Its here! www.assistancelist.com - The FJR Assistance List

[Polarize]

Nice work - thanks for the efforts!

 

[beemerdons]

Hey, with a little practice, you might even think of a programming career!

Frig that mess. I'm saving up for a hot dog cart!

Set your sights much higher Bungie, por favor consider playing the piano in Leticia's Whorehouse en Ciudad Juarez! jes' sayin' and nuff' said!

 

[Tyler]

Wow... that is an AWESOME resource!! :clapping: Thanks guys for all the time/effort that went into doing this... very, very cool!! B)

TIP: If you want to find contacts in a specific region only, don't choose an Assist Type and you'll get a list specifically in that state/province. It seems if you choose an Assist Type, the list will give you all contacts who listed that type on their assistance list no matter their location.

 

[Bungie]

Wow... that is an AWESOME resource!!

Thanks guys for all the time/effort that went into doing this... very, very cool!!

TIP: If you want to find contacts in a specific region only, don't choose an Assist Type and you'll get a list specifically in that state/province. It seems if you choose an Assist Type, the list will give you all contacts who listed that type on their assistance list no matter their location.

Thanks Tyler!

TIP: You can combine the filters in any way you want. Say you need directions in Cali. Select cali and the directions and click submit. That's all it will return.

 

[Tyler]

TIP: You can combine the filters in any way you want. Say you need directions in Cali. Select cali and the directions and click submit. That's all it will return.

Ah... ok, it does work if you only choose ONE Assist Type but but when I chose Cali and then selected more than one Assist Type (i.e. directions, hospitality, and lodging), I got a list with a lot more names than just in Cali.

 

[Bungie]

Ah... ok, it does work if you only choose ONE Assist Type but but when I chose Cali and then selected more than one Assist Type (i.e. directions, hospitality, and lodging), I got a list with a lot more names than just in Cali.

Noted. I'll look into that, it should return assistances in only the area you specify.

Ty, I know you frequent other bike travel forums, I'd only be to happy to set up their own 'list' if you'd like to spread the word (hint!)

 

[jjp4674]

Ah, PHP. Yes...PHP...

Haven't used that in years. .NET all the way.

Out of curiosity, what's the telephony component that you're using that charges $5. I don't ask on the thought that you're making any cash off the system, but more wondering if the costs can be lowered for you and anyone else using the system.

I work for the public transit system here in Rochester as a developer, and we have a system that uses Twilio to send out bus information via text and voice, and it's $0.01/incoming or outgoing text and $0.01/minute of voice.

While I've only used it for .NET development, it does have a PHP API available. Not sure how the Spot system generates the message to send to the assistancelist system, but I'm sure that an interface could be configured to work between Spot/AssistanceList/Twilio.

Might be worth looking into if you're doing future revisions and want to potentially cut some of the upkeep cost of the system, since it sounds like you're pretty much just footing the bill yourself.

If you're interested in looking into it to see if it'd work for your upcoming functionality "(Text Messages, Voice access which is coming soon!)", let me know and I'll lend whatever support I can.

Jon

 

[Tyler]

Ty, I know you frequent other bike travel forums, I'd only be to happy to set up their own 'list' if you'd like to spread the word (hint!)

Already shared the site, Pumpkin... figured you might want to do that!

 

[dcarver]

Pumpkin!

She called you PumpkinCakes!

 

[Bungie]

Might be worth looking into if you're doing future revisions and want to potentially cut some of the upkeep cost of the system, since it sounds like you're pretty much just footing the bill yourself.

Jon,

The site does use Twilio at the rates you spec. Might seem like a bit of a rip off charging $5 per incident for the service, but this is funded out my pocket as you noted. Between hosting, domain renewals, Twilio itself etc, it's adding up to a pretty significant chunk of cash that I'll be out of pocket, never mind the amount of time and expertise I've donated. I figure the few times a year somebody will use the telephony portions of the site, and actually pay the fee (lets face it, I'm not going to chase somebody down or ban them over not paying the $5), it will hopefully make the site self sustaining, or at least reduce my out of pocket expenses.

$5 is a pitance to get help you need when your stuck on the road or worse.

It's either that or ask for donations, and I'd rather keep the site _FREE_ for those that don't use the extended features.

As for my background, I've been a developer for about 20 years and currently work for the 2nd largest 911/E911/V911 dispatch center in North America. I could use the infrastructure here (it's 911/Carrier grade with multiple redundant backups across multiple locations, all ULC certified). But I'd have to charge WAY more than $5!

 

[jjp4674]

heh Ah, righto. I figured you were using some other provider and was just seeing if I might be able to help you make it cheaper on your end.

