XaraXone and Forums on i/us - please read

[Nathan Heagy]

Using the street performer's protocol Gary may be able to carry on the tutorials with a minimum of business planning and long term commitment.

It basically says that the artist sets a minimum amount of money that it would take to continue the performance, and until that amount is met by contributions from the audience, the performance is halted. It is very similar to what Stephen King is doing with his newest eBook (it is what he based his method on).

Gary could, for example only commit to creating one tutorial. After it is posted, he would wait (atleast one month anyways) until his fee has been payed. He does not have to reveal what his "reserve" is. Also, paying per tutorial may be too minor to motivate people to purchase the tutorials in this way. Perhaps quarterly would work best?

Some caveats:
<UL>
<LI> The idea hinges on the performances being free to even those who didn't pay. It's like advertising and attracts new people.
<LI> To set a realistic amount, Gary should consult with Chris. He may also want to recommend the amount that each member of the audience contribute.
<LI> Gary may not do another tutorial for free until his fee is payed. Given the large archive that he has now, this is fine and perhaps preferable. (on a side note, Gary, is it possible for your work to be archived this far. Are there copyright issues with you/i-us?).[/list]

I'd just like to point out that the system is working for Stephen King so far, and worked for me wonderfully.

Finally, if it ends up that we have no corporate sponsorship (read no ads on any pages) then there is an alternative method of payment we could all use to support Gary, one I came across when doing my little musical thing - fairtunes.com.

Anyways, some ideas. I personally find this whole situation offensive, but I want a quick solution that will perhaps last more than the few years it takes to sell a new dot com company.

Nathan Heagy
<HR>
Blow Your Beef Away
Cow Comics!

[chris-dickman]

Sorry, Daniel, there aren't any plans to make the Insider area available separately to those who purchase Xara elsewhere.

<blockquote>
<font color=green>Chris Dickman</font>
http://www.i-us.com/images/sig.gif
</blockquote>

[Robin Gilmor]

Maybe it's not quite cricket so send a private e-mail& also publish it here, but I'm very upset.



Dear Kate Moir;

I've been visiting the forums on I-US.com for
about a year. That is the only reason

I started to use Xara. Gary Preister & other
helpful people are the only reason I can
continue
to use Xara, considering there no manuals
or books being written as there are for every

other program out there.



Now- finally Xara X comes out & you shoot
yourselves in the foot.

How could you let I-US be folded? It was the
only independent source of graphics users

that was in love with Xara & they were doing
all your advertising for you!

It doesn't matter how much you try to
improve your site & support -

it makes your product stronger to have a separate
group of graphics professionals
so enthusiastic about it.



I was only interested in Xara because of that
separate validation.

I-US (the whole thing-not just the XaraXone) is
the best thing you have going for Xara-

I can't understand why you are being so short-sighted.
Gary Preister is an invaluable asset
- he should be packaged with the product.



You should be doing everything in your power
to ensure the continuence of the XaraXone,

Gary Priester & all the other graphics resources
that give so much validation & value
to your product.


Gettyworks I understand. Judging from their site
they are stupid & crassley commercial.

But Xara X is letting its best promoters go down
the drain when finally it has a chance
to be noticed.

And that I just don't understand.



Robin Gilmor

DezigningWomen

robin@dezigningwomen.com

[Mike Bailey]

The greatest people are the ones who give the most of themselves and ask for nothing in return.

Lots of these folks been hangin round here for a long time, there is no profit with this community using up valuable ad space, I guess the bean counters will eventually run us off, its Ok, I can laugh cause it of reminds me of roaches scramblin for a crumb. I knew a man who had more money than his childrens, childrens, children could spend in their life time, he died on his way to work.


[This message was edited by Mike Bailey on September 27, 2000 at 12:07 AM.]

[caraman1]

to the i/us site if the content areas weren't here?

Maybe someone could enlighten me but I can't see anything that interests me besides these areas. Also, have we heard if the Xara Insider will be here or anywhere after the first of the year?

Dennis [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

<a href=http://www.inconnect.com/~dennisco/>Carillus Design</a>

[robings]

So I smiled, and lo - things got worse!!!

What a depressing lot of postings this has been.

I'm supremely optimistic about most things, and the continuance of Xara, the Xone, Gary and all things Xaran are included in this optimism. This magnificent forum happened because of us, and it will continue, somewhere and somehow, as long as we draw breath and draw pictures.

Come on you guys, lighten up and keep on believing. Things change, we change and accommodate the new order, and everything goes on as before.

It's the very nature of the net that things will change - they MUST change - Getty will come and go just as sure as i/us has done. The only true permanence is death, and for me that is not an option!

