Re: Wait a minute! - long post

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Posted by Tim Elliott from 24.41.0.151 on October 21, 2000 at 23:45:06:

In Reply to: Wait a minute! posted by Richiana Jones on October 21, 2000 at 19:41:02:

I'm all for a great Indy site, and I hope you'll take my comments as constructive criticism.

: I didn't really clone any sites...that information is taken straight from the IMDB...as is The Raiders (check it).

Well, that's my point. There are lots of places on the web with outdated and re-hashed Indy information - I'm not necessarily referring to any site in particular, mind you - so why put the same old data on your site?

My suggestion would be to cite the gaffes and continuity errors posted elsewhere, even the incorrect ones, and EXPAND upon them. (Your site has an item about the 1936 map image showing Thailand rather than Siam, I believe. You can add to that one, offer new commentary, by noting that the map also names "Iran," which was still known as Persia in 1936.)

REBUT the old information where necessary. (Some sites seem determined to say "Indy's revolver fired seven times without reloading..." or "First it's a .38, then it's a .45, now it's a .38 again!!!"

Why not take advantage of the endless discussions from this forum and CORRECT such information instead of regurgitating it. To spruce up this item on your site, for instance, you could:

• Go through the archive forum pages here, locate one of the many discussions about that particular sequence, pick the most clear, concise, convincing post and add the quote to the rebuttal. (It's important to give due credit when you're doing so, but I think it's good to cite your references anyway.);
• Give people the timecode references for the recently-released widescreen videos and they can see for themselves how the second weapon comes into play (start the time code when the Paramount logo comes on); or
• Heck, give them high-resolution frame-grabs or streaming video and SHOW them right on your site how it really happened. If the object of the exercise is to create the ultimate Indy fan site, you've got to go beyond what's already out there.

:Have you seen any other Indy site offer a prize total as large as that on it's first day...or offer Voice Chat...or even offer the Wested for sale?

Well, you can order a Wested using Wested's web site, but I'll concede it's not an Indy-specific site. When I tried your site's link to buy a Wested jacket, it DID take me to a cool "As Seen on Screen" site, but I had to do another search once I got there for 'Indiana Jones.' And with that search, one can only order regular off-the-rack sizes and there's no mention of the various available styles or leather choices.

I'm on your side, and I commend you on the chat innovations and the fan fic prizes. I just think you have plenty of room to make the site better than it is now.

: Have you ever seen an Indiana Jones Fan Club...
As someone else said here recently, I consider the Indyfan site a fan club of sorts. (It's a very libertarian type of club, but a club nonetheless.)

: As far as the films go - there is not much more to say, but if those are not new and original...what is? What is your definition of original?

I'm not sure what you mean. Even today, nearly 20 years after "Raiders," I still see new stills and behind-the-scenes images pop up occasionally. Some good ones were added on Indyfan recently. So even though they're technically not new, they were welcome additions to the 30 or so images EVERY Indy site trots out. My definition of 'original' in this instance is something - commentary, images, resources - that isn't available anywhere else.

Speaking of pictures and how one can differentiate a new Indy web site from all the others - quality and quantity count. Find better, higher-resolution sources for Indy photos. Make high-res scans of them and offer us alternatives to the tiny, grainy, poorly-scanned images that some other sites have.

Or scour the Internet, find as many separate Indy-related images as you can (such as the galleries here at Indyfan and the terrific Pics Page at http://members.nbci.com/HFPics/indy.html). Ask the various sites' owners for permission to thumbnail their images on your site. (When someone double-clicks on the thumbnail, the image opens in a separate window directly from the original site.)

Again, if the goal is to have the ultimate Indy fan site, think BIG. Give me, the Indy surfer, a comprehensive thumbnail picture page with every Indy image you can find. And that's just one example.

I'll look forward to watching your site grow and improve.

Cheers,

Tim




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