Chuck from DeTomaso Registry

I was logged in couple days ago and it was fine then.  Page not found as of today.

The site was down over the weekend.

Works for me NP

was never granted access unfortunately! Same problem here. I hope that Chuck is well.

@Sharkey posted:

Works for me NP

How do you get access ?

This is what I get when I go to Provamo.com.  It has been that way for a while now.

I hope all is well with Chuck , it's a strange situation that he dont reply on anything.

Hi,

I also still can't logon, so I tried to send Chuck an email.

But it bounced back as

Undeliverable: Can't Log onto The De Tomaso Registry?

Diagnostic information for administrators:Generating server: MEAPR01MB3976.ausprd01.prod.outlook.comProvaMo@provamo.com
Remote Server returned '550 5.1.351 Remote server returned unknown recipient or mailbox unavailable -> 550 Requested action not taken: mailbox unavailable'

Does anyone have a way to contact Chuck to see if he is OK?

Thanks

Terry

I checked in the POCA membership directory on line.  He isn't a member.

I have 2 e-mail addresses for Chuck. I sent him an e-mail a few days ago, to both addresses. One was returned as undeliverable but the other one wasn’t. No response though.

Looks like the domain ( provamo.com )has been updated to go trough cloudflare (https://www.cloudflare.com/).

In "Human" that means that it should be faster

It´s is a process that can take 24/48 hours

Provamo.com has been a significant resource to many of us.  I am wondering if there is anything we can do to assist Chuck.

I wish I could help, but for now I dont know how to help Chuck.

Nobody out there who can visit Chuck in person ?

Simon

There has been chatter about creating a POCA International deTomaso Registry supported by the international clubs.

I just thought I'd mention that !

About three months ago a member local to Chuck did drop by his home and found him alive. That information came from an email list post and the report was just that basic and non-informative.

Larry

The link doesn't work for me either. He most likely has his server turned off.

From the POCA monthly newsletter just in the mail today quote "POCA is moving forward in creating a Registry of all DeTomaso cars.  Soon we will send out a registry form to have your car added to the list. .....   Based on Excel file for now.....  Expand to searchable data base in the future.  Owner info will not be included.  

To me this is a colossal waste of time.  Assuming they are using POCA members, this will make the registry a small piece of what Chuck has built.  

Why would the leadership of POCA not get ahold of Chuck and take control of his site in some form of succession plan for the marque???

Food for thought. I even thought about Bill Van Ess  taking it back, he started it after all, circa 1976-1993....he published his 255 page book with every Pantera VIN # and info on which cars were found and/or sold to when new and where. Copyright 1995 so it can't be reproduced. As an aside Bill lost 'es Dad Oct 3rd :-(  just 2 days ago. 70 years married, yikes. God Bless 'em.

EXACTLY. I have a copy.  I'll bet POCA doesn't get 500 car owners to fill out the form.  Sad for Bill.  

Guys not sure if this can help but ... if you want to create a registry that is online and remains there for some time to come, I am willing to create web app with an online database hosted on google servers to ensure that it doesn't get lost over time, but that does not resolve the issue of preserving the data that was on the provamo site.  Just my two cents.  Ping me if you need some help. If there are like minded devs that want to make this project let me know.

@panterapatt posted:

From the POCA monthly newsletter just in the mail today quote "POCA is moving forward in creating a Registry of all DeTomaso cars.  Soon we will send out a registry form to have your car added to the list. .....   Based on Excel file for now.....  Expand to searchable data base in the future.  Owner info will not be included.  

To me this is a colossal waste of time.  Assuming they are using POCA members, this will make the registry a small piece of what Chuck has built.  

Why would the leadership of POCA not get ahold of Chuck and take control of his site in some form of succession plan for the marque???

where could i buy a book like this?

You should reach out to the Pres. of POCA.  His message this month say "the board is "assembling a team" to input data into Excel.  This is about 1990's approach.  Someone could injest Chuck's data most likely off the web.

Reach out to Bill Van Ess.  

