ray@philmtl.philips.ca (Raymond Dunn) (03/31/89)
I've just received an unsolicited sample copy of the above Journal through the mail. It appears promising as a source of "inside" 'C' implementation information, although the contents of this particular 38 page 6"*9" issue hardly appear to justify the subscription cost of $235 for 4 quarterly issues. The journal is on the net (hello all at aussie), and I'm just a little perturbed by the fact that it seems likely that the mail-shot names and addresses were culled from this newsgroup (tempered though by the very low-key nature of the sell). Comments anyone? -- Ray Dunn. | UUCP: ..!uunet!philmtl!ray Philips Electronics Ltd. | TEL : (514) 744-8200 Ext: 2347 600 Dr Frederik Philips Blvd | FAX : (514) 744-6455 St Laurent. Quebec. H4M 2S9 | TLX : 05-824090
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (04/02/89)
In article <414@philmtl.philips.ca> ray@philmtl.UUCP (Raymond Dunn) writes: >It appears promising as a source of "inside" 'C' implementation information, >although the contents of this particular 38 page 6"*9" issue hardly appear to >justify the subscription cost of $235 for 4 quarterly issues. My reaction exactly. At $40 I'd probably subscribe, but not at that price. By setting the price that high, they've guaranteed that their audience will remain small. Even many libraries will balk at spending so much money for a publication so small and specialized. A pity; based on the sample issue, it's stuff that should be more widely known. >The journal is on the net (hello all at aussie), and I'm just a little >perturbed by the fact that it seems likely that the mail-shot names and >addresses were culled from this newsgroup... I wouldn't jump to conclusions about that, especially since most people don't give their addresses when posting. Certainly the questionnaire they sent out a while ago clearly used addresses from several sources (they got two of mine). -- Welcome to Mars! Your | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology passport and visa, comrade? | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
libes@cme.nbs.gov (Don Libes) (04/03/89)
In article <414@philmtl.philips.ca> ray@philmtl.UUCP (Raymond Dunn) writes: >It appears promising as a source of "inside" 'C' implementation information, >although the contents of this particular 38 page 6"*9" issue hardly appear to >justify the subscription cost of $235 for 4 quarterly issues. Well, at least there are no ads. There is an inverse relationship between price and ad-to-editorial percentage. Seemingly hyperbolic. *Price/year *Price/issue ad-to-total pages JCLT $235 $58 0% 0 ad pages (48 total) C Users Journal $24 $3 40% 49(124) UNIX Review $0 $0 50% 61(122) The last one isn't a C periodical but it's close enough (it does have a regular C column) and demonstrates the relationship. Incidentally, the difference between 40% and 50% may not seem like much, but it really is noticable. (But 40% is still too high. And so is $235.) Note that several new C periodicals have recently started (and there may be more as bigger publishers discover it). Perhaps somebody else could fill in the missing figures on the following: C++ Report $49 $5 >0% >0 (12) unknown but definitely accepting advertising C Gazette $21 $5 ? (MS-DOS oriented) * Price paid by the majority of readers. Stated price may be higher. Price/issue is calculated by (price/year)/(issues/year). > tempered though by the very low-key nature of the sell). This is the very lowest-key sell I've ever gotten. I didn't even fill out the survey I got a couple months ago, and I still got the sample issue (with no accompanying requests, or subscription cards falling out of every other page). Considering the audience is going to be so tiny (as far as for-profit magazines go), I'd say [gasp] he'd better start advertising more heavily. Don Libes libes@cme.nbs.gov ...!uunet!cme-durer!libes Disclaimer: I occasionally write for the C Users Journal. But I still pay for a subscription out of my own pocket. I no longer write for M/SJ.
bright@Data-IO.COM (Walter Bright) (04/04/89)
In article <414@philmtl.philips.ca> ray@philmtl.UUCP (Raymond Dunn) writes: >I've just received an unsolicited sample copy of the above Journal through >the mail. >The journal is on the net (hello all at aussie), and I'm just a little >perturbed by the fact that it seems likely that the mail-shot names and >addresses were culled from this newsgroup (tempered though by the very low-key >nature of the sell). Comments anyone? I got the same Journal. I don't really understand your perturbation. In your signature, you posted your name and address. So you got junk mail, is that really a problem? I would get upset about telephone or fax solicitations, but junk mail is not inappropriate, I get a stack of it every day that I leave in the trash on the way into my house. (P.S. Whenever I get a fax solicitor, I call them (on their toll-free number) and threaten legal action if they don't stop it. Fax paper ain't cheap, and I don't like running out all the time (the machine won't hold much).)