Plan Storage Area

[Keith Outten]

We can certainly limit access to those who have made a contribution and I hope it would encourage more Members to support The Creek.

Forums each have their own file size limits, how large should the file size limit be on the new Plans and Projects Forum? We need to be reasonable and consider the impact on our server load as well as bandwidth consumption. If we allow ten meg downloads we will surely have to increase our bandwidth and add another server to handle the load.

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[glenn bradley]

Keith,
I voted "great idea" and limit it to contributors. ;-)

Would these all be original works?

What are the restrictions in sharing published plans?

As someone else mentioned; good pics of something we've done or as we're doing it can serve a purpose as well.

[Jim Becker]

Glenn, I believe that any plans posted here would have to be the intellectual property of the submitter...sharing of published plans would in most cases be a violation of copyright laws. I hate to say it, but there likely needs to be a TOS addendum where submitters avow that they have the legal rights to post the plans/drawings they submit.

[Ian Barley]

Hi Jeff, when I say contributors, I mean the people who donate the $6 to SMC to cover operating expenses.

If you look below my name, it says "2006 Contributor" this means that I paid the $6 (at least) to the site.

Cheers!

But Stu - if you look below my name it doesn't, although on that basis I am paid up to about 2020. I can't say that this would affect me personally because I tend to not use plans anyway, but if you are gonna restrict to "contributors" then it may be advisable to consider that sometimes circumstances make small regular contributions less practical than larger less regular ones. Just an observation.

[Glenn Clabo]

Great idea Lee. I use plans like I use recipes...just to get the brain engaged.

[Glenn Clabo]

Ian has a good point...how hard would it be to allow something called subscriber vs contributer. Then if someone wants to throw $18 at SMC they can be a 3 year subscriber. Hate to add work though...

[Art Mulder]

how large should the file size limit be on the new Plans and Projects Forum? We need to be reasonable and consider the impact on our server load as well as bandwidth consumption. If we allow ten meg downloads we will surely have to increase our bandwidth and add another server to handle the load.

I don't know if this is enforceable, but I would suggest that each plan or sketchup-file should be accompanied by a modest-sized JPEG file or two that show the result. Then we can encourage people to check out the images first, and only download the larger files if they are serious.

PDF's can have a pretty modest size limit. I have a 91 page user manual on my desktop right now, and it is only 2MB in size. So I don't think PDF's need to be that large.


What about adding this to the proposed Shop Tours "expansion module" of SMC? Or maybe start it here on a trial basis, but if the bandwidth proves excessive, move it to the new planned system?

just thinking out loud

[Dave Hale]

Limiting to contributors is fine by me. Didn't know there was that concept since I haven't read everything on the site and the registration process doesn't mention it. I'd change my vote if I could, but I can't.

Now to find the 'contribution' information.

[Jim Becker]

Dave...click on the "Donate" button at the top of any forum to contribute to SMC.

[David Williams]

Wouldn't requiring a paid subscription to the site to access the plans be a violation of the Google Sketchup ToS concerning personal use?

[Jay Knoll]

Jim,

Dave's comment got me thinking about financial support.

Maybe we wouldn't have as many financial problems if the registration screen included something like

Registation is free, but this is a member supported site. Suggested contribution is $6 per year. Click here (donate button) if you would like to contribute.


Jay

[Chip Charnley]

Well, here's my arguement against limiting it to contributers. People like me. I am just not good enough yet to make plans that are worth anything to anyone. So far the couple of projects I have done with some sort of plans I drew up changed so radically during the execution (things gone wrong that had to be fixed and just changes I decided to make in flight) that it will be a long time before I put together something that anyone else can use.

But, and here's the point, that long time will be quite a bit shorter if I have access to plans that fit my needs and allow me to

1) Concentrate on building my skills to the point that I create lots fewer SNAFUS and
2) Allow me to see how others do it and build my design skills by modifiying others plans to fit me needs.

Honestly, I would bet that 50% of the best contributors will have a lot less need for others work than the rest of us "dummies" who ain't so good a drawing plans yet.

Just my 2-bits worth.

Chip

Update: Well, if I read ALL the messages before I responded, I wouldn't have written the above. If contributer means contributing to the financial well being of the creek (which I am ashamed to say I haven't done yet and shall rectify shortly) than I would find it very hard to disagree.

[Lincoln Myers]

I think only Contributors should have access to the proposed plan area. This would be a great incentive to get people to support The Creek. I think this would be a very useful area to many Creekers.

-Linc

[Keith Outten]

OK,

It seems that most agree to limit acces to Contributors.
For the record Contributors means anyone who donates $6.00 per year to help pay the bills at SMC. The $6.00 figure is our suggested donation per year, we felt that even a child could afford 50 cents per month and we wanted to make sure everyone had the same opportunity here.

Only one response on the suggested file size limit, it is 2 meg.
I have been checking some of the files I have and it seems that DWG files will compress to a fraction of their size using a Zip Program. My Corel Draw files are for the most part under one meg. ShopBot SBP files are very small but I don't know what the max size needs to be for Sketchup of if they will compress with a zip program.

All files uploaded must be either original content owned by the Member or the Member must have permission from the owner/author.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

But Stu - if you look below my name it doesn't, although on that basis I am paid up to about 2020. I can't say that this would affect me personally because I tend to not use plans anyway, but if you are gonna restrict to "contributors" then it may be advisable to consider that sometimes circumstances make small regular contributions less practical than larger less regular ones. Just an observation.

And a good one Ian!

I'd say that if you have the "Contributors" handle below you name, no matter the year, you should be allowed in.

Copacetic?