Re: A proposal to bring together the conlang communities

On Jan 26, 2008 5:40 PM,  <li_sasxsek@...> wrote:
> I'm on the opposite side of that.  I'd much prefer something
> electronic, but at least professional in appearance.  Something
> downloadble in PDF format would be great.  Then those that
> really need the paper version could just print it out.
These aren't exclusive, mind.

If anything, I think the trend in modern academic journal publishing
is to go dual-mode; combined with the likelihood of our using some
kind of print-on-demand due to volume, I would take a compatibilist
approach and offer both formats - but to have things look like a
formal, paper journal.

FWIW: I actually download and print research articles when I want to
read 'em seriously (eg stuff on cogneuro), despite being otherwise
very digitally inclined. Current display tech simply isn't as easy on
the eyes as paper, and I like to be able to write notes in margins
sometimes.

I expect that to change within ten years, but even techophiles like me
can enjoy the old method too. ;)


It also raises one potentially controversial question: cost.

I think that we all would want to ensure that it's easily accessible
to everybody (including people who can't easily afford traditional
journal costs)... but also bluntly, I know that a journal would be one
of the (very few) ways that the LCS can make money. And our budget
currently is very tight; to be able to do some of the things we'd like
to, we'll need more revenue.

The way I did this with the LCC was to set what I thought would be a
fair price for 80% of people, ask for donations, and make it clear
that nobody would be refused for lack of funds (and indeed we had a
handful of people at each who paid $0-5 at the door). Even so, ticket
prices covered a minority of the costs; the rest was from private
donations (which were crucial) and grants from the university.

Once we finish the LCS's tax status we'll be able to better apply for
other possible sources of funding - other nonprofits, government,
corporate grants - but nobody can tell for certain how that will go,
so I'd rather plan to be self-sufficient.

- Sai

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