[MR] Post Office Experience

[Alan MacNeill]

On 5/4/06, Aedan Aylwyn <aedan at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> Just off the top of my head:
>
> - where do you host the files?


I'd imagine acorn.atlantia.sca.org would do nicely.  One PDF file is, at
most 10 Meg in size. (in my experience, a 32 page PDF comprising mostly test
is more like 2 Meg)  It would seem a reasonable compromise for the "current"
acorn to be posted to the web on or around the day it's due to arrive in
mailboxes.  that way if it's delayed in the mail, it's no big deal for 90%
of the membership of the SCA, since they can pull it off the web if they
need it that badly.  Yes, it would take a while if you're stuck on a 56K
modem, but you could still do it.

- do you send out (push) the files to email addresses or host them (pull)
> for download?


Host for download.  If I want it, I can get it.  If I don't need it, don't
shove it to me.

>>- how does this affect the cost of publishing the newsletter for those
that
>>get a hard copy?

It shouldn't affect the cost at all, you get the hardcopy if you paid for
it, whenever the post office gets around to it.  Remember, the benefit of
membership isn't the publications, it's the discount on events, opportunity
to serve as a member, and other similar perkage.

>>- does this affect the cost of membership for those that elect for
>>electronic format?

Again, it shouldn't.  Electronic is an addition, and a welcome one at that.

>>- is there a way to allow electronic versions still provide proof of
>>membership?

Not under my scheme.  But really, if you need proof of membership that
badly, call Milpitas, or use last month's Acorn, which you still have (if
you threw it away, that's your own problem).

All anyone is asking for is a way to get the information they paid for in a
timely fashion.  OKay, we all buy that it's not the Chronicler's fault.  We
all are willing to believe that the mailing house is doing it's best
effort.  Fine, great, cool, but we're not getting our information on time.
An electronic availability of the current PDF (which, as has been mentioned,
is trivial to produce, and some publishing houses already require it for
submission anyhow) would get us the information in a timely fashion.

That's all.  Not that difficult to do, once you get past institutional
inertia, which is, quite frankly, the 4000 lb behemoth in the SCA.

Gorm