News400 RPG Source newsletter -- RPG400-L



As I said in my earlier post I forwarded the original comments on the RPG Source
to the editor Gary Guthrie, his response follows:

I'll start by saying that this is not the first time I've heard of
readers upset by the notion that Duke Communications has moved RPG
coverage out of NEWS/400 and into The RPG Source. This is an
understandable reaction.

The idea that the newsletter is a cash cow for Duke, however, is a
misperception. A desire for additional revenue is not the reason for the
newsletter's existence. NEWS/400 continues to have RPG coverage. I don't
think the amount of RPG coverage has changed significantly since the
introduction of the newsletter. Any reduction in RPG coverage in the
magazine that has occurred over the years would have occurred
irrespective of the newsletter's existence.

Perhaps a journey through time will shed some light on decisions that
led to waning RPG coverage in the magazine. There was a time when a
person could fairly well get their arms around the IBM midrange
computer. It was possible for a person to know a substantial amount
about all of its features. During that time RPG was at the center of the
system. As such, the magazine covered RPG extensively.

Today, the AS/400 is far less infantile. Its feature set has grown leaps
and bounds and the rate at which the growth continues to occur is
staggering. NEWS/400 has to grow with the system. There is much more
than just RPG to cover now and there's only so many pages available in
which to provide that coverage. NEWS/400's content is reader driven.
Duke uses extensive and frequent surveys to determine specifically what
content readers desire. The results of those surveys are often out of
step with what some of us want to read or write about, but the simple
fact remains that the market demands such coverage. It is this dynamic
that has resulted in any drop in the amount of RPG coverage the magazine
provides.

I think all of us associated with NEWS/400 know that there is a large
number of readers interested in RPG. Though the magazine is committed to
providing solid RPG coverage, there are many who want more RPG articles.
In an effort to provide increased RPG coverage for these readers, we
launched The RPG Source, a tightly focused RPG specific newsletter. The
cost of the newsletter, in my opinion, is more than reasonable. In
addition to tutorial information, the newsletter contains a good amount
of usable code in the form of downloadable utilities. If a subscriber
uses but one of these utilities they've paid for a few years worth of
subscriptions with the development savings. If a reader had to wade
through everything required to get the information provided in the
tutorial articles, far more than the subscription cost would be spent in
research. Sure, I make a few dollars. Rest assured, however, that were I
to calculate my hourly rate and post it for all to see, there would
likely be few standing in line to take my place. I put the effort into
the newsletter largely because I enjoy making a contribution to others
in the industry.

I'm sure some will maintain their skepticism, but I am sincere when I
say that the decision to publish The RPG Source was not predicated on
making a lot of money. It was to provide a service for our readers.
Unfortunately, providing this service means we have to pay authors and
printers and...

Gary Guthrie
Editor, The RPG Source


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