@panterapatt posted:

You should reach out to the Pres. of POCA.  His message this month say "the board is "assembling a team" to input data into Excel.  This is about 1990's approach.  Someone could injest Chuck's data most likely off the web.

I could ... but i don't have access. If you get hold of this Excel sheet, I will be able to import them into the database with some tinkering.

His father passed is how I read it

WOW we're gettin' activity now!

Just my 2 cents.  I know my car is in Chucks registry (3165).  I tried years ago to access and even DM Chuck.  He has it set up so that one has to go thru many hoops just to view the information let alone update it with current pictures and information about the restoration.  Needless to say I gave up years ago on this.  I think if Chucks website was more user friendly it may have included more cars yet.  I think POCA should take this over if Chuck can no longer run it. POCA should then canvas all its members and others to add to it.

@italford posted:

Just my 2 cents.  I know my car is in Chucks registry (3165).  I tried years ago to access and even DM Chuck.  He has it set up so that one has to go thru many hoops just to view the information let alone update it with current pictures and information about the restoration.  Needless to say I gave up years ago on this.  I think if Chucks website was more user friendly it may have included more cars yet.  I think POCA should take this over if Chuck can no longer run it. POCA should then canvas all its members and others to add to it.

In my experience with the website I would typically have problems with my password. I'd email him and maybe get a response six or 12 months down the road.

By then I wouldn't even remember why I emailed him.

So yes, access has ALWAYS been a problem and it was never guaranteed that the information would not be lost over time.

That was just his perspective on how to do a registry but I think that a group that would at least last as one even though members come and go, would be a step in the right direction?

I'm not a POCA member so do I still get a questionnaire?

From time to time I would try to log in but couldn’t recall my password, so I’d give up and move on. Within hours Chuck would send me a “I see you tried to log in” email, reminding me of my user ID and password.

Chuck also was very friendly with help me when I have problems with login or add new Vin's of unknown DeTomaso's

Simon

I don't know what POCA's game plan is but one would have to assume they dont know who owns a car that isn't a member of POCA.  I wonder if any of the board members even come to this site or read the posts.

I guess we need to review the history of this issue every now and then.  As a prior President of POCA, I reached out to Chuck with the offer that POCA would fund his website and create a new position on the POCA Board for him to preserve control of his website.  I emphasized our desire to create a way to perpetuate his effort when he no longer had the motivation, funds, or heartbeat to maintain it.  I told Chuck that the POCA Board would amend the By-Laws to create the position and confirm his authority.  Chuck was uncomfortable ceding any control of the website to POCA.  I'll respect his privacy on the details.  However, he had an unsatisfactory event with his POCA chapter that left him feeling betrayed. While he was kind to communicate that he trusted me, he wasn't confident future POCA Administrations would respect our agreement even if in writing.

Concurrent to this, Jeff Dietrich and others were very thorough in exploring the effort required to build an alternative site. Initiatives were started to attempt the exercise.   All overwhelming for the human resources available. Admittedly, one path not taken was a generous offer from Terry Himes to use software, considered by others to be unique to his skill set, at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  I was apprised, by those with greater computer literacy then my own, that we may end up with an orphan down the road.  Apparently, it was a language not all that common and after Terry's enthusiasm waned, who next?

My Presidency concluded and the conversation resurfaces on the Forum every few years about why someone doesn't do this as if it is a new idea. The truth, as I see it, is that it is a welcome initiative.  However, beyond the talent and time commitment of a volunteer POCA Board.  The world and this forum seem to have a lot of managers or people with good ideas and intentions; however, fewer who can commit to the effort as a volunteer.

Perhaps with current web software progress, the scope of this initiative is  reasonable today and manageable by a motivated soldier.  Maybe one will step up. 

We have all griped about the klunkiness of Chuck's website. Yet to date, I think he is the only DeTomaso owner to make this commitment and at no charge.  Pretty impressive.

Chuck is a great guy but at some point doesn't the registry become a group thing rather then personal property?

Unlike others, I have not received any kind of a follow up e-mail after attempting to log in.

It's a little foggy but I'd say that was four or five years ago so I have long ago given up or even continued to think about that web site.

