Fanzines and the Internet or "Whither Thou Goest, Orion Press?"

Fanzines and the Internet or "Whither Thou Goest, Orion Press? is an open letter written by Randy Landers, publisher of Orion Press about the decline of print fanzines. It was posted to alt.startrek.creative on October 20, 1998 and generated much discussion in the Star Trek fan community. 
The original post on alt.startrek.creative had 225 posts by 44 authors.
It is an excellent example of the pros and cons of printfic vs netfic discussions of the late 1990s and how the decline of fanzines was perceived among the fan community.
In May 1999, this topic was widely discussed again in the same venue. See fanfiction: web or zine?.
==Excerpts==
All excerpts are from: Fanzines and the Internet or "Whither Thou Goest, Orion Press?" post to alt.startrek.creative by Randy Landers dated October 21, 1998. reference link.
reference link.
 
==Reactions and Reviews==
Perhaps because the author of the original post characterized his thoughts as venting, much of the feedback took issue with his position, feeling that print fanzines needed to adapt or die. Others questioned the basic premise behind fanzines. From Michael Roy Hollihan: 
From Gabrielle Lawson: 
Other fans came out in support of print fanzines. From MAC: 
Sight impaired readers weighed in: From marta rodriguez: 
Others focused on the ease of Internet fiction and the relative equal quality between Netfic and Printfic meant that the "free" NetFic made it more appealing. From A. LANGSDORF: 
An Australian editor wondered whether the decline in zines was impacting fanfiction zines more than newsletters. From Jon Andersen:
Another fan pointed out that one of the problems was that fanzine publishers like Randy were not advertising in the right places or educating fans about fanzines:
From kira-nerys: 
and 
Randy responded to some of the comments above:
Eventually other fanzine publishers began to weigh in. From Laura Taylor: 
Other fans were more interested in discussing the decline in LOCs. From pens nest: 
and also from pens nest: 
Some compared US zine buying habits with the buying habits of non-US fans. From Baerbel Haddrell: 
Baerbel Haddrell also asked whether the type of fanzine subject matter could make a difference in zine sales:
One fan pointed out that the variety of fanfiction on the Internet made it more appealing to her. From Charlene Vickers:
The difficulty of paying in the pre-Paypal days, particularly for international fans, was also discussed. From Jungle Kitty:
One new fanzine publisher talked about her attempts to break into the "fanzine club." From Eva Seifert:
She then went on to point out that:
Ming Wathne, the creator of the Fanzine Archives wisely pointed out that print fanzines were more long lasting and reliable then NetFic:
While the debate continued, a few fans brainstormed about ways to make fanzines more appealing. From Alana at Aleph Press:
The idea was met with skepticism. From Randy Landers:
As was the idea that fanzine publishers consider experimenting with simultaneous online and print publishing. From Marlissa:
Another zine publisher dismissed the suggestion. From Ann Zewen:
The perception that print fanzines were better edited, and therefore a better product, persisted. From Joyce Harmon:
Which led at least one fanzine publisher, Randy Landers, to proudly announce:
==So...What Was The Outcome?==
Like most Internet discussions, there was no "winner" in the debate and no final conclusions were drawn. Internet fans continued to read, write and post their fic online and fanzine publishers continued to struggle with finding both submissions and buyers.
After shutting down his fanfiction website due to bandwith and lost sale concerns, Randy returned to alt.startrek.creative a few months later to participate in another debate of the merits of online fic vs printfic: see fanfiction: web or zine?. fanfiction: web or zine? thread in alt.startrek.creative dated May 28, 1999; reference link. In June 1999, Orion Press once again announced that the costs of maintaining a website that offered free fanfic was not workable.
Randy wrote: 
and
Other fanzine publishers felt differently. From Gabrielle Lawson:
And, in an unusual twist of events, TPTB appeared in the thread to weigh in with their suggestions about marketing and selling fiction online. John Ordover, the editor of a company that professionally published Star Trek tie in books wrote:
and 
Needless to say, this input was not welcomed:
==References==
Category:Star Trek Open Letters
Category:1998 Open Letters
Category:Meta on Usenet
Category:Fandom & Profit Meta