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Sumpter250 Wrote:When the NMRA convention ended this evening, the score was: NMRA, yes. Joe Fugate, yes. Kalmbach, "warming to the idea".
Don't expect anything to happen too soon, but the ball is now back in Kalmbach's court.
According to Joe, the "index" is written in "machine language" ( ones, and zeros, not a compiler. ) It will take some time, once the go-ahead is given, to get things "available".
The expectation is, that once all the legal issues that will have to be looked into, are resolved, kalmbach will come to a final decision. At this time, the chances are good that the ending will be favorable, and the index, once again, available.
Here is hoping that this will work out in the end - I like that index and would like to see it continued.
I guess Joe's approach (locating resources, and making constructive suggestions) got quite a bit further than the approach of just labeling people over at Kalmbach "pansies" ....
Smile,
Stein
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Quote:I called the folks at Kalmbach pansies because I believe the excuses they offered as to why they would not, could not, fix the index or maintain it or whatever are LAME. I'm NOT saying they're lying - that's a serious accusation and I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Obviously, despite what Neil B. says about how much the staff all used the index, it wasn't valuable enough in their estimation to spend the time and money making it available. I'm not going to go all conspiracy theory on them and say they're holding on to it to generate demand until it'll return as a subscription service, even though that may be a reality if they do sink the time and effort into making it work, as they'll want to recoup their investment somehow. No, we'd have just gotten an announcement page at the website sending you to the 'subscriber log-in' page, to the new and improved MTMI (minus all of the non-Kalmbach publications).
Stein - just in case you missed it.
I'm sorry if you don't like my angry attitude regarding this. I too am hoping for a constructive solution and am very glad Joe is there to work on one. I'm just a bit cynical with regards to Kalmbach, that's all.
Joe is a successful modeler and now publisher who is poised to take action. What can I do? Calling them pansies may not actually help, but it sure makes me feel better and expresses how I'm feeling about this. I'm glad this forum is here and allows me to do just that. Again I'm sorry if this offends you. If it offends enough people then perhaps you can ban me from this forum or a moderator can remove my comments.
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!
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...and another thing. Why did it take Joe's intervention to make it happen? Why couldn't the good-hearted intelligent folks over at Kalmbach (is that better?) do exactly what he's doing?
No, seriously, think about it. What stopped them from choosing that route? Why didn't they do that?
We can only speculate on the answers without asking them directly. But my point is this - there is a solution, probably several options available to them. They chose not to take them. They chose to remove this index because they felt it was too difficult or expensive to find a solution that would keep it alive.
I'd say it's fair to assume that they didn't see the value of the resource as equal to or greater than the cost associated with keeping it. Is that fair to say? I'm not bashing anybody, just stating the facts that they didn't do what Joe is now trying to do.
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!
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ocalicreek Wrote:...and another thing. Why did it take Joe's intervention to make it happen? Why couldn't the good-hearted intelligent folks over at Kalmbach (is that better?) do exactly what he's doing?
No, seriously, think about it. What stopped them from choosing that route? Why didn't they do that?
We can only speculate on the answers without asking them directly. But my point is this - there is a solution, probably several options available to them. They chose not to take them. They chose to remove this index because they felt it was too difficult or expensive to find a solution that would keep it alive.
I'd say it's fair to assume that they didn't see the value of the resource as equal to or greater than the cost associated with keeping it. Is that fair to say? I'm not bashing anybody, just stating the facts that they didn't do what Joe is now trying to do.
Galen Just a quick comment here, remember, Kalembach is a big organization, a "big wheel" so to speak, and remember, a big wheel, like a steam engine, is not only hard to put in motion, but once moving, it's difficult to stop. Someone there may have thought of this solution, but by the time it got to where it actually looked like things were going to happen, other people jumped in with their version. The big deal here is that the rank and file, Kalembach's customers, voiced their opinion and something is being done about it. That's a good thing for everyone concerned.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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Beep, be-be-be beep, beep....."....This just in......unidentified sources tell us that Kalmbach and the people from the NMRA have been spotted taking up residence on the Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza in a private meeting.......more as details become available.....we now return you to your regular forum...." 
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Quote:Just a quick comment here, remember, Kalembach is a big organization, a "big wheel" so to speak, and remember, a big wheel, like a steam engine, is not only hard to put in motion, but once moving, it's difficult to stop. Someone there may have thought of this solution, but by the time it got to where it actually looked like things were going to happen, other people jumped in with their version. The big deal here is that the rank and file, Kalembach's customers, voiced their opinion and something is being done about it. That's a good thing for everyone concerned.
Very true, Don. Good points.
And not just the rank and file customers, but model railroaders in general. (I'm not a subscriber but that has less to do with any major gripes against Kalmbach, but a gradual evolution away from the type of articles they were publishing...and a general lack of funding at the time I let my subscription drop. I tried RMC as well and really preferred it but again, the funding changed drastically. Around that same time I discovered the online forums, specifically The Gauge, and the rest, as they say, is history...)
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!
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I don't know for sure, but another reason why they may have opted to drop the Index was what they may have perceived to be low useage. People can be especially lazy when it comes to looking up stuff, as it's easier to simply ask an oft-asked question yet again (often the same one that is two posts down from their query). 
I found the Magazine Index to be quite useful, although the only magazines still in my collection are RMC and select issues of Mainline Modeler. Let's hope that it can be made available again, at no cost or at least as a stand-alone resource at limited cost.
Wayne
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