Information Circular Proposals
November 2007
Personal assessment by Duncan Chambers (BFCC Secretary)
Current Situation
The Information Circular (IC) is produced and distributed by Dave Peardon (Editor), Ian Pheby (games) and Steve Williams (subscriptions and renewals), whose help is greatly appreciated.
Production and distribution of the IC resulted in a deficit (against income from membership subscriptions) of £591 in 2006 and £346 in 2007 to date. This situation does not appear sustainable.
On the other hand, the IC is the main benefit that members receive for their subscription. Despite the fact that much of the content is available via the BFCC web site, the IC appears to be valued by a reasonable proportion of members, as illustrated by the enquiries I receive when issues are delayed or lost in the post.
Possible Solution
The obvious solution is to switch to electronic distribution as far as possible. The electronic IC should be produced as a Word or pdf file, allowing members to print off a paper copy if they wish. Either the Editor or the Secretary could distribute copies to those members still wishing to receive a paper copy (photocopied). It would seem reasonable to charge a higher subscription rate for this.
Electronic copies of the IC could be made available to download via the web site and also distributed by e-mail to ICCF delegates and other international contacts.
Games Section
Approximately half of each IC issue is devoted to the games section produced by Ian Pheby. This contains CC games from a wide variety of tournaments, some of which may not be easily available elsewhere. However, the games are mostly unannotated and the games section contains no diagrams. This means that it is not as useful as it could be, as few players are likely to go through all the games.
A possible solution is to circulate a quarterly games file, separate from the electronic IC, to electronic subscribers. A pgn file would enable members to view the games using Chessbase or similar software, and add them to their own database if they wish. If this file was restricted to ‘paying subscribers’ (i.e. annually renewing and life Vice-Presidents), it would represent a concrete benefit of their subscription. Again, printed copies of the file could be made available to those who required them.
Proposals for November IC
Move to primarily electronic distribution of the IC starting with the February 2008 issue. This would require a one-off communication with members to determine their preference for printed or electronic copies and obtain current e-mail addresses.
Separate the news and information part of the IC from the games section and make the games available to paying subscribers only.
Consider an increased subscription rate for those wishing to receive the IC and games in printed form.
What Happens Next?
The matter wil be discussed at the BFCC EC Meeting in November, please contact the Secretary if you would like to offer an opinion.
