The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

[JWLaRue]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

I wasn't actually thinking of an online magazine, thought that's an option that could be explored. For this option, we'd need to distinguish it from the forum, which is a different mindset and requires a different type of comparison.

Let's keep this option as part of the discission.

-Jeff

[myles yancey]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

But I was thinking of an electronic magazine format that was not entirely static. Don’t just use this as another means to deliver the same thing. In other words, why not better exploit the so-called electronic medium to enhance the member’s reading experience? For example, what if that really nice build article also included one or more videos embedded within the article that shows you part of the actual build process...and there were embedded links to other, related material?

+1

Jeff I must admit I agree with you on this.... I personally have not renewed my membership because I find the material here in the forums and SCR reports as getting old. I personally learn more about model building by hanging around my local model boat club then the material I am finding here.

I do recognize that publishing/editing the SCR and keeping the website up to date is a lot of work, and I assume other folks out there are like me, a real time crunch between work, family, and other things in life.

Online is the way to go in my mind, that is where the next generation lives. Personally my belief is the concept and know how of buildings models is becoming more and more of a lost art.

So how do we attack the 2 problems above ... get all the SCR historic info on line and convert the web site to a social media site. There is a lot of open source software packages like Drupel ... that do both social media and content media. (Using the above in another project I am working on)

You need to make the users own the content, and collobrate on the material that is fit for publication.

Drupal is neat where there is specific software components that allow the users to create a book, that could be published. So you could get the best of both worlds, flexable online content that can be used to genererate content/articles for a quartlery publication for those that are not online.

Please understand I am just using Drupal as an example, there are other solutions out there ... but I do think if the hobby is actually going to survive to the next generation ... things need to change.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers
BC

I agree with the both of you about this line of thought, and yes if we want to get newer and younger members into the hobby these days we will need to change some things.

[raalst]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

it is maybe a good idea to move this thread to the members only section ?
I'm a bit worried that some people might use all this information not to the SC's best interests.

my 2ct on electronic publication : we will have a modernised website some day, which
is capable of offering any paid member his own publication area/webpages, either for build logs or for other
worthwhile stuff. maybe the electronic publication and the website capabilities could be merged ?

[myles yancey]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

it is maybe a good idea to move this thread to the members only section ?
I'm a bit worried that some people might use all this information not to the SC's best interests.

I agree with that, please move it, and explain the reason for moving it, also apologize to the non members hopw have given some excelent imput into this discussion.
thank you
Myles

[raalst]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

It would be interesting to know how much the website costs to run.

the cost of hosting the website is peanuts.

as Ben Cliffe suggested we are busy with the website, and it can indeed offer members their own webpages.
The basis is Joomla, some program that does the same thing as Drupal (I believe), which is
support people to easily publish content on the website.

new articles could be held back by editors so we could publish them together, periodically.
also, copying from such a website will be a hassle, compared to creating some "PDF SCR".

But organizing and grooming this website, convince members to use the newfangledness
and helping people publish their content will call for a few editors. just like the paper SCR.

[thor]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

Of the many professional publications I recieve, only one, Mechanical Engineering is still in paper. However, it is in transistion to a websize only as well. The future of publications is on the net. Like it or not, we must adapt. I like the idea of a downloadable webzine and am willing to take up a partial responsibility for getting it down. However, I would want others on board to help as well. I don't have time enough to do it all myself. I do think that the webzine idea has a lot of possibilities, including doing better recruiting of members through the use of webtools. As far as web publishing, I am completely inept, so I would need guidance from those more knowlegable....

Ronald-You make excellent points and I could not agree more with you!

Matt

[myles yancey]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

I like the idea of a downloadable webzine and am willing to take up a partial responsibility for getting it down. However, I would want others on board to help as well. I don't have time enough to do it all myself. I do think that the webzine idea has a lot of possibilities, including doing better recruiting of members through the use of webtools. As far as web publishing, I am completely inept, so I would need guidance from those more knowlegable....

Matt

Matt glad to see someone step up and volunteer to help work on things, if we go to electronic SC Report. so I will put you down as a future SCR worker.
Matt thanks for stepping up your in.
I love when a plan starts to come together our fist Volunteer. Matt Thor who's next.


Thanks again
Myles

[Rogue Sub]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

One of my concerns is what will the quarterly webzine offer that the forums do not already give away?

[JWLaRue]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

Kevin,

The forums would not give anything away. The content that would appear on the web site and forum would be in the members only sections....for which a paid membership is required.

