BEING DISCUSSED: AVEN Newsletter

[Brodertun]

I like the idea of having an AVEN/asexual newsletter in print form. It could start our being email and then turn into pa printed publication once we know we have a decent sized audience and contributor base. Members could pay for it to help with the costs.

I don't think it would be hard to do - my stepfathers family has a family newsletter that is sent out to all family members monthly- I believe its a 4 page folded "brochure." The family is quite large, but I think maybe only 300 "connected" family members total, if that.

The family newsletter is free to receive - I've no idea who funds it, but i suspect the one family member with a bit of "fame" finances it. Any family members can submit photos, pictures, and articles for it - though there is some editing and submitters have had their articles rejected for appearing to be untruthful (actually it was an exaggerated fun account of some real events that wsa rejected, written in another way the article was published)

If people are interested, I could always call home and ask about it - My family is used to my rare phone calls solely for information so it wouldn't seem that odd if I call and start asking all about the newsletter.

[Hallucigenia]

An AVEN newsletter is an idea that I like. What kind of things would be put in such a newsletter? Here are some ideas to get us started:

- A transcript of DJ's latest entry to his blog/podcast?

- A "featured post" (with the author's permission) from these forums, similarly to what someone else was suggesting for the front page?

- A "featured article" from the Wiki, once it gets going?

- A list of the most recent mentions of asexuality in the media, as per World Watch?

- Stories about of other recent (and upcoming) events in asexuality, such as lectures and big meetups, submitted by people who were (or will be) there?

- A featured Open Mic entry or new merchandise design?

- Articles and other stuff that people submit specifically for the newsletter?

[Shockwave]

A newsletter would also be nice for those who want to keep up with the community but do not have the time to visit AVEN regularly, especially if it does feature highlights and such.

[Dargon]

I think Hallu just covered everything I was going to say.

[Jesh]

I think Hallu just covered everything I was going to say.

Yep.

Perhaps, as we select stand out posts to put on the front page, we can also put those in the newsletter? As 'articles' of sorts.

[AmoebicMe]

Good idea. I know that reaching out via snail mail is something that some people really seemed interested in, especially the non forum goers. I think that this is definately a good step towards a "not completely online" AVEN. And once we calculate the costs, we can have a thing saying "Donate $x and get the AVEN newsletter for a year." Which would be amazing!

[AVENguy]

I agree, though I think it would be better to start with some kind of an official blog (I went out of my way to make mine unofficial) with AVEN news and updates. That'll be easier to produce and publish, and it'll give us a subscriber base and content that can be translated to a print medium fairly easily later on.

[Hallucigenia]

Our user base seems pretty excited about this idea down in the "new print zine" thread, and so were some people during the election, and so am I...

How would we get this sort of a thing started? Appoint an editor or two, and start accepting submissions? Or is there some sort of intermediate stage (or more discussion) needed?

[Brodertun]

Our user base seems pretty excited about this idea down in the "new print zine" thread, and so were some people during the election, and so am I...

How would we get this sort of a thing started? Appoint an editor or two, and start accepting submissions? Or is there some sort of intermediate stage (or more discussion) needed?

Well, I'll call home and see if I can be put into contact with the family who publish the newspaper - that should give us some information how to print such a thing, make sure we have correct postage, etc..

I guess to start with we should maybe only mail to us and canada - unless we have someone overseas who's willing to print/mail.

[Hexpiral]

What size are we planning on? Printing costs are probably much lower over here, though postage would be more expensive. Still, it could be interesting to make the math.

[Jesh]

did someone mention math? :D

if people can get me numbers, I can calculate the difference.

[Brodertun]

I've finally gotten ahold of my mom, and I've gotten a few details on my stepfathers family newspaper - its usually four pages long (about the size of a small community newspaper) but they printed it out on a home computer.

I also discovered my mom has been in charge of sending out newsletters at the one Penn State campus - she's going to look at her computer tomorrow when she goes to work to see which programs she has used that all involved liked. She said there was one editing program that was more hassle than it was worth and that everyone hated. She mentioned editor but couldn't remember if it was the good program or the bad one - I looked and I don't think I have Editor on my computer.

I'll let you know when I hear back from her.

[AVENguy]

Can we start with an e-mail newsletter? Postage is going to be a huge expense if we try a hard copy version.

[Jesh]

Yeah, I think we should start with email.

I just remembered that m'dad supervised a student online newsletter for years, and used to work for a company that put out medical newsletters :roll: obviously not quite the same thing we'll be doing, but I'll see if he has any advice.

[AmoebicMe]

Well, I know that most formatting can be done via Word if you know what you're doin'. I've used Editor before, but don't have it, and only felt it was a pain if you didn't save frequently. Otherwise, it's relatively easy.

