On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 10:27 AM, Frank Pittelli <[email protected]>wrote:
> Don Shankin wrote: > >> I would love to have a page for my M1A2-Abrams-In-Progress (in the pending >> section, of course). If the powers that be could create one for me, I would >> sure appreciate it. >> > > The powers that be rarely speak on such subjects (they are too busy > traveling the world promoting the hobby), but I'll try to give an > explanation for them. > > Back in the early days of the hobby, the www.rctankcombat.com website and > the mailing list were the only communication media we had. The powers that > be tried to provide a way to showcase work done by everyone by creating the > tank pages. Tanks were designated as soon as requested, even if only a > design was in mind. It was soon realized that most of the tanks weren't > being built and the effort that went into making those pages was wasted. > Moreover, most newbies reading through the pages saw that most vehicles > didn't actually exist, leading them to believe the hobby didn't exist. > > So, the powers that be created the "rolling chassis" requirement, knowing > that anyone who got to that stage had a pretty good chance of finishing > their vehicle. Official designation was now a badge of achievement, not > just another anonymous page amongst trillions of web pages. > > But, newbies continued to want an outlet for showing off their early work > and the powers that be continued to want to support them, so they created > the "Pending Designation" page to give them a lesser showcase. > Unfortunately, after a few years it was noticed that no "pending" vehicle > was ever completed. Not wanting to jinx all newbies, the powers that be > suspended the pending designation to encourage members to actually achieve > "rolling chassis" status and reap all of the rewards and financial benefits > that title provides. > > More importantly, over the years, many new outlets were created for anyone > to use that provide the same capabilities (if not better) than the official > website. Three perfect examples are: > > 1) Using a Google Group thread to chronicle your work > > 2) Using any free blog service to chronicle your work > > 3) Create your own web page and join the R/C Tank Combat Network (web ring) > > For example, our most prolific Greek builder, Chrysanthos Kanellopoulos, > chronicled the construction of a Daimler in: > > > http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat/browse_thread/thread/8c8b17c600051ca9 > > It's a simple process, just post a message with a Subject of your choosing > with a photo and whatever you want people to know. Whenever you have > another photo or more facts, simply return to that thread and reply with > another message. People can make comments along the way and you can not > only distribute photos and information, but you can have a dialog with all > your fans. (As an aside, you'll notice at the bottom of that thread that he > requested a "Pending Designation" and was granted the same, with the pending > page referencing the Google Group thread. And, even though he's completed > plenty of other vehicles, he never completed the Daimler ... jinxed?) > > In a more recent example, our most prolific Australian builder, Chris > Barthelson (aka. Mr. TigerAce), created a *FREE* blogger site at: > > http://tankcombat.blogspot.com/ > > which is just one of many high-quality and free blog services. Chris posts > photos and facts to the blog, then sends a reference message to the mailing > list to tell people when he's added some interesting stuff. In addition, > anyone can "follow" Chris' blog directly, which means they'll get automatic > updates in their own blog reader when Chris adds something. Blog sites have > the added benefit of letting you choose your own format schemes, > backgrounds, etc. When Chris reaches a rolling chassis status his official > designation page will reference his blog and the circle will be complete. > > Finally, there are plenty of services that allow you to easily create your > own web site if you prefer to have total control over everything displayed. > Once created, your website can be updated whenever you want and a message > posted to the mailing list to let people know you've added content. > Moreover, your website can be added to the R/C Tank Combat Network web ring > so that people will find it referenced from the main web site. A good > example is: > > http://www.gizmology.net/mkvstar.htm > > All of these approaches yield the desired result of showcasing a project, > without any cost and without any unnecessary steps (post information > someplace and then post a message). They all allow builders to post photos > and facts, reference videos and add things over time. Such services not only > obviate the need for the pending page, but also result in more control by > the builder. Moreover, anyone who takes the time to put together a > thread/blog/page chronicling their own vehicle is more likely to actually > finish their vehicle ... which is what we all want to see. > > It's probably safe to say that the powers that be believe in a "tough love" > approach to raising newbies. They provide the resources and encouragement > needed, but they keep the hurdles high enough to allow them to actually > achieve something of which they can be proud. Unfortunately, most completed > vehicles never actually go into battle, so the powers that be still have > some work to do. > > Personally, I think that the powers that be are a bunch of old farts who > have lost touch with modern reality, but that's just my opinion. > > Frank "Time To Prepare For Tomorrow's Battle" Pittelli > > > > > -- > You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. > To post a message, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] > Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat > Thanks for that. I wasn't aware of most of those member pages that you pointed out to me. I will make my own website and join the webring. I though I would ask for a pending page because I wasn't sure what the "official" position was (because the pending page is still up I thought that maybe that resource was still available for us newbies) Don "I'll have an Abrams one of these days..." Shankin -- You are currently subscribed to the "R/C Tank Combat" group. To post a message, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe, send email to [email protected] Visit the group at http://groups.google.com/group/rctankcombat
