Re: (ET) What for our future?

["Pieter Litchfield" <plitch attglobal net>]

Excellent points here.  My experience has been that it is often better to
share links rather than create a "mega site."  One big site needs a single
entity to maintain it, and in a volunteer world, it sometimes doesn't
happen.  If we all link to each others sites, we can all keep our little
corner of the ET universe maintained.  It's an ownership issue.  I vote for
links.
Pieter

----- Original Message -----
From: "Darryl McMahon" <darryl econogics com>
To: <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 8:12 AM
Subject: Re: (ET) What for our future?


> Harold wrote:
>
> > Here's my two cents,
> > Keep the email discussion list.Who has time to log on to a web page to
> > read it? And speaking of archives and apparatus list,let's do the best
we
> > can to keep everything at one place,preferably an easy address like
> > elec-trak.org If you have several different people hosting different
> > features on their personal webspace,how will the stuff be found? 
> > Also,it
> > would seem a lot more official and proffesional on an address like
> > elec-trak.org thereby prompting a lot more people (probably including
me)
> > to participate. Thank You, Harold Zimmerman Lancaster County,PA Wheel
> > Horse C-185 w/ mower and blade. E-15 parts tractor.
>
> It doesn't matter where the stuff actually resides, as long as Don puts
links to it
> from the elec-trak.org site.  The links make it look like its all in one
place to
> anyone using the web.  That's the cosmetic perspective.
>
> Behind the scenes, what matters is who is doing the work, and how they
feel about
> the security of their webspace.  For example, I have run an electric
vehicle event
> for several years now.  This year, someone else is going to develop a
website for
> the 2003 edition.  He suggested he could do this on my site.  I declined 
> -
I am not
> prepared to hand out write access to my website to someone I do not know
well.
> What I am doing instead is establishing multiple links to his site
(whenever it is
> ready) from mine so that folks can move seamlessly from one to the other.
We can
> do the same for the ETs.  A link from elec-trak.org to the Photo Album
(presuming
> we get a subsection at Mike Chancey's site), and another to a text list,
if we
> decide we want one.
>
> There is a place for both.  Mike and I have kept in contact for several
years now
> regarding the two facilities.  They serve different purposes.  One is
organized
> geographically, the other by vehicle type.  And whenever I am aware of a
vehicle on
> my list being in the album, I set up a direct link to the album entry.
>
> Have a look at the two and how they work together to see what I mean.
>
> Suppose you are new to EVs, and want to know if there are any in your 
> area
that you
> might be able to have a look at and meet an owner.  I'm going to use
Houston for my
> example.  You go to http://www.econogics.com, then the Electric Vehicles
and
> Related Topics page, and then the On-Road EV Inventory.  Choose United
States, then
> Texas.  Within Texas, you find the Texas-Houston entry (3 vehicles) and
choose
> that.  Within that list there is a Fiero listed, with a link.  You click
on the
> link, and find the EV Album entry for our own Monty McGraw's EV.
>
> The two are maintained separately with different functions, but can still
function
> together.  For example, my list does not provide the names or contact
information
> for individuals.  This was necessary to get as many people to participate
as
> possible.  For those who are less shy, they have the option of putting up
more
> information on Mike's site, and it is available with just a click from 
> the
> inventory.
>
>
>
>
>
> Darryl McMahon             http://www.econogics.com
> 1973 Elec-Trak E12 electric tractor
> 1974 Auranthetic Charger electric motorcycle
> 1975 EVA Metro (Renault 12 conversion) electric car
> 1986 Pontiac Fiero (conversion) electric car
> 1997 SpinCraft Explorer electric boat
> current project - B&D Model 8080 electric reel mower
> next project - 1973 Porsche 914 conversion
> then, Elcar parts bin project & International Harvester EV
> "The Internal Combustion Engine, it's so 20th century."