- 26 Jan 2013 18:51
#14157571
I'm not sure how many original articles the PoFo Mag was receiving when we first started it, but let's assume 6 original articles. The PoFo magazine might consider a format such as:
Note From Editor
Original Articles 1-6
Short Comments/Rants/Criticisms/etc.
As much as we'd like to structure it around a specific theme, I think it is fairly tough, given the broad range of ideologies that exist on PoFo. In addition, I think it goes against the whole theme of PoFo, to ask users to develop original pieces of literature, when the whole concept of PoFo is to post articles from sources or discuss your own opinion regarding a given topic. Most people don't have the time or desire to pump out month after month original pieces of opinion, along with researching this information and presenting it in a university paper style.
Of course, these same topics will be discussed on PoFo and might be similar to what someone posted, but the idea of a short comment section might provide them a chance to think over what they originally posted and put some more detail into and back it up with some research possibly.
I think though, that the concept of a PoFo Mag is somewhat just a repeat of the forum itself. Since we already tried to have original articles and that failed to attract writers, it is somewhat of a question as to whether the PoFo Mag is even worth continuing. At the moment, let's say someone posts a topic about XYZ topic. We've seen how fast some of these threads turn into 10 - 20 pages long, just because people are posting their opinion. It's fast and easy and a reply from others is provided fairly quick. By the time that a PoFo Mag is published, many of these topics may be of the past. I think the problem with the PoFo Mag is three fold. First, the group is far too broad. Take The Monthly Review, they cater to a specific ideology, thus they can develop their topics around that ideology. Second, there are not enough people who have time to develop serious articles that can be published each month. Third, the magazine is not user friendly enough, compared to the forum. Would you rather post a paragraph or two on PoFo right now or spend the time writing and submitting your article to PoFo Mag and see it published 1 month later, at which time, it may or may not receive some reviews/criticism.
It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. - Karl Marx