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Poll Option

Votes

Graph

No - stupid idea

No - but its a great idea

10%

Yes - I would submit news

Yes - I would submit articles

27%

Yes - I would submit pictures

27%

Yes - I would help out with editorial work

10%

Yes - i would help out with design/layout

13%

Yes - I would help with hosting and website suppor

Author

new climbing E-ZINE?? would you help?


hatman

5-Feb-2006
2:02:30 PM

Due to the obvious dissatisfaction of many climbers (both readers and contributors) with ROCK magazine, an idea of a community EZINE has been raised. It would be aimed at the whole climbing community, with content that all climbers find interesting and can relate to.

For more info see thread on cragX

Rock Magazine or Climbers Cosmo?

Rock seems to have become stale and repetitive, to prevent this happening to a new EZINE it has been suggested that each issue have a different editor(s) so that content is more varied. Also this would help keep the EZINE idea alive as it would prevent the "burn out" that surely must be associated with editing issue after issue. (maybe this is part of the problem at rock.)

The poll is the same one as found on cragX

New ezine Poll

Various formats and models exist for such a EZINE. please put your two cents in.

Remember to be a good read for all it would need contributions from all standards of climbers, from all around Australia. Bumbly to Gun climbers.

Would you help?


hatman

5-Feb-2006
2:12:27 PM

Also if you can think of else where to post this topic, (apart from qurank, cragX and canberra climbing.com)

let me know.


Romfrantic

5-Feb-2006
3:38:54 PM

On 5/02/2006 hatman wrote:
>Also if you can think of else where to post this topic, (apart from qurank,
>cragX and canberra climbing.com)
>
>let me know.

Other forums, thanks to Hexy:

>On 20/05/2005 HEX wrote:
>>-------------------------------------
>>Hexyz (UPDATED) Australian Climbing Forumz Portal
>>..............................................................
>>VICTORIA :
>>http://www.chockstone.org
>>ACT :
>>http://www.canberraclimbing.com/forum/
>>NSW :
>>http://www.cragx.org
>>QUEENSLAND :
>>http://www.qurank.com
>>WESTERN OZ :
>>http://www.climberswa.asn.au/Community/Messageboard/default.asp?view=categories
>>SOUTH OZ(email thingy) :
>>http://www.climbingclubsouthaustralia.asn.au/local.html
>>TASMANIA :
>>http://www.thesarvo.com/display/thesarvo/Climbing
>>............................................................


nmonteith

6-Feb-2006
8:12:10 AM

I woudl like to vote on more than one item please! Put me down for - I woudl like to help in any way i can.


Super Saiyan

6-Feb-2006
8:55:53 AM

This will be rad if it gets off the ground! Im down for articles


mtnbear

6-Feb-2006
9:12:44 AM

I would love to help out something like this... just on question. Have anything against content comming from outside Australia? Just curious as I will be returning to Canada come August and wouldn't mind throwing some things (articles, pics,stories etc) once I get back to Canada


garbie

6-Feb-2006
10:08:17 AM

I reckon its a great idea. I'd get behind it with ads & sponsorship if it was done right. In the long run it needs to be commercially viable so the editors & contributors get paid.

Are you a potential sponsor/advertiser? Would you get on board? What would the e-zine have to offer to get you to part with some cash? My list would be:

- regular publishing date, maybe every 2 months
- relevant, recent news inc new routes/crags
- opinionated letters/editorials & articles: I always read the letters in Rock first
- lots of photos, but not necessarily each one a masterpeice
- a format that you can print easily e.g pdf so you can store hard copies in a ring binder if you like: Rock always seems more interesting a few years after it comes out.

Mike/Sydney Indoor/Tasty Holds


Romfrantic

6-Feb-2006
10:24:44 AM

On 6/02/2006 mtnbear wrote:
>I would love to help out something like this... just on question. Have
>anything against content comming from outside Australia? Just curious
>as I will be returning to Canada come August and wouldn't mind throwing
>some things (articles, pics,stories etc) once I get back to Canada

I personally would find that of interest, however I'd be even more interested if the article was geared towards "knowledge sharing" of how other aussies could also go and check out the destination featured. Lessons learnt, tips and recommendations, recommended links/guidebooks/books, info sources for further reading/destination research, any other travel anecdote of interest/relevance for aussies considering such o/s destinations as well.

