often people complain that a FREE site that they use whenever they want is not up to date. Despite these naysayers I am happy to help if and when time allows.
Another forum I'm on has a great section for downloads categorized into brochures, blueprints, factory documents, records for specific cars etc. Simply a list of files with descriptions for each rather than forum posts and discussion, does fchat have this capability? Andrew
I think it is a great idea, except I'd be a little concerned about a certain bunch of attorneys working for a certain company. They'll be all over it looking for copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property issues inside of EVERY nook and cranny. Especially if there are factory service manuals, factory wiring harnesses, and factory drawings and blueprints on the website. Why? Because they want to make Fxxxxxx Classucke the source and final arbiter of all things Fxxxxxx, and heaven forbid that any potential income stream be even marginally disrupted.
That would not ba an issue with most of the stuff. We would simply remove anything that someone made a legitimate claim on, much like YouTube does.
I have been publishing similar stuff for the GTE for a number of years at Ferrari250GTE.com. I have stated on the opening page my rules for posting (nothing less than 4 years old) and that I will remove items if their owner requests that I do so. To date, the only such request has come from a guy whose photo appeared in an article with his ex-wife! I will admit that before I started the project, I asked the Ferrari Market Letter and Cavallino about posting their articles and they said no, as they make money on reprints. Interestingly enough, Road & Track had no such problem. I also found that early on, the Authors owned the info, not the publisher, so that is another way around the problem. Have not heard from Maranello yet, but I made sure to make the proper disclaimers on each page (which I hear is REALLY important). As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest issues you will have is time. It takes a lot of it; what with the scanning, posting and site maintenance. There are always three or four other projects I want to add, but do not have enough time for the ones I have! The other issue is that I thought other GTE owners would be happy to contribute info to the site, but no such luck. People love to talk and share information, but are very possessive of their collectibles. I have resorted to seeing or hearing about items from collectors, then trolling eBay to find my own copies. If you know how to make websites (or like me, have a buddy who does), then the cost of hosting the site is minimal. As my site is pretty static and people only check in when they need something specific, I can stay within my allotted download amounts. If you get so much traffic that it does become cost prohibitive, you can do like Tom Yang and have an annual funds drive. Every December he just asks folks to contribute and as I understand it, he gets more then enough to cover the costs. If you have a number of people working on the project, it will be much easier and much more fun. I can tell you that it will bring Dino owners out of the woodwork that never heard of FerrariChat and that alone is worth all the effort. The site has also gotten me many a co-pilot position in GTE events and lots of dinner invitations; both excellent bonus'. I wish you luck and let me know if there is any way I can help. Tom Wilson GTE Register, Newsletter & Ferrari250GTE.com Owner GTE 4247
The disclaimers are worthless as no business will be paying any interest into your hobby anyway - but as soon as you violate their rights in a way that makes them feel you are stealing some money from them, they'll have you walked over, no matter how clever your disclaimer is.
I have seen them come down on some other sites pretty hard, notably a guy who collected Ferrari toys. I have made it a point not to use the Prancing Horse on the site, use the disclaimer and avoid blatant infringement. However, when and if they ever do come down on me, I can easily change the name of the site. The word Ferrari seems to be the most offensive to them.
I've run a web design & hosting agency for 15 years and I would suggest the following: 1) The idea of a Dino resource site is a great idea 2) Ferrari would probably hate the idea and might try and close it down, or not - who knows 3) I think it should be a totally independant site that other sites could link to. This way they have separation 4) I could host the site in the 'Cloud' without any cost , and it could have it's own URL, It would be constantly backed up so if the site went down then another could soon be instigated to replace it. Simon
problem is that everything is copyright protected and putting any of it on a website is a violation. Wiring diagrams, unless done from scratch are a derivative of the original drawings. Manuals, logos, etc., all are protected. Now, that stuff is available informally from a number of sources. Put em all in one place you may as well fire up a neon sign for the lawyers to read. Like moths to a flame, lawyers to a lawsuit. D
guys I will put all the important stuff up on a webpage first thing next year please be a bit patient, we want top quality... regards Matthias
That should take care of (most) everything. I certainly can wait a few months, after waiting for 3 years. Thank you Matthias... Regards, Alberto
The original proposal was for a place to put things that people wish to contribute. I like that. Dave indicates it won't happen on fchat due to possible legal issues. If so, any other site that takes contributions would likely suffer the same legal issues along with the people who submitted them. Doesn't seem like this will happen. Andrew
Most of the stuff is non infringing or unlikely to be cared about. Check epdowd's comments about the 250GTE site.
I did check out the site and it's great. To clarify, I guess I was talking about a long-term maintained site with many contributors (like fchat) will likely suffer these same issues. So we're down to individual sites doing their own thing, which is ok but I was hoping we could do this in fchat. Andrew
