No English language printed magazine?

Jujube · #1

I was thinking, is it the case that there are no English language go magazines left that are being printed?

That is quite sad. The main reason I would want to view such a magazine is that I read recently that some of the out of print Japanese books were translated as articles over several issues in go magazines years ago.

I could of course be shot down by those who point out that there are email go magazines that are sent to subscribers. I agree that it is the next best thing and that I should subscribe to them.

I also admit that it is too expensive these days to print a magazine to a small subscriber list. But one thing I would say is that we aren't buying a 'normal' magazine for 'normal' people - we see the benefit in a physical magazine and we appreciate it as a physical thing if it is well-produced. We would read it and re-read it for years.

DrStraw · #2

I totally agree. One of the reasons (but not the only one) why I quit the AGA was because they stopped publishing the printed magazine. I dislike reading magazines online. The weekly coin magazine I subscribe to started to publish one issue a month as an e-mail version, which I rarely read, and so I feel cheated on my subscription. In my opinion most people spend too much time online anyway and the ability to get away with a good book or a magazine is very important to me.

Jujube · #3

There are a number of options to outsource professional magazine printing in volumes from a few dozen to a few hundred or more by sending Publisher documents online to whichever printing company. I would be surprised if it would be an impossible logistical challenge to set up a printed subscription on top of digital subscriptions, since the associations already have the resources to create the magazine content. Maybe it is a case of inertia taking over.

Uberdude · #4

The British Go Association still sends a printed quarterly journal to its members (who can be overseas for a slightly higher fee).

mumps · #5

Quote:

There are a number of options to outsource professional magazine printing in volumes from a few dozen to a few hundred or more by sending Publisher documents online to whichever printing company. I would be surprised if it would be an impossible logistical challenge to set up a printed subscription on top of digital subscriptions, since the associations already have the resources to create the magazine content. Maybe it is a case of inertia taking over.

I've investigated this, but the pricing for small volumes makes this an impractical solution for most (more than doubling the cost per copy).

tchan001 · #6

Well someone talked about trying to start one up in pdf format. Not sure what the current status of it is though.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=10060
One of the problems is that postage for printed material is so expensive nowadays if you want to get anything from overseas.
Maybe something like createspace might be useful for a printed version if someone is so inclined.

oren · #7

I think the real problem is finding talented people willing to do a considerable amount of work for little compensation.

And then if someone tries to charge something nowadays, it just gets copied for free...

Jujube · #8

And the time factor. Everyone is working longer hours, everyone is thinking of work outside of work.

Well, I am a dab hand at LaTeX, so I'll learn psgo (which I haven't used before) and see if I can typeset some content.

If only I was a dan-level player, I could write reviews and publish them, and be happy that they would be useful. I would spend several hours considering layouts, fonts, columns and page sizes, so whether I get to the games would be another matter.

I hope one day a group can get together and produce a 30-pager of problems, pro games, player profiles and "what's going on in the pro scene", I would happily pay for a glossy a5 magazine.

Let me know if anyone has some content or a game review they would let me use as a test-bed for a well-thought-out pdf.

skydyr · #9

DrStraw wrote:

I totally agree. One of the reasons (but not the only one) why I quit the AGA was because they stopped publishing the printed magazine. I dislike reading magazines online. The weekly coin magazine I subscribe to started to publish one issue a month as an e-mail version, which I rarely read, and so I feel cheated on my subscription. In my opinion most people spend too much time online anyway and the ability to get away with a good book or a magazine is very important to me.

Regarding the AGA magazine in print, at least, the reason they stopped producing it as a print publication is because the costs associated with it were consuming a huge percentage of the annual budget at a time when they were running a deficit. Layout, printing, and shipping are quite pricey, and they AGA does not have a huge number of members to take advantage of economies of scale.

DrStraw · **#10**

skydyr wrote:

DrStraw wrote:

I totally agree. One of the reasons (but not the only one) why I quit the AGA was because they stopped publishing the printed magazine. I dislike reading magazines online. The weekly coin magazine I subscribe to started to publish one issue a month as an e-mail version, which I rarely read, and so I feel cheated on my subscription. In my opinion most people spend too much time online anyway and the ability to get away with a good book or a magazine is very important to me.

Regarding the AGA magazine in print, at least, the reason they stopped producing it as a print publication is because the costs associated with it were consuming a huge percentage of the annual budget at a time when they were running a deficit. Layout, printing, and shipping are quite pricey, and they AGA does not have a huge number of members to take advantage of economies of scale.

I know that, but when it is the sole benefit of being a member its loss becomes significant. I supported them for years because I thought it worthwhile, but in the end I decided otherwise.

mumps · **#11**

Quote:

I know that, but when it is the sole benefit of being a member its loss becomes significant. I supported them for years because I thought it worthwhile, but in the end I decided otherwise.

I'm not a member of the AGA, but I doubt whether this is actually the sole benefit that members get from the AGA.

Apart from anything else it obviously runs a rating system, website and news feed, an annual Congress and several other tournaments, some of which lead to professional qualifications, and selection of international representatives. Also it helps spread the word about Go.

None of these things happen over the long-term without an organisation and funding, and I would regard it as part of the price of being an American Go player to support the organisation with my membership. I haven't looked up what the membership fee is, but I doubt that it is significant for most people compared to other sports and pastimes.

Sadly, too many people regard the intangible benefits as being unimportant. You won't know how valuable it is until it's gone.

DrStraw · **#12**

mumps wrote:

Quote:

I know that, but when it is the sole benefit of being a member its loss becomes significant. I supported them for years because I thought it worthwhile, but in the end I decided otherwise.

I'm not a member of the AGA, but I doubt whether this is actually the sole benefit that members get from the AGA.

Apart from anything else it obviously runs a rating system, website and news feed, an annual Congress and several other tournaments, some of which lead to professional qualifications, and selection of international representatives. Also it helps spread the word about Go.

None of these things happen over the long-term without an organisation and funding, and I would regard it as part of the price of being an American Go player to support the organisation with my membership. I haven't looked up what the membership fee is, but I doubt that it is significant for most people compared to other sports and pastimes.

Sadly, too many people regard the intangible benefits as being unimportant. You won't know how valuable it is until it's gone.

It was the sole remaining benefit to me. I had long since ceased to use any of the others you mention. And, lest you think I had not tried to use them, I had been a member for 30 years and used them all when I stopped

No English language printed magazine?

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