The SAAC Registry is probably the largest and most successful of any that I can think of.

It still refuses to go anything other then printed simply for security reasons and yet the Cobra owners broke off and have their own on line Registry. It is very accessible, so they are doable.

There are different approaches to doing them. Shelby American has it's own of current production cars. It is not viewable or in print.

They merely confirm serial numbers as one of their products.

I always had trouble using his site.  I sent some pics of my car as it was kinda' hideous when I got it and it's my understanding it was updated to reflect the car as it is today.  But I have never been able to cruise the site.

It took me a while to get in (this was 4-5 years ago), but once service was established, I really never had any problems, except for what appears to be “minor” outages… I assumed his site was down for maintenance, nothing ever like this.

I think it’s a tremendous resource, and it certainly makes sense for POCA to work with Chuck (if they can) rather than trying to recreate something like it.

While a lot of people didn’t like the “mode of operation”, Chuck figured out a formula that worked for him…. Donate something (pictures & VIN of a car, any car) and get something back (access).

I (and others, like C.E.) contributed a lot of old stuff (mostly old POCA & PI News ads), not for any benefit to ourselves, but because it was fun.

I volunteered to help Chuck with the site because I thought it would be fun, and to help support a great resource.  

Unfortunately, Chuck didn’t take me up on my offer.

Anyway - I hope Chuck is OK, and the site comes back to life!

Rocky

Thanks again to Chuck and Provamo, its been an incredible resource--Lee

I have a lot of respect for Chuck and his singular achievement, no one else has come close to gathering as many registry entries in one place as he has. It was some time ago he surpassed the 4500 entry mark. His belief that sharing to get access was the way to get content surely worked, albeit a lot of people griped at it. There are few of us he denoted as "Registry Assistants" that regularly provided submissions as we came across new content. I sure hope nothing has happened to Chuck, although I was made aware he had health issues. I do hope he has a backup plan to pass the baton so that all his work isn't lost, but the only registries that have succeeded to date are individual efforts. It takes a special individual with focus and dedication, often those characters are so singularly focused they won't accept help.

I agree 100% on the massive admin effort.  I have referred a few people to him that were trying to locate a car from their past.  I hope all is well w him.

@jtpantera posted:

I guess we need to review the history of this issue every now and then.  As a prior President of POCA, I reached out to Chuck with the offer that POCA would fund his website and create a new position on the POCA Board for him to preserve control of his website.  I emphasized our desire to create a way to perpetuate his effort when he no longer had the motivation, funds, or heartbeat to maintain it.  I told Chuck that the POCA Board would amend the By-Laws to create the position and confirm his authority.  Chuck was uncomfortable ceding any control of the website to POCA.  I'll respect his privacy on the details.  However, he had an unsatisfactory event with his POCA chapter that left him feeling betrayed. While he was kind to communicate that he trusted me, he wasn't confident future POCA Administrations would respect our agreement even if in writing.

Concurrent to this, Jeff Dietrich and others were very thorough in exploring the effort required to build an alternative site. Initiatives were started to attempt the exercise.   All overwhelming for the human resources available. Admittedly, one path not taken was a generous offer from Terry Himes to use software, considered by others to be unique to his skill set, at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  I was apprised, by those with greater computer literacy then my own, that we may end up with an orphan down the road.  Apparently, it was a language not all that common and after Terry's enthusiasm waned, who next?

My Presidency concluded and the conversation resurfaces on the Forum every few years about why someone doesn't do this as if it is a new idea. The truth, as I see it, is that it is a welcome initiative.  However, beyond the talent and time commitment of a volunteer POCA Board.  The world and this forum seem to have a lot of managers or people with good ideas and intentions; however, fewer who can commit to the effort as a volunteer.

Perhaps with current web software progress, the scope of this initiative is  reasonable today and manageable by a motivated soldier.  Maybe one will step up.

We have all griped about the klunkiness of Chuck's website. Yet to date, I think he is the only DeTomaso owner to make this commitment and at no charge.  Pretty impressive.

well i did offer up there to help if anyone was interested but how do we get hold of the data anyway?