Gill, I'm guessing that they want to use the TexasCaver to promote the membership, and that they are afraid that if they gave away the TexasCaver, then a lot of the memberships will drop.
So the big question comes, what value does TSA bring besides the publication? I've heard this question at other times, even when not discussing electronic versus printing issues. I don't have all of the answers, but this is what I've seen: The TSA promotes Texas caving in many ways, CBSP project, helping with land acquisition, and donated money for repairs at Honey Creek. I know there are a lot of other ways, and anyone that complains should attend the meetings and be vocal. Merely complaining online isn't going to cut it. The TSA membership voted, the decision has been made. And before anyone complains that they didn't vote on it, you know the answer to this, you should have been present. We all have our opinions on the matter, we are entitled to them, however, it doesn't mean that we are right :) Charles On Fri, Jan 16, 2009 at 8:36 AM, Gill Ediger <[email protected]> wrote: > Charles is exactly right. The whole idea of an online TEXAS CAVER is that it > CAN be printed out (in color, no less) and hard copy (and digitally) > archived for a whole lot less money than the cost of printing and mailing. I > cannot imagine reading an important digital publication on line. I almost > always print them out, collate them, and read the hard copy--with my feet up > on the desk. Everybody has a printer and damned near everybody has internet. > Those that don't can have a friend do it. The CAVER can be bigger, in color, > more friendly to submit to, timely, and cheaper to produce and distribute. > It is one of the most important positive decisions the TSA has made in a > long time. The technology is here and the rewards will be great. The only > thing missing is that The TEXAS CAVER is still an elite subscription > newsletter online which will not be readily available to all of the Texas > cavers who would benefit from it and the TSA (and all of Texas caving) will > suffer the consequences of not having those cavers as readers and > contributors. They will miss out on the important information published in > The CAVER and and the subscribers will miss out on the information which > would normally be contributed by those barred from 2-way access to The > CAVER. The TSA is not an association of Texas cavers; it is an association > of dues payers beating a dying dog. It can accomplish its goals only by > reaching out to and including ALL Texas cavers in its coverage. The internet > offers a cheap and simple and effective way to do that. The first step has > been taken. It's too bad that money rather than intellect prompted that > change. Let's see if common sense can move it make the next step to include > all Texas cavers in on the benefits of being a part of the Association by > offering them access to both read and contribute to the valuable contents of > The TEXAS CAVER. > > I must ask those in the TSA: Why do you not want to reach everybody who is > caving in Texas with your safety and conservation message and to promote > good and smart caving practices among them and induce more submission to The > TEXAS CAVER? Why? The mechanism is in place; let's use it to reach out to > those non-participants. Draw them in with a positive influence and > counteract any bad caving habits they may have--all at no cost to anyone. > > --Ediger > > At 10:36 PM 1/15/2009, Charles Goldsmith wrote: >> >> Now, to the issue at hand, I disagree, if anyone wants a hard copy, >> have it printed, you'll come out a bit more expensive, but that way >> the rest of us don't have to pay for the additional cost via higher >> subscriptions. >> >> The TSA is moving in the correct direction. >> >> As far as making sure these are always available, until time ends, >> proper planning of the TSA with this is prudent. >> >> Multiple off-site storage of the files should be mandatory, and >> accurate accounting of the off-site files. >> >> Requiring everyone to pay more for a hard-copy is selfish and not >> prudent in these economical times. I can afford for higher dues, do I >> want them, no. Not everyone could afford them, we should probably >> talk about dropping them a bit to help everyone out. >> >> If you don't have a printer, you can take the pdf to many printing >> shops to have it printed. If you insist on having one mailed to you >> in hard copy, perhaps the TSA will consent with doing a special rate >> for those, paying a higher dues to cover the printing/mailing cost. >> This should not be imposed on everyone though, only to those who elect >> to pay that cost. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit our website: http://texascavers.com > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected] > >