Whether and how a distinction would be made between online content and an electronic SCR is a discussion that we need to work through.

-Jeff

[Rogue Sub]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

I missed the part about the forum going members only. Sorry

[JWLaRue]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

Sorry.....my bad. I may not have been clear.

I don't see the entire forum going members only. Just us maintaining the current forum-only sub-forums that currently have. We would definitely want to keep some sub-forums available for all.

-Jeff

[thor]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

Hopefully we could do something like a weekly release of parts of the SCR. That keeps the site fresh and members have a reason to come back on a regular basis. It also evens out the work a bit...

[modelnut]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

I would not mind the SCR going electronic. But that would depend on the form it takes.
I had an online magazine subscription before but it was terrible. It was dead slow. You couldn't print anything at all or save an image to view in more detail or use as a computer wallpaper. Computers are great but I can't picture running to click the next page when in the middle of a project. I would prefer a printout of what I need to know. All of these can be done with the SCR in pdf and I kind of prefer that to the printed version. (I have a few issues on pdf because I waited too stinking long to renew my membership. The printed version had run out.)

I would love to see someone cover the very basics of the hobby. Everything from how to lay up a hull to how exactly to fit a drive shaft to the motor and propeller. I am way way out in the sticks. There are no chapters of the SC anywhere near me that I can easily hook up with. I have a family now so the only way I can ever attend any sort of meeting it would have to b extremely local. It's not that I am lazy. It's just that I work fifty hours a week.

How about RC Subs for Dummies ? So many of you have been in this hobby for so long that you are experts at all of this. You sometimes talk in short hand and I don't blame you. Why cover the same old ground? But most of what you say goes right over my head. I just don't know the basics. I have been to other groups and have been made to feel like an idiot because I am so freakin' green.

- Leelan

[scott t]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

Can a PDF be posted on this forum?
How it might work:
One of many Subject editors would pick a subject that is posted on line here at SC.
Some kind of label would be given to the thread or subject so editors would not pick the same subject.
The editor would contact the person doing the work and see if they want there material made into
an article. If they agree then more questions of the subject matter would be given to the builder
or expert (b/e). The b/e could either write his own copy or the subject editor would make the copy
from the b/e answers. Picture would be gleaned from the b/e and additional pics would be gathered to
illustrate the article.
The articles would be saved in an area as they are polished that the chief editor and subject editor only would have access to. When the material was complete it would then be brought out in a quarterly e-magazine. As a thread and a downlodable PDF

If someone was building or had a subject on another sight and wanted to publish it here they could
be there own subject editor and compile the copy and pictures.

If subject editors fall out of interest with there subject the chief editor would be able to salvage and reassign it to another.

Since most of us will be reading along with the subject post the articles may not be a suprise but will be well presented at a later date and be useful information without the complimentary post slowing the
enjoyment of the article. Plus the subject editor will have added the beauty shots and maybe history
most threads leave out. Alot of research goes into each creation we never hear or get to apprecitate.

Even very slow builders could contribute as subject editors like myself. I am in for something similar to what is suggested.

Scott T

Lets shoot for a fourth quarter e-magazine wether we go that route or not.

[steveneill]

Re: The Future of the SubCommittee Report?

I will miss collecting the magazines. Hard to do with SCR on the net. You could spend a lot of time, ink, and money printing them out I suppose. Or just keep them on your hard drive and burn them to disc to collect. Although CDs and DVDs disintegrate with time. Not so much with print.

So if you're really going to do this right, may I suggest take full advantage of the personal computer? Make use of video. Builders can now do cheaply a build log from start all the way up to trim trials and that first patrol. Everyone has movie maker and some kind of video camera at the least these days. People in general don't like to read anymore and attention spends are short. So be it. I can think of no better way to interest John's so called next generation in our subject than through video.

Look at all the video I have made alone to date. And I'm doing one in total for the first time on this 57 inch Seaview build. People love it. They like to be hams and show their talents off. So along with the text article you could have a video. Or only video. Or only text it depends on the author.

Not sure how you encrypt it for members only but I would imagine you host it on this server not Youtube and only members can view it. I know it would make this whole thing more interesting to me.

Go multi media if you really want to be with these so called time.
Steve

P.S. I do question out of all the SC members how many even frequent this web site and forum? And how many depend on getting that printed magazine to keep up. There are still a lot of people that don't have computers or are not on the net. Hard to believe yes but true.