Editorial: <TAG> Online

By Brian Travis, Managing Editor

<TAG> Newsletter has been published since 1987. It started as an occasional publication printed and distributed to a small number of SGML devotees. In 1992, <TAG> become a monthly publication, but was still printed and distributed to our growing worldwide subscribership as a paper document.

Publishing a monthly paper newsletter has its challenges. One of the challenges is creating content that fills paper in multiples of four pages. Our saddle-stitched publication can be 4- 8- 12- 16- 20- or 24 pages, but nothing in between. This physical limitation sometimes forced us to make content decisions. For example, if the content was 18 pages, we would need to cut two pages of material or find two pages of filler.

In 1995, we started to deliver our information on the Web. That was the very early days of the Web, and we didn't fully appreciate the Web's power to disseminate information and help us sell our product.

In 1998, after implementing our second-generation Web site, we felt it was time to switch from the paper edition to a strictly web-based publication. We surveyed our subscribers and found out that they really wanted to keep the paper, "but, by the way, can you also give us Web access, too?"

So, since early 1998, we have been publishing <TAG> as a paper document and on the Web as well. We also have been offering a Web-only subscription, which has proven to be very popular.

Meanwhile, the cherished paper document is consisting of less and less of a percentage of our total subscribership. Subscribers to the paper edition now constitute only 10% of our market.

In April, 2000, we made the decision to drop the paper edition of the newsletter. Some of the concerns were financial, as it is very expensive to produce and distribute the paper version of the document, especially for the small percentage of subscribers. Mostly, though, we felt that a newsletter that promotes the intelligent mangement and delivery of content in an electronic environment should be published that way.

Moving to a Web-only publication will allow us to concentrate on the much more important Web version, and eliminate the need to worry about filling pages. This will also allow us to put more code samples and links in the newsletter.

We are planning some new features, such as an expanded calendar and links to other great XML resources on the Web. Of course, we will still be publishing our technical and business-oriented features, book reviews, tutorials, and case studies.

If you are a subscriber to the paper edition of <TAG>, you will be receiving a letter explaining your subscription options.

I am really looking forward to publishing a monthly Web-based publication. I hope you find the new format effective and useful.