[Logic] Buckmaster callbook web site

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 09:57:08 -0400

Sounds good to me.  And if I could drop the ad display in LOGic, it 
would be further incentive for people to pay.

Tnx & 73,

Dennis WN4AZY

To:             	[email protected]
From:           	"Daniel L. Bateman" <[email protected]>
Subject:        	Re: [Logic] Buckmaster callbook web site
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Date sent:      	Tue, 15 Jul 2003 16:16:10 -0400

> 
> Hi,
> 
>    My name is Dan Bateman, I work for Buckmaster Publishing, the company 
> that makes the HamCall CD-ROM.  As some LOGic users have noticed, we've 
> changed our callsign lookup website so the information is no longer 
> understandable to computer programs.  This was originally to keep automated 
> programs from harvesting information from our website, especially people's 
> e-mail addresses.  It's a known fact that spammers get many of their 
> addresses to mail to from automated programs that surf the web looking for 
> e-mail addresses.  The HamCall site with it's 160,000+ e-mail addresses was 
> a prime target, although we don't believe any significant number have been 
> harvested due to diligence on our part in watching server activity.  We've 
> also found that automated programs tend to put a large strain on our server 
> and bandwidth, they're not very polite and do several lookups per second 
> for hours or longer.  All that doesn't apply to LOGic, but it's part of why 
> we changed the way our server returns callsign data.
> 
>    Also, thinking of the long-term, even though we enjoy our work on 
> HamCall and would like to be able to do it for free, it is our means of 
> support and we can't afford to give it all away for free.  A limited number 
> of web browser-based lookups is fine to demonstrate the completeness of our 
> database, but the enhanced functionality of actually supplying callsign 
> data to be parsed into fields and digested into a program is something we 
> feel we deserve to be paid for.
> 
>    So where does this leave LOGic users?  The combination of a logging 
> program and HamCall is a great tool, but we realize that CD-ROMs are to a 
> certain extent out of date as soon as you receive them, even with HamCall's 
> ability to download monthly update files.  Hundreds or thousands of changes 
> are made to our database every day.  What we would like to propose is a 
> Internet-based callsign lookup system where for each lookup the LOGic 
> program would submit to our server the callsign you want to look up and 
> your registered HamCall callsign and password.  Our server would then 
> return the full data for that callsign, right out of the current master 
> HamCall database.  LOGic could treat these lookups just like lookups from a 
> CD-ROM, and it could save your login information so you wouldn't have to 
> type it in each time.
> 
>    A password is included with each HamCall CD-ROM.  If you already have 
> one your current password would work just fine.  Otherwise the HamCall CD 
> can be had for  $50, or as little as $30 if you get one through our 
> auctions.  Both of these come with a password good for 6 months.  For $80 
> you can get a CD with a password good for a full year of lookups.  In the 
> future we may offer an Internet-only subscription for a lower price if the 
> interest is sufficient.
> 
>    I realize some people will never pay for what they can manage to get for 
> free elsewhere, even if it's not the most accurate or current data.  But we 
> believe that most people think it's reasonable to pay something for a 
> useful service.  Plus with the expenses of getting a QSL card up to a 
> dollar or two, good current addresses are important and should be worth 
> something.  We're interested in everyone's input and comments, and Dennis, 
> let us know if you're interested in the Internet-based callsign lookup 
> system.  It shouldn't be hard for you or us to implement.
> 
> 
> 73,
> 
> -Dan Bateman
> http://hamcall.net
> 
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> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/logic
> 

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