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Author
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Topic: Room for an additional space site?
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jimsz
Member Posts: 616
From:
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 08-17-2007 08:23 AM
   
I lurk here daily for the last couple of years (and enjoy it a great deal), I also daily visit an astronomy site, telescope site, etc..Do the users here think there is room for an additional forum site aimed at Space Collectors as well as Astronomy, space and telescope enthusiasts? Im not looking at replacing or besting any one site as this site is especially top quality but I think a site combining the various areas of interest could benefit all these other sites as well. Feedback? |
nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 08-17-2007 09:28 AM
I always used to use newsgroups on Freeserve and always visited astronomy, space history and current space groups. When Freeserve stopped doing newsgroup feeds it was a loss to me, I'd welcome any site that has astronomy as well as space missions. The more space the better! Adam |
Cliff Lentz
Member Posts: 655
From: Philadelphia, PA USA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 08-17-2007 02:03 PM
There's always room for more information. I enjoy checking out other collector's websites as well as collectSPACE to see what everyone's up to. I'm even planning on getting a site for my collection and artwork in the near future.Cliff |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-17-2007 02:25 PM
This may come across as self-serving, but it's intended as honest advice from someone who has started several online communities. My best suggestion can be summarized in one word: specialize. The most successful forums are those with a clear focus. Bad Astronomy's/Universe Today's (BAUT) forum specializes on astronomy and pseudoscience. UnmannedSpaceflight.com offers exactly as its URL suggests, as does NASASpaceflight.com. Imaginova's Uplink (which I created) has a wider focus but serves the topics that their sites cover. If there's a community that overlaps space collecting and astronomy, then that approach might work but you want to look at where those people are being currently served and judge if another venue is warranted. In addition to the aforementioned BAUT forums (and of course, collectSPACE), there are AstroMart and Astronomy.com's reader forums, among others. And I've said nothing of the Yahoo Groups and Usenet newsgroups. In the past couple of months, I've noticed several new space boards open that have been limited because they were either too wide in their approach or too narrow in their reach. As managing a forum can take a considerable amount of time and work, it's best to consider these questions now before taking the plunge (and to your credit, by asking the question here, you seem to be doing just that). |
jimsz
Member Posts: 616
From:
Registered: Aug 2006
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posted 08-17-2007 02:41 PM
Good advice!As someone who already has other sites/forums, what you say is very true. It is a fine line between too broad and too narrow a scope for a user. |
Colin Anderton
Member Posts: 151
From: Great Britain
Registered: Jan 2005
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posted 08-18-2007 01:58 AM
I'd like to see a group where we can all share the best-quality audio and video we have. Like many collectors, I'm sure, I have a lot of stuff in very good quality, but some recordings of rather poor quality. Maybe we could all get together and post lists of the best recordings, and make duplicates for each other.
Although I've collected for 40 years, getting good-quality recordings of some flights has always been particularly difficult - MA8, for example.Colin.
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nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 08-18-2007 03:43 AM
Hi Colin, A while back I did start a DVD or two doing the rounds as a digital grab bag, I don't know the whereabouts of it now (somewhere in the US I think), but If your willing to share your files with the group then another digital grab bag is always welcomed by the group. I'm sure we would all like to class ourselves as space historians as well as space collectors and love listening to old missions. Adam |
Naraht
Member Posts: 232
From: Oxford, UK
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 08-18-2007 07:43 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Colin Anderton:
I'd like to see a group where we can all share the best-quality audio and video we have.
I'd be interested in that too. |
nasamad
Member Posts: 2121
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 08-18-2007 02:45 PM
Whilst I would love for a group to share audio and video files, the transfer of these files cam eat up a lot of bandwidth.
That could start to get expensive as bandwidth costs money and (correct me if I'm wrong Robert) I'm guessing it's a reason there's not alot of A/V media on the CS site.I could host small amounts of A/V files on my site but once my bandwidth limit is hit then my site would be down for the rest of the month. Adam |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-18-2007 02:52 PM
quote:
Originally posted by nasamad:
That could start to get expensive as bandwidth costs money and (correct me if I'm wrong Robert) I'm guessing it's a reason there's not alot of A/V media on the CS site.
Bandwidth can be an issue, but it is the copyright concerns that prevail. I suspect that when members here say they would like trade audio and video files, they aren't necessarily considering who owns the rights to those files. Though NASA claims no copyright to their multimedia assets, those who work to digitize that content have rights to their copy of that work (which is why you can't upload Spacecraft Films DVD video to YouTube, for example). And it should go without saying that anything you've taped off TV or the radio cannot be posted to a website without permission of the network or creator. So unless I'm overlooking a major source for free content, I'm not sure what remains to be shared. |
LCDR Scott Schneeweis
New Member Posts:
From:
Registered:
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posted 08-18-2007 03:09 PM
I would like to see (but personally lack the expertise to establish) an online database cataloging private holdings of space artifacts. Such a database would provide a snapshot of what is available out in the public domain, could be leveraged to implement an artifact authentication regime, track ownership history, deter theft and offer accredited institutions knowledge of and potential access to artifacts for study (if individual collectors so elect). To allay privacy concerns, specific ownership information (name/location) would be suppressed. In return for participation (which would require a small fee to join/maintain the database), serial tags would be issued to the owner which could be attached to the artifact. Perhaps somebody who has the time/talent will step up to the plate in the future.------------------
Scott Schneeweis
URL http://www.SPACEAHOLIC.com/ |
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