Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
http://www.stampsmarter.com/features/ChecklistHome.html
Just released a free, online tool which allows you to customize and print any kind of illustrated US stamp checklist. It is a handy way to make a Want List or an Inventory Form. The tool is organized to break up the stamps into logical groups. This serves to keep download times short and print jobs reasonable. Please view the short instructional video below to learn more.
Note; I recommend keeping your custom checklist configurations short, trying to print out hundreds of pages at a time can be problematic. If you can easily combine your printed checklists together.
Don
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Awesome! Looks like I'm gonna need to stock up on ink cartridges.
Don, thanks for everything you do for the hobby, it's greatly appreciated!!!
WB
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Added a new Canadian checklist at
http://stampsmarter.com/features/ChecklistCanadaHome.html
Don
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Great help, Don....thanks for that and all you do for collectors with the website.
In my local stamp club we have a member who uses a recent Mystic catalog
as his checklist - just uses a red marker to note items owned.
I guess the nice thing about that is its free!
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Hi Everyone;
Thank you for your service to our hobby, and hope it encourages others to become new stamp collectors, or new SOR members. You are a very giving person and the best recruiter for our club ever!
Still just sortin'....
TuskenRaider
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A lot of effort must have gone into producing these US and Canada checklists. I would be interested to know how it was achieved and how long it took.
Once we establish how it was done and how long it took maybe some of us could volunteer with a country.
Regards
Richmond
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Don,
Is there a way to print a range or select specific stamps to add to checklist?
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Hi Richmond,
The request for a Canadian checklist came up on over on the SCF this week and it took me about 4 man hours to code the new pages. But this is because I already had a SQL database for all the Canadian stamps including the images.
I am an advocate for using databases for just this reason. Once you have a database, you have a foundation which can be used for decades to come; you spend much less time chasing the technology as operating systems, browsers, desktop apps, and the device they run on all change every few years. A SQL database will not change over time, it stays stable and remains useable. It is cross platform. But most importantly it saves huge amounts of time and money.
Say you want present a page for each stamp from a country and they have 4500 stamps. No one would want to code, and then maintain, 4500 separate webpages. Instead, you put a database in place and with a single webpage which populates itself from the database. Better yet, now someone asks for a printable checklist. All you have to do is a new printable webpage suing the same data you already have. I can establish a new database for a country in about 20 man hours but then someone has to populate the database. Adding 4500 stamps, including scans, can take a considerable amount of time.
But this is another advantage of using SQL database; it supports group efforts. When I start new databases for Stamp Smarter, I set them up as community project. This allows many people to enter and add data from all over the world, all at the same time. So if you said ‘let’s start a new database for Great Britain’ I could have a database in place ion a few days. If we then had 5-10 folks all helping us add the stamps and images to it, we could get it done in a few weeks. I would then be able to code all kinds of webpage based upon the new database including checklists and online catalogs. For example, I have a France stamp database in progress (but not yet released); here is a single page that is being populated by the database http://www.stampsmarter.com/features/FranceHome.html
If I wanted, I could easily add a France checklist page in a few hours using the same underlying data.
Don
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Hi Al,
Users can easily select specific pages to print using the ‘Print’ function’ in the browser as shown below (Edge browser shown, other browsershave similar functionality)
I originally had a custom page in place in which users could select specific stamps to add to the checklist or want list but this proved to complex and problematic. For example, imagine that you want to build a want list for 40-50 stamps; it would take you an hour or longer to navigate from page to page selecting the stamps. If your connection dropped, or you accidently closed you browser, your effort would be lost.
Of course there are ways to allow users to save there work but this was beyond what I was willing to code (for now).
Don
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Studebaker
I am happy to volunteer time however I assume you would require a Scott catalogue.
Out of interest is snipping images from Colnect an option for the images?
Regards
Richmond
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Richmond,
Great question but please understand it would require a book to fully answer. A legal degree would also be quite helpful and this is something that I do not have. But since the topic of ‘reusing’ or taking other’s people images is something that many online hobbyists should know about, I’ll offer my opinion. (There are plenty of other folks who are better than myself who can explain this topic, like Chris. If he has the time, perhaps he can offer an explaination.)
I have done some research into this topic and have formed a strategy for Stamp Smarter. Please also keep in mind that my strategy is greatly influenced by the laws in the US because that is where I live (and the Stamp Smarter website is located). I begin with the premise that other people work hard to generate their images and they deserve to have their work respected. I do not assume an image to be freely available for me to take and reuse no matter what the source might be. As a person who spends a lot of time making images I hope that others will respect my rights and believe that consideration is a two-way street.
It is important to briefly discuss image ‘types’. If an image (either an photograph, scan, or drawing) contains a concept or idea that is your own, then it can be considered copyrighted. But for our concerns here let us assume that the images in question are those of stamps and do not contain creative content.
