Post #65671 by ikitnrev on Fri, Dec 19, 2003 2:03 PM

I've always felt that 'Tiki News' fell more into the 'zine' category than the more formal magazine category. Those of you who participated in the world of zines in the 90's know that zines were started out of a sense of passion, with little or no hope of making a profit, but more with the intent of meeting other like-minded people. Most every one of the zine editors I've met have said they they lost money with each issue they produced. Magazines, on the other hand, are usually done on a larger scale, with a more formal business plan, with the hope of realizing a profit.

Many times I have sent money away for a zine subscription, and many times I would receive one issue, and then nothing after that. This wasn't surprising, as most zines ended up producing less than 5 issues, at which point the editor would move on to some other creative endeavor. It was a bit like gambling - some folded quickly, but others continued to produce interesting content for many more issues.

It never bothered me too much when a zine folded, as I felt the money would be used in some other creative fashion by the editor. I simply considered it a donation to some future artistic endeavor -- kind of like how in the Middle Ages certain artists would be supported by wealthier patrons.

Ten years ago, with that first issue of 'Tiki News', Otto and anyone else involved would surely have been flabbergasted if it was suggested that ten years from then, there would be hundreds of people contributing to a on-line tiki bulletin board, and that people would be gathering for tiki events located all over the country. There are so many zines that popped up, briefly made their point, and sank back into obscurity. Tiki News has really been one of the more culturally important zines, that has 10 years later resulted in a real community.

In a sense, the existence of Tiki Central diminishes the need for the next issue of Tiki News. I can get my tiki fixes here, rather than having to wait for the next issue.

I do hope that Otto will produce some future issues, as I'm one of those who has future issues due to me, and his endeavors tend to be of generally good quality. but I won't be too upset if I never received another issue. I'm pleased to see him still doing the planning and coordination for the cool events that he and Baby Doe put together.

There are people who will take the money and run, yelling 'Sucker' back to you. Otto is not one of those .... I feel he is one who will always be seeking some way to make the world a more fun place to live, and best of all, he opens the door to us, inviting us in to join in the festivities.

My only regret is that I live on the wrong coast to take part in many of those events.

Vern