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Discussion Forum - Website Development - Strider in Electronic Format


Author: Simon Leck
Posted: Thu 6th Dec 2012, 16:17
Joined: 1997
Local Group: Yorkshire Coast
Note that you can now read Strider on your PC and Laptop. The so called eStrider can be accessed from the Membership Menu / Strider. You must login using your LDWA membership number password to view this content.
Author: Andrew Clabon
Posted: Wed 20th Jun 2012, 12:33
Joined: 1982
Local Group: South Wales
My view in this format is without doubt a thumbs down, sorry John.

The font is far too small to read in full page view. If I zoom in I then need to start scrolling up and down the page which I find tiresome.

I don't think a simple scanned image of a page of text is suitable. The page should be reformmated using a larger font. This will result in less words per line which in turn translates to more pages.

I don't follow the newspapers on the internet but surely they must work on a similar principal. I'm also guessing if you asked a kindle to enlarge the font it would, and simply produce less words per line and more lines in the body of text.
Author: Gerry Jackson
Posted: Sun 10th Jun 2012, 12:00
Joined: 1978
Local Group: South Wales
Sorry if this is a late response but I've only just come across this.

I like the idea of an electronic version being made available. However the sample issue suffers from the fact that material published in paper is far from ideal for viewing via the internet. This is why on-line newspapers have a different presentation to printed newspapers. See http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html

For example I found the default view extremely difficult to read because of the tiny font used. When I zoomed in using the button provided it is perfectly legible but then the columns get in the way as you have to continually scroll down then up to read a page. This is enough to put me off using the electronic version as a replacement for the paper version - I doubt that I would bother to view the electronic version.

I also found the shadow effects that simulate reading the paper magazine an over-elaboration - why bother that?

Sorry if this seems negative but if the LDWA does this, it ought to get it right by recognising that viewing stuff via the internet is totally different to reading a magazine and it is a mistake to just think otherwise.

However I do recognise that doing it properly is likely to be very expensive, the sample issue is probably a much cheaper way to go. If it isn't cheap then I think it will just be a waste of LDWA money. If it is cheap then it is better than nothing but far from ideal.

Gerry Jackson
Author: Dr. John Batham
Posted: Sat 19th May 2012, 12:23
Joined: 2007
Local Group: East Yorkshire
Yes some fascinating stuff there Tony!
Author: W. Paul Tremere
Posted: Wed 16th May 2012, 15:24
Joined: 1989
Local Group: East Yorkshire
I found the example very easy to use. Seems like a very good idea to me.
Author: Tony Willey
Posted: Tue 24th Apr 2012, 14:26
Joined: 1989
Local Group: Lakeland
I will try that again - my contribution seems to have disappeared into the ether!
South Wales Group have archived early newsletters and Striders from 1972 to 1978 on their website. They make fascinating reading. Go to http://www.southwalesldwa.org/swldwa_nl.htm
Author: Tony Willey
Posted: Tue 24th Apr 2012, 14:22
Joined: 1989
Local Group: Lakeland
Posted: Sun 22nd Apr 2012, 22:10
Joined: 1972
So the Strider is evolving into a new format and not for the first time and so I think its worthwhile to review its history.

I joined the LDWA in 1972 in the first year of the Association’s existence. The Strider did not exist then as the intention of the Foundes, Chris Steer and Alan Blatchford, was to produce a quarterly newsletter as a register for the sport of long distance challenge walks that had emerged during the 1960s. The technology they employed was a typewriter to produce stencils for use on a Gestetner spirit copier. The format was A4 pages hand stapled together and the whole production for a membership of a few hundred from printing to envelope stuffing took place on a kitchen table. .

The earliest copy of the newsletter that I have kept is dated August 1975 which notes in its editorial that this edition was the first in a new format, A5 booklet with pages hand stapled together. The earlier editions I had binned(in the days before recycling) when they became out of date but in the new format there were contents that obviously considered worthwhile keeping. These included the first appearance of such rants that have become hardy perennials in the letters page such as what are runners doing in walking events and what is the issue about short cutting and why are so many members(now over 1000) not renewing membership. The matter of hallucinations was discussed in terms of the Lyke Wake Silent man and the South Downs coffin(empty) leaning against a signpost!

