EY.c Where to go...
What do I think? Well - I was going to write a long response - but I've gotten the crud over the holidays and feel really horrible; so this will be more brief and to the point (and this is less toward you and more toward the general discussion - although I would like to touch on a couple of points in your post):
1.) Ericsons are no longer produced - and the remaining line of yachts is aging. This means that if the line is to stay 'of interest' to the boat-buying crowd, they have to be maintained and improved as we go forward. This requires communication and community on the owners part.
The lack of production also means lack of on-going profit for the manufacturer - and thus lack of interest in supporting the owners. Sailnet (as nice as they are) and PSC care only about the Ericson family only to the extent that they can make a profit from them. Once that opportunity is removed or diminished, they bail (current situation).
2.) The Ericson family needs stable, permanent place to call home (aka - community) - where all their discussions and documents can mass; where new prospective owners can do real research on the line of boats and the issues facing them; where existing owners can trade information and add to the knowledgebase; and where former owners can pass the reins of control (of the site) off to newer, younger, upcoming owners who share the same interest. It does not have to cost a fortune ($15 bucks a year, probably)
3.) A mail list does not a site make. Try doing extensive searching on Sailnet, looking for specific issues on specific boats - then do the same thing on EY.c - you'll see what I mean. One is a genuine discussion-thread format, backed up on MySQL - the other is a list serve with indexed messages (apples-oranges). Not only this, but EY.c offers many other features to the users (Owners Registry, Projects, Links, Reference Documents, etc).
4.) You get what you pay for - nothing is free. For four years I carried EY.c on my own checking account, managed it myself, etc. Sailnet offers a share of an email list server because they think you'll buy your next winch handle from them. Software has to be upgraded - someone has to backup and maintain the site. The work can be done by people who are knowledgeable - but the cost of the hosting, software and registration has to be paid for.
5.) Abandon the misperception that you can run a site like EY.c on a Geocities-like offering. The EY.c site runs on three MySQL databases, has eight php applications, various monitoring capacities, etc. Its bandwidth is manageable (approx 300-500mb a day - almost 600mb of disk space. It is (despite some of my poorer artistic skills - and no major facelifts since 2000) not a personal website - you cannot run it like one. The host has to be secure - reliable - established. Those who maintain it have to have a decent idea of what they're doing - from writing the pages, to fixing the bugs in php, to building and maintaining the databases, to replying politely to users who have no idea what a 'login' is.
6.) This is a decision that only a dedicated group of owners can make - and a long term effort that has to be supported by a reasonable percentage of the Ericson ownership. EY.c gained popularity over time - and amassed its knowledgebase over time - because of the work I and a few other people put into it.
A permanent solution to this situation can be created - but it will require the dedication of a small group of Ericson supporters, and the support of a reasonable percentage of the owners (I would say at least 250-300). Again, it does not have to cost a fortune - there is lots of support for an inexpensive paid site - but, like everything else in life, if you put little out, you get little back in return.
What do you think?
//sse
jnevins said:
What do I think? Well - I was going to write a long response - but I've gotten the crud over the holidays and feel really horrible; so this will be more brief and to the point (and this is less toward you and more toward the general discussion - although I would like to touch on a couple of points in your post):
1.) Ericsons are no longer produced - and the remaining line of yachts is aging. This means that if the line is to stay 'of interest' to the boat-buying crowd, they have to be maintained and improved as we go forward. This requires communication and community on the owners part.
The lack of production also means lack of on-going profit for the manufacturer - and thus lack of interest in supporting the owners. Sailnet (as nice as they are) and PSC care only about the Ericson family only to the extent that they can make a profit from them. Once that opportunity is removed or diminished, they bail (current situation).
2.) The Ericson family needs stable, permanent place to call home (aka - community) - where all their discussions and documents can mass; where new prospective owners can do real research on the line of boats and the issues facing them; where existing owners can trade information and add to the knowledgebase; and where former owners can pass the reins of control (of the site) off to newer, younger, upcoming owners who share the same interest. It does not have to cost a fortune ($15 bucks a year, probably)
3.) A mail list does not a site make. Try doing extensive searching on Sailnet, looking for specific issues on specific boats - then do the same thing on EY.c - you'll see what I mean. One is a genuine discussion-thread format, backed up on MySQL - the other is a list serve with indexed messages (apples-oranges). Not only this, but EY.c offers many other features to the users (Owners Registry, Projects, Links, Reference Documents, etc).
4.) You get what you pay for - nothing is free. For four years I carried EY.c on my own checking account, managed it myself, etc. Sailnet offers a share of an email list server because they think you'll buy your next winch handle from them. Software has to be upgraded - someone has to backup and maintain the site. The work can be done by people who are knowledgeable - but the cost of the hosting, software and registration has to be paid for.
5.) Abandon the misperception that you can run a site like EY.c on a Geocities-like offering. The EY.c site runs on three MySQL databases, has eight php applications, various monitoring capacities, etc. Its bandwidth is manageable (approx 300-500mb a day - almost 600mb of disk space. It is (despite some of my poorer artistic skills - and no major facelifts since 2000) not a personal website - you cannot run it like one. The host has to be secure - reliable - established. Those who maintain it have to have a decent idea of what they're doing - from writing the pages, to fixing the bugs in php, to building and maintaining the databases, to replying politely to users who have no idea what a 'login' is.
6.) This is a decision that only a dedicated group of owners can make - and a long term effort that has to be supported by a reasonable percentage of the Ericson ownership. EY.c gained popularity over time - and amassed its knowledgebase over time - because of the work I and a few other people put into it.
A permanent solution to this situation can be created - but it will require the dedication of a small group of Ericson supporters, and the support of a reasonable percentage of the owners (I would say at least 250-300). Again, it does not have to cost a fortune - there is lots of support for an inexpensive paid site - but, like everything else in life, if you put little out, you get little back in return.
What do you think?
//sse