[GreenKeys] thoughts on NADCOMM

[Steve Schlink]

Just some thoughts on the future of NADCOMM  ...

1. If preservation and the continued display of the equipment is of primary 
interest, then an independently (READ: non-corporate controlled) governed 
museum is imperative.

2. In doing a cursory Google search I find it interesting that although 
there is one in the UK, there apparently is no Assn. of Independent Museums 
in the US.

3. Large museums will have no interest whatsoever, even if they would 
initially agree, the equipment would soon find its way into storage, then 
would be sold. The Smithsonian is the worst of the offenders about doing 
this. They routinely accept donations, only to shove them off into 
warehouses and then trade them off.

4. To escape the single source of funding problem where the loss of the 
primary sponsor spells its demise, a person familiar with museum funding 
and sponsorship is needed, probably on a continuing basis. Someone who is 
familiar with begging for money.

5. In order for the display to be viable financially supportable, it has to 
be located in a high traffic metro area, for I doubt that it will ever be a 
destination in and of itself generating high enough traffic to be 
attractive to sponsor.

6. A large part of the issue is that the general population, while 
acknowledging the importance of "communication" really isn't interested in 
what's "behind the curtain". Whether future generations will care or take 
the time to see (and hopefully witness it functioning) the equipment 
displayed, or will be satisfied to just view a web image
remains to be seen.

7. While the equipment is a large part of the history, what is really 
slipping away is the first hand experience, stories, etc. that you  guys 
have operating the equipment. Without the anecdotal stories, it's just a 
bunch of machines, as static as an antique typewrite display.

Maybe the best solution is to find a cave or salt mine somewhere and just 
seal it all up, and hopefully in some future millennium a discoverer will 
appreciate the find more than 99.999% of the population does today.

Comments, ideas?

Steve