Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 07:50:34 -0500
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Repair Manuiel
In-Reply-To: <002d01c78bb5$024b76f0$e95e9904@gpa207joel>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Joel,
Great idea. Have wondered about the possibilities myself.
But one thing however;
I have been on the list long enough - and I'm pretty certain you have
too, as well a few others - to remember the flap that got started when
someone mentioned doing something like this before. All of a sudden
there was a great hue and cry "That stuff I wrote and posted on Gerry is
my copyrighted material, and I don't want it used! ...... blah, blah,
blah". Then there was a long thread afterward about who owned the
copyright to the stuff on Gerry, and it went on and on until it finally
just faded into the ether - and nothing was ever done. Every bit of the
stuff that gets posted on a web site falls under some copyright
protection, whether stated or not. "From the moment of creation" the
copyright law says. If one openly claims his material is copyright, it
is easier to pursue a claim in court, but just because it is not openly
claimed doesn't relieve the material of copyright protection.
So;
This issue would need to be cleared up, and plan of action drawn, to
eliminate the potential of copyright claims. One way would be to have
contributors volunteer their materials, along with a letter of release
of liability for its use, and give credit would need to be given to that
contributor. That is just one way,.
I'm sure by now you have given this much thought as to how to deal with
such issues.
I'm sure that there are some excellent writers, yourself included, -
and technical writers at that - in this crowd - that could really make
this project of yours possible. and feasible.
I'm not much in those departments, but if the project goes, and I can
help in any way - count me in.
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Chelsea, AL
joel walker wrote:
>> little can be applied to watercooled Vanagons. It's a shame Muir
>> died
>> before the Vanagon came out. It would have been great if he could
>> have
>> applied his considerable abilities to writing a Vanagon manual.
>
> question:
>
> why can't WE (the list) write the Vanagon Manual??
>
> what i've always wanted to do was to take the Muir book, and the
> Bentley book
> and put them together into a vanagon muir-book ... one for aircooled
> vanagons,
> one for the 1.9 engine and one for the 2.1 engine, and maybe
> supplement for syncros,
> campers, pickups, and so on.
>
> and if someone knows how to put it all on a website, maybe as .pdf
> files and/or html
> for each 'chapter', then anybody could download it.
>
> but then, nobody makes anything for all their hard work, and those
> types of projects
> ALWAYS involve tremendous work on someone's part. :( like the LiMBO
> newsletter ...
> or a catalog: it's a LOT of work. :(
>
> but it would seem like there should be enough smarts out there almost
> already, on
> the web sites of the list members ... all it needs is someone to
> arrange it and
> get it together on a web site of its own.
>
> or first, come up with A Plan! what chapters would be needed? which
> sections within those
> chapters? just how close to plagarism can we be with respect to stuff
> that is already in muir and IS applicable to vanagons, both aircooled
> and watercooled and syncro? like rear brakes, electrics involving tail
> lights, turn signal light fixtures, brake hydraulics,
> emergency/parking brakes, sliding door lubrication/maintenance, front
> doors, window cranks, triangle vent windows, rearview mirror
> removal/installation, Find-The-Battery!, Find the Windshield Wiper
> Fluid Refiller Tank cap!, Care and Feeding of Fuse Boxes, wiper blade
> replacement, wiper arm removal/tightening, and on and on and on. lots
> of things that are 'simple' and 'obvious' to someon who's been driving
> their bus for like five years or more, but to the Newbie who just
> bought their first bus, it ain't always so easy to figure out. :)
>
> and we'd have to find some goofy artist to draw all those diagrams and
> pictures. :)
>
> just throwing out Thoughts. :)
> unca joel
>
>
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