In any image copyright discussion you will find that many people cite ‘Fair Use’ as an excuse for using another person’s work. Simply defined ‘Fair use’ is the right to use an image as long as that image’s use is for educational, research, or personal use or as long as the use of the image benefits the public in some way. But in my opinion ‘Fair Use’ is not an excuse to take and use another’s person image, it is a defense in using another’s person image. In other words, ‘Fair Use’ is the defense that would be used during an expensive legal action. Fair Use is an important thing to understand as is the fact that Stamp Smarter is a site which clearly fits within the definition of an educational, non-commercial, personal use website.
But let us talk about the reality of the litigious society that we live in; legal actions are often a rich man’s game. The person with the deepest pockets can easily outlast the other person with legal maneuvers that drains the shallow pockets person’s bank accounts and causes them to give up. Being ‘right’ or ’wrong’ may not have anything to do with it, the law may not have anything to do with it, money may have everything to do with it. There are, of course, free legal resources in which a shallow pocket person might be able to utilize but these resources might be best used for more significant injustices than someone reusing a stamp image.
Now let’s briefly discuss the process which happens when an someone takes exception to their image being taken and used. The first step is to notified them that the image is considered copyrighted and the use is not acceptable. This typically takes the form of a ‘cease and desist’ letter from a lawyer. My policy is that if I receive notification that an image on Stamp Smarted is copyrighted, I verify the image in question, try to determine the source, and if it all checks out then I remove it. Life is too short (especially mine!) to play legal games over a single image and it is often much easier to make a new scan or replacement image.
Given the context above, my strategy is to try to always ask for permission before using someone else’s image. I find the majority of the time stamp folks will give you permission. I keep the request and permission on file in case any question comes up later. But note that at times it may not be possible to ask the original owner. Stamp Smarter is a community site, much like this forum, and people other than myself can upload images. I try to keep everyone informed on how I would like to have images uploaded but obviously it is possible that another person might not comply. In that case I immediately remove any image when an original owner notifies me of a possible copyright issue.
There is a flow chart which helps a person navigate the image copyright decision making process. I am not sure it is 100% correct but it illustrates basic concepts and the complexity of the topic. Click on link below to see the flow chart.
http://www.stampsmarter.com/img/Infographic_CanIUseThatPicture4sm.jpg
Don
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Don,
For the checklist, I was just wondering if you specific ranges of stamps and not just ranges of pages. It is not a request but was wondering how customized you could get the list prior to printing.
The image discussion is always interesting. I had posted some pictures on SCF I took at Richmonds stamp show and then saw them printed in the USSS journal with the source listed as SCF website.
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"Out of interest is snipping images from Colnect an option for the images?"
"Great question but please understand it would require a book to fully answer. A legal degree would also be quite helpful and this is something that I do not have. But since the topic of ‘reusing’ or taking other’s people images is something that many online hobbyists should know about ... "
Actually in the case of Colnect they make it fairly simple. They provide an API which can be used to access their database. In order for a developer to gain access to the API one fills out an application form explaining one's intended use of the data. Once approved the developer is provide with a unique developer specific key which is used to access the data. Further details may be found here https://colnect.com/en/forum/viewforum!f=139
I have recently spent some time experimenting with the API using both C++ and PHP, I found it not particularly difficult to query their database.
Clive
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Colnect...
The owner of that site stole money from another stamp forum for months using affiliate spam. When he got blocked, he would establish new user IDs with spoofed IPs; proving his intentions. He also used automated affiliate spam throughout Wikipedia.
I would not let that site, him, or any of his minions darken the door of any development effort or community that I am associated with.
Don
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According to this website, and I appreciate it may not be legally correct, to quote from the last paragraph:- "Congress empowered the USPS to "use the copyright law to prevent the reproduction of postage stamp designs for private or commercial non-postal services," meaning postage stamps are protected by copyrights. So don't steal a cool stamp design."
http://blogs.findlaw.com/legally_weird/2017/08/are-postage-stamps-protected-by-copyright.html
However, I'm sure as Don says that "fair use" would come into play unless it is being reproduced for pecuniary advantage.
This is the position in USA and presume it is similar in other countries.
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"Colnect...
The owner of that site stole money from another stamp forum for months using affiliate spam. When he got blocked, he would establish new user IDs with spoofed IPs; proving his intentions. He also used automated affiliate spam throughout Wikipedia."
I of course was not aware of this, but based on what you say I can completely understand your reluctance to be associated with them in any way.
For me though, having put far too many development hours into a project that relies on extracting data from Colnect, I either have to find another source of online stamp data or walk away from the project completely, something I am not too keen to do.
