Model Railroader Magazine Index... GONE

[sirenwerks]

So, sorry to tell you, but it doesn't mean "latch onto whatever idea sirenwerks wants".  

So right. So far the only other idea I have really heard is let it die because Kalmbach wants it to. The idea of putting it on a CD and distributing it seems very resource intensive, on a regular basis. It would also almost certainly mean it became a product rather than remaining a resource. A web-based outlet minimizes that drawback greatly. There's gotta be a way to keep it that.

[reinhardtjh]

I'm not a web developer but I have managed small mid-size projects for NPOs, spec-ing databases and re-designing user experiences for existing extranets and web-accessible databases, so I have a handle on what is possible and how things work. And I know a lot of programmers and web developers who work in the open source world. Hell, my neighbor still programs in Cobalt for the feds. My spidey sense just isn't tingling the right way with this.

"MS-DOS language"? MS-DOS is an operating system, not a language, and MS-DOS was written, if I remember correctly, in ASM. I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and inquire with Kalmbach if they will release a copy so I can try to get some pro bono talent in to figure out how to tease the data out. I just don't think Kalmbach spent a lot of effort on this and it's too valuable a resource to loose.

Anyone can misspeak.  BTW, I'd like to see your neighbor program "Cobalt" seeing how it's an element, not a programming language.  Perhaps you mean COBOL?

  John H. Reinhardt

[sirenwerks]

[quote author=reinhardtjh link=topic=21642.msg204119#msg204119

Anyone can misspeak.  BTW, I'd like to see your neighbor program "Cobalt" seeing how it's an element, not a programming language.  Perhaps you mean COBOL?

  John H. Reinhardt
[/quote]

It's a color too, which is what I was thinking of. Laughs on me.

[jmlaboda]

Maybe what is needed is to get an email writing campaign to protest the deletion of it without some sort of proper notice.  I don't believe that they mentioned it anywhere on Trains.com... and I sure didn't notice any mention of it coming down when I visited it within the past two weeks or so.

The least that they can do is let modelers do their research for a certain time and then take it down.  It would be important that word of mouth spreads the news about its demise so that at least modelers and railfans can have a chance to save what they find.

[Mr. G]

I'm not a web developer but I have managed small mid-size projects for NPOs, spec-ing databases and re-designing user experiences for existing extranets and web-accessible databases, so I have a handle on what is possible and how things work. And I know a lot of programmers and web developers who work in the open source world. Hell, my neighbor still programs in Cobalt for the feds. My spidey sense just isn't tingling the right way with this.

"MS-DOS language"? MS-DOS is an operating system, not a language, and MS-DOS was written, if I remember correctly, in ASM. I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and inquire with Kalmbach if they will release a copy so I can try to get some pro bono talent in to figure out how to tease the data out. I just don't think Kalmbach spent a lot of effort on this and it's too valuable a resource to loose.

Anyone can misspeak.  BTW, I'd like to see your neighbor program "Cobalt" seeing how it's an element, not a programming language.  Perhaps you mean COBOL?

  John H. Reinhardt

I knew he meant COBOL, but Cobalt is a software development environment.

[Chris333]

Great I was just about to search for "4-6-0"   >

[bbussey]

Latest update, reported by Model Railroad Hobbyist:

Information was received this evening from  Milwaukee that Kalmbach has
agreed to a proposal in which  NMRA will assume responsibility for
restructuring and  maintaining the model railroad magazine index. Presumably it will  be
accessible to the public.

[tom mann]

Did anyone ask the obvious:  Leave it up, and put a disclaimer that it is only searchable for articles prior to July '10.

[MichaelWinicki]

Did anyone ask the obvious:  Leave it up, and put a disclaimer that it is only searchable for articles prior to July '10.

Kalmbach probably didn't want to dedicate the bandwidth to it.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Wait a second, I just realized something.

The whole hubbub about this issue is a bunch of us, who probably don't buy a lot of Kalmbach products complaining that they're stopping doing something for us (their un-valued, non-customers)?

My bigger question is, why in earth would they provide this service in the FIRST place to such a group of ungrateful individuals?

Yes, it was nice to have available while we had it, but if we're not willing to support it, or the company that supports it, then really, what standing do we have to complain without acting like spoiled kids who have had their allowance cut?

[Hyperion]

Well, for what it's worth, I subscribe to Model Railroader, Trains, and FineScale Modeler, and by most every special edition (or whatever you want to call those annual releases) they release for those respective titles as well.  And I buy just about every book they release that's not just a consolidation of articles (and even some that are).  So I get to complain.

Of course I was also one of those throwing out ideas for monetizing the thing too...

[sirenwerks]

Wait a second, I just realized something.

Where have you been, man? Building benchwork maybe?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Heh, getting ready to launch a kickass website, actually. And building benchwork. And railfanning.

And my thoughts on this have evolved over time, to basically say "yes, it was nice while it lasted, and yes, the way they shut if off was poorly handles, but they don't owe us anything"

[conrail98]

My thoughts have shifted kinda like Ed's, but I'm upset about the timing. "Hey everyone, we know you're hear in Milwaukee with us celebrating 75 years of the NMRA and as a token of our appreciation we're going to shut this off the day before everyone gets here." I think the timing was pretty poor PR work on their part. I hold out hope based on other reports that this is getting handed over to the NMRA, the original developer has been found and if Kalmbach releases it, he's will to work on getting th info out to be put into something the NMRA can use on their site,

Phil

[John]

Well, for what it's worth, I subscribe to Model Railroader, Trains, and FineScale Modeler, and by most every special edition (or whatever you want to call those annual releases) they release for those respective titles as well.  And I buy just about every book they release that's not just a consolidation of articles (and even some that are).  So I get to complain.

Of course I was also one of those throwing out ideas for monetizing the thing too...

Me too .. and I buy those damned DVDs they send me all the time ..