009 News in PDF format

[Hobby]

With respect, they are already there, many local groups already have websites, including both of my local ones. Not to mention Forums such as NGRM and this one which haven't killed off the News. Has the introduction of pdf versions of the MR Mags killed off them? No it hasn't... There will always be a small number of people who don't want to move with technology but they shouldn't be used as an excuse to stand still...

I am a member of several societies that use pdf only for their mags and they work perfectly ok...

As I've said when this has been discussed in the past, if you want a paper version then fine, but that shouldn't prevent those of us who want a pdf version getting that once they have sorted out the logistics.

[Stan Williams]

Hey guys,

This is a hobby  ( no pun intended )

Lighten up and enjoy life.

Stan.

[Hobby]

Sorry, Stan, I have let my frustration with the Society's seeming reluctance to move with the times get the better of me!

On a final note, though, a note to Stephen, another Society I used to be a member of didn't send the magazine out but had it on a secure part of their website which could be accessed by a code which was changed from time to time, perhaps that would save on the hassle of emailing it?

[Graeme Dunbar]

Lest I be regarded as being a Luddite, I'm in favour of access to PDF versions (see my earlier post - accessibility is a consideration, and not just for those for whom an electronic copy is convenient), but it does need some thought to ensure that the paper copy remains viable for those who want it.

I want my cake and to eat it! I like reading the glossy paper version but would very much like searchable access to older editions. Indexes often just don't fit the bill and free text searches are so much more useful.

[Alan Feldon]

Blair
Sometimes the reason articles dry up is because members write and submit them ,but they are never published,so they give up.In other words its all down to the editor at that time.
Whereas on a forum its "publish and be damned"
Nothing to do with the differences between hard copies and pdf ,but it might explain why articles dry up.

[gtmspyder]

I agree with Alan.

To the readers of the articles submitted, which are the most important elements of an article, the words or the pictures?

I agree that a picture can be worth a thousand words, if the article is about how to make or assemble an item, then a picture can be self explanatory, but if the article is merely a story about something with pictures interspersed, then the pictures are merely an interlude showing what is being described, and therefore are not as important.

A little while ago, I submitted three consecutive articles about the construction of my Glen Ogle layout to the 009 magazine editor, with more to follow.

This was basically what members on the forum would have seen had they followed my postings on the forum, including some of the forum pictures.

My forum pictures were reduced in size upon transfer from camera to computer and then saved to Photo Bucket in the reduced 800x600 format for ease of transfer to the forum, the original very large pictures were then erased as no longer required.

When I submitted my articles, I used the Photo Bucket pictures along with my text, the pictures were submitted for illustrative purposes and added interest, but our esteemed editor informed me that they were unsuitable for publication through lack of quality due to there reduced pixel size.

By this time I had submitted two further episodes, but the whole series has been scrapped because I cannot produce the better quality pictures to include with the words, as they have been erased.

Now I do not dispute that the printed picture quality might be poor, because I don't know, but if the article was worth while, would it have mattered, again we will never know.

My feeling is that my words were of insufficient merit when it was realised how many column inches my Glen Ogle layout would consume to cover it's build, and the lack of printable quality pictures I submitted was used to bring my writing career to a swift end  ;D  

So, does the quality of the pictures matter more than the words fellow modellers??

Kind regards,

BrianT.

[B.Meldon]

The trick with the photos for 009 News is reducing the file size without reducing the size of the photo.

That said the photos have to be good quality in the first place. This does not require an expensive camera or other exuipment, almost all of my Egger-bahn photos were taken using a Fuji Finepix S5500 4mb camera that can be obtained second hand on e-bay for under

[Hobby]

I've always just sent the full sized photos (as I took them) and they've never had any issues, Brian (T!), perhaps you could try sending them the originals?

[B.Meldon]

The problem is that many e-mail systems will not work with large file sizes.

They just time out before the files are all sent.

Brian Meldon

[Hobby]

Just send a CD with the photos and a word doc on it in the post then or you can split them up into several emails and send one at a time... If you can't burn to a CD then take the camera to the local photo shop and they will put them onto a CD, the word (or notebook) file should have no issues going by email...

Where there's a will, there's a way! :)

[Doug Dickson]

I openly admit that this post may seem provocative, and understand that entrenched members of the OO9 Society may have opposing views, I offer it as a basis for discussion, here goes...

Why bother to print a magazine at all? :o

The team necessary to produce and mail each hard copy, should remember that no-one is going to succeed in this day and age by continuing to produce sealing-wax....and, who will take their places when they are shunted into the great siding in the sky?

Abandon the concept of 'Society' and embrace 'Forum' with all its minimal staffing advantages. A considerable voice for railway modelling runs successfully with an 'owner' and four part-time moderators. I refer Your Model Railway Club [ yourmodelrailway.net ] for example.

