Some good points in both directions have been made, and like Bob Pries,
I don't see we have to dispense with a hard copy, at least not right
away. And, as Judy mentioned, there are voices involved that cannot be
heard on this forum. I do think this will change over the next 10
years, but it cannot be ignored. A high-speed internet connection will
be possible for most in the near future. Also, if one doesn't
have/want one at home, internet cafés are all over the place and one
can download there and take with.
Now, those not organized enough to deal with their electronic post
(shame on you....but I do understand!), we can do little. Not every
horse drinks. ;-)
One advantage of a digital newsletter is the ability to have
considerably more colour involved without high costs. The negative
side is that this would need to be paid for for the hard copy or cut
back to B/W for certain pages. The possibilities with electronic
publishing are staggering. And, as to printing costs, they are
generally lower than the post costs, which are constantly on the rise.
This is our real enemy/obstacle.
An important point made is the life expectancy of digital information.
Leaving items on a CD is not going to keep them forever. 10 year life
span, with good care. A different carrier will be necessary for
permanent storage, but this is available. One must simply consider
what one personally requires. I would save my originals to a hard
drive (flash or other), but produce another copy for use, either print
a hard copy or save to a CD or stick for direct use. The possibilities
are growing every day. With the advent of digital books, when we
finally have a standardized format, this may prove invaluable for those
wishing to take their newsletters to bed.
I am in favour of a members archive on the website, as this will also
work as a back-up for lost material. Having digital versions of
previous newsletters would be wonderful, but I do know what a task this
will be, especially for pre-digital originals. I would think that a
PDF will be a usable format for the next 10 years or so, as it is
widely used and already old, regularly up-dated and established.
All technology has a limited lifespan. We shouldn't kid ourselves.
The digital age is not going away, it is still coming at us. It can't
be ignored. Regardless of how we proceed with creating a digital
newsletter, the member is still left to further process their
newsletter in the manner they choose. They can print it, store it,
ignore it or what ever. But we will have a choice and the ability to
curb expenses. I'm all for choice.
--
Jamie Vande
_______________________
Köln (Cologne)
Germany
Zone 8
Although I do not have a cat that coughs-up little nasties to soil my documents, I do have a few parrots that revel in shredding whatever I have in my hand. You just can't win.