Between your desire to not make a profit and the $5, it flagged in my mind maybe we could make it cheaper for you.

Honestly, I've got no beef with $5 for usage, for the reasons you state. Hardly a rip off.

The offer will stand if you find that you need any assistance with the project in the future. It's a pretty noble goal to provide this resource to the community, and the least the community can do is to help out if needed.

...and that infrastructure sounds...mmm... IT nerd joygasm...

 

[Bungie]

Already shared the site, Pumpkin... figured you might want to do that!

You the best Tyler! But we already all knew that.

I don't want to be creating accounts on multiple different forums just to 'spam' them. So getting social with the site is really important. I really do expect to have 10,000 participants across multiple lists by this time next year. More if I can!

This is directed more at everybody, I know lots of us take part in different forums and across different genres (touring, dirt etc) so spread the word. A simple email to me to me at [email protected] will get a new list created in less than 24 hrs.

I do have plans of extending the scope of the list shortly (boating, RV, Hiking etc) as well as being open to more institutional groups (HOG, CAA/AAA, AMA etc) be it direct functionality or simple sponsorship.

In the meantime, I've got some bug fixes and usability issues to attend to. The site should be 100% in the week.

Pumpkin!
She called you PumpkinCakes!

Yes. Yes she did.

The world need far more Tylers!

 

[Bungie]

The offer will stand if you find that you need any assistance with the project in the future. It's a pretty noble goal to provide this resource to the community, and the least the community can do is to help out if needed.

...and that infrastructure sounds...mmm... IT nerd joygasm...

I've got other words for it, but if it makes you happy...

I'll keep you in mind should I need some relief/help programming.

 

[gixxerjasen]

If you are wanting it shared, I can share it with the Two Wheeled Texans forum...let me know.

 

[rbentnail]

I have forwarded this thread to my fellow moderators on a Kawasaki forum for their official consideration. We'll see what everyone thinks.

edit: Some questions that have come up in quiet, backroom talks:

- to access assistance.com is it always necessary to type my email address, then open my email?

- currently only the U.S. and Canada show up as countries of choice. Sure, the majority are from these 2 but the Kawi forum has 83,000+ membership worldwide. Will other countries be available?

I'll pass along others as they pop up. Thanks!

edit x2: In the 'select state' and 'select assistance type' can "all" be added for a quick .gpx download?

 

[Bungie]

I have forwarded this thread to my fellow moderators on a Kawasaki forum for their official consideration. We'll see what everyone thinks.
edit: Some questions that have come up in quiet, backroom talks:

- to access assistance.com is it always necessary to type my email address, then open my email?

- currently only the U.S. and Canada show up as countries of choice. Sure, the majority are from these 2 but the Kawi forum has 83,000+ membership worldwide. Will other countries be available?

I'll pass along others as they pop up. Thanks!

edit x2: In the 'select state' and 'select assistance type' can "all" be added for a quick .gpx download?

1: The access key lasts 24 hours. After you've logged in, you can return to the site within the 24hrs if you haven't closed your browser. If you have, and it's still within the 24 hour period, you can click the existing link in your email and you will be able to access the site normally. Otherwise, you have to do the Email hokey-pokey. This was a design decision and it's not likely to change. Besides, once your account is setup, the only time you should need to login into the site is when you want to generate a new list, or, edit your account settings.

2: The Assistance List is world wide. The pop ups will contain other countries etc as members join from those countries (It only shows you countries/states etc that their is data for). (I have to make some adjustments to the telephone number stuff to make sure they can enter the proper country codes, but that should be done within the week).

Otherwise, go for it!

edit x2: Don't touch anything, it defaults to ALL if you don't specify anything!

 

[crumpadump]

Great job Bungie thanks for your time and efforts!!

 

[SacramentoMike]

I saw this thread back last week, but since I'm completely intimidated by technology, I put off looking into it till today, when I got Bungie's email with the links to sign back up for the Assistance List and for this thread. No freaking idea what PHP, SMS, or Twilio are, or how they impact my life, but I'm glad somebody does. And I REALLY appreciate this list and the work that's gone into it.

I know it's almost brand new, and no doubt a lot of the early signers have moved on and away from the forum so there must be plenty of deadwood in the old list, but I really would like to encourage EVERYBODY to sign up for the list and beef it up as much as possible. Nothing like it when you're on the road and something happens--and if you want to have that help available for yourself, you should sure be willing to do the same for the next guy. Thanks SO much, Steve.

 

[Silver Penguin]

Thanks for all the hard work that has gone into setting this up.

 

[Kirrilian]

Very nicely done, as a fellow developer I can appreciate the amount of work that went into this project. Thank you very much!

I would also like to say that if you EVER need help on the site or anything else, I will gladly help .