"If you build it, they will come" - This might be a good title for another website theory I have. That being if you can create the de facto standard of sites on a topic, users of the site will help out. It has taken a good deal of time, but I feel this has happened with the rcdb. People from all over the world provide me with information and pictures. And these are not exclusively enthusiasts, these everyday people researching a ride they know of.

RCDB is the fastest and easiest way to get coaster information, statistics and specific questions answered fast about virtually any coaster.

Brandon Elliott: What made you start up RCDB?

Duane Marden: Back in 1996 the “web” was in its infancy. Bring a computer programmer I saw the potential of the web to be limitless in regard to day’s other online services. So I wanted to learn more about it and create something interesting. I knew I wanted to create an interactive database of some sort, but I lacked an interesting database. In hindsight, I think “interesting database” could be considered an oxymoron. Anyway, I tried to come up with an idea for several days with no luck. The idea to create a database of roller coasters occurred to me after visiting Six Flags Great America. Roller coasters were perfect in that one would want to compare them in all sorts of different ways.

I created the site using some very basic technologies of the time. As newer technologies became available I further developed the site. These early versions were more of an experiment than anything else and I never really promoted the site to anyone beyond friends.

It wasn’t until I started adding pictures to the site that I made the site known outside of friends. Things proved to snowball from there.

An unexpected challenge has been a cat-and-mouse game of bandwidth. Seems every time I increase the site’s bandwidth it is soon overcome with more visitors. A problem that exists today as the outbound traffic is running at the currently line’s capacity for most of the afternoon.

Brandon Elliott: As a webmaster, I know the stress and responsibility of taking on a website, designing, updating frequently, and maintaining a reputation online. How do these stresses affect your life?

Duane Marden: Because the site isn't about profit, stress isn't a factor.

Users have the ability to search through the database and calculate the tallest, fastest, or even longest coaster on specific coasters in seperate countries and parks.

Brandon Elliott: How often do you update RCDB with new entries into the Database? Can you describe the process (assuming readers have no technical background) in your own words? Include how you update coaster information, photos, park names etc.

Duane Marden: Updates are made to the site daily. This is one reason there isn’t a “what’s new” page as I would spend more time working on that than on the updates. All of the rcdb’s content is stored in a database, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 to be specific. This “houses” the data. I then use Microsoft Access as a front end application to edit the contents of the MS SQL Server Database. Changes to this data are then immediately seen on the website. That’s about it.

Brandon Elliott: How long do you spend working on the site?

Duane Marden: The site pretty much consumes all my free time and then some. I really try not to think about it in an hourly manner for fear of realizing just how much time I spend working on it.

Brandon Elliott: You have no advertisements, and no online store. Is there any motivation that helps you update the site, or is it just a hobby?

Duane Marden: The site is just a hobby at this time, it doesn’t generate any revenue. In the future I may work out some sort of sponsorship or such to help offset the growing costs of bandwidth.The site’s consumption of bandwidth is increasing at a rate faster than the costs of bandwidth are decreasing.

Brandon Elliott: One of the main things that puzzle a lot of users of RCDB is the lack of graphics. We know a nice interface would look nice; however, it would slow down the site’s incredibly fast speed. Have you ever thought of designing a small layout or identity (such as a logo) and graphics to the site?

Duane Marden: Check out FAQ #6 if you haven’t already. The points are listed in ‘political’ order. In reality the order of truthfulness would be opposite.

Brandon Elliott: Are you the only person who works on the site, or is there another webmaster/ staff member? Have you thought of adding staff?

Duane Marden: I’m the only one who does the design and data entry aspect of the site. There are however literally hundreds of people around the world who feed me with information and pictures. These are simply other enthusiasts who support the site. The people who I communicate the most often with you can find on the About This Site page under Research.

Brandon Elliott: How many hits (estimated) does RCDB get per month? (Unique or cumulative)

Duane Marden: I’m 97% of the way to a significant milestone as far as hits go. That last 3% will come in this month. When it happens I’m going to post a news item with full information on it. So I’m going to be rather hush-hush until then.

Brandon Elliott: And now for some fun questions. What's your favorite:
Steel Coaster- Duane Marden: Batman the Ride
Wooden Coaster- Duane Marden: Shivering Timbers
Amusement Park- Duane Marden: Kennywood
Home Park (s)- Duane Marden: Little A-Merrick-A and Six Flags Great America

Brandon Elliott: Any reasons why you chose these?

Duane Marden: Batman the Ride – Simply put, it is the most intense roller coaster I’ve ever ridden. As these inverted coasters get bigger they tend to get tamer in my opinion (too much space between elements). Plus Batman’s lack of a block brake keeps the intensity up for the whole ride.

Shivering Timbers – I’m an air-time junkie.

Brandon Elliott: How often do you visit your home park?

Duane Marden: 3-5 times a year I would guess.

Brandon Elliott: We know you use a fair amount of photos on your site, from photographers around the world and from hundreds of other coaster sites. How do you obtain these photos? Do people offer them? We could assume it would be easy to get photos of something like Batman: The Ride or Top Thrill Dragster, but how do you get the photos of coasters far away in foreign countries, such as Anaconda at Gold Reef City, and Silver Star at Europa Park?

Duane Marden: Silver Star, Anaconda? Those too are easy! Real challenging pictures would be more like the Jet Star 2 at Vaiku Pasaulis in Elektrenai, Lithuania. Don’t ask me to pronounce any of that. But to answer your first question, yes, people offer them to me. The points in the answer to question number two are very relevant here. There also seems to be somewhat of a challenge amount photographers to have the most photographs on the site. Few realize this, but the photographer list on the About This Site page is ordered by how many photographs each photographer has provided. These photographers also know that I’m far more interested in pictures of roller coasters I lack pictures of. So this has really helped bring in the more obscure photos.

Brandon Elliott: Are there any future plans for RCDB? If so, give us details

Duane Marden: Yes, later on this year I hope to have a new revision finished and online. The most noticed will be a more modern look. I described it to a beta tester as “different, but the same” and he said that was an excellent comparison. There will also be a very significant new feature that I’m keeping as secret until it’s unveiled. This will be a unique feature to the rcdb as far as I’ve seen; no other roller coaster website has such a feature.

Once again a special thanks to Duane Marden of RCDB.Com for putting the time and effort into this interview.