Re: Thinner! -- RPG400-L

Mark,

Nor am I privy to the financial details nor can I speak for Penton,
however my personal thoughts appear as coments in-line.

"M. Lazarus" wrote:
> 
> 1)  When the price stays the same or goes up, but there's less of the
> product, the consumer feels like the value is decreasing.

When the price stays the same, look around and see what else has stayed
the same price. Costs go up and, while I can't say what Penton does, I
can say that I've observed what some companies do - go up in price or
trim a little from the product. I haven't done an exhaustive analysis,
but it seems to me that the total deliverable to the consumer has not
gone down - it may have changed and given an impression that it has gone
down, but I don't think that's the case.


> 2)  Putting stuff on the web site is not a substitute for the printed
> version.  It's great to augment the print (and there are a few things are
> better delivered electronically), but not at the expense of that very same
> magazine it's trying to boost!

It's not meant to be a substitute. It is indeed to augment the printed
version. It is something our readership wants and views as useful. Just
as there are things best suited for print, there are things that can be
done on-line that can't in print media. These are tough times for this
type of business. Have you noticed how players are dropping like flies?
There's a reason for that. I think the folks who've brought you the
magazine and the network for so long have done a good job of making sure
they continue to bring you the information. And, I think it is among the
cream of the crop information in the industry. I know the folks who work
on this stuff and they are top-notch, bright, and dedidated folks. I
also know they've made much personal and professional sacrifice. And,
they continue to pursue in spite of knocks that the times put on them.

The bottom line, Mark, is that there are many facets to the industry
that consumers don't think about, and understandably so. It's hard to
imagine what all is involved in publishing. I know - I've seen it from
both sides of the fence.

 
> 3)  The "free" newsletters are not done out of the goodness of Penton's
> heart - it's there to deliver revenue.  There are ads that pay for it.  The
> same goes for the web site articles.

Is Penton supposed to do things out of the goodness of their heart? Of
course the newsletters are there for revenue purposes. It costs money to
run a business and investors tend to think they should make a penny as
well. Let me simply ask a rhetorical question, "Do you work for minimum
wage?"
 

>   As an aside, I would like to see all the past code available to the
> public, or at the very least to past subscribers.  Since much of the code
> has been relegated to web site only, if you are not a *current* member you
> do not have access to code that you have paid for.

Mark, you seem to think that you "own" the code that is published in the
magazine. That's not true. And, to say that it should be available to
the entire public, huh? They've never paid a cent for the magazine or
anything else, EVER, and you think that Penton should bear the cost of
making it available to the public as well as the cost of their access?



Mark, you and I have conversed over the years and shared information and
I know I've tried to help you where I could, so I hope you accept that
I'm not "getting down on you". I find that you're a reasonable person
and that when presented with information, you process it well. I hope
that this sketchy bit of talk has some hint of information in the form
of "think about it this way" that you can use to reconsider your
opinion.

As an author and editor for iSeries NEWs, iSeriesNetwork.com, and Club
Tech Programming Tips newsletter, I can tell you that my hope is to
bring as much information to my comrades in the industry. I hope you can
understand that it's not an easy thing to do and that we really do have
the interest of our readers at heart.

Gary Guthrie