[bksvol-discuss] Re: volunteers who are not contributing
- From: "Paula and James Muysenberg" <outofsightlife@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 22:16:01 -0500
Dear Rose,
I was not one of the people who commented about this problem, but I
believe the concern was not directed toward volunteers who have limited time
to spend working on books. The question was whether there might be people
who sign up to volunteer, then download books merely to read them, with no
intention of actually validating them. I think the question arose, because
there seem to be a few individuals who renew books several times, and then
release them.
All of us probably have times when after working on a book for awhile,
we end up having to release it for some reason. When a volunteer has a
pattern of repeated renewals, followed by releases, however, it raises the
question as to whether they ever validate anything, or if they just want to
read books, without paying for a membership. It's very possible that no one
is taking advantage of Bookshare in that way, but I understand why some
folks are wondering about it.
Many of us, like you, can't spend a lot of time each day fixing up
books. If you choose to validate something that turns out to need lost of
work, I can see why you would need to renew it a number of times. If the
submitter didn't proofread the book, it's certainly not your fault that it
takes a long time to get it into better shape. Also, if a book really needs
tons of work, you may want to reject it and go on to something that can be
finished in a reasonable amount of time. I agree with those who have
suggested that in light of the more advanced sofware we have now, it might
be better for Bookshare to do away with the Fair rating. I fear that books
which are riddled with errors only give Bookshare a bad reputation with new
subscribers.
As for the book you validated, but could not upload, you may want to
contact Gustavo or Janice, if you run into that problem again. If you send
them the attached zipped file, someone at Bookshare may be able to upload
the book, so your work won't be wasted.
I don't think anyone on this list means to give the impression that only
volunteers who can devote several hours a day to preparing books are
welcome. At the risk of sounding trite, it's the combined efforts (big and
small) of all of us that help make all these books available.
Paula
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rose Combs" <rosecombs@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 9:06 PM
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: volunteers who are not contributing
> I was not going to weigh in on this issue, however, I signed up to be a
> volunteer early in the year and almost immediately had other things
> happening that kept me from doing anything. Then I submitted one book.
> And again did nothing for a while. I then downloaded a huge book,
> worked on it evenings and weekends for a couple of weeks and could not
> upload it.
>
> Since that time I have not taken anything off the step one page, again
> partly because of the problems I had with my only attempt at validating.
> I have about four books here scanned but am waiting for K1000 version 10
> to arrive so I can fix some issues with tables before submitting them.
>
> I work sometimes 50 hours a week at my job, have other things happening
> in my life and I might at some time be one of those people who would
> renew a book and continue working on it rather than submit a bad copy.
>
> Should I give up being a volunteer and never ever attempt another
> validation because in someone's opinion I might take too long to get the
> project done? I cannot spend all day working on the computer and then
> submit a book hours after I downloaded it unless I meet the minimum
> requirements for validation, check copyright and send it back.
>
>
>
> Rose Combs
> rosecombs@xxxxxxxxx
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Pam Quinn
> Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 1:53 PM
> To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: volunteers who are not contributing
>
>
> Same here. I volunteered, submitted a couple of books, and then think
> I went over a year doing nothing else. But nor did I download anything
> from the step 1 page.
>
> Pam
>
>
>
> >I went through such a period. Don't know how long it was--certainly
> months. I did not read nor submit after several submissions. My
> project is finished and I'm submitting again.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: E.
> > To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 10:51 AM
> > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] volunteers who are not contributing
> >
> >
> > Are there folks who sign up to volunteer and then neither submit nor
> > validate for long periods? I mean a lapse of say more than say a
> year. I
> > am trying to figure out if folks are joining so they can read for
> free.
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
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