Website idea - Public Alien/UFO Database

Hello ATS

My name is Bernard and I'm frequenting these boards among others for quite a while now. Every now and then, since my enthusiasm about our beloved subject is quite big I was thinking about a way to contribute.

And since I am an avid and experienced web developer for quite some time now (started in 1999) I thought about this:

A website dedicated to the Alien and UFO phenomena. Now you'd think: Brilliant, Einstein, we have like 5000 websites that deal with this already. Indeed. But since I'm a practical and straightforward guy I need information fast, reliable and organized.

That's were most pages get mixed up, one way or the other. Same with ATS, though moderated and among the more organized sites it still is very confusing and unclear to get the bigger picture solely because of its sheer amount of information.

Now to keep things clean and well-structured I thought of a website where we have one predefined template that is the same for each case. Combined with all the internet tools the internet offers nowadays.

Think of a mixture between Youtube and its social networking features (comments, ratings etc.), Wikipedia (raw, partly moderated "unfiltered" information), boards like ATS (structured discussion within one case) and additionally combined with a powerful search function.

Now, I know there are websites that catalog data but in any case they lack some of the features I mentioned above. In fact, I am in contact with some who maintain these sites and so far there doesn't seem to be a problem to transfer already known data to my project idea at all.

Basically I want to keep this site spam-free, no ads, no fees, completely open to the public.

I want this to be useful and efficient by all means.

I'm just a hobby ufologist (I wouldn't even dare to call me ufologist but since I lack a better term I'd take this...) and I have data all over the place.
On my computer, on my portable, books, notes, videos, pictures and so on. Nothing unique and nothing you wouldn't already now but it is somewhat not organized the way I would like it to be, so instead of setting up a page just for me, why not make it open for everybody?

I believe this could be helpful for serious researchers as well as hobbyists as well as occasional visitors who just want to kill some time surfing through the pages.

To be a bit more specific I mean this:

Every evidence and theory would be attached to its case, say starting from the data when the incident took place, to witness/testimony reports, to media articles that back it up, to members of the site who may raise theories and discuss them, rate them and so on.

I may very well set up a betapage for testing, it will be easier to understand the concept than just describing it but I believe you can catch my drift here.

So, this post is to collect some criticism from you guys. Do you think that this idea is worthwhile if executed properly? Or better yet, does such a project already exist and which just slipped my research? Think of a project that combines all the features I described above and don't just link me to NUFORC or UFOEVIDENCE.ORG

And please be constructive with your criticism if you can, by no means am I trying to attract to a project that is intended to earn me some cash. I have no interest in any money, I just want to contribute on the UFO scene and I believe we can all profit from this idea just the way Wikipedia and DMOZ profit from their userbase too. Think along those lines.

Thank you for reading through this and I look forward to your feedback.
Cheers!
Bernard

[edit on 4-2-2009 by theansweris42]

Oh and I forgot one of the more important features:

Each and every case would have some kind of a "fake-meter" whereas 100% would mean just that, that it is fake. In this case there would be all the available data to back up as to why it is fake and so on...

So you could easily make a list of cases where the probality that something seems to be real or not can be sorted and filtered. Just to give an example.

Also, what features do you think should this page consist of besides the obvious? What tools and functions do you miss on other pages?

[edit on 4-2-2009 by theansweris42]

Originally posted by theansweris42
I may very well set up a betapage for testing, it will be easier to understand the concept than just describing it

Hi Bernard,

I'd personally find such an example page helpful to understand precisely what you are envisaging (and, more to the point, how it would differ from the plethora of existing UFO webpages e.g. the Tinwiki section of ATS).

Since I've just started planning my own website (after posting on other websites for the past decade or so), I've been giving such issues quite a bit of thought recently.

A couple of gentle recommendations:

(1) Don't overestimate the amount of time that you, or others, will be able to devote to the website.

Almost everyone involved in ufology is doing it as a hobby in their (limited) spare time. Many, many individuals have started UFO websites (or other UFO projects) of considerable scope and ambition - only to abandon them a few weeks or months later with nothing much to show for all the time they spent planning their project.


