The Luftwaffe Archives & Records Reference Group???

[Bombphoon]

Stumbled across a resource called The Luftwaffe Archives & Records Reference Group:

https://lwag.org/

It looks like it has some interesting threads but the whole thing is locked, won't let you register and appears to have been last in use in 2016 - yet you can still see the titles of the various forums/threads - but cannot open them!

Am I missing something?

[ju55dk]

No it was closed, and only those who were members at the time can still acces it.
Junker

[edwest2]

Similar to what happened with the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board. To see years of work end up like this. Books and magazines will not do this to you.

Ed

[Bombphoon]

Very sad and a pity: it seems a waste, as I'm sure many could contribute and learn more, thus driving the hive knowledge forward.

[ZhekaB]

Indeed. Closed information cost nothing without release. Even if someone payed for it.

[edNorth]

Originally Posted by edwest2

To see years of work end up like this. Books and magazines will not do this to you. Ed

That did not feel well. Magazines and Books will tell same old lies forever. Rememenber Ju 88 A-0, B-0 etc. (always at default 10 each). A-2 (sic), all them at end of war A-6/U found with Radar (sic), Ju 188 E-0, Ju 188 S-1/U for ground attack. (Encyclopedia Antony Eden Aerospace 2004. Printed in Singapore.) Add this to fiction. I keep it on my shelf on how not to do it.

But site you mentioned was so bad after all its worthless. I regret trying be part of that and officially apologize.

[edwest2]

I bought a few bad books over the years. LWAG was a worthy attempt. And while some inaccuracies have been cleared up, much remains to be done. This site is doing a very good job.

I will close with this. Unless a backup is stored in the Cloud or some other means of storage, I would hate to see this site disappear as it briefly did around October of last year.

[leonventer]

Originally Posted by edNorth

That did not feel well. Magazines and Books will tell same old lies forever. ... I keep it on my shelf on how not to do it.

But site you mentioned was so bad after all its worthless. I regret trying be part of that and officially apologize.

Ah Eggert, you're always such an adorable little ray of sunshine!
You needn't waste time on silly apologies -- your focus should be on getting your manuscript completed and published. The world is waiting, breathlessly...

Originally Posted by edwest2

... LWAG was a worthy attempt. And while some inaccuracies have been cleared up, much remains to be done. ...

Yes, the lwag.org site was a labor of love, created by Richard Eger and a host of collaborators. For many years, it served as a useful guide to Luftwaffe research resources around the world, and a valuable collation of information from disparate sources.
It might have fallen a bit short of its ambitious goals because it was such a massive and labor-intensive undertaking, but denigrating it as "worthless" is an affront to the cooperative and generous spirit in which it was founded.

Originally Posted by ju55dk

No it was closed, and only those who were members at the time can still acces it.

The site is reachable (so someone is still paying the hosting and domain registration fees), but it appears to be crippled now.
The home page (lwag.org), the forums page (lwag.org/forums), and the various forum pages (e.g. "Archives in the USA") seem to work OK, but:

• On each forum page, the links to individual threads (e.g. "Archives in the USA" > "NARA & NASM Research Offer") have been disabled.
• The Log-in and Registration mechanisms are non-functional.
• The Search and paging features have been disabled.

I used to be a member, but I'm no longer able to log in.

Jörn, do you (or anyone else) still have full site access? If so, then the contents will definitely be salvageable. I'll gladly volunteer to do that, so I'd appreciate it if someone could put me in touch with the current LWAG site owner/administrator.

Originally Posted by edwest2

... Unless a backup is stored in the Cloud or some other means of storage, I would hate to see this site disappear as it briefly did around October of last year.

Yes, that was a huge wake-up call. I did archive most of the old version of TOCH (1998-2004), and I'm currently working on doing the same for this one.

Leon Venter

[edNorth]

Originally Posted by edwest2

Similar to what happened with the Luftwaffe Experten Message Board. To see years of work end up like this. Books and magazines will not do this to you.
Ed

I was not reffering to LWAG which I was never part of. L(E)MB everybody should forget.
Manuscript has been written all time along, but I am seeking some obscure tie-ups
but mid war "why" development appears solved for most parts.

[edwest2]

Leon,

Thank you for your reply. I feel relieved now. And while we're on the subject of saving our work, I'd like to bring up a somewhat delicate subject.
Some authors, and researchers with photo and/or document collections, sometimes do not make provision for where their work/collections would
go after they pass. I know I am reluctant to deal with this myself. But I am taking some action. There was a recent case here where
the person had passed on and files were on his computer. As I recall, no one had access. It would be a shame to see work lost like that, or anywhere
else on this somewhat tenuous place called the internet.

Best,
Ed West