An Ambitious New Project for Forgotten Weapons

Published on July 4, 2019
Duration: 8:55

Ian McCollum, founder of Forgotten Weapons, outlines an ambitious project to restore the original vision of his website as a comprehensive data repository for historical firearms information. This initiative requires significant community support through Patreon to fund a full-time archivist and external researchers, aiming to create an ad-free, publicly accessible hub for vital historical data.

Quick Summary

Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons is launching an ambitious project to transform the website into a comprehensive, publicly accessible historical firearms archive. This initiative requires community support via Patreon to fund a full-time archivist and researchers, aiming to preserve vital information in a relational database format.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Forgotten Weapons Origins
  2. 00:26Evolution to Video Focus
  3. 01:07Vision for Archive Restoration
  4. 02:29Funding Challenges & Approach
  5. 03:54Why Community Support?
  6. 05:34Patreon Goal & Website Revamp
  7. 07:39Call to Action & Future Plans

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary goal of the new Forgotten Weapons project?

The primary goal is to restore the Forgotten Weapons website into a comprehensive, relational database and data repository for historical firearms information, moving beyond just a video archive and ensuring public accessibility.

How is the Forgotten Weapons archival project being funded?

The project is seeking direct community support through Patreon. This model is preferred over advertising due to platform restrictions and the desire for an ad-free experience, with specific goals set for financial viability.

What kind of content will be available on the revamped Forgotten Weapons website?

The revamped website will feature a relational database backend aggregating scattered archival firearms content, including photographs, manuals, and trial reports, all remaining freely and publicly available.

Why is community support crucial for this project?

Community support is crucial because the project requires significant funding for a competitive salary for a full-time archivist and to pay researchers for primary source documents, which cannot be achieved through bootstrapping or traditional advertising.

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