Here is Ed's final response (earlier ones are even ruder)
The funny thing is that I didn't use any info directly from the lamp site.
All printer detail were obtained from the images.
I am never going to get his support, possibly because he charges for his site.
Hopefully I can get support from the dealers out there.
Bruce, you've been around the longest and have probably seen just about everything.
What's your view?
Alex,
I know that you are out of the country and can’t respond in depth…. But maybe you can at least read. As far as I’m concerned this will be my last attempt at explaining our position. You either don’t get it or don’t WANT to get it.
You TAKE images from other peoples sites. You TAKE information from sites around the internet THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT BE CORRECT (you wouldn’t know!!). You TAKE our restricted LAMP information and then ignore when I tell you. Some that you picked are rare printers (that I pointed out by NAME) that it is doubtful that a collector would EVER have need of. Those in particular are for use with auction houses and museums that handle early silent material.
I tried to MAKE THE POINT that you don’t know anything about research when you COPIED the WRONG NSS information from Moviegoods. I used this as an example because their mis-information is so BLATANTLY RIDICULOUS, AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO CATCH IT!. You ALREADY have at least another dozen areas that are WRONG in your research. TWO of them were intentionally set up by us to show when people are copying our information.
You say, “I am a collector myself, and I love the hobby. That was my sole motivation for starting the site”.
WAIT… WAIT!!! THAT GIVES ME A GREAT IDEA!!
I bet you and your friends ALL have cars that you like…. Why not make a few trips down to your local mechanic shop. You can COPY his Certifications (that he spent a lifetime learning and acquiring). THEN, you can HACK into his manuals and records and PUT UP A FREE MECHANIC SHOP!!!! YOUR FRIENDS WILL LOVE IT!!
NO WAIT… A BETTER IDEA!!
Your family and friends ALL want to be healthy…. Why not make a few trips down to your doctors office.. You can COPY his Diplomas (that he spent his life learning and acquiring)…. You can then HACK into his medical books and open a FREE Medical and Surgical office!!! YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS WILL REALLY LOVE THAT!!!
AND, if you talk REAL NICE, I BET the doctor and mechanic would come out and endorse YOUR PROJECTS, since you are doing it FOR THE GOOD of medicine and mechanic-dom, From MY perspective, that is EXACTLY what you’re doing.
Having a fan site and putting up images and sorting them by all kinds of directions is GREAT until you try to move into REFERENCE…. THEN, you start affecting monetary decisions of collectors, dealers, and auction houses. And when you don’t know what you’re doing or are relying on questionable material, instead, you create more confusion, lack of understanding and growth. This can only have a DISASTEROUS EFFECT on the hobby, but sadly, you will be applauded by all the internet leeches, UNTIL YOU AFFECT THEIR POCKETBOOK. THEN, they will turn on you in a minute…. Take a good look at probably THE BEST poster restorer in the hobby… John Davis, when he stepped outside of his expertise to put up a reference and authentication site, and tried to ‘HELP THE HOBBY’. Now, he’d have a hard time being an expert witness in a traffic court.
Programmers have GREAT power. I know, my son-in-law is a master programmer for the U.S. Navy, and he can do some miraculous things. There were no truer words that those spoken in Spiderman, “with power comes great responsibility”. Just because you CAN doesn’t mean that you SHOULD, especially when it comes to someone’s decision making about investing their money or not, or conflicts between what you present and the descriptions given by the auction houses or other dealers. Especially when YOU DON’T KNOW!! And it’s OBVIOUS that YOU DON’T.
In this environment of ‘snatch and claim’, when it comes to research, there should be limits. And compiling information from varieties of QUESTIONABLE SOURCES to present as reference is a TRAIN-WRECK waiting to happen.
In your letter, you said, “I want to have yours and other dealers support, otherwise there is no reason to do the site.” - YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING
You will get support from the forums that want everything free. So I highly doubt that you are going to listen. I figure that you are going to do whatever you are going to do….
And I’m done talking.
I WANT LAMP and ANYTHING ELSE FROM LAMP REMOVED FROM YOUR WEBSITE. Let the train-wreck commence!!!
As for Dealers images, you will have to take that up with the individual sources. DON’T TAKE THEM FROM LAMP!!!
I will be sending copies of this email out to all our dealers and members.
P.S. If you REALLY want to use your compiling skills, and since you are vacationing in Vietnam, why not compile Middle Eastern material. India, Iran, Iraq, China, Vietnam and surrounding areas are ALL losing their entire film history and culture… and NO ONE is trying to save it. In that arena, ANYTHING would be better than NOTHING.
