I've mentioned the 'L' word (library) before but let me solicit other peoples views on this because I haven't thought it through thoroughly. So this post might get long; I don't know. I'm just going to bash some keys as the thoughts come out of my head. Many of you may think this is rubbish, but here goes.

How about setting up a library on this site that only members can access, therefore you must sign up if someone tells you that it contains good stuff. Yes, there would be videos in the library but in addition:

Regular pdf's relevant to FAQ's

Scripting tutorials

Official owners/service manuals (Copyright acknowledged, and yes, manufacturers could ask us to take them down but if their competition is on here, do they wish to be excluded?)

Other manufacturers guides/material for e.g. SAN's, NAS's, connectivity guides, how to's?

Tutorials written by forum staff

Research papers/teaching material (Copyrights acknowledged e.g. college material)

Consulting papers - which product is best? Gartner and the like as it enhances their image.



To catalogue this lot would require tagging/classification to allow members to find what they are looking for.

As far as possible, the library would be unbiased.

New members are often too timid to ask a 'stupid question' but would use a library.

Could we afford the disk space on the site to launch something like this???

Now the commercial stuff:

We could get into charging (bits, cash or gold bars) for some downloads.
We could get some manufacturers willing to pay for advertising linked to their library content.
Authors could charge for their tutorials

Would any manufacturer ask for their stuff to be taken down when their competition doesn't?

I know that I've uploaded 'connectivity guides' as attachments when members have asked really involved SAN questions.

In summary: Video could be just one medium in a library.

Here's a live example:
I need a recent book about CUPS - can someone recommend me one?