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RollingStone
01-23-2009, 14:39
Hello - We are in the process of getting a new site online geared for the Long Trail community. This is a free site centered around social networking type features like Facebook. Here are some of the things that we will be including...

#1 - Online End to Enders Guide

#2 - Shelter guide and descriptions with photos or video

#3 - General Trail information with GPS mapping fo entire trail (GPS info will come after my thru hike in June)

#4 - Information for Blue Blaze trails

#5 - For users there is the ability to create and maintain your own blog, profile, status, photo albums, etc...

#6 - For groups, such as section maintainers, they too can create a group and utilize it to post information related to their section, or, businesses such as outfitters and hostels can create their own group and use in the same way.



What I am looking for right now is help from the general community of people who may have photos of all the shelters. I will follow up this post with a full shelter list. We want to document each shelter with general history, and photos of the shelter or surrounding area of the shelter.
We intend to publish this site live on February 9th and will follow up this post with URL. We intend to document each shelter on our own on our way thru this year but would like help from the general community to get the shelter documents started.



Any help anyone can give regarding the shelter photos or anything else you may want to contribute to the end to end guide would be much appreciated. You can contact me at jfiguranh-at-gmail-dot-com
Best,
GrinchMT

emerald
01-23-2009, 14:53
What does GMC think of your plans?

RollingStone
01-23-2009, 21:20
Fell on deaf ears apparently. I offered to do this for the GMC. The only answer that was received was by the person in charge of the website who said they would forward the info to the executive director.

IMHO, this will benefit the GMC as we do not intend to leave out who we have to thank for the Long Trail, and or the AT in Vermont.

MOWGLI
01-23-2009, 21:25
Fell on deaf ears apparently. I offered to do this for the GMC. The only answer that was received was by the person in charge of the website who said they would forward the info to the executive director.

IMHO, this will benefit the GMC as we do not intend to leave out who we have to thank for the Long Trail, and or the AT in Vermont.

GMC makes much needed revenue from their guidebook & maps. So no, they probably wouldn't benefit from this. In fact, it has the potential to negatively impact their finances.

4eyedbuzzard
01-23-2009, 22:48
Provided you don't violate copyright or use trademarks owned by GMC(obviously scanning and posting their material/maps would be copyright violation, using their logo, etc would be trademark violation) I don't see an issue with it. Personally I don't see it as any different than the AT situation regarding the companion vs the handbook vs the data book or similar situations with maps being sold by different organizations. None of these organizations have an exclusive right to compile and sell data, maps, or the trail name itself, and some do it for profit as well. None of the other publications have rendered the ATC section books or maps useless, nor have they bankrupted ATC. Similarly, there are many competing guides and maps available for the White Mtn area, and none have killed the AMC, RMC, or DOC.

RollingStone
01-24-2009, 00:28
Mowgli,

Let me clarify. What I presented to the GMC's web person was creating a community centered around facebook type features. I didn't present to the GMC's web person anything but that. When I saw no interest from the GMC it was decided that we would add in these other things and make it a complete site.

While I respect your opinion here, and what you PM'd me about, I do not feel this will hurt the GMC's finances one bit. First, as someone who has donated to the GMC both as a member and in private I am entitled to that opinion. Second, I own each of the past three LT Guidebooks published by the GMC. It is not my intention to create a GMC style guidebook. It IS my intention to provide practical information for the potential long trail hiker. That information will include an online End to End guide that goes well beyond the little pamphlet the GMC has published in the past.

I have no intention of using, copying, or pilfering copyrighted material from the GMC Guidebooks or Maps. Much of this information can be gleaned from other sources such as my own past trail journals we keep in notebooks, others trail journals they have submitted to us and so forth. Maps can easily be created from my own topographic software if I choose to include maps. Currently I have no plans to include maps of real value. But will most likely create and provide GPS tracks during our thru hike.

To reiterate, the main intention is to create an LT centric community. There currently is not one in existence for the LT. Because we are from New England, have spent time in the Whites and Greens and love the Long Trail, this is my way of giving back to the trail to help my fellow hikers. I am sure that my little website and community will not bankrupt or otherwise hurt the GMC's finances considering they made their goals for the second century campaign which was several millions dollars of fundraising.

However, as I said previously, it will ensure the GMC is thought of when hiking those trails. Hopefully people will donate or become members of the GMC.

TJ aka Teej
01-27-2009, 02:30
To reiterate, the main intention is to create an LT centric community. There currently is not one in existence for the LT.

You mean 'virtual' community, right? Cuz there's a hell of an extensive 'LT centric community' in the real world.

RollingStone
01-27-2009, 17:18
Yes. I think it's implied that it is virtual since we are talking about a social networking website.

Jeff
01-27-2009, 18:21
Look here for great photos of the Long Trail:

http://www.jamiecompos.com/longtrail.html

RollingStone
01-28-2009, 22:16
I appreciate that but I have already been in contact with Jamie. He is not interested in allowing us use of his photos.

That's ok though, a great deal of other people have stepped forward. Hopefully we will get most of the shelters for the directory.

--Joe