SUBMITTING A MAIN PRODUCT PAGE

You need to register as a ROMFI user & logon before you can submit any products or items into ROMFI. Please read "Registering and Logging on" to find out more about this free feature.

There are 5 main categories of data that can be submitted

-      Category lists of Items that form part of the drill-down navigation

-       Submitting a main Product page (and reviewing a Product page)

-        Adding a particular Item "Yes I have one"

-        Adding a transaction regarding a specific object "Price Watch"

-       Submitting resources

In this Chapter we will focus on and discuss submitting data into the most important form in ROMFI, the PRODUCT data form.

Submitting a main Product page

As you navigate your way through the ROMFI Menu structure you will notice that there are 3 levels of drill down, ending at pages where active objects are represented with a picture, while others have the message: "Sorry no detailed info yet…."

To add a product, Click on the "CLICK TO ADD DETAIL" bar. You are then presented with a data entry screen.

The Field Names are practically self-explanatory. Make the entries in the relevant fields. If you have a problem understanding what is required in the specific field press the help button (?) for detailed information.

Fields marked * are required fields that have to be filled in before you can save the record. This is in order to ensure and encourage a bare minimum of data about the Product. However in circumstances one or other data element, e.g. original price may not be available. A question mark will suffice.

In the DETAILS section, there are 3 large text boxes; Appearance, Specifications and Variations, where data about the object can be given in as great a detail as possible. It is anticipated that here all intelligence about a specific object will be gathered. Initially entered by the original submitter, and added to, expanded on (Reviewed) by all people who have more knowledge to add. In this way we can arrive at a definitive data set for the product in ROMFI.

Media Clip: this item perhaps requires some explanation. ROMFI aims to be as multi-dimensional as possible. Some objects cannot be fully described or appreciated by a detailing text and some pictures. For example a music box can be better appreciated if one can hear a sound sample of what a person in the 1870's heard, a record of Caruso is better perceived if we can hear his voice, or a sample of how a TV screen from 1953 looked, the ring of an old telephone, a video clip of how a piece of machinery functioned, or a 3D animation to view some treasure in its entirety.

The first Data entry field will contain the description of the Link e.g. Hear Caruso sing 'Ah si ben mio' from il Trovatore recorded in Camden on 16.Mar.1908 

The second Data entry field will contain the URL to the appropriate music piece. These media segments are not uploaded onto ROMFI servers, but are only referenced from the servers and websites all around the world where they have been stored by interested parties.

PICTURES: At least 1 picture is necessary to submit the product data.

There are spaces for 3 pictures. Optimally the first picture, where possible, should be an original Catalogue picture, while the other 2 would be pictures of the relevant object as it is today, i.e. the original catalogue picture juxtaposed to 2 colour pictures of the identical object. The value of an original catalogue picture is that it provides us with an exact reference to the origin and provenance of an object.

Using an original Catalogue picture allows us a very accurate, straight-forward and simple way to position an object accurately in its historical context. However, only a minority of created / manufactured items appeared in some form of catalogue, thus in many cases a picture of the object itself can be posted in the Catalogue picture place.

Once all the data known by the submitter has been entered, the " ADD " button is pressed in order to submit the Product input.

After the data has been submitted it will not be instantly posted online, but will be checked by our team of ROMFI Reviewers in order to ensure that it is a bona fide post, and that it adds value to the ROMFI experience, e.g. not just a page filled with question marks, graffiti, spam, etc. The poster will receive an e-mail as soon as the data is viewable in ROMFI, this is usually within 48 hours.

Just as a reminder: the prime purpose of ROMFI is to be a Knowledge-base, where the expertise of people with in depth knowledge in different areas can be entered, saved and expanded on, for the benefit of everyone now and in the future. Thus once details of a product are posted, the door is open for others with additional knowledge about the product, to add their the intelligence about this product in order that the Product Data becomes as comprehensive and accurate as possible.

This page last updated 10 Febuary 2003