Re: digital SIGNA bulletin?

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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.

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Jamie Vande

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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.