Good luck with the move Gary. I'm off to blast away the blues with a burn on the bike - 520 miles from Stirling to Portsmouth, and I can guarantee that Getty won't interfere with that!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2" color="#FF0000">robings
</font>

[athena]

above, Dennis asks

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> what would be the draw <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

a digital store with a digital bulletin board
now isn't that a compelling place to visit??

Dennis,

That's the question these lamebrains at getty should be asking themselves. What would compel people to visit their site if it weren't for the content providers. Eyewire's ads are not that cool. And sometimes their ads are downright misleading. . . get a free photo (after you spend $200 etc etc. I quit paying attention to them ... they clearly don't respect us or they would be straighforward with us.)

I'm fuming at the thought of the balkanization of the i-us content. I'm with Marcus and Egg and Robin. The very uniqueness of spending so much time at i-us is not the shopping for products experience. Its the shopping for information experience. Shopping for products is a sidenote. But when there was a product I could buy from i-us I would buy it from them. I'm just not a buying machine in good repair. (to paraphrase the author of Cats Cradle and Breakfast of Champions whose name escapes me at the moment)

I consider this like a living library of graphics information the content areas and the forums. I think this library should stay open to the public.

I'm willing to give to the i-us alumni fund (I get more out of this place than I've ever gotten out of my ex students association) to keep the libraries open, but if I do give money, I want a digital brick with my name on it for the year that I contribute. (It doesn't have to be anywhere that detracts from valid ad revenue spaces just a visible link to a page showing who donated to keep the library open.

The software companies should be coughing up some money here to keep the library open also. It's in their best interest. I only purchased some products based on guidance and advice from other users (happy customers) here at i-us.

Come on eyewire, sell this i-us idea as a living library. The first of its kind. Don't kill off a fabulous community by balkanizing it.

Athena

PS (maybe Bill Gates has some money burning a hole in his pocket. He rescued Apple didn't he? This would be a perfect way for him to get into the minds of the all mysterious graphics professionals. What am I thinking? the guy would probably want to have perpetual copyright ownership of all of Gary's old tutorials and any future tutorials. . . How about Steve Jobs? The Woz? Now there's a philanthropist. . .)

[mgeduld]

First, in the midst of all this anguish, I'd like to thank Chris for keeping this wonderful site going for so long. Most good things come to an end, but that doesn't diminish Chris's achievement.

Second, I'd like to make a proposal: many people here have generously offered to donate their skills or their assets (monitary donations/server space) to keeping the Xara resources alive. I suggest we go further than this. Let's create a new site--a content-driven site for graphics professionals and hobbyists. Let's make it the best site of its kind on the web.

Like i-us, the site should contain forums on Xara, CorelDraw, PhotoShop, Flash, etc. Maybe we can also add more content on somewhat neglected topics here, like QuarkXpress & Painter.

As I see it, the site would accept ads, but it wouldn't otherwise be commercial (which can lead to conflicts of interest). It won't SELL graphics products. Instead, it will be the definitive resource and community for all things graphics-related.

Now, I don't own server space, but I am willing to donate my time, design-skills, programming-skills, and passion to this project. Would anyone like to join me? If so, post here or email me about what you can do.

We can start by making a list of all the content areas we'd like to cover. Then we should contact key people for each area--obviously Gary for Xara--and find out whether they'd be willing to donate something to the site (a tutorial or article). If we get enough content, we should be able to attract advertisers. Then we can pay the content creators with ad revenue. If valuable people aren't able to contribute for free, perhaps we could build up a fund (donations) to pay them. Or the site can be a subscription service (like Photoshopuser.com), though this wouldn’t be my first choice.

Chris, your years of experience would be invaluable! Maybe you could advise us.

This is a fine community, and it's been hit with a blow. I suggest we turn this into an advantage and take the opportunity to grow! Let's get something up by January 1, 2001.

Marcus Geduld
{ email me } { visit me }

[Nathan Heagy]

Chris is actually quite amazing at creating online communities. First CorelNET then this. However, he is the one who decided to sell i-us to a buyer who is not committed to keeping the community alive.

Nathan Heagy
<HR>
Blow Your Beef Away
Cow Comics!

[Delizar]

Hopefully someone who is involved in making these decisions is reading these posts. There are many sites out there to shop for online software graphic or otherwise. This site is somewhat unique in it’s approach. Heck, it’s set as my homepage; first thing I look at every morning. And it is a source that I return to for information.
At this point all this is conjecture as to what will change. The only guarantee in life is change. As to how or what will change only time will tell. If the correct eyes view the comments on these pages we may be able to influence what occurs. I for one would most likely drift away, do to the fact that there would be nothing to keep me here.

Mark