<VV> Communique (this is Re to several posts)

[airvair at earthlink.net]

Online Communique? Oh Gawd NO! A thousand times NO, NO, NO!!!

I am on dial-up and just yesterday a friend sent me a post with three
pictures attached. It took an hour and twenty minutes to download. You
think I'm going to spend the hours (maybe days) downloading the CC off the
net? Are you mad?

Besides, no printer I know of, or could afford, could print it out as nice
a copy as what arrives in the mail. Slick paper, beautiful pictures, all on
a full-sized folded, stapled magazine. Just TRY to duplicate THAT! Yea,
right. You can take your clunky "download of the net" idea and
you-know-what with it. If it ever came to being forced to get it off the
net, I just simply wouldn't. Even if I DID have the highest speed
connection possible.

-Mark


> [Original Message]
> From: Tim Verthein <minoxphotographer at yahoo.com>
> Subject: <VV> Communique (this is Re to several posts)
>
> To be honest, and really I can't believe I'm saying this -- the
Communique should be completely, 100% done as an online publication.  This
eliminates I'll bet over 90% of the cost.  It should be posted to the CORSA
site monthly, as a PDF download.  EVERYONE can read a PDF, the reader if
you need it is FREE, you can print it if you want, and you can adjust the
size to whatever you want.  This coming from a STRONG supporter and fan pf
printed magazines.  But it would save THOUSANDS YEARLY.  The information
would reach everyone quick, the ads would be more timely, publication
length would be basically unlimited, etc.  Fancy on line reading programs
and all that (like the last ones posted) and all pretty and cute, but won't
work with EVERY computer.  Even a HUGE PDF can be downloaded by someone on
dialup, even if it takes a while. It's time to bite the bullet and realize
that the WORLD is taking care of timely things with the internet and saving
on cost
>  while providing unlmited content. The youth of America, who we are
trying to bring on board don't want to pay for a cub members hip to get a
magazine. They live on their computers.  I know there are many who will
HATE this, and probably cancel their membership instantly, but if you lose
a few years worth of dues it will be more than made up by the savings in
production and distribution.  Fretting about bandwidth?  if that's an
issue, CORSA needs to find a decent deal on server space. my web site, and
that of my employer is hosted by a company that gives UNLIMMITED server
space, and HUGE amounts of transfer for $90 a YEAR.  At work we upload
easily half a gig a day, and sometimes up to 20 gigs a day are downloaded,
and we don't even make a BLIP on the bandwidth limit meter.  People used to
say "I don't want to darn telephone.  People 'll quit visitin' ifn they can
jes call up the neighbors and kin"  And we moved on, and we all have a
phone.  the computer
>  is that way now. It's time to stop fighting the trend and spending
thousands to cater to the few. 
>
> Back issues can be scanned to pdf as images, not OCR, it's fast and a
common way to do it.  I've copies many a vintage tech manual, etc for some
piece of equipment for someone, saved the scans in pdf format, and e-mailed
'em off in minimum amounts of time. Trouble is, everyone wants to start
getting all fancy with your databases, and searches, and excel crap, and
blah blah.  A good ol' PDF works everywhere, and will probably work for the
next hundred years.  The other formats are often computer dependent and get
updated about every 3 years and don't always stay backwards compatible
(especially if M$ is involved).
>
> Put the Communique on the site in a members only area, and make it
simple. let people generate their own user name and password, etc. Coupe
times a year make it available for free to anyone who visits the site and
leave it available that way, so visitors can download a somewhat recent
issue (last 6 months) and see what's up. 
>
> I love the magazine. I look forward to getting it.  but even I will admit
it's passe' for a group that's trying to be current, topical, thrifty, and
appeal to today's modern world. 
>
> tim in Bovey
>
> Leaving the soapbox now.
>