ATTENTION CANADIAN SC MEMBERS!! - Have you received your Dec SCR yet?

[JWLaRue]

There have been a number

There have been a number of discussions over the years about possibly going to an electronic version of the SCR, but so far no one has been able to figure out whether this would be a good thing or a bad thing for the organization.

-Jeff

[subdude]

I'll add that in may

I'll add that in may last 2 months of being Membership Chairman, I had MANY calls concerning the above issue. Virtually every single call was to ask if the SCR was going electronic, and if so they WOULD NOT be renewing their membership.

Jim

[bob the builder]

If I'm not mistaken, the

If I'm not mistaken, the files that are submitted to the printers are already rendered in .pdf format, so assembling an electronic version in conjunction with the print copies should not pose a large increase in workload. I'm not saying go to the electronic format only, but in addition to.

I humbly submit my enthusiastic vote for an electronic version, and I know that a lot of international members will be echoing the sentiment...

[dietzer]

Well, the main problem with

Well, the main problem with the electronic version is that I'll have to generate lower-resolution PDFs if you want to be able to download them online.

Right now, we generate high-resolution PDFs, which are necessary to get the kind of print quality we're looking for. The last issue's high-quality PDFs alone took up almost 600MB of disk space, and had to be sent to the printers on a CD! These kind of large file sizes would greatly increase our bandwidth and result in greater internet charges for the SubCommittee.

My main worry is that I'm not sure if the lower-resolution PDFs would have a noticeable difference in on-screen quality vs the excellent in-print quality of the hi-res PDFs...

Carl

[doug lachance]

i dont mind if every-one

i dont mind if every-one else gets their SCR 3 weeks before me..we are all waiting the same amount of time...and their only smarter for a short amount of time...he he
but...
if we go electronic and one person sends a copy to a friend...and he sends to a friend and....etc..etc............end of story...NO SC members..no SCR..etc...etc.

[JWLaRue]

...and if we made the

...and if we made the electronic versions available online, then there would be an impact on the number of members who are willing to pay for their membership.

An electronic version of the SCR would end up being passed around enough to risk our current membership dues structure....which would almost certainly mean that we would need to raise dues. Raising dues is something that we have worked very, very hard to prevent over the past six years...so far with good success.

-Jeff

[ogopogo]

The dog-sled arrived in the

The dog-sled arrived in the Okanagan Valley today. Clenched between the teeth of the lead husky was my copy of the SCR. It is another excellent publication and even if I am the last member on earth to receive it, I vote NO to on-line publication. That would be the death-knell for SCR. As long as the talent and decication to put this publication together remains, I'll send my gratitude (and my cheque).
kudos to all the staff
john

[dietzer]

Jeff,

Good point. I neglected

Jeff,

Good point. I neglected to consider that aspect of it. I agree with you 100% -- no online copy of the SCR.

Carl

[bcliffe]

Folks,

So, I am a little

Folks,

So, I am a little at odds here. It sounds like some of the fears of having an electronic version is that it will get passed around for free, and $$$ spent by SCR members will benefit others. I can understand that argument.

I have also seen concern from vendors and other members the limited number of folks participating in this hobby. Wouldn't an electronic copy of the SCR report help solicit new members?

So maybe we shouldn't post every SCR report to the web, but in my opinion I think it would help to have at least 1 full version of the SCR posted (a year?) for download, to intrigue people to enter the hobby and help support the vendors that pay $$$ to advertise in the SCR report.

Cheers
BC



Edited By bcliffe on 1106094400

[boss subfixer]

While I agree with not

While I agree with not making the SCR electronic only, I was wondering if the idea of an electronic archive for past issues was also off the table?
Thanks
BSF

[bob the builder]

Both my original copy and

Both my original copy and the replacement that Jim sent out arrived last night (at the same time). Guess the plane unfroze enough to get the mail through.

[dietzer]

BC,

Having a sample issue available

BC,

Having a sample issue available online is not a bad idea. We would use an older issue (say one that's over a year old) for that, but having one old issue available per year is not a bad idea.

BSF,

I believe someone is already working on making an electronic archive of the past issues. This is something Jeff LaRue got started before I took over as editor. This is certainly something we want to do, as its become too much effort to maintain a printed stockpile of old SCRs. Mailing out the back issues on CD is much more attractive than mailing out printed back issues.

Carl

[JWLaRue]

Back issues (e.g. non-current membership

Back issues (e.g. non-current membership year) will be available in electronic format. At a minimum, these back issues will be available in PDF format on a CDrom.

Assuming that we can iron out the concerns that some of the officers have with electronic commerce on the SC web site, they will also be available for immediate payment and downloading.

-Jeff

[bcliffe]

Carl,

Agreed, it doesn't need to

Carl,

Agreed, it doesn't need to be a current issue. Thanks.

Cheers
BC

[bob the builder]

Getting the backissues on CD

Getting the backissues on CD would be awesome. Make sure and do up a heckuva bargain for the entire collection and then sign me up for a copy.