Chockstone Forum

      Sponsored By
      ROCK
   HARDWARE

Chockstone Photography

Australian Landscape Prints

Chockstone Forum - General Discussion

General Climbing Discussion

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?

gemmaw

9-Feb-2006
11:03:37 AM

Yes, it has to look like a mag not a website. I am a bit ignorant on these web-based things, but wouldn't a downloadable PDF that can be printed out or just opened and read on screen be the simplest, like 'Alpinist no. 0' here:
http://www.alpinist.com/the-magazine/back-issues.php


nmonteith

9-Feb-2006
11:08:02 AM

Thats is EXACTLY the style i had in mind Gemma! It is also a good example of awesome design, layout
and use of photo montages...


shaggy

9-Feb-2006
11:32:21 AM

Generally I don't have any probs with that, I just hate scrolling!


anthonyk

9-Feb-2006
11:37:32 AM

yes that landscape layout could be worth keeping, i think it works on a computer screen a bit better (being wider than tall and all). the other option is to display the A4 sideways on the screen and sell special glasses that rotate your view by 90 degrees.


shaggy

9-Feb-2006
11:47:02 AM

I'd buy that for a dollar!


kuu

9-Feb-2006
12:10:06 PM

On 9/02/2006 gemmaw wrote:
>Yes, it has to look like a mag not a website. I am a bit ignorant on these
>web-based things, but wouldn't a downloadable PDF that can be printed out
>or just opened and read on screen be the simplest, like 'Alpinist no. 0'
>here:
>http://www.alpinist.com/the-magazine/back-issues.php
>

Agree!

And wouldn't it be nice if we could afford to use the technology/software employed in this magazine? http://www.nxtbook.com/fx/books/era/electronicretailer1005/

The technology/software comes from: http://www.nxtbook.com/index.html
Have a look at the "Samples" section.


Gunta Skirtpulla

9-Feb-2006
1:28:53 PM

Please check out the E-ZINE forum header on cragx.

http://denim.bbboy.net/cragx

cheers


nmonteith

9-Feb-2006
2:56:50 PM

Our competition...
http://www.maui.net/~liam/nudecarrot/nudemancarrot3.html

gemmaw

9-Feb-2006
3:08:08 PM

On 9/02/2006 nmonteith wrote:
>Our competition...
>http://www.maui.net/~liam/nudecarrot/nudemancarrot3.html

That's hilarious! Maybe there could be a profile of Nude Carrot Man in the mag! I wonder if he climbs - he seems capable of many things.


Gunta Skirtpulla

9-Feb-2006
3:17:11 PM

http://website.lineone.net/~stolarczyk/history.html


Hatman

9-Feb-2006
9:35:14 PM

now!! thats a manky carrot!

PensionerPower

9-Feb-2006
11:31:33 PM

Suggestions for formatting:

Use CSS to format the website to display in one way when it is viewed on the screen, and differently when it is printed out; thereby getting the best of both worlds.

Don't expect people to read a PDF on the screen. (1) it takes ages for the Adobe reader to load on some PCs; (2) it sometimes opens /behind/ the current web page, and not in front of it: so it looks like the PC has hung; and (3) the way that you format a document for print, is diametrically opposed to the way you format it for the screen; so reading a printable document on the screen, is a guaranteed bad experience.

As I say, just my 2c ...


nmonteith

10-Feb-2006
9:50:20 AM

On 9/02/2006 PensionerPower wrote:
>Use CSS to format the website to display in one way when it is viewed
>on the screen, and differently when it is printed out; thereby getting
>the best of both worlds.

...and thus throwing out any hope of a nicely designed magazine. You either have to do twice the amount
of design work - or be happy with sub-standard 'automatic' formatting.


gremlin

10-Feb-2006
10:33:32 AM

I'd much prefer a website rather than having to download a clunky PDF
Personally i find navigation and moving around a PDF document to be awkward and annoying
You have to zoom in to read the text, zoom out to view the images, scroll scroll scroll... repeat
A simple website that is <800x600 in res (no scrolling) with links in the bottom corners to navigate pages.

CSS can be the bee's knee's if your browser supports it... http://shells.homeunix.net:666/projects/au2day/
(sorry IE lusers you'll need a superior browser like firefox/safari/opera)


rodw

10-Feb-2006
10:38:54 AM

On 10/02/2006 gremlin wrote:
>(sorry IE lusers you'll need a superior browser like firefox/safari/opera)

Shame IE accounts for 98% visits by browsers type.


nmonteith

10-Feb-2006
10:43:29 AM

Can someone post any links of examples of good internet 'magazines' (as opposed to PDF mags)? I am
interested in seeing how
they work and what format they use.


shaggy

10-Feb-2006
10:44:56 AM

Hmm, haven't found one that I was super happy with

PensionerPower

10-Feb-2006
11:36:58 AM

On 10/02/2006 nmonteith wrote:
>On 9/02/2006 PensionerPower wrote:
>>Use CSS to format the website to display in one way when it is viewed
>>on the screen, and differently when it is printed out; thereby getting
>>the best of both worlds.
>
>...and thus throwing out any hope of a nicely designed magazine. You either
>have to do twice the amount
>of design work - or be happy with sub-standard 'automatic' formatting.

You would know this for sure, right?


nmonteith

10-Feb-2006
11:55:58 AM

On 10/02/2006 PensionerPower wrote:
>You would know this for sure, right?

I don't understand your question.

gemmaw

10-Feb-2006
12:40:28 PM

On 10/02/2006 nmonteith wrote:
>Can someone post any links of examples of good internet 'magazines' (as
>opposed to PDF mags)? I am
>interested in seeing how
>they work and what format they use.

I had a bit of a search for online mags and basically anything I found that calls itself an 'online magazine' is just a website with news items to click on. Woohoo...

I've never seen a website that has the design/layout/ feel of a real magazine. I think one of the main reasons for having a climbing mag online is so it can be printed out in one go, looks good, doesn't have to be read on screen, is accessible by many and is flexible (eg. can be emailed), and can be put together by a variety of people who may or may not have web-creating skills. I'm sure a bit of scrolling (for those who'd rather stare at a screen) is less of a hassle than the effort required to create a new website/webpages, etc.

Personally I'd like to help put the mag together - I am capable of doing design and layout stuff on my computer, and creating a PDF, but I have no idea about HTML/webmaster wizardry. If it was totally web-based, I think there would be far less people who can help with putting it together.

I would be happy with anything as long as it gets off the ground, but it seems something like a pdf is starting at the least complicated end - it can be started straight away, put on any website (like CragX or Chockstone) until it gets it's own home, which can always grow.

Until one day it becomes a mega-mag and a mega industry, employing thousands - I can see it now!! - 'Carrot' T-shirts, mugs, stubbie-holders, bedspreads - it will take-off all around the world, and people will flock from afar to experience the great aussie carrot... (by which time they will all have been replaced by shiny ring-bolts and people will wonder why a strange little mag was named after a vegetable...)

...okay I'm raving now....

There are 99 messages in this topic.