Mailing List Archive Mailing List Archive
[HIn a recent message Alan Wright (awright@gs*.bt*.co*.uk*) wrote: >It may be just me but I am not entirely happy with this concept. >If all the information is coming in over the internet it seems >wrong to withhold it for commercial reasons from the very people >who are supplying parts of the information. As I placed in my latest post, the information will be made available and concurrently, perhaps even before the printed version. Mr. Wright Continues: >It also seems wrong to ask us to supply information on sites and >countries Rick has never been to so that he can publish a book. It >wouldn't be so bad if it were some minor section for which he just >needed some extra inf, but we ar talking the whole book here. He >is going to take the information, edit it and submit it for >publication without the original author gettina chance to approve >the final version. Mr. Wright is making a few assumption that are incorrect on the face. I have been diving in many areas of the UK, Australia, Asia, and South/ Central America as well as my own country. I don't know what Mr. Wright invisioned, but if he looked at the submission form, this is a catalogue or directory, not a novel, nor a travel guide. As I envision it, the information provided on the data sheet, will be the information, unless I have been on the wreck, or I have additional sources (of which there are many) to highlight certain sites. In adition, if the person submitting the data reads it before submitting it, then that will most likely be what appears. I however must reserve the right to edit. An example might be someone who submits 5 pages of narrative! Mr. Wright Continues: >It seems to me you are planning to get the internet to write your >book for you and that doesn't seem right to me. And we haven't even >discussed who'll be making money out of this. There are probably no more than 200 subscribers to the techdiver-l list. If I depended on the net doing the job I'd be old and grey. No Sir, I have a fairly large resource available besides my own collection of sites and it in no way is dependent on the net. In fact Sir, I would be more than happy to leave you out of it entirely. The net however would allow certain areas and sites to be featured which are not common knowledge. As far as income goes, I'm not sure I'll make anything. I'm not saying I won't, but there is no $100 thousand dollar contract for a book that at the very best would have an audiance of maybe 5,000. Besides Mr. Wright, who was paying your salary as wrote all that stuff? Mr. Wright again: >IMO the only way to do a poject like this properly would be to do >it as a joint project. Collect sections from around the world and >ublish them as a collection of contrbuting authors. Okay you need >someone to act as overall editor to ensure some consistency, but >the information in each section must come first hand from people >who have dived and exrienced the locations concerned. I would tend to agree if I were publishing something other than a dir. In fact it's an excellent idea and could be done later as a joint effort Mr. Wright Continues: >Give full credit to each contributor for their ork, not just some >note at the front of the book thanking a great long list of people >for contributing with no real idea of what they did or what they >really contributed. You may even end up with somethin useful like >the Mixed Gas book - and if you don't rush it too much it may even >be correct, unlike the Mixed Gas book :-). My Mr. Wright, why is your vitrol so high? Again, if you viewed the data form, at the very bottom is "Submitted by" You want credit for a datafile record, yu got it! Mr. Wright continues: >Actually I've considered this, as I suppose many others have too. >I think the difference with me would be that I would like to see >it done as an information sharing, nonrofit exercise, purely to >collate all that information and make it available in one place. >In fact, I'm sorely temptd to suggest it. How about the >Australians doing an Australian guide and we can do a European one. >It makes more sense than getting an American to do it. You guys in >the US can do a US one. Then we can talk to a publisher and issue >a box set :-) I have no problem with that idea at all. However, the publisher who will make this available to a lot more people than us morally superior holders of the information edge will, may object to no profit. To continue, In fact I already have 1. A publisher 2. A publisher with a house in London and distribution on the continent and Australia 3. A resource on a central database which is net accessable 4. The personal time and resouces to complete this project 5. I'm sure they might allow you telenet access to their system to load the data files (BTW, you still sore over the War of Independence..grin) Mr.Wright Goes on >alternatively, how about everyone sending me their experiences of >wreck diving in the US and I'll publish the "Master Guide to US >wrecks". It's no worse than what Rick is proposing. Mr. Wright, please give me a blanking break! You want to write about US wrecks, the sex lives of the US couples, US drivers, whatever, you have my personal permission to do so! But then I'm going to sit back before you do one darn thing and I'm going to harp, and bitch and whine all before I have any idea of what's going on. So Mr. Wright, write your book! BTW Mr. Wright, One of the finest works on the History of the United States was written by an Englishman, in England who never set foot on North America. I do not have to go to the moon to write about it and I certainly don't have to do it to compile a database! >If this exercise were simply to bui a publicly available databse >then fine but I'm absolutely against doing it for commercial reasons. >If, after the database is built, someone thinks it is a good idea to >make the information available to a wider audience in the form of a >book then we'd have to discuss it. If Mr. Wright weren't so quick to vent his opinions, he would have known it will be available. Besides that, I like to know who Mr. Wright is speaking for when he places himself as the arbitor (we'd) of others toward this work Mr. Wright again goes on: >How can you possibly give an overview of the diving practices for >countries of which you have no experience. You will have no idea >of the perspective f the person giving the infmation. Some >people may have certain prejudices against their local agency >others may praise them because they know nothing else. The agencies >themselves will all declare themselves as wonderful. Mr. Wright, I have been diving with many BSAC Club Divers here and in your country. I have been with CMAS Divers, here..there and yonder. I know for example that US cave practices differ here and there on techniques. Wreck techniques vary . Can I possibly do something that will keep you, your nails and cross away from me? Mr. Wright again: >You cannot look at the training schedules and judge the >effectiveness of an agency or the practices in a country. As we all >repeat to every novice on rec.scuba; it is not the agency it is the >people from it that count. Also, diving in different countries >involves very different attitudes. I would be inclined to say that >US diving is the most organised and regulated in the world. or >example, in the US you may get asked for cert. cards before you can >get a fill. Here, I have a key to the compressor of one of the local >shops and I go up and fill my own cylinders whenever I like. I pay >them some other time if the shop is open when I... First, please don't place limits on my ability to do something when you know nothing of my background. I think I can make a fair assesment of an organizations effectiveness based on the product they produce as well as things like training schedules. Thank you very much Sir! If you seriously think that the US has the most regulated diving in the world, you Sir have not travelled much! I can name at least 5 countries where possesion of scuba equipment would get you shot! Or countries where the deco tables you use are prescribed by the government! We ask for cert cards and you would to if your had our damn lawyers! I'll leave this open. If you wish to contribute fine, If you don't, that's alright as well. R. Willaims
Navigate by Author:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Author Search Index]
Navigate by Subject:
[Previous]
[Next]
[Subject Search Index]
[Send Reply] [Send Message with New Topic]
[Search Selection] [Mailing List Home] [Home]