RE: Members Only Content on Chapter Web Site

[mlist -at- ca -dot- rainbow -dot- com]

T. Word Smith [mailto:techwordsmith -at- yahoo -dot- com] wondered:

> Well ...
> 
> The question is, if all the resources are available to
> everyone for free, why become a member of the STC?

Does STC offer anything beyond that information?

If the information offered on their web site is the sum 
total of their benefits-of-membership, then two things 
come to mind:

1) why would I want to pay a hundred-and-some bucks per year 
  for that? (*)

2) if that's all they've got, then they should protect it.

On the other hand, if they offer services and additional 
added-value, beyond the info that's posted on the web, then 
there's no need to be dog-in-the-manger-ish. The info can be 
freely available, and its quality and usefulness are selling 
points for the (presumably even more beneficial) benefits of 
paid membership.

If I visited their site and it was nothing but a gateway 
to the pay site, with a handful of teaser snapshots and 
article titles, all pointing to "Join now! Have your credit 
card ready! The good stuff is inside!", then I might think 
I'd stumbled into yet another internet pr0n site.   :-)

/kevin
(* It's way past time I threw some more money at a certain 
   techwriter web site that we all know and love. If the 
   better half would just get herself re-employed...)