Produce The News only as a PDF and allow members to download, select and print only those parts they wish to retain as hard copy. A 'print friendly' version could assist towards this end, and those members do not have access to computers and printers will have the choice, continue to cycle to work on their penny-farthing cycles or join the modern world with its pneumatic tyres.

The consumables and postage costs involved in the dissemination of hard copies are presumably sourced including VAT.... electrons cost so very little to deliver so outlay could be slashed, with a corresponding reduction in both membership fees and donations to HMRC.

Freed from the constraints of the editorial system, yet the bounds of decency and truthfulness, members would be able to post what they wish to post, without any concerns over bias or clique-ism.

In place of The News the forum could be rich in photographs, drawings, small 'How-to' articles that do not need to conform to the strictures of a print format, and more easily and subtly posted using a multiple upload system of larger formats paid for out of savings. Imagine writing your own article/post/thread whatever, inserting multiple photographs, videos and drawings, previewing them prior to posting and then posting it by one click. Unimaginable? No, it exists now, along with penicillin, dentures, aeroplanes and foreign travel.


Doug
[Advocatus diaboli]

[Hobby]

As the most vosiferous UK based member advocating the choice of having a pdf version I'll take the oportunity to reply first!

I take your point, Doug, and it's one I've used before in these discussions that Times Move On and we should move with them...

However I also accept that not everyone does, or wants to, either because they don't want to or can't afford to... A pdf only version is fine if everyone has access to a computer and printer but not everyone has...

Also some people like to read the Mag in paper form, I can relate to that, I've tried Kobos/Kindles but still prefer a paper book to an electronic one (even though I want an electronic News!)... They should be allowed that choice, though the extra cost should be reflected in the cost, which even then would be a lot less than a computer...

Forums? One of those Marmite things, some people like 'em, some don't... They are not the means to an end... I still prefer local meetings, though again I prefer the ones in peoples houses to "hall" meetings as I find the atmosphere more appealing... As for Forums themselves, they are an extremely useful addition to our modelling, for all the info they provide, but again not everyone likes them and they can become very cliquey, one large general MR forum springs to mind, which can spoil them...

Finally for those who don't have computers then the News provides lots of other info such as meetings, etc...

In the far future I suspect that the paper version will become a thing of the past, perhaps even the News itself, but that time has not yet come....

Blair

[Doug Dickson]

Just send a CD with the photos and a word doc on it in the post then or you can split them up into several emails and send one at a time... If you can't burn to a CD then take the camera to the local photo shop and they will put them onto a CD, the word (or notebook) file should have no issues going by email...

Where there's a will, there's a way! :)

With the greatest respect for your sensibilities, and an apology if you were trying to be genuinely helpful, this is Luddite-ism.  

1.  The means of communication exists already. Updating and improving the forum posting facilities instead of erecting another hurdle between contributing and publication makes more sense.

or

2.  Designating an email editorial address to which members may email articles by Windows Mail, Hotmail, Gmail etc. circumventing the restrictions of the forum.

If I can send, by email, a double page article with twelve photographs for publication in a national magazine without resorting to zip files, then the latter is probably the most cost effective way of doing it. I suggest 'edsubmitOO9@provider' might be the answer.

Doug

[Doug Dickson]

I have deleted some of Blairs reply for ease of commenting..

1.   As the most vosiferous UK based member advocating the choice of having a pdf version I'll take the oportunity to reply first!

2.   Also some people like to read the Mag in paper form

3.   Forums? ..... I still prefer local meetings.....

4.   As for Forums themselves... they can become very cliquey, one large general MR forum springs to mind, which can spoil them...

Blair

Re 1. I'd agree, if you only want to read a PDF, why pay for a paper copy. Will I lose the choice when I move back to the UK?

Re  2. Then let them continue to pay more for the privilege.

Re  3.  Local meetings can still go ahead, with the advantage that the Local Hon. Sec. can let chums  know instantly that the venue has burnt down and it will know be at the Dog and Duck PH.

Re  4   If you are referring to RMWeb, it has become largely sweetness and light under the combined benevolent duocracy of Andy York and BRM, I promise it's safe to visit in carpet slippers, the Cliquettes that exist stay largely in their little boxesand Trolls are vigorously hunted down at their first appearance!


Doug

[Hobby]

Doug, my earlier post re how to get copy to the Editor was trying to be helpful as the two posters seemed genuinely unaware that there ware other methods of getting stuff to him... It was a reply to the thread-drift rather than anything to do with the core discussion and should have been read that way as it directly followed their posts...

I will reply to you offline re the forum as I do not feel that a discussion on another forum is appropriate, hence I mentioned no names, merely used an example...