I find that most articles featuring o/s climbing destinations lack that sensitiveness towards the audience/reader who is most likely arm-chair adventuring in Australia ;-p and may be in need for some leads to get out there themselves.


nmonteith

6-Feb-2006
1:10:13 PM

The Victorian Climbing Club publishes a monthly newsletter (PDF or A4 B&W printed). The photo quality
is very low (due to requiement for small file size as it is deilvered via email) but the text content is
usually good if the contributors write something.


Hatman

6-Feb-2006
1:15:59 PM

definately have to be paid contributors and paying adverts in the long run.

Overseas content I feel is a must, but (as Romfrantic says) needs to be relevant. You cant just whack in some article a yank wrote and expect it to be interesting to aussies.

Should we include the questionalbe antics of our animal orientated friends from NZ??


Gunta Skirtpulla

6-Feb-2006
2:24:04 PM

Sheep shaggers climbing crazy alpine routes and putting up hard new blocs at Castle Hill....definitely!
Loads of news worthy stuff to come from NZ.


Gunta Skirtpulla

6-Feb-2006
2:34:53 PM

Also, linking the e-zine with the new ACA would be the way to go....


rodw

7-Feb-2006
10:47:51 AM

Those that replied would "help out with design and layout" can you PM me so I can gauge what skills/time available are on offer.

gemmaw

7-Feb-2006
12:53:47 PM

I would be interested in helping with the e-zine in all areas, except the web stuff as I don't have any experience with that.

Gemma


Richard

7-Feb-2006
1:23:05 PM

as said on q-rank, rock struggles to pass the two minute test - after looking at it for two minutes, all the interest in gone. too few articles, always about routes that are so hard the don't relate to me (eg the article on stapylton, there are some great easy routs, 10-16, no mention at all. If your going to review an area, think about what climbers may want from it, how about a box with a quick run down of the best routes, covering a range of grades - a story on sventh pillar - there are some great trip reports around on chockstone - something like that would be interetsing..

heaps of glossy pics, very little reading content..

An e-zine would be great ....

remember the bike magazine "free wheel?". paid for by adds, free for readers, so the distribution is high, making it even more appealing for advertisers..

prehaps something like that could work..


nmonteith

7-Feb-2006
1:36:35 PM

Being able to 'source' material from Qurank, CragX and Chockstone will be a major plus I think for this
mag. Many people just don't get around to viewing all these websites everyday - so major written events
can be missed. There is also a large percentage of clibmers who just don't use the forums at all (most of
them live in Nati it seems).

gemmaw

7-Feb-2006
2:43:30 PM

On 7/02/2006 nmonteith wrote:
>Being able to 'source' material from Qurank, CragX and Chockstone will
>be a major plus I think for this
>mag. Many people just don't get around to viewing all these websites everyday
>- so major written events
>can be missed. There is also a large percentage of clibmers who just don't
>use the forums at all

Quite true. I didn't even know cragx had such an active forum, but I also had problems with registering and logging on (Chockstone is difinately the most user-friendly and informative of the forums that I've used).

Also an e-zine needs to be printable - it's not always possible or desirable to spend heaps of time at a computer browsing around the pages.

I actually just wrote a lengthy email to Megan at 'Rock' prompted because I thought the last issue was so poor (and most of them really). I contributed to Rock once and was a bit dissappointed that my text was 'Rockified' and some of my reject photos (one was dark/grainy) were selected over really nice ones. I was perplexed!


Hatman

8-Feb-2006
7:08:04 AM

so what will we name the monster?

As soon as we figure out an ace name I will buy the domain, provide the web space and then we can get things going!


nmonteith

8-Feb-2006
9:20:38 AM

Some suggestions... many of them are very bad!

Exposure
New Wave
Oz Climb
AusClimber
Friction
Leader
Ascent
Games Climbers Play
The Wall
Lead Climber
The Leader
RockReport
BoulderCragMountain
Bleeding Tips
Peaking
Foward
Crock
Stoner
Stone Journeys
Free Rock
Free Climber
SeventhPillar
Oz Rock Compendium
Online Climber
How Do They Get Their Ropes Up There?
Rock Traveller
Rock Travels
Vertical Traveller
Pumping Stone
StoneThrower
Cragger


Romfrantic

8-Feb-2006
10:03:01 AM

let's have a poll on this ;-) ....but maybe cut down to <10 choices?

I like "Exposure".

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