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Re: [at-l] Time to face FAQs?

Robert and Catherine Rubin wrote:

> Someone mentioned that there's no need for an AT-L FAQ when Wingfoot's page
> is so comprehensive. I guess I disagree.
>

I'd be happy to host the faq.   I've got a major redo coming for the archive pages,
and would be glad to offer the space and time.

> First, that assumes that WF's site will always be available, and always be
> free. Maybe it will and it will. But, if you've hung out there, you know
> that he sometimes seems to get frustrated about all the time he's putting
> in, and the lack of respect/response he gets for it. Might he decide to
> chuck it one day and shut the site down? Could happen. Conversely, with all
> the time and money he's invested in getting it up and running, might he
> someday decide he has to charge for its use? Could happen. It's happening
> to more and more big Web sites.
> Second, his site is hard to use unless you've got really fast browsers and
> connections, and you can't just download a FAQ file and read it at your
> leisure--you have to go page to page, question to question. It's well
> organized, but I find it hard to use. I like a good FAQ file I can download
> and pick through offline.

Good point... Remember the days of _ftp_ing a FAQ and reading it offline?

>
>
> Third, it's Wingfoot's. Things posted on Trailplace "belong" to the AT
> Center, and appear on the Web page under his copyright rubrics.
>
> Fourth, Wingfoot is controversial--he's a FAQ subject himself, which seems
> to bother him. He has an agenda, and a very specific vision for the AT. Not
> everybody agrees with him, and he doesn't appear to like it when you argue
> about his vision on his home court. Everybody is equal there, but some are
> more equal than others, to coin a phrase. On ATML he's been known to
> condemn and censor stuff he doesn't think appropriate and doesn't agree
> with--and people he doesn't want to hear from. It's his perogative,
> certainly, but it's at odds with the "no rules" ethic a lot of us like
> about the Net. I'll be my own conscience, thank you, and if that means he
> won't let me play with his toys, well, okay, I can live with it.
>
> Finally, I value and respect Wingfoot's contribution to the Trail. He's
> been helpful to me personally, and I'm grateful for it. His book is the
> best one out there precisely because it is idiosyncratic rather than
> institutional; he has a lot of integrity and a compelling vision for the
> AT. Trailplace is a great idea, and a great resource. But it shouldn't be
> the *only* resource, and I don't want C.A.T.S. to become the Microsoft of
> the AT World, with WF its Bill Gates. This list, for now, is a more open
> place to discuss the AT online, and its collective wisdom deserves respect
> too.
>

The above paragraphs explain why I continue to host the AT-L list.  Although I would
say I get along with WF just fine, and I don't think any animosity is held in either
direction.

> Why not an AT-L FAQ? Why not re-post it here from time to time. I'll help.
>

Ditto.  Excellent Idea.   Who wants to start posting questions?

- AT Overview, History and Community

- AT Information (Physical, direct relation to the trail)

- Long Distance Hiking Info. (More general)

- AT Resources (On and Off the Net)

....

Ryan Brooks
ryan@inc.net


> --Rhymin' Worm
>
> (Robert Rubin) GA>ME '97 -- RHYMWORM@MINDSPRING.COM
> Newsletter Editor, Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers (PATH)
>



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