With the beginning of 1997, we started questioning the quality and originality of CoN. To get an idea of what to change, or how to improve our material I went to alt.ezines, a Usenet group dedicated to the proliferation of this strange type of media. I began reading other electronic magazines that, just like us, publish in text and distribute via e-mail. This allowed me to see other formats that people use, ideas and how they are developed, and most of all, what is the principal topic that drives their existence. In the mean time,while I was looking at CoN with a doubtful eye, I received a few letters (one via snail mail) which complimented our weekly efforts.All I can say is thanks. Perhaps it's true that the hardest critic is always the artist himself.
Other Zines available on the Net. Remember that these are MY opinions.
"Computer Underground Digest" http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
Published by: Jim Thomas, Editor (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu)
As the name itself says, this magazine deals with all sorts of underground events in the computer world. It is very interesting and well done. The material is well presented and professionally written, and the content tends to be a satire against the government and electronic institutions (AOL is an example).
subs: e-mail editor and ask for subscription-----
"Fuck Decency" http://members.aol.com/nnd6/fuckdecency.html
Published by: ROLLER666@aol.com
When I first read the name of the magazine I thought that it was mostly against society's expectations and rules. Some sort of as arcastical opinion of the way we live today. Au contrair, except for a few funny extracts, this magazine has stories cut into episodes about young teenage girls involved in sado-maso sex. This isn't exactly what I look for in an e-zine. I don't know about you, butI don't like to be whipped.
subs: mail "roller666@aol.com" and ask for subscription-----
"COCKROACH" http://www.kmf.org/malecki/
Published by: Robery Malecki (malecki@algonet.se)
The first thing you'll see when reading Cockroach is thewords "a zine for the poor and working class people". Once you'll read it you'll be bombarded with words like "communism", "guerrilla","Trotskyite", and least we forget "Marxism's"? Yes, comrades: if you cherish the actions of the commando that took over the Japanese embassy in Peru`, you will certainly like Cockroach. Now, where is my insecticide?
Subs: e-mail editor and ask for subscription-----
"BLAST.famy" http://www.shmooze.net/blastfamy
Published by: P. W. Casual (pwcasual@shmooze.net)
This magazine is pretty cool. It's probably the most originalI've seen out there so far, and Even though some of the stuff it contains is humorous and sarcastic, it puts truth in the limelight.Many of the articles aren't those typical "read between the lines"ones, but come out at you and say exactly what they mean. One thing is certain: at BLAST.famy, they like stupid people as much as we do.
subs: E-mail pwcasual@shmooze.net and in the message: "Sign Me Up"-----
"inklings" http://www.inkspot.com/~ohi/ink/inklings.html
Published by: Debbie Ridpath Ohi (editor@inklings.com)
Inklings is a free newsletter for writers on the net, published every 2 weeks. It provides all sort of information on how to get started, where to find sites for help, and it allows an exchange of information between different writers. Articles are welcomed, and even books will be advertised to promote new writers.
subs: Send e-mail to majordomo@samurai.com with "subscribe inklings"in the message body.
-----
"Ooze" http://www.io.com/~ooze
Published by: It's hard to tell wheter the publisher is either drbubonic@aol.com or Eddie Schmidt (caligula@aol.com)
This magazine has potential, and good writers, but to my personal opinion, they lack quality. Their material for as funny as it might seem, is completely useless and the humor comes from making fun of others. Not that we don't do that here at CoN, but at least we do it with a reason. Maybe I am being too harsh on my judgment since I only have found one issue of Ooze, but here on CoN we try to keep a variety that ranges from humorous to serious.
subs: I emailed both asking for one, and never got an answer...-----
"Project McLuhan" subs: write to mclr@astral.magic.ca and ask for subscription----- "CompuNotes" http://users.aol.com/CompNote/ I thought they dealt with computers in a hacker's way. Instead they are nothing more then a poorly done computer magazine. They take software and review it, and examine sites on the WWW. I lost all respect for them when I read their review on "Bruce Jenner's WorldClass Decathlon", which they described it as a wonderful tactical challenge. For those that don't know what this is all about, let me warn you. It is supposed to be a game, and in the end it can't even stand as a tutorial on Jenner's hair. Watch out in future issues for my review on Bruce Jenner's game. subs: Write to the editor and ask for a subscription.----- "The last word(s)" This is the biggest mess I've seen. There are two magazines with the same name, and two editors (with different names) that hogalt.ezines in their constant childish fighting over who actually owns the name "The Last Word". I find both magazines quite useless and annoying, since one believes the world is turning socialist and that we must all fight against it, and the other seems like aversion of "CompuNotes" for beer drinkin' metallers. subs: I was refused a subscription----- "Spontaneously Combusted Literature" http://www.scriba.org/ I found this website while net cruising without any purpose.I subscribed and since then I've found his issues in my mailbox.SLC is probably the closest to CoN that I've seen. It's serious,funny, sarcastic and tries to cover several points, getting your feet wet but not drowning you in opinions like other magazines do. We even had the honor to meet Gard, the Editor himself. subs: either e-mail the author or go to the website----- "Capital of Nasty" http://www.ifront.com/capnasty Sure, why not? From what I see out there, we are definitely not the best. We are not the worse either, considering that some of those other e-zines are 3 to 5 years old already. CoN is very young,just starting now into Volume II, and from how it all started, I think we went a long way. Who knows where we'll be in a few years. At the moment, this is what we can provide. We hope you enjoy the ride.
Published by: Patrick Grote (pgrote@inlink.com)
Published by: Gard E Abrahamsen (cg841@freenet.toronto.on.ca)
Published by: Colin Barrett & Leo N.
Metadata: