About the Internet Pinball Machine Database (original) (raw)
The IPDB
The Internet Pinball Machine Database — also known as the IPDB — is a comprehensive, searchable listing of virtually every pinball machine ever made. It is an ad free, popup free, registration free resource. The database is constantly expanding and includes images other game related files, as well as links to other pinball web sites, all arranged by machine. The database also includes pitch & bat baseball games, cocktail table machines, bingos and payout machines, with a pinball theme.
The data in the database has been gathered from books, photographs, flyers, web sites, pinball manufacturers, collectors' personal records, and of course the machines themselves. The photographs in the database have been provided by collectors themselves.
History
The starting data for this, the second instance of the Internet Pinball Database (IPDB), was taken from the original IPDB at The Pinball Pasture (no longer online). From that data, a new site was designed with new web based information submission features and was moved to the site at https://www.ipdb.org.
For more information on the people who created the original IPDB, see the names at the bottom of the list below. For information on the people contributing to the current IPDB at this site, see below.
The original announcement for the first IPDB can be seen here, for historical reference. The original announcement for the current IPDB can be seen here.
The People
Following are those people who have made significant contributions towards the new data and features of the current Internet Pinball Machine Database:
| Jay Stafford Senior Editor [Photo w/Gary Stern] | Jay is the primary editor for the IPDB and is a roving editor who explores various impromptu information sources for new information that the IPDB does not have, including eBayauctions, other web sites (such as new international sites), and pinball reference books. His work has abundantly and conspicuously expanded the information in the current IPDB since it's inception. A self-described "Minister of Images" for the IPDB, Jay wears a powdered wig while uploading. |
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| Kevin Martin | Kevin Martin is the owner of both PAIR Networks and the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA). PAIR Networksis an environmentally friendly hosting company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, established in 1996. It is one of the largest and most stable hosting companies in the world, hosting hundreds of thousands of websites around the world, including that of the Professional and Amateur Pinball Association (PAPA). PAPA is an organization dedicated to preserving and improving the quality of competitive pinball play. With the benefit of the pinball community in mind, the staff at PAPA have come to an agreement with PAIR Networks to ensure that web-hosting for the IPDB will be upgraded and secure for many years to come.PAIR Networks completely hosts the IPDB and provides the bandwidth and computers at no cost to the pinball community, ensuring fast and stable access to the database! |
| Christopher Wolf Coordinating Editor &Webmaster | Christopher functions as the Webmaster and Coordinating Editor. The resident tech, he wrote and maintains the software that the IPDB runs on. Owner of 15 pinball machines, Chris is not quite smart enough to think up a snappy comment about himself. |
| Rob Hawkins and Don Mueting Historians | Don and Rob published the seminal Pinball Reference Guide in 1979 and they continue today to research images and information on pinball machines. Their Pinball Collectors Resource Millenium Edition has been an invaluable help to the IPDB. Rob and Don provide us much documentation from old Billboard magazines and are helping to improve the accuracy of the timelines for which the older games are associated. |
| Clint Dimick Generous Webmaster | Of the opinion that one can never have enough bandwidth, for many years Clint donated some of his in the form of IPDB's first 'mirror' site. Because that donation benefited every visitor to the site, this was an especially generous gift! Up to 50% of the image traffic was offloaded to the mirror, resulting in faster page load times for everyone. When not playing pinball or running Linux servers, Clint is dreaming of a basement gameroom to hold all the games he doesn't own. |
| Frank Laughlin Editor, Retired | Frank was a member of the original IPDB team and continued his work at the current site. He had accumulated a collection of data on over 4,000 machines over a 15 year period, including previously unavailable information on production counts and model numbers. This information was used to greatly expand the original IPDB. Frank became the primary maintainer and coordinator for the original IPDB, setting the style and classifications still in use by the IPDB today.Obituary: Frank Laughlin, Jr. |
| The following people were the project members responsible for the original IPDB at lysator.liu.se (no longer online), in alphabetical order. This text was taken from the original IPDB. These are the people who devised the concept of the IPDB and created the original look and feel. | |
| Chick Canterbury | Chick Canterbury originally developed the original Internet Pinball Database from data contained in a variety of publications including books, periodicals and flyers. The first database was intended for his personal use and was limited to machine name, manufacturer, production year and number of players. After completing an initial database of over 2,800 records, Chick posted a message to the rec.games.pinball newsgroup to see if anyone else was interested in the project. |
| David Byers | David Byers expressed an interest in expanding the initial database and offering Web access through the Pinball Pasture. David and Chick developed specifications for an expanded database and David created the software required to access and search the database online. |
| Russ Jensen | Russ Jensen supplied an enormous number of photographs to the original IPDB. |
| Frank Laughlin | Frank Laughlin also responded to the r.g.p posting. He indicated that he had a database of almost 4,000 machines compiled over a 15 year period. Frank contributed his information to the initial database including previously unavailable data on model numbers, production date and production runs. Frank was the primary maintainer of the original IPDB web site database. |
| Scott Tiesma | Scott Tiesma maintained the bibliography that was cross-referenced through the photos field of the original IPDB. He also developed the Internet Pinball Database Windows™ application. |
| Mark Valentine | Mark Valentine did considerable proof-reading of parts of the original database and came with very useful suggestions for improving the IPDB, some of which were even implemented. |
