SCR Poll for fututre editions

[Rogue Sub]

Here is the functioning poll

[cnutting]

My 2 cents? We are

My 2 cents? We are still addressing the membership issue haphazardly.

You need to find out:
A) Why did people leave and what would entice them back?
B) What would entice new members to join?


Single question polls aren't going to give you the whole picture. You need to get into people's heads and understand what makes them tick. Basic marketing.

Or, look at it as problem solving. You would fishbone it and gather data on the likely suspects. Proove your theory then implement. After implementation comes monitoring. This needs to be done on a regular basis, just like your maintenance logs or your chemistry. For too long, nobody monitored the membership and it withered.

[myles yancey]

My 2 cents? We are

[quote]My 2 cents? We are still addressing the membership issue haphazardly.

You need to find out]


Chris both issues can be addressed at the same time the quiestions you asked have been ask in a seperate thread as of yet no response to it.

Please see the following,
Sticky: To all the memebers that left the SubCommittee

Myles

[cnutting]

I guess my point is

I guess my point is the way the polls are structured. The way the questions are phrased, you are not going to get the data you need.

I see no strategic thinking here, just uncoordinated firefighting.

[david h]

Hello all,

I don't mind if

Hello all,

I don't mind if the mag comes as a PDF, this I imagine would reduce costs. I do like the hard copy aswell.

I realise that there is a tremendous amount of work that goes into the Subcommittee magazine and i have written several articles for it over the last couple of years. They've all been published. For this i thank the subcommittee people and think that overall they do a great job.

However to be honest with you, I though that the last issue was a bit ordinary. The reason why I think that this is the case for me is why I think that this magazine is probably appealing less to necomers and beginners. Less technical "how to" content.

Now , I put my hand up as guilty on this one. All my articles have been on the historical element of subs. Not how to build a WTC.

If I were a beginner looking around for info and having searched for information I think it would be realistic to say that my main issue would be lack of a central source of information on how to build a sub from the ground up. I'm not talking about how to make nice periscopes or drainage holes, but how to do shafts, ballast systems and electronics. Now I could write these articles on what I've done,but I suppose the reason why alot of people don't write engeering articles is that they feel extra scrutiny is applied to their engineering and that they feel it could be "wrong" or not "best practice" and not the best way to solve a technical problem.

A regular technical document that deals thoroughly with the various aspects of scratch building and the theory of model submarine operation would be great. The closest I can think of would be Norbert Bruggens book ( it almost scared me off with all the formulas though!) I know that to be able to get my hands on a book that just dealt with how to go about building a working RC sub when I was starting would have been worth it's weight in gold and would have saved months of extra effort and experimenting....


I know that cost is a factor for us overseas people.

This is not a rant or an attack on the subcommittee, they try their hardest and do alot of great stuff, But it's just my thought's and it may make sense to somebody...


regards,

David H

[t. schulte]

SCR future editions

Gentlemen, I noticed the poll would not allow me to choose both options or vote twice. Although I would prefer the hard copy for my collection I can also see the advantages of the electronic version. THX, Ted Schulte SC member #0611

[scott t]

I would vote twice, one

I would vote twice, one for pdf and one for SCR. Once a magazine is put
together there would be minimal cost to turn it into a PDF.

The magazine is by-monthly, maybe the vendors could fill the in-between
months with articles in a pdf online magazine. Great advertisement. Make
the guidelines so they could also publish it elsewhere to benifit the hobby.

Scott

[scott t]

Maybe the poll questions might

Maybe the poll questions might go like this.

If the SCR was only sent as a PDF would you join or continue your subscription; at a resonable price.

Yes join/continue subscription
No let subscription lapse

This will let you know who has to have the hard copy and who would
be willing to try a different option to grow the hobby.

Scott

[crazy ivan]

I have heard in the

I have heard in the past that a large number, maybe even a majority, of our membership, did not frequent the online forums, and the printed SCR was their primary means of contact with the SC. To what extent this is still true in this age of globalized networking, I wouldn't hazard a guess. A count of the known SC members who have accounts on this site vs the total paid membership might give a clue. I'm fairly certain of one thing though; those members who don't use the internet are not likely voicing their preference in this poll.

For my part, I prefer the hard copy in all it's glossy splendor. I find that reading off a computer screen after doing it all day at work, not to mention following these forums, is just a bit of a strain. Case in point; I have the first 30 odd issues on disc, which I couldn't wait to get, and yet I still haven't had the time or the ambition to start reading them on the computer screen. And as for printing out some 60+ pages of a pdf file to get my own hard copy of an issue, PULL-EZE! My old inkjet home printer is not up to that task in any reasonable amount of time. The end product would just not be the same, though the cost of the ink cartrages might be equivalent to my yearly dues.

Having said that, I would find an online pdf file in addition to the printed version useful, as others have mentioned. I might print just certain articles of interest, or even just view them if the online version included color pictures as opposed to the hard copy's b/w images. Whether such a dual format is practical, I will leave to those in the know.

As to diminishing content, the editors can only publish what the members submit. My 2 cents.

[Larry Kuntz]

I have to agree with

I have to agree with Crazy Ivan, the hard copy is a must. If we could have an online version, that certainly would be a plus. I would love to be able to search for a particular article online as the post em notes seem to fall off the hard copy eventually. It would also be nice to print out certain portions of an article, like photos or diagrams, to use during a project. I believe someone stated there could be many more photos available relating to an article that can't be put in the hard copy due to space and cost of printing.

[Guest]

Isn't the point here that

Isn't the point here that the SC is facing difficulties remaining solvent with things the way they are?

The large hike in membership, coupled with a worldwide economic slump and many currencies falling through the floor will result in many folk considering their priorities.

Once you lose members, it's much harder to get them back.

It's like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke- you must stem the leak before it becomes a torrent..

[scott t]

How about an experiment.
The next

How about an experiment.
The next issue of SCR be put in both print and PDF.
Then we can compare quality of pictures extra content left out of the
printed version.

Would advertisers pay a little more to have live links to there website.
Could other vendors like Revell or Lindberg be enticed to advertise with
links to there product being a mouse click away. (Futaba, Dumas, etc.)
Glues, paints, decals, all become potential advertisers.

Live links can also send you to the archived photos some have been asking
for. Can you think of other ways a linked PDF might benifit us?

Scott

[scott t]

Suppose people started putting together

Suppose people started putting together articles in PDF form and placing
them in a members only area to be read by the members.
Then a best of SCReport might be printed from these articles.

I still read my Best of Scaleship Modeller!

Those submitting articles who are not members would recieve membership
for the year in which they submitted articles. ( I will not give because I do not get anything!)

Scott

[scott t]

While I am thinking about

While I am thinking about it!
We sell the old SCRs on DVD.

How about members buy DVD for $99.00
Non-member buy package DVD + SCR for $125.00

Non-member becomes new member who may rejoin again and again.
I know small reduction in price of SCR but a swell in the membership.

Scott

[robert f.]

And thinking somewhat along Scott's

And thinking somewhat along Scott's lines:

how about putting the SCR archive (i.e. past issues) as pdf files in a members only section of the website, in read-only format? So every member would have access to this archive and those who want it in their own electronic archive could still buy the dvd's.

Also, I think some delay in making the SCR issues electronically available should be built in. For example, an issue would be added to the archive one year (or half a year, or three months, any time period really) after its hard copy publication date. That way, the printed SCR would still be the SubCommittee's main medium, eagerly awaited by every member...

Just my two eurocents, of course.

Robert