[dnf777]

Oh my, I knew this was coming someday. Whatever the owners/editors (Dennis and Fiona) choose to do with RO, they have my full support, appreciation, and gratitude for such a fine journal the past 20 years.

I was upset when they switched from stapled to folded magazine-style format...as I knew this was a first step towards paperless eventually!

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked the primitive style of RO for many years, and will miss it tremendously if they go online only, but understand the need to modernize or "pasturize".

20 binders regards....
dave

 

[2tall]

Well, if this is correct, that they are going to "online" only, that is good news for me! I had to cancel my subscription and Retriever News as well, because for the past year we have had no mailing address to receive regular magazines. I am looking forward to getting it again!

 

[Guest]

Call me old-fashioned, but I liked the primitive style of RO for many years, and will miss it tremendously if they go online only, but understand the need to modernize or "pasturize".

20 binders regards....
dave

I agree. I spend enough time in front of the computer already. My retriever subscriptions are my break where I can lounge in the "big chair" and flip pages vs browse web pages.

Of course I certainly understand if the change is needed from a business standpoint, but I love my paper when it comes to this stuff.

 

[Andy Carlson]

Not being able to have anything but dial up, I sure hope it does not become online only.

I sure enjoy sitting down with a magazine and it also makes it easier to look back to reference an article.

Andy

 

[duxbac]

If you like a hard copy............. just print it off.

 

[Captain Mike D]

Dude,
I you're a Dr. ,dig deep, you can afford a ream of paper

 

[dnf777]

Dude,
I you're a Dr. ,dig deep, you can afford a ream of paper

I still get excited when I see the big brown truck bringing stuff, slowing down in front of our house! Getting that big white envelope from Canada in the mailbox is the same kind of thing. Also, if it goes out of print, it will be a sort of passing of an era for retrieverdom.

I started this whole thread out of senseless nostalgia, tongue in cheek, totally understanding the need to economize publications in the 21st century. Some of us OFs just prefer books to Kindles.

 

[Howard N]

Some of us OFs just prefer books to Kindles. :wink:

YES!! Real magazines too.

 

[M&K's Retrievers]

Do Kindles have centerfolds?

 

[RetrieversONLINE]

We are hoping to get as much feedback as possible about the needs and wants of our subscribers. We have made no final decisons about the future of Retrievers ONLINE.

Personally, we like to sit down with hard copy and read information that way more than on the computer screen. Our wall-to-wall library is testimony to that.

The advantages to you of an Online version is that we can go colour and have more of those articles showing training scenes with set-ups supeimposed. This has been a major interest. We can also deliver faster and even have updates whenever instead of every two months. We are looking at ways to have easy-to-print yourself copies perhaps just of key material.

We are also considering restricting content to information articles on training, handling, judging, health, interviews, and product reviews. We'd leave results, news, statistics, and litter ads to the other venues already out there.

Open to your ideas and thoughts as always

Cheers

 

[dr_dog_guy]

Dennis, much as I loathe lengthy reading at a computer screen and love reading something I can hold in my hands, the thought of color graphics is intriguing and exciting.

To complement that thought, twice in 10 years or so I've had a page missing from my hard copy. When I contacted you, you sent a pdf of that page which I easily printed and added to the printed version you'd mailed. My point is that if you sent the electronic version in a format susceptible to easy printing in a color printer we might have the best of both worlds.

So, I see a pretty big up-side to the electronic version.

 

[heather]

Dennis,
I love your magazine & look forward to sitting down & reading it. Also I save all the issues & go back to them often. I would miss receiving the hard copy. It isn't comfortable sitting at my computer.
Heather

 

[JS]

We are hoping to get as much feedback as possible about the needs and wants of our subscribers.

Dennis, put me down as an OF who would be willing to pay a few extra bucks to continue getting the hard copy.

We are looking at ways to have easy-to-print yourself copies perhaps just of key material.

This would be good if the size/format will be consistent with the back issues.

We are also considering restricting content to information articles on training, handling, judging, health, interviews, and product reviews.

We'd leave results, news, statistics, and litter ads to the other venues already out there.

If you do decide to go completely online, this would be a good idea. The latter is available from other sources.

Thanks for continuing to provide a valuable resource.

JS

 

[Noah]

Dennis,

Will back issues be archived online?

 

[Pheasanttomeetyou]

We are hoping to get as much feedback as possible about the needs and wants of our subscribers. We have made no final decisons about the future of Retrievers ONLINE.

Personally, we like to sit down with hard copy and read information that way more than on the computer screen. Our wall-to-wall library is testimony to that.

The advantages to you of an Online version is that we can go colour and have more of those articles showing training scenes with set-ups supeimposed. This has been a major interest. We can also deliver faster and even have updates whenever instead of every two months. We are looking at ways to have easy-to-print yourself copies perhaps just of key material.

We are also considering restricting content to information articles on training, handling, judging, health, interviews, and product reviews. We'd leave results, news, statistics, and litter ads to the other venues already out there.

Open to your ideas and thoughts as always

Cheers

Geez Dennis, it is really exciting to think that you will be available online.

The best of all worlds is to have access to the online version as a subscriber and be able to organize and print out articles. Obviously you have some copy right concerns to consider.

I would hope that you could begin to service the new tablets coming out - like the Ipad. It would be really something if you could combine video content and still photos to your stories.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/books/29ebook.html?scp=3&sq=publishing+Electronic+books+&st=nyt

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/the-vook-a-picture-book-but-the-pictures-move/?scp=2-b&sq=Vook++E-publishers&st=nyt

Through the years I have cut and pasted the articles so that I could better organize the various topics. You already include an ongoing index of past articles. Would we be able to do that with an online subscription? (hope I'm articulating this correctly).

I cannot wait to see what you decide to do.

 

[Cedarswamp]

Personally, I prefer books/magazines to reading them online. And I'm "not old enough" to qualify for the "old" cracks and not liking technology at 33

 

[Ted Shih]

I prefer hard copy as well

 

[Susan P]

My prefer hard copy.

 

[dnf777]

I would be willing to pay extra to keep the format the same.

As for color, I don't think color on a computer screen trumps good articles held in the hand. I still like the old stapled, B&W copies in my binders. Learned more from reading those early articles in RO and Jack Gwaltney's B&W book than all the glossy color pictures combined.

Now the SI swimsuit issue is another story.....

 

[Jeannie Greenlee]

I just started getting it this year...I would like to have 20 binders in the future. Please make it available both online and in hard copy. There is an obedience magazine that does this called Front and Finish.