Information Station for MR

[Anonymous]

I was not going to say anything today after exploring the Information Station feature for the Trains.com site under Model Railroader.

But after some thought I feel I wanted to say that:

1- Charging for articles filters out the people who are not willing to do business over the internet. I do buy from Ebay for hobby items at times but it is strictly for email for information on where I needed to send the postal money order payment. I refuse to do commerce or finances on the internet due to security problems of late. (Being a student of computer security does not help me feel secure to run funds via the internet)

2- You can get the same material for about the same price in the Hobby shop.

When I first saw the Information Station Trailer that is come out last week stating that this feature will be coming soon... I thought "Oh good! I may be able to read some very old articles from MR of years past"

I humbly suggest adding a free section and use articles from decades old and out of print magazines where either the supply is extremly limited or not very much in demand via the old "Back issues" order forms in the MR magazine.

Yes I realize the site probably has to find a way to offset the bandwidth usage and perhaps recoup a little bit for the people who work to make this material and I am all for it. But due to the two reasons I provided earlier I am not likely to enjoy this material online.

Good Luck on your progress MR. This site is one of the best in the Hobby.

Lee

Perhaps I was wishing on a star.

[Anonymous]

When I noticed the link re downloadable articles recently, it did not lead to anything, it was still under construction. I assumed the articles would be free, and never thought for one moment there would be a charge for them.

Did anyone follow the ordering link to see how much is being charged? I think I'd have to be pretty desparate to want to pay for them. I've had the need for some magazine material in the past and have posed a query on the newsgroup rec.models.railroad and have received scanned copies and one fellow even mailed me a photocopy. He would not take any payment for his help. I've done the same for others too.

Maybe this service will be of assistance to some, but I doubt if I'd ever pay for it.

Bob Boudreau

[Anonymous]

You click on the Information station and follow the download "links" trail. When you arrive at the actual articles to choose from, it is there you learn that you must click "Order" to get it for a cost.

[MRTerry]

Dear guys,
We had two basic ideas behind Information Station: 1) Use it to get quality how-to information to beginners who might not be near a hobby shop or other book vendor, and 2) offer compilations of articles on topics which might be too narrow for a book but which we still wanted to cover (traction, for example).
We don't expect that longtime readers who keep their back issues and indices will buy too many packages, but we thought that offering the packages would be useful to those who don't have the issues.
Why are we charging for them? Because, as Lee pointed out, the bandwidth isn't free, and neither is the prep work (scanning, conversion, yahoo hosting fees, etc.) It's an experiment, and we'll see how it goes.
I need to mention that it's a violation of copyright law to scan magazine articles and e-mailing them, or copy articles and distribute them. A magazine purchaser may only make copies for their own personal use (to take a copy of an article to the workbench, for example).
Thanks for reading MR, and for the feedback. Please don't hesitate to write me with questions.
Best wishes,
Terry

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MReditor

I need to mention that it's a violation of copyright law to scan magazine articles and e-mailing them, or copy articles and distribute them. A magazine purchaser may only make copies for their own personal use (to take a copy of an article to the workbench, for example).

Well Terry it is also against the law to drive faster than the posted speed limit, but I bet all drivers are guilty at one time or another!

If a friend or acquaintance needs a copy of something from any magazine that I have paid for, the idea that it is against the copyright law to make him a copy at no charge won't bother me in the least! [:D]

Now making and selling copies for a profit is something else all together.

Bob Boudreau

[GerFust]

Terry and friends:

When I first saw the announcement I thought "cool, they listened to my feedback." Then I saw the prices (which are right out there - didn't have to click "order" to see).

Trains.com does have a variety of .pdf downloads for free, for example http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/001/215lorqk.asp. In surveys about the website, I had asked that these be centralized in one place so they would be easier to find, in addition to, or rather than, posting them with their relevant topic area.

This, I had hoped, would be the Information Station for MR. I have no problem with downloads, though the price is a bit high in my opinion (paperback prices for less than paperback quantity).

It will be interesting to see how this experiment goes.

And, my request still stands - a central place to access the free downloads, please.

-Jer

[Anonymous]

Mr. MR Editor,

I appreciate your response to this question which I raised concerning the Information Station.

I wanted to point out that I agree with your position based on the premise that people may be a bit too far from a hobby shop, and also with my fast DSL I can move up to a gig without too much trouble.

Based on my personal experiences with a few hobby shops who are graciously able to share thier collections of MR in-store to those customers who enter the store may be able to use it as a sort of a "library" with the understanding that they may not take the magazine out of the store.

I would imagine that collections of MR or related train issues are very hard to locate and perhaps hoped that MR would be able to establish a sort of a "Archive" site on the internet where registered users may visit to search for and read an article (On John Allen's First Railroad for example) that may have been published for profit decades ago but many of the younger people now in the hobby may have not been born when it was written.

Perhaps the law regarding "Personal use" of MR might be a bit obselete. I would like to propose a question to MR as to the possibility of allowing your (MR) company to place such materials online for the use of hobbists who may otherwise not be able to live near a hobby shop and it's "almost complete" MR collection.

I may find a way to perhaps suggest to MR to consider a "CD" that compiles the data that you set forward on the Information Station to be made availiable to Hobby Shops so we might be able to buy a copy several times a year.

I must stop writing because I use too many words. It is my intent to try and see if there is a way that MR would be willing to allow registered users of the forums to revisit articles that may be otherwise lost to time. Or collected in very few locations that is kind of "kept private" by the collector.

Lee

[CBQ_Guy]

I read a comment on another list that it is a bit pricey considering the articles are already written, and the purchaser is supplying the cost of the paper and ink, thus saving MR those costs.

In the example given on that list, the copies came out to just under fifty cents per page! Sounds kinda steep to me in comparison with a library copy charge.