Though I like the idea of having it just as an email thing, the main concern I have is that not everyone is as internet savvy or addicted as us. Hell, I barely check my email as is. There are also people with infrequent access, and coming online after a few months with long ass AVEN emails is discouraging. Also, there were quite a few members who outright requested a print format, as they wanted to share it with friends and family, and did not have internet access constantly, or a printer, or just didn't know how to do anything except join here and post a couple times and then leave. I'm not saying that we should have 10,000 newsletters being sent out quarterly (which I'm assuming is the frequency we'd do it, 'cause monthly generally sucks). But I really do think that we need to have the option of sending out a printed copy to people who want it. It'll probably only be like 10-20 people who need that. And I really don't think it's unreasonable to set up a paypal donation button, where they can donate the like $.60 for postage and include their mailing address in the memo field (I'd say this should be required to get the newsletter, and that it'd be required on a quarterly basis so that we aren't wasting resources sending things that people no longer want).

Also, while the idea of some email listing may be rad to some people, I would never read it. Never ever ever. Sorry guys, not my thing. But I think that having a site up that holds the content, independantly of AVEN, would be an amazing asset. It could really start off as a blog. But I would like to see it grow into an actual zine format thing, 'cause then it's less random, more professional and organized, and would be more accesible to Joe Schmoe. And that way, some random internet browser who's never heard of asexuality or AVEN or anything can find it without the intimidation of the forums, but with all the nutty goodness of a community and information and thought provoking ideas.

Now. Can I personally do anything other than edit and format content and maybe add some of my own ramblings? No. I'm relatively internet retarded. So someone else would need to help me. But I'm willing to tackle this thing if someone will help me set up and maintain the blog/site/whatever. I think it needs to reach beyond some internet listing, and I also think we need to at least extend a toe to test the waters of snail mail because there're people who want and need that.

And ummm.... [/ramble]

[Brodertun]

First I think we should determine how often we want to "oubsih" and the what content:

Member Perpective Article(s)

Asexuality in the Media

Member Milestones - anything - brag about having a kid, gettig a new job...

Asexy comic strip -we seem to like those

Ask an asexual - will help the newsletter appeal to non a's

[AmoebicMe]

I think it'd be useful to do one of two things: redo the pamphlet and be able to distribute it individually via snail mail for those who want something to show to others in a "hey this sounds like what I've been feeling" thing, or we can have the first issue (or two, whatever) cover the basics. From there we can archive the issue on the internet somewhere so others can print it, show it, see it, whatever.

As for actual content, I like what you have. An asexy comic would be rad, but I think it'd be cool to include other artistic content as well. It should be short, like a poem or picture or painting, 'cause printing a 15 pg short story would kill us (and printer ink and postage). It'd be cool if, if we did have a short story to include, that could be available online seperately from the forum, which I think a lot of people are intimidated by. And like, I personally think it'd be rad to have like, a member profile thing on like, prominent members. It could include the first "HI OMG I'M NOT ALONE" post or a bio or quotes or just a basic "things I would say to people questioning, or to members new to the board." I know that when I first got here I saw like, Cate and Liver and was "OMGz" and if I had been able to read a blurb about them, I wouldn't have been so absolutely terrified of posting in their presences initially. Because at that point, they were like THE GODS OF AVEN. And humanizing would be rad. Aaaanyways. Progress! Yay!

[Hexpiral]

re: email vs print zine

Most print publications run for several weeks in informal editions before making it to the streets. This is both to test formats and to get the workforce in rythm for the actual first issue (particularly with newspapers, this is a big thing, since you can't get a daily publication going on in just a couple days). Maybe we should follow this method and only publish electronically at first, but working as if the newsletter was to be printed, in terms of content quality/quantity, etc.

[Shockwave]

Maybe we should follow this method and only publish electronically at first, but working as if the newsletter was to be printed, in terms of content quality/quantity, etc.

In that case, we can put it in PDF format. It can then be printed out by individuals who wish to show it around. It can also be locked with a password so that it cannot be altered by someone who wishes to make a mockery of it.

[Hallucigenia]

The newsletter is on its way, though, um, I haven't actually gotten many submissions yet. But it's only been a couple of days, so no worries.

One thing I'd like to ask is how often is it reasonable for the newsletter to come out? I've been thinking either once or twice a month, but does anybody have a preference between those two, and/or a radically different idea?

[Brodertun]

The newsletter is on its way, though, um, I haven't actually gotten many submissions yet. But it's only been a couple of days, so no worries.

One thing I'd like to ask is how often is it reasonable for the newsletter to come out? I've been thinking either once or twice a month, but does anybody have a preference between those two, and/or a radically different idea?

Once a month - we can make it more frequent if we get alot more suubmissions.

We should be able to keep monthly content pretty easily - thats how often my stepdad's family newsletter as sent out and they never have a shortage of content

[Hallucigenia]

Okay. Four more questions as I get closer to actually having this thing put together. At least I think its four. *checks* Yeah, it's four. (Nobody expects the PT Inquisition.)