In 1977 the Newsletter became a more professional publication by being properly bound and in 1978 it became the Strider and gained copyright status with a format that has been retained to date. It included a full photographic account of that year’s Cleveland 100.

The next significant change was the inclusion of colour in 1990 and though there have been many changes over the succeeding years these have been presentational and minor. So now we now stand on the brink of another far reaching technological change.

In my view the change is to be embraced as sooner or later it will be inevitable. Postal services are becoming expensive and the future of the daily delivery is uncertain and is likely to be replaced with an occasional delivery of mainly junk mail. Printed paper can be considered ecologically unsound and financially expensive while ebooks have already taken the lion’s share of sales away from traditional literature. The future of publication is certainly moving towards electronic formats.

The major disadvantage of the eformat is archiving. As I have already written I have most Striders published stored on a book shelf but no copies of the original newsletter. With an eStrider I will not have hard copy but at least I will save on shelf space but I suppose there will be an online archive the same as is available for past route descriptions of the annual 100.

So go ahead make the change but do it gradually as people, including LDWA members, don’t usually like change and some are only members so that they can subscribe to Strider. I don’t see any great problem in running the two formats, paper and electronic, alongside each other until the readership has accepted the change.
Author: John Knight
Posted: Sun 15th Apr 2012, 23:02
Joined: 1999
Local Group: Anytime Anywhere
Even in "full screen" mode, it's very difficult to get the whole page on-screen & large enough to read on my laptop - I keep having to "pull" it up and down to read the top and bottom lines. The "zoom" control is far too sensitive.

John
Author: Peter Haslam
Posted: Fri 13th Apr 2012, 17:33
Joined: 1992
Local Group: East Lancashire
Too much work for Membership Sec to have electronic only. She has enough to do as it is, believe me, I know
Author: Chris Flood
Posted: Fri 13th Apr 2012, 16:53
Joined: 1997
Local Group: Norfolk & Suffolk
I would be happy to have the electronic version only. It's easy to read and it saves resources.
Posted: Mon 9th Apr 2012, 16:21
Joined: 1994
Great idea. The example posted seems very easy to use. Could there be an incentive to encourage acceptance (and presumably cut our costs)?
Author: Philip Powell
Posted: Sun 8th Apr 2012, 18:46
Joined: 1981
Local Group: Northumbria
Quite happy to go with the electronic version.
Author: Peter Haslam
Posted: Thu 5th Apr 2012, 16:31
Joined: 1992
Local Group: East Lancashire
I agree, looks very good. I vote to have both formats. Hard copy via Royal Mail, PDF on't t'interweb.

Tell Neil he has too much time on his hands.
Author: Elton Ellis
Posted: Thu 5th Apr 2012, 11:29
Joined: 2006
Local Group: Surrey
Sounds like a good idea and looks very professional. Easy to read if you click on the 'Zoom in' button on the bottom. I think I'd be happy to go with the electronic version.
Author: John Sparshatt
Posted: Wed 4th Apr 2012, 18:41
Joined: 1983
Local Group: West Yorkshire
There is a proposal to make Strider available in an electronic version. Some of the advantages are detailed below. LDWA members would be able to take advantage of this without loss of the published Strider where there is a commitment to continue publishing it in hard copy for the foreseeable future. LDWA members would be able to nominate their preference for the electronic version, a printed Strider through the post as now or to have both. Access to the electronic version would be via the LDWA website and be protected by a member having to login with membership number and password. When published in electronic form individual members would be notified by Email that it was available. It will not be available as a download to individual computers. A major environmental advantage would be the saving in printing and postage costs from those members who elect to have just the electronic version.

Your views are sought on this proposal.

LDWA Strider magazine – electronic flipbook version

A 16 page sample issue is available to view at the following address
http://www.redsky.biz/strider/

The flipbooks offer many benefits such as:
• Small download size for quick viewing. Important when the alternative
is a 100+ page pdf
• Can be bookmarked for easy navigation
• Hyperlinks to web pages and email addresses are all clickable encouraging contact online
• Viewable on PC, Mac and most portable devices
(iPad, iPhone, and Android devices)
• Flipbook interface can be branded to match LDWA website
• Sends a positive message to the membership that the LDWA is keeping
up to speed with ePublishing and environmental issues.
• Offer members the option of electronic only subscription.
• Reduced mailing/postage costs

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