Interestingly enough, 2 guys on my f-list put out zines, both in SF; one a long-time one by a guy who doesn't really like computers, the other now on its 2nd or 3rd issue, by a guy who is doing it partly to explore desktop publishing techniques. The former reviews books; the latter wants to announce forthcoming books. Which implies some interesting stuff. Also, despite the ghastliness of txtspk and the rise of the MyFace model, I am still awed at how the personal computer has made reading and writing relevant to the average person again. Non-nerds are reading and writing far more than they did 15 years ago. It is finally obvious to almost everyone that they need to know how to read. We can hear from so many people now whose voices were purely oral before. So on balance I'm for it and don't think it's killing publications, rather the reverse.

Pity about the newspapers, but all but some of the free ones don't have a freaking clue what their readers want and act as if that doesn't matter. They are so busy digging their own graves, they will hit China soon. And putting their online archives behind paywalls is part of it.

M