To the Concours Committee and the List,
In his most recent email to the list, Rich Chrysler said "Isn't it nice
to see that we can all effectively help each other to make the cars
better and maintain the marque?"
His comment reminded me of an issue about which I have been thinking for
a while. In fact, I have discussed the matter with a couple of the
members of the Concours Committee as well.
At the risk of starting an all-out flame war, I suggest that if the
Concours Committee truly wanted to promote the preservation and
continuation of the Healey marque, it should make the Concours
Guidelines freely available in electronic format for all to read,
comment on and use. The electronic distribution could be on a CD or,
even better, available on a web site (I would even volunteer to transfer
the content to electronic format and host such a site).
I have heard many arguments from those who oppose such a move, but none
have convinced me that the distribution of the Guidelines should remain
locked in a paper format. Without going into detail, I think I could
persuasively counter any argument of copyright, unauthorized
distribution, content control and financial considerations for the
Committee.
Whatever your thoughts are regarding the Concours process, the Concours
Guidelines are an invaluable source of information for those who want to
restore and maintain their Healey, concours or not. However, it is
incomplete. I have many times referred to my copy of the Guidelines only
to find the information is not there. If the Guidelines were available
to everyone, the "many eyes" theory of peer review could make this an
even more invaluable document. Look at the power of this email list and
then imagine what the Guidelines could be if the power of the list could
be used to improve the Guidelines!
I would welcome any comments people have on this subject, on or
off-list.
John P. New
London, Ontario, Canada
'67 BJ8
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