[Nfb-editors] Why S & S shouldn't be distributed outside the membership

[Bridgit Pollpeter]

We do distribute only to specific email and print mail lists with paying
members. The only listserve I've posted it to is this one. If Robert,
and the division board, wish I no longer post it to the editors
listserve, I will no longer do so. The only reason I've posted it here
is because it's a Federation publication, and though it's not a
newsletter, I thought I would share it with fellow editors. Otherwise,
it's only sent to those who are paying members.

Also, I understand that by posting anything, without proper coding,
online, it now is technically available to anyone in the world, but, in
my opinion, and based on my limited knowledge, I'm not too worried that
massive amounts of people outside the Federation will access current S &
S issues since whether you search Google, Bing or the NFB website, , one
would still have to traverse the archives, which could be tedious in
terms of stumbling across specific information posted, such as S & S,
online. A person is much more likely to find S & S after searching some
blind topic on the Writers' Division's website, at least directly, than
a listserve, and even then, they would have to access an archived file.
So many blind topics are searched for, bringing up so many resources and
various information, it's not as though hundreds of people will access S
& S simply by running across it on a listserve. And if a person finds
this specific listserve but is not, or has no interest, an editor, the
odds they will search through its archives is not as likely either. To
find this specific thread, people are more likely to come across it when
searching my name or the name of S & S itself, and those odds aren't as
high either.

As we are all, presumably, editors on this listserve, and many share
their publications, I thought it appropriate to share the publication I
edit. As a writer by trade, I'm very aware that material posted online
has the potential to be accessed by hundreds, millions, but I also am
not overly concerned that non-Federationist will read S & S above and
beyond those who pay for current issues, which is distributed via email,
print mail and Braille, sent only to those listed on our files. I don't
even post S & S to Stylist, the division's listserve.

The thinking, I assume as I was not a part of the decision which
happened long before my time, is that unlike all other NFB publications,
S & S is literary in nature and therefore not limited to blind-related
topics. We're not necessarily seeking to educate and inform others about
blindness, but to share the talent of some individuals who happen to be
blind. Because its not educational in nature, the board decided that if
people wanted to have a current issue, they should have to pay, which is
how most  literary magazines work. If it were like other NFB material
which is suppose to educate and inform, it would make more sense to make
it available free of charge. On a side note, I've also seen a few
affiliate newsletters, which are also posted here, along with the
Braille Monitor state that if you're not a due-paying member, to please
pay for current copies. This is exactly how S & S operates.

So in a nutshell, I want to share my work with my fellow editors, but as
decided by the division, we don't want Slate & Style to be widely
distributed to non-members, and though being online it has the potential
to be found by others, I, personally, don't think such a great number of
people will be reading current issues tipping the scale in favor of
non-members. And as Robert said, once a new issue publishes, the one
prior to that is placed on the division website, free of charge for
anyone to read.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:54:27 -0800
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: <newmanrl at cox.net>,	"'Correspondence Committee Mailing List'"
	<nfb-editors at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [Nfb-editors] Why S & S shouldn't be distributed	outside
	the	membership
Message-ID: <001701ccab2e$4feb5590$efc200b0$@panix.com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

In light of present Internet practice, I'll bet you this custom will go
away in a year. If you're going to insist that immediate first access to
a Slate and Style issue be predicated upon payment of dues, you should
probably distribute via individual email or a list of email addresses
rather than via listserv. AS Dave says, these lists are archived and may
be read anywhere in the world.

I personally consider this a self-defeating effort but then I'm not a
member of the Writers' division so my view doesn't count.

Mike