1. "AVEN Newsletter" was a good working title but it looks really, really silly at the top of a page. What do we actually want to call this thing? "The Amoeba"? "AVEN Times"? (No banana-containing suggestions, please.) *sucks at titles*

2. Does anybody want to volunteer as a Newsletter Beta-Reader? I can handle the gathering-stuff and putting-together aspects of this job just fine, but it would be great to run it by a person or two before publishing to make sure there are no glaring mistakes, design flaws, or political incorrectnesses that I missed. Due to unique constraints on my schedule, the time window for this job will unfortunately be short - I expect to have a draft done by Monday night (Monday afternoon at the very earliest) and the date I set for actually getting it out there is the beginning of Wednesday. (Most months will be a lot saner. This one was just poor planning on my part.) If nobody is available to do this, it won't kill me, I'll just nag a couple of non-PT friends into beta-ing based on who's available at the time. (It might even be fun to run the thing by a person or two who's not an AVENite, to gauge reactions and intelligibility.)

3. DJ PMed me suggesting that the newsletter be put in RSSable format as well as a PDF. The original suggestion, as I understand it, was that one article be released per week prior to their publication in the newsletter, which isn't happening because... well... we don't have that many articles this time around. :shock: Does anybody want to set up some slightly different RSS thing anyway, and/or have input on the best way to do that?

4. It would be really cool to have a specific email address that newsletter stuff (e.g. letters in reply to articles, newsletter-related queries, or even submissions for new articles) could be sent to. Anyone want to set up a newsletter@asexuality.org sort of account?

[Brodertun]

1. "AVEN Newsletter" was a good working title but it looks really, really silly at the top of a page. What do we actually want to call this thing? "The Amoeba"? "AVEN Times"? (No banana-containing suggestions, please.) *sucks at titles*

Personally I like "from the Petri Dish" :D but AVEN Times sounds good, as long as there is no trademake preventing us from using Times.

2. Does anybody want to volunteer as a Newsletter Beta-Reader? I can handle the gathering-stuff and putting-together aspects of this job just fine, but it would be great to run it by a person or two before publishing to make sure there are no glaring mistakes, design flaws, or political incorrectnesses that I missed. Due to unique constraints on my schedule, the time window for this job will unfortunately be short - I expect to have a draft done by Monday night (Monday afternoon at the very earliest) and the date I set for actually getting it out there is the beginning of Wednesday. (Most months will be a lot saner. This one was just poor planning on my part.) If nobody is available to do this, it won't kill me, I'll just nag a couple of non-PT friends into beta-ing based on who's available at the time. (It might even be fun to run the thing by a person or two who's not an AVENite, to gauge reactions and intelligibility.)

GOing by the number of projects were all trying to do at the moment, i think it would be best to use non-pt people. I know i have a lot of almost finished projects, and so i'm changing my startegy to actually get them done.

3. DJ PMed me suggesting that the newsletter be put in RSSable format as well as a PDF. The original suggestion, as I understand it, was that one article be released per week prior to their publication in the newsletter, which isn't happening because... well... we don't have that many articles this time around. :shock: Does anybody want to set up some slightly different RSS thing anyway, and/or have input on the best way to do that?

At the moment, I don't know how to do RSS, though if i have a program on my computer which can put it in RSS format (and since my roomy is a computer program geek I probably do) I'll be willing to do that.

4. It would be really cool to have a specific email address that newsletter stuff (e.g. letters in reply to articles, newsletter-related queries, or even submissions for new articles) could be sent to. Anyone want to set up a newsletter@asexuality.org sort of account?

I think that would be a great idea.

** when i get some of my pt stuff done, i'll write the article you asked for

[Brodertun]

AVENues - pronounce it a bit slowly and its AVEN News

[Hu]

*raises paw* I'll do a beta-read.

As for names... Triple A's suggestions are all good...

How about The Advent? It's just two extra letters stuck into AVEN, and it represents the fact that we're just now launching the asexual revolution. The only problem I can see is the slightly Christian sound of it, but maybe that's just me.

[Hallucigenia]

Okay. I've been asked a question by a contributor that I have no idea how to answer. My normal beta-reader/person-to-rant-at didn't know either, so I'm putting it up here.

What age level do we intend AVENues to be appropriate for? Obviously, given the nature of AVEN, some sexual content is at some point going to try to creep in. What should be our policy as to how graphic is too graphic? Should we copy the AVEN forums' policy of allowing graphic descriptions, but putting warnings on them? Or is a different policy more appropriate in this forum?

[Brodertun]

Okay. I've been asked a question by a contributor that I have no idea how to answer. My normal beta-reader/person-to-rant-at didn't know either, so I'm putting it up here.

What age level do we intend AVENues to be appropriate for? Obviously, given the nature of AVEN, some sexual content is at some point going to try to creep in. What should be our policy as to how graphic is too graphic? Should we copy the AVEN forums' policy of allowing graphic descriptions, but putting warnings on them? Or is a different policy more appropriate in this forum?

Being as i asked the question, i'm probably not the best to answer, but 13 year olds can register for the forum, so maybe all submitters should keep that age level in mind?

However, given the nature of the newsletter, I think comments about when a person first had sex, or first backed out of, are going to be something that alot of contributers want to ad.