(2) Don't underestimate the amount of work involved in putting material onto a website.

Merely transferring a few thousand pages that I've previously written (and have stored on my computer) onto a website is surprisingly time consuming and frustrating...

Kind Regards,

Isaac

Good ingenuity, but there is already The Mutual UFO Network , otherwise known as MUFON.

Their database is HUGE and already respected and visited by many people who are interested in knowing the truth just like you! The problem is there are so many cases and their isn't always media sources, many times no pictures, and a video is a rarity!

Actually, the reasons I like mufon, and nuforc is the fact that the reports are direct. They aren't modified since posted, not many user comments, and easy to search for.

The only thing I wish MUFON would have available and visible would be an IP tracker so you could see if a frequent visitor is falsely reporting UFO happenings.

Originally posted by IsaacKoi

Originally posted by theansweris42
I may very well set up a betapage for testing, it will be easier to understand the concept than just describing it

Hi Bernard,

I'd personally find such an example page helpful to understand precisely what you are envisaging (and, more to the point, how it would differ from the plethora of existing UFO webpages e.g. the Tinwiki section of ATS).

Since I've just started planning my own website (after posting on other websites for the past decade or so), I've been giving such issues quite a bit of thought recently.

A couple of gentle recommendations:

(1) Don't overestimate the amount of time that you, or others, will be able to devote to the website.

Almost everyone involved in ufology is doing it as a hobby in their (limited) spare time. Many, many individuals have started UFO websites (or other UFO projects) of considerable scope and ambition - only to abandon them a few weeks or months later with nothing much to show for all the time they spent planning their project.


(2) Don't underestimate the amount of work involved in putting material onto a website.

Merely transferring a few thousand pages that I've previously written (and have stored on my computer) onto a website is surprisingly time consuming and frustrating...

Kind Regards,

Isaac

appreciated. but I'm fully aware of those two very valid points and I agree.
I've done several pages in the past, some more, some less successful in terms of visitor and contribution rates so I'm not really expecting any magic to happen. but then again I know that if a page is being kept updated and adjusted to optimize it it can be quite useful and be frequented regularly.

then again, I have fun doing it so it won't be completely for the trashbin if any contribution is well below my expectations.

but thanks for your advice nonetheless

[edit on 4-2-2009 by theansweris42]

Originally posted by ryanlv
Good ingenuity, but there is already The Mutual UFO Network , otherwise known as MUFON.

Their database is HUGE and already respected and visited by many people who are interested in knowing the truth just like you! The problem is there are so many cases and their isn't always media sources, many times no pictures, and a video is a rarity!

Actually, the reasons I like mufon, and nuforc is the fact that the reports are direct. They aren't modified since posted, not many user comments, and easy to search for.

The only thing I wish MUFON would have available and visible would be an IP tracker so you could see if a frequent visitor is falsely reporting UFO happenings.

I've looked into the Mufon database and I find it very uncompleted and crude. It seems like this page didn't delevop (in terms of programming and resource optimization) since the late 90s and the resultpages from the search function are quite useless. What am I supposed to do with a short textlist with barely any data and description?

It has some nice ideas but is somewhat lacking continuity, coherence and structure. I will give it some more thoughts though.

And about the IP-tracker. Almost useless. Most internet connections are on dynamic IPs anyways and any potential fraud that wants to cause damage or acts in any disinformation "campaign" will know how to bypass IP recognition.

About those "dead cases", links and incomplete stories I'd make sure that there is enough automation on the site so that more complete stuff is being prioritized anyways without excluding cases that are more hearsay and completely hypothetical at the same time...

[edit on 4-2-2009 by theansweris42]

When I first heard about a new Hamburger chain about to launch I laughed.

I mean we already had McDonald's and Burger King. "Why another?" I asked.

And now Wendys is my favorite if I must indulge due to travel requirements.

I say go for it! I like your "Fake-O-Meter" rating system.

Or something like a "SNOPES" function.

Regards...KK


[edit on 4-2-2009 by kinda kurious]

I check www.ufostalker.com... every so often.

It is similar to watching earthquakes on IRIS. Its interesting to read the full reports.