Underwater Speleology notice and update:

[Richard Atyeo]

Charge the regular dues and get a electronic copy of UWS and charge extra if they want a paper copy problem solved.

[rddvet]

At one point 100% of the membership dues the CDS took in went to UWS. I really doubt it has changed a tremendous amount.

Then that’s dumb business. Nobody wants to see the cds become the nacd. Make a smart decision and pull the paper copy. People won’t like it, including me, but if they’re smart enough they’ll deal. It’s not like the cds is losing advertising profits if they go digital. And as an organization promoting conservation, why not move away from paper.

[rddvet]

Charge the regular dues and get a electronic copy of UWS and charge extra if they want a paper copy problem solved.

That won’t work. The cost per printed copy will skyrocket when there’s fewer being made.

[MORGAN]

I prefer the paper UWS, and would be willing to pay extra for it. But I'll cope just fine if it goes electronic, and I'll continue to be a member irrespective of how it's published.


Mike

[Dominick Gheesling]

Charge the regular dues and get a electronic copy of UWS and charge extra if they want a paper copy problem solved.

Exactly

[rddvet]

Exactly

You guys are missing the economics of it. As the number of paper subscriptions drops, the cost of each individual printed copy goes up significantly by both the cost of printing and the cost of labor in administration. It sounds great to say you'll pay more for it, but the reality is even if you pay more it's still going to be either a break even or losing proposition. Add to that headache the annoyance of people apparently complaining they didn't get their paper copy, and it just doesn't seem worth it. Eventhough it's a non-profit business, it's still a business. It should be run like one.



I hope the CDS makes the wise decision and drops the paper edition.

[michael-fisch]

Boy, it seems like I kicked a can of worms when I said "the day of paper magazines is over".

If members really need paper copies, it's easy enough for them to print the whole pdf or just parts of it. If you don't have your own laser printer, copy shops are available and affordable.

Michael

[Kelly Jessop]

That won’t work. The cost per printed copy will skyrocket when there’s fewer being made.

This has been looked at in the past. The CDS can have a membership category with a digital copy, and another category which sends it to a print on demand service, and they fulfill it. The CDS gets their dues (less the percent the NSS gets for membership processing), and a member still gets the print edition.

[mmb]

This is correct. There is an up-front cost for putting a publication on the press, as well as the per-unit cost for paper, labor, shipping weight, etc. The per-unit cost drops as you print more copies, but that is just the up-front cost being spread over a larger production. If the cost is to be eliminated, the printed version would have to be replaced entirely by digital.

[cavedivingwoman]

Hi there - thanks for the comments and the good words. 'Looks like I'm late to the discussion. I'd recommend voicing your thoughts to the new board (emails and phones are on the CDS web site). The membership has previously opposed killing off the hard copies, as Kelly noted. Cheryl Doran, the outgoing editor, sent out a few electronic issues in the last couple of years. She tells me that they have a very low "open" rate (meaning that people don't open the email and read the issue). Possibly it's time to revisit the issue.

Let's keep the discussion going.

Thanks again for your patience. I'm muddling my way through learning the formatting software, and the next issue is coming together.

Barbara