Input needed on important TLCA issue

[65swb45]

I posted up to the TLCA BOD e-mail list a few minutes ago about my feelings on the prospect of the TLCA making PDF versions of the Toyota Trails available. I feel that it has an enormous potential for being freely shared by those who do not support the organization by paying dues, and that this may completely undermine the financial ability of the magazine to stay afloat, which will in turn cause the majority of members to leave.

I realize that asking a question like this on an Internet forum where information is freely shared is not likely to get me unbiased answers, but as your delegate, I feel I have to ask anyways.

I expect EVERY MEMBER OF THE TRAIL CREW who reads this post to take a moment to post a comment, even if it's just a meh!

Here is the text of what I sent to the BOD:

1. Agreed. In laymans terms, fixed cost of roughly five thousand dollars an issue to produce would eventually be spread across a smaller spectrum of members continuing to commit to print copies of TT.



2. Which leads me to ask if the PDF, and it's ability to be freely shared ad infinitum, won't ultimately financially undermine the print TT to the point of failure, which in turn will further undermine the vast majority of our remaining membership dollars?



3. If you all [as a BOD] have made a conscious decision to improve the website and provide PDFs as part of a posturing plan for the inevitable demise of the printed TT, then so be it. If it is not a conscious decision, but just a possible outcome, it still deserves to be considered and discussed here on BODreps. In all fairness, if you agree with my assessment that there is even a strong potential for the printed TT to go away, then I think the membership has a right to be notified of this possibility from the moment it becomes likely.



My personal opinion on the PDF scenario is that it has all the potential for exposure that Gabriel alludes to, which is great if all we're after is exposure. But in the two years since discussion of electronic versions of TT were started here on BODreps, not one single person has been able to nail down a method for making the electronic version a profitable venture by ensuring ONLY paying members have access.



If TLCA were an otherwise financially viable organization that could afford to subsidize free access to PDFs, then life would be different. But we're not ,so, if our magazine is our main revenue source, it doesn't make sense to me to jeopardize our biggest source of income by making even POTENTIALLY available in a mode that can be shared with people that are not paying to support the organization.



I have posted this as my personal opinion for the moment, but am copying it to the rest of my club for their input, and will revise my comments based on theirs.



Sincerely,



Mark A.

 

[RokCrawlinToy]

I would not care for a pdf version, would not bother downloading it and reading it. I like having an actual magazine.

 

[NLXTACY]

Do not fear the PDF. Printing mags that there just is not a demand for is a dead or dying method of content delivery. If the fear is still with being able to pass PDFs freely then the answer is in digital certificates and locked PDFs. When a member goes to sign in or is delivered their PDF, they are also delivered a certificate allowing the opening of that PDF. It goes to one user. You can't just forward the certificate to your buddy because its not for them. Therefore only the intended recipient can view the PDF.

Here is more reading material...

Download the PDF for a boring read

 

[NLXTACY]

And more reading material:
Document Library - Security and Information Assurance - Adobe Learning Resources

 

[Randy88FJ62]

I joined the TLCA primarily because it was a bylaw for the club. The only real reason I would continue to support the TLCA is for organized events. It is nice to know that I can attend a TLCA event like the rubicon and meet new people and take part in organized food and raffles. Reading a printed copy of the Toyota Trails magazine is not necessary for me. I would be just as happy downloading it and reading the pdf.
A good example of why I like orgainized events is Surf and Turf. It is fun to know there will be cook offs, yoga, a morning mile run, and poker run. Attending organized events is a little different than the average Trailcrew outing and that is what makes them special. Direct Point: An electronic copy of the TT will not sway me either way on membership.
-Randy

 

[Spike Strip]

I like the purdy hard copies. But sometimes ( usually ) I can't find the article I once read, 'cuz my abode is a mess...

A searchable pdf database, made available, say, 2-6 months after publication, would probably do little to hurt magazine circulation. Of course, there will always be those who say, 'if the milk is free, why buy the cow' ?

If membership does fall, you can always pull the plug on the pdf version, anyway.

 

[Tencup]

I firmly believe the magazine along with regional events have been the backbone of TLCA membership. I feel they should make dollar reductions in where they can to reduce the cost of publication even if it means reducing quality, rather than going to a pdf.

 

[JLH911]

I like the Printed version myself. I wouldn't mind if it'd be available in PDF format also.

There are times when I have my latest issue of TT at work and some of the guys will ask what I'm reading. I show them and they show interest. It's a good way of promoting the organization and besides, I can't view PDF files on my iPhone so there goes the idea of reading it in the Can!

 

[Ian Rogers]

There are ways to lock PDF's. If someone wants to unlock it they can but I don't see it as a huge problem. For that matter someone could scan TT and e-mail it to there friends there is no way of stoping this. I can scan the trails in about 30 sec at work and it e mailed to me moments later. Tlca should embrace PDFs and more forward. We might get some new members because of the exposeer. How about they state sending 2 trails to ever member so we could hand one out each month? We print 6000 of them each time any ways right?

 

[Biscuit]

While digital content is the "way of the future" there is something to be said about the hard copy. Honestly I'd prefer the hard copy for a couple reasons:

1) I stare at a computer screen all day at work and way to much at home
2) While I can print a copy of a pdf, it's not the same as flipping through the hard copy. I have this annoying habit of tacking magazines from back to front, thumbing through the pages until something catches my eye.
3) After a while, the copies of Trails find their way to the "library" (e.g. the shelf above the toilet) for leisurely reading. Lets just say even printed .pdfs don't like sitting on the shelf and being exposed to the very humid/very dry cycle daily (full bath with a shower).
4) Much more airplane portable, and can be read during takeoff and landing.

Having the printed copy and the PDF might just work, I don't see secondary distribution as a big risk.

If the decision is made to go PDF only, there are other options for presenting content digitally that may be better than PDF only.

 

[DaveWest5150]

pdf....

it would make it harder to read in the bathroom... why not make access to online through some kind of membership with a password? then it would not be "free " to the world.

 

[IH8Wood]

I support TLCA because it supports the LC community, not for a glossy mag. I would prefer if the content in TT was online and searchable. Death to TT, long live TLCA.