New IWA External Bulletin

Sick!

~J.

We'll pass the info along.

So WSA folks found it of interest. Has raised the age old discussion about WSA and the IWA; WSA and IWA relations; building better relations with IWA Sections, etc.

Thanks for posting the link.

You might as well creating entry under the "publications" tag and put them in there

self-deleted.

New one out: http://www.iwa-ait.org/content/iwa-external-bulletin-4

Unfortunately, as is almost always the case with the IWA and it's sections, not much care seems to have been put into the publication itself. I don't mean the articles (generally good) but their formal organization on the page. There are obvious readability problems, and the overall look is amateurish. If this is an attempt from the international to communicate with the outside world, it would be helpful to give some thought on how it should be communicated.

All things considered, it's informative enough. Particularly the stuff which we don't see here on Libcom.

I've just scrolled the document and see that the design is so far the best compared to the previous issues. I haven't see any readability problems and certainly don't feel that the overall look is amateurish. The editor's job was done very decently I would say. But maybe my usual critical perspective failed me...

solidariedade, I tend to work on the principle that if you have an issue with something like that you can a) give constructive criticism as opposed to just "looks amateurish" etc which doesn't help tell people what needs changing b) get involved to do it yourself c) stfu because otherwise all you're doing is dragging down other activists.

There are a few things that could be improved with the design, but overall I think it looks OK. I don't think having fancy design is the most important thing for this type of publication anyway.

Also, as Rob says, some constructive advice would be a lot more helpful than just telling them off.

I might be good to have a more accessible download button for it on the web site though, especially as it is placed in the category "Downloads".

Ok. Perhaps I was a bit harsh. I didn't mean to put down all the effort and time that went into the bulletin.

However in activist circles, I think design is generally seen as an afterthought, and not something that is part and parcel of a publication and which will definitely influence it's reception.

My general impression is that for a big part of the activist milieu, if the characters are on the page and aren't totally unreadable, then everything else is superfluous, a bourgeois affectation.

As for constructive criticism, I definitely think that the two column layout is not the best option for on screen reading. The justified text makes the page look too heavy, while the spacing between characters and words is not consistent throughout. The titles provide little or no relief (for lack of a better word) between articles, making the bulletin appear as one giant text. The images, instead of appearing just as a token visual attachment, could have been used more sparingly, but with different sizes, providing some kind of surprise effect. I could go on.

Overall, the layout has no rhythm, it appears lifeless, boring and dry.

Layout? What about the content? Flaming hell, it's not a coffee table accessory.

Whatever. Is it that difficult to comprehend that the way words appear on the page is relevant for what is being written? Do you take pride in being thick or you'r just having a bad day?

Yeah, like, whatever.

Astetic improvements are things folks can work on. Personally --- and maybe it's just me --- I paid more attention to the information. Afterall, that's the "attraction", the content, the struggles, the news.

Although I'm not IWA, I wish the comrades well and hope they continue to make adjustments and improvements as time rolls on.

Look, this isn't a working group for the IWA External Bulletin. Personally I find it disappointing that on a place like Libcom, people are more inclined to talk about the layout as opposed to the contents. My understanding and experience of the best way trying to win people over to new ideas and forms of organising is through practical, real experience - exactly what the IWA is about and exactly what is demonstrated in the bulletin.