Just to throw my two cents in: I recently completed a long and arduous move during which I discovered that I have more belongings than any sane person should have (which should say something about my current state). The bulk of those belongings, I discovered, were several forests worth of trees in the form of a small-medium sized library; old newsletters; classic comix from the Gilbert Shelton, Jaxon era (KEEPERS); I think if I looked long enough I could probably find an old Charlie Loving poster or two (also keepers); magazines; family correspondence (can't get rid of that); newspaper articles (many of which I saved because they were my own work); various bureau publications which I either wrote and/or edited; and a lot more. But I tell you, after this move, I think it's a good thing we're recyclers here in Oregon because I have pretty much fallen out of love with the idea of paper dox. I belong to several organizations many of which now produce the bulk of their publications on line. If I want to save anything, I just download it to my hard drive and, after awhile, if I still find it valuable, onto a CD (or whatever comes after that). With a few exceptions, I now have no qualms about scanning much of what I have that is worth saving and putting it into an electronic file. Having worked on my family history for almost 20 years now, I'm glad my ancestors did not feel this way, but then, in the mid-1800s, they had no choice. I have a choice. I live in the Northwest home of a huge timber industry. For 32 years I have worked for a federal agency that manages forest land (among other uses) and we are under a constant barrage of lawsuits by both industry and conservationists to produce or not produce timber for a variety of uses. I've lived in this area for more than 20 years and seen both sides of the discussion. Recently I have come to the conclusion that if we have a practical, inexpensive, good quality choice, perhaps we ought to seriously consider taking it. I now step down from my soap box, Louise
From: cave...@att.net To: fr...@frankbinney.com; Texascavers@texascavers.com List-Post: texascavers@texascavers.com Date: Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:25:41 -0500 Subject: RE: [Texascavers] BOG proposal to end printed NSS News BOG proposal to end printed NSS NewsI think the NSS should pursue the concept that the TSA and other organizations have. Give people an option for an online version or mailed version (or both). With TSA and some grottos that have tried that approach, the number of people who’ve preferred the online version vs printed version and dropped the cost of printing significantly. Some time ago, I had a water leak that soaked a box of NSS News and TSA Texas Cavers. They sort of melted by the time I discovered they were water soaked. I can’t recover those copies but could if they were all digitized. Stuff happens, even if you have a printed copy, having a digital copy available isnt’ a bad thing. Butch Fralia From: Frank Binney [mailto:fr...@frankbinney.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 6:11 PM To: Texas Cavers Subject: [Texascavers] BOG proposal to end printed NSS News FYI to Texas Cavers: There is apparently a proposal being presented at this Saturday’s NSS Board of Governor’s meeting to end delivery of the printed NSS News as part of your regular NSS membership. This news has generated considerable recent comment on the Western US caving lists, and has caught the NSS Editor by surprise (he hadn’t be informed of the pending proposal). For more info, consult an NSS BOG member. Frank NSS 10816F
