Andy Sabisch
Active member
Since the post I made on another thread does not appear to be getting read before people send me "flaming" Emails, I thought it best to start a new thread so it was clear what my feelings are on the original issue that came up in the subject line. I hope people read this to the end before hitting the "PM" link and going off . . . . .
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First, as I said in the post I do not have anything negative to say about Gary or the MLO site which is a wealth of information for Minelab users as is Gary's Find Mall site.
The purpose of the post was to respond to several people that contacted me directly asking about the emulator and how to get it. The link that was posted takes you to a page that is NOT clear on what was required to download the emulator (a log in screen appears). It may be clear to some but those that contacted me did not see it that way. Others said they had downloaded it indicated that they were Platinum members.
If all that is required is to required is to register as a FREE member, then adding that to the post with the link would probably have boosted membership and eliminated a number of people getting irate about not being able to access the file. Find Mall was mentioned about also being a free site but the difference between Find Mall and MLO is you do not need to register in order to browse the site - only to post - which is how the vast majority of the sites operate in the States.
Since the MLO members / adminstrators posted the information on the availability of the emulator on Find Mall's site and were more aware of how to gain access to it than most of us here, that piece of information may have been useful to those trying to get to it.
Setting up a free membership should help a number of people that are not current MLO members get access to the application and reap the benefits of Max's work.
Pat Watson made a comment in his post "If people have been contacting you saying they couldn't get to the emulator, then there's another issue here. And they need to contact one of the admin team on the site, so we can help them figure out what the problem is." I think that is sound advice as even I have experienced issues being able to log in and access content which required site admin support over the past year or so.
So, a few final comments:
1) If I upset MLO members or adminstrators, I offer a sincere apology. Yes, I did ask for input in the new book which was graciously provided and for that I am greatly appreciative but I would hope a request for input for which credit was given is not negated by trying to respond to several inquiries from Find Mall forum users, especially when the link that was provided would not have allowed non-members to download it or even access the page.
2) My comment about how the application was to be distributed was based on Emails I still have directly from Minelab at the time the emulator project was started . . . so if that changed, I was not aware of it and I simply provided the details as I understood them based on these communications from Minelab late last year (which is also the basis for what I put in the book and why people contacted me directly).
3) If I have upset Gary Brun, then again, I offer my apology and also as I have stated before here as well as in print, he adminsters a great site with a wealth of information and one that any Minelab owber (or prospective owner) should check out and bookmark.
4) It is a shame that often a single post on a forum incites people more than issues that in the big scheme of things really matter. We are all passionate about treasure hunting but in the end, it is just a hobby. How about all of us stepping back, taking a deep breath, and moving forward. It appears that the simple solution to this post is for anyone interested in getting a copy of the E-Trac emulator to simply register and become a member of Gary's site. If you want additional content, then feel free to upgrade to Platinum membership but there is no requirement to do so to join that family of detectorists.
In closing, since I clearly upset MLO members / admins / owners, I again apologize for the initial post. It appears that there is a simple solution to the issue and hopefully we can put this behind us.
Andy Sabisch
==========
First, as I said in the post I do not have anything negative to say about Gary or the MLO site which is a wealth of information for Minelab users as is Gary's Find Mall site.
The purpose of the post was to respond to several people that contacted me directly asking about the emulator and how to get it. The link that was posted takes you to a page that is NOT clear on what was required to download the emulator (a log in screen appears). It may be clear to some but those that contacted me did not see it that way. Others said they had downloaded it indicated that they were Platinum members.
If all that is required is to required is to register as a FREE member, then adding that to the post with the link would probably have boosted membership and eliminated a number of people getting irate about not being able to access the file. Find Mall was mentioned about also being a free site but the difference between Find Mall and MLO is you do not need to register in order to browse the site - only to post - which is how the vast majority of the sites operate in the States.
Since the MLO members / adminstrators posted the information on the availability of the emulator on Find Mall's site and were more aware of how to gain access to it than most of us here, that piece of information may have been useful to those trying to get to it.
Setting up a free membership should help a number of people that are not current MLO members get access to the application and reap the benefits of Max's work.
Pat Watson made a comment in his post "If people have been contacting you saying they couldn't get to the emulator, then there's another issue here. And they need to contact one of the admin team on the site, so we can help them figure out what the problem is." I think that is sound advice as even I have experienced issues being able to log in and access content which required site admin support over the past year or so.
So, a few final comments:
1) If I upset MLO members or adminstrators, I offer a sincere apology. Yes, I did ask for input in the new book which was graciously provided and for that I am greatly appreciative but I would hope a request for input for which credit was given is not negated by trying to respond to several inquiries from Find Mall forum users, especially when the link that was provided would not have allowed non-members to download it or even access the page.
2) My comment about how the application was to be distributed was based on Emails I still have directly from Minelab at the time the emulator project was started . . . so if that changed, I was not aware of it and I simply provided the details as I understood them based on these communications from Minelab late last year (which is also the basis for what I put in the book and why people contacted me directly).
3) If I have upset Gary Brun, then again, I offer my apology and also as I have stated before here as well as in print, he adminsters a great site with a wealth of information and one that any Minelab owber (or prospective owner) should check out and bookmark.
4) It is a shame that often a single post on a forum incites people more than issues that in the big scheme of things really matter. We are all passionate about treasure hunting but in the end, it is just a hobby. How about all of us stepping back, taking a deep breath, and moving forward. It appears that the simple solution to this post is for anyone interested in getting a copy of the E-Trac emulator to simply register and become a member of Gary's site. If you want additional content, then feel free to upgrade to Platinum membership but there is no requirement to do so to join that family of detectorists.
In closing, since I clearly upset MLO members / admins / owners, I again apologize for the initial post. It appears that there is a simple solution to the issue and hopefully we can put this behind us.
Andy Sabisch