Clive
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http://www.stampsmarter.com/features/ChecklistHome.html
Just released a free, online tool which allows you to customize and print any kind of illustrated US stamp checklist. It is a handy way to make a Want List or an Inventory Form. The tool is organized to break up the stamps into logical groups. This serves to keep download times short and print jobs reasonable. Please view the short instructional video below to learn more.
Note; I recommend keeping your custom checklist configurations short, trying to print out hundreds of pages at a time can be problematic. If you can easily combine your printed checklists together.
Don
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like this post.
Login to Like.
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Awesome! Looks like I'm gonna need to stock up on ink cartridges.
Don, thanks for everything you do for the hobby, it's greatly appreciated!!!
WB
2 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Added a new Canadian checklist at
http://stampsmarter.com/features/ChecklistCanadaHome.html
Don
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Great help, Don....thanks for that and all you do for collectors with the website.
In my local stamp club we have a member who uses a recent Mystic catalog
as his checklist - just uses a red marker to note items owned.
I guess the nice thing about that is its free!
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Hi Everyone;
Thank you for your service to our hobby, and hope it encourages others to become new stamp collectors, or new SOR members. You are a very giving person and the best recruiter for our club ever!
Still just sortin'....
TuskenRaider
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
A lot of effort must have gone into producing these US and Canada checklists. I would be interested to know how it was achieved and how long it took.
Once we establish how it was done and how long it took maybe some of us could volunteer with a country.
Regards
Richmond
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Don,
Is there a way to print a range or select specific stamps to add to checklist?
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Hi Richmond,
The request for a Canadian checklist came up on over on the SCF this week and it took me about 4 man hours to code the new pages. But this is because I already had a SQL database for all the Canadian stamps including the images.
I am an advocate for using databases for just this reason. Once you have a database, you have a foundation which can be used for decades to come; you spend much less time chasing the technology as operating systems, browsers, desktop apps, and the device they run on all change every few years. A SQL database will not change over time, it stays stable and remains useable. It is cross platform. But most importantly it saves huge amounts of time and money.
Say you want present a page for each stamp from a country and they have 4500 stamps. No one would want to code, and then maintain, 4500 separate webpages. Instead, you put a database in place and with a single webpage which populates itself from the database. Better yet, now someone asks for a printable checklist. All you have to do is a new printable webpage suing the same data you already have. I can establish a new database for a country in about 20 man hours but then someone has to populate the database. Adding 4500 stamps, including scans, can take a considerable amount of time.
But this is another advantage of using SQL database; it supports group efforts. When I start new databases for Stamp Smarter, I set them up as community project. This allows many people to enter and add data from all over the world, all at the same time. So if you said ‘let’s start a new database for Great Britain’ I could have a database in place ion a few days. If we then had 5-10 folks all helping us add the stamps and images to it, we could get it done in a few weeks. I would then be able to code all kinds of webpage based upon the new database including checklists and online catalogs. For example, I have a France stamp database in progress (but not yet released); here is a single page that is being populated by the database http://www.stampsmarter.com/features/FranceHome.html
If I wanted, I could easily add a France checklist page in a few hours using the same underlying data.
Don
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like this post.
Login to Like.
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Hi Al,
Users can easily select specific pages to print using the ‘Print’ function’ in the browser as shown below (Edge browser shown, other browsershave similar functionality)
I originally had a custom page in place in which users could select specific stamps to add to the checklist or want list but this proved to complex and problematic. For example, imagine that you want to build a want list for 40-50 stamps; it would take you an hour or longer to navigate from page to page selecting the stamps. If your connection dropped, or you accidently closed you browser, your effort would be lost.
Of course there are ways to allow users to save there work but this was beyond what I was willing to code (for now).
Don
4 Members
like this post.
Login to Like.
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Studebaker
I am happy to volunteer time however I assume you would require a Scott catalogue.
Out of interest is snipping images from Colnect an option for the images?
Regards
Richmond
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Richmond,
Great question but please understand it would require a book to fully answer. A legal degree would also be quite helpful and this is something that I do not have. But since the topic of ‘reusing’ or taking other’s people images is something that many online hobbyists should know about, I’ll offer my opinion. (There are plenty of other folks who are better than myself who can explain this topic, like Chris. If he has the time, perhaps he can offer an explaination.)
I have done some research into this topic and have formed a strategy for Stamp Smarter. Please also keep in mind that my strategy is greatly influenced by the laws in the US because that is where I live (and the Stamp Smarter website is located). I begin with the premise that other people work hard to generate their images and they deserve to have their work respected. I do not assume an image to be freely available for me to take and reuse no matter what the source might be. As a person who spends a lot of time making images I hope that others will respect my rights and believe that consideration is a two-way street.
It is important to briefly discuss image ‘types’. If an image (either an photograph, scan, or drawing) contains a concept or idea that is your own, then it can be considered copyrighted. But for our concerns here let us assume that the images in question are those of stamps and do not contain creative content.
