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West Wight Potter Mailing List maintainer
dfarrell@ridgecrest.ca.us
List hosted by www.tscnet.com
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On Mon, Jan 10, 2000 at 09:09:20AM -0800, Eric Johnson wrote:
>
> Isn't that what we're trying to accomplish here? :) I mean, it would be
> wonderful if we get an editor with HTML/DHTML/JAVA/etc expertise... but then
> they'd have to edit both an online page and a newsletter.
Recent versions of both microsoft word and word perfect will convert to
and from html. We are far more likely to get volunteers who know these
programs than we are to get people who know page layout programs.
> If we gt someone
> who simply knows how to use >any< application that can create the
> newsletter, with acrobat, they can easily post it on the web.
MSword, MSpublisher, and wordperfect, to my knowledge, can't produce pdf
files, but they all can produce html.
> And since so
> many folks use acrobat anyways, most people have it installed.
If it came to a choice between using acrobat reader and using a browser
to read stuff, I would much prefer the browser, and I think that is a
very common sentiment. If it came to a choice between using acrobat
reader and getting hardcopy mailed to me, I would prefer the hard copy.
For me I see no added value in producing things in pdf.
When I was editing the newsletter I experimented with MSPublisher's
features for saving a publication as a web site. They were pretty
primitive, and the resulting documents were sometimes *huge*, but it
sort of worked. The trick, of course, is to arrive at a format that
works well in either medium.
Also, when I was editor, Dory used to chide me for spending too much
time futzing over layout. He would have been happy with simple
mimeographs. In retrospect, I tend to agree with him. I think we would
be better off spending our time working on a new version of the "Many
Ways" booklet of potter tips.
I do see great value to more closely integrating the web site and the
newsletter. That would allow, for example, an online archive of past
newsletter articles -- Larry's articles on sail trim, for example,
would be very nice to have online, but there are many many more fine
articles from the past.
The argument in the past has been that we need the newsletter to keep
the club together, and we need to charge dues to support the
newsletter. I think that argument is losing strength. I would prefer
to see money collected to sponsor events and other things, and spend
less effort on the newsletter.
Ultimately, however, this is all speculation. We are operating in an
information vacuum. We need to know things like:
1) how many people don't have net access, and really need paper
distribution
2) how much they are willing to pay for it
3) how much does layout matter to people
etc.
Kent
P19 Peregrine
SF Bay
-- Kent Crispin "Do good, and you'll be kent@songbird.com lonesome." -- Mark Twain
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