User Manual Section

[Foxinabox10]

Dave, is there anyway to have a section where users can post links to or upload copies of user manuals for easy reference? Manufacturer websites can often be hard to navigate, especially for products that have been discontinued. This would make it much easier to find manuals.

Any thoughts from others?

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Originally Posted by Foxinabox10

Dave, is there anyway to have a section where users can post links to or upload copies of user manuals for easy reference? Manufacturer websites can often be hard to navigate, especially for products that have been discontinued. This would make it much easier to find manuals.
Any thoughts from others?

Personally I am trying to get rid of my manuals. I keep about anything that I need in PDF form on my jump drive. I used to have a binder full of them, but I found it easier just to go to the sites and get them. The problem you will run into is that if the company still exist, getting the manual is rather easy, if it has been bought out/gone out of business (the parilespheres SP! from another thread) you SOL on the manual unless you can find someone that hung onto it.

[Foxinabox10]

That's why if users had these old manuals in PDF form, they could post them on this site for the rest of the users to benefit.

[Van]

It might be a possibility but it might also raise some copyright issues. Maybe not. Hmmm definately worth looking into. Cool idea .

[Chris15]

Copyright - down here, if the publication is out of print and cannot be reasonably obtained, then you can photocopy it in its entirety. I imagine a similar approach could apply in the cyber world, but it is most definitely something I think that more competent advice is needed on and even then, the rules are different in the various parts of the world...

[cutlunch]

Another thing is the cost to dvsDave of all the extra storage needed. That is if Controlbooth is to hold the manuals as opposed to just links. Also what about bandwidth costs if we are downloading manuals from ControlBooth.

[dvsDave]

let me review our current storage and bandwidth usage and I'll get back with you about this idea... I do like it, and it would be a great project for the CB community.

[avkid]

Guys, if you are just putting a document(that did not cost anything in the first place) in a database you shouldn't have any problems with copyright. Also, to save space only discontinued manuals should be the only ones that will be uploaded, in production manuals should be direct linked.

[Van]

Originally Posted by avkid

Guys, if you are just putting a document(that did not cost anything in the first place) in a database you shouldn't have any problems with copyright. Also, to save space only discontinued manuals should be the only ones that will be uploaded, in production manuals should be direct linked.

One would hope, but hen again Color kinetics just got a patent on sequential numbering of lighting cues..............

No seriously I agree. And you're right in-print manuals get a link out of print / obsolete, .pdf. or whatever.

[dvsDave]

Alright, the bandwidth and space requirements are ample enough for what we need. Give me a bit to figure out what solution I want to use to implement this.

-David