In any image copyright discussion you will find that many people cite ‘Fair Use’ as an excuse for using another person’s work. Simply defined ‘Fair use’ is the right to use an image as long as that image’s use is for educational, research, or personal use or as long as the use of the image benefits the public in some way. But in my opinion ‘Fair Use’ is not an excuse to take and use another’s person image, it is a defense in using another’s person image. In other words, ‘Fair Use’ is the defense that would be used during an expensive legal action. Fair Use is an important thing to understand as is the fact that Stamp Smarter is a site which clearly fits within the definition of an educational, non-commercial, personal use website.
But let us talk about the reality of the litigious society that we live in; legal actions are often a rich man’s game. The person with the deepest pockets can easily outlast the other person with legal maneuvers that drains the shallow pockets person’s bank accounts and causes them to give up. Being ‘right’ or ’wrong’ may not have anything to do with it, the law may not have anything to do with it, money may have everything to do with it. There are, of course, free legal resources in which a shallow pocket person might be able to utilize but these resources might be best used for more significant injustices than someone reusing a stamp image.
Now let’s briefly discuss the process which happens when an someone takes exception to their image being taken and used. The first step is to notified them that the image is considered copyrighted and the use is not acceptable. This typically takes the form of a ‘cease and desist’ letter from a lawyer. My policy is that if I receive notification that an image on Stamp Smarted is copyrighted, I verify the image in question, try to determine the source, and if it all checks out then I remove it. Life is too short (especially mine!) to play legal games over a single image and it is often much easier to make a new scan or replacement image.
Given the context above, my strategy is to try to always ask for permission before using someone else’s image. I find the majority of the time stamp folks will give you permission. I keep the request and permission on file in case any question comes up later. But note that at times it may not be possible to ask the original owner. Stamp Smarter is a community site, much like this forum, and people other than myself can upload images. I try to keep everyone informed on how I would like to have images uploaded but obviously it is possible that another person might not comply. In that case I immediately remove any image when an original owner notifies me of a possible copyright issue.
There is a flow chart which helps a person navigate the image copyright decision making process. I am not sure it is 100% correct but it illustrates basic concepts and the complexity of the topic. Click on link below to see the flow chart.
http://www.stampsmarter.com/img/Infographic_CanIUseThatPicture4sm.jpg
Don
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likes this post.
Login to Like.
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Don,
For the checklist, I was just wondering if you specific ranges of stamps and not just ranges of pages. It is not a request but was wondering how customized you could get the list prior to printing.
The image discussion is always interesting. I had posted some pictures on SCF I took at Richmonds stamp show and then saw them printed in the USSS journal with the source listed as SCF website.
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
"Out of interest is snipping images from Colnect an option for the images?"
"Great question but please understand it would require a book to fully answer. A legal degree would also be quite helpful and this is something that I do not have. But since the topic of ‘reusing’ or taking other’s people images is something that many online hobbyists should know about ... "
Actually in the case of Colnect they make it fairly simple. They provide an API which can be used to access their database. In order for a developer to gain access to the API one fills out an application form explaining one's intended use of the data. Once approved the developer is provide with a unique developer specific key which is used to access the data. Further details may be found here https://colnect.com/en/forum/viewforum!f=139
I have recently spent some time experimenting with the API using both C++ and PHP, I found it not particularly difficult to query their database.
Clive
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
Colnect...
The owner of that site stole money from another stamp forum for months using affiliate spam. When he got blocked, he would establish new user IDs with spoofed IPs; proving his intentions. He also used automated affiliate spam throughout Wikipedia.
I would not let that site, him, or any of his minions darken the door of any development effort or community that I am associated with.
Don
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this post
Approvals
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
According to this website, and I appreciate it may not be legally correct, to quote from the last paragraph:- "Congress empowered the USPS to "use the copyright law to prevent the reproduction of postage stamp designs for private or commercial non-postal services," meaning postage stamps are protected by copyrights. So don't steal a cool stamp design."
http://blogs.findlaw.com/legally_weird/2017/08/are-postage-stamps-protected-by-copyright.html
However, I'm sure as Don says that "fair use" would come into play unless it is being reproduced for pecuniary advantage.
This is the position in USA and presume it is similar in other countries.
Login to Like
this post
re: 'Print Your Own' Checklists
"Colnect...
The owner of that site stole money from another stamp forum for months using affiliate spam. When he got blocked, he would establish new user IDs with spoofed IPs; proving his intentions. He also used automated affiliate spam throughout Wikipedia."
I of course was not aware of this, but based on what you say I can completely understand your reluctance to be associated with them in any way.
For me though, having put far too many development hours into a project that relies on extracting data from Colnect, I either have to find another source of online stamp data or walk away from the project completely, something I am not too keen to do.
Clive
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this post