Did any one notice new settings in digital access of Linn's, which cancelled possibility to download magazine as PDF, they changed it without notifying who renew subscription, and mentioned that in FQA, which we usually we do not read it after we subscribe for first time, not when we renew. that is annoying from Linn's editors.
I knew they were switching readers but not aware they would remove most any reasonable ability to save articles. The mobile app is a joke without an article view. It looks like I will not be renewing my subscription.
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 08 Dec 2019 08:28:46pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
There must be some way around it. Several times over the years I got one of my sons to modify some PDF page so I could copy it. I have no idea how, but it was done. Of course, the PDF format may have been secured more carefully.
What good is a news paper if you cannot save parts with useful information ?
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
there is way to have it as PDF, but take time. for print reading, it is not practical for live outside US and even outside his home country, because it is hard to move your library with you from country to other or even from city to other, so the PDF is practical option for whom live and work outside their home countries.
'
Never attribute to malice what can easily be explained by chance.
It could well be they did not change their policy, they just changed their on-screen reader and, without malice or forethought, the new reader lacks a full issue download feature.
Or, not.
As Don points-out, they are a paywall-based company serving a largely paywall-based hobby.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
The limitation of not being able to download as a true PDF is missing from both the mobile app and through the browser. It is now a flip book style only with the option to do screen shots. The mobile app has PDF button but it just creates a PDF of a screen shot.
This is new policy. They did it intentionally.
Can I download a PDF version of issues for the magazine I subscribe to?
No, we do not allow for the downloading of PDF versions of our issues. While we had done so occasionally in the past, the reality of doing so enables potential bad actors to reproduce and distribute our work without attribution or compensation. Paid subscriptions to our Digital Edition are what help us fund the production of our magazine. With the permeation of internet connectivity, any paid subscriber can access issues via our Digital Edition anywhere there's an internet connection and on a variety of devices including Mobile, Desktop & Tablet. This includes many years of back issues, all accessible via the Archives within the Digital Edition.
We understand this is an important feature and are working quickly to provide a solution. Soon, the mobile apps (Google Play for Android and Apple App Store for iOS) will be updated to introduce new functionality that will allow you to download issues within the app for offline reading. These will not be PDF's, but they will allow you to read offline (for example, on an airplane, or in a location without internet access). We will notify all our paid subscribers via email in the near future once this feature is available.
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 09 Dec 2019 09:21:33pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
Is it any more difficult for ‘bad actors’ to buy hard copies of a magazine and then use a photocopier to knock off illegal hard copies of a magazine?
Any publisher, just like music recording artists or Hollywood movie studios, has to come to grips with the fact that there will ALWAYS be people who steal their content no matter what the media might be.
I do not buy into blaming ‘the internet’ for an abysmal failure to deal with changing times. Any company or organization that uses excuses like ‘bad actors’ and ‘the internet’ to build hoops forcing their paying customers to jump through will fade from existence. Additionally, their new ‘feature’ that ‘allows’ access to what you are paying for comes with additional costs. And who is going to be paying for all of this? Subscribers.
In my opinion, the harder you try to lock things down the more it attracts attention. A single post in one of the many ‘underground’ forums that website XYZ, software app 123, or eBook 1A3 is bulletproof results in an immediate flurry of one-upmanship as people vie to prove they can defeat it first. Typically takes about 24 hours. Stamp Manage app, Scott catalogs, etc are all already defeated and posted on underground sites across the world.
And it is child’s play to get ANY content and re-publish it online with a hosting company that is totally out-of-reach by typical legal means. Anyone want to invest in gathering evidence, issues subpoenas, and navigate the legal system in Kathmandu for a few years?
Placing the burden of copyright compliance upon the paying customers is wrong but more importantly it achieves absolutely nothing. Once you publish your content, it can and will be stolen. It is no different than inventing a new machine. It is just dumb to think that no one will steal the design and make their own. The profit model here is speed, efficiency, and convenience (ironically the opposite of what publishers are doing.) You need to make it faster and easier to just use the originating publisher than it is to use the stolen content.
Large content publishers dealt with this issue years ago. Did the recording industry make it harder for people to buy and listen to music? Did the movie studios make it harder for people to watch their movies? The magazine publishing industry is littered with failed companies which stepped in this hole. I am astounded that small, specialty publishers have not learned this lesson.
Don
nlroberts1961 12,8 cm Kanone 43 L/55 in blueprints only 09 Dec 2019 11:06:32pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
Don hit the nail square on head. All attempts to protect digital/e-content have ended in dismal failure. More forward thinking minds have facilitated sharing in the hopes of broader readership leading to more subscribers often by offering extras for paying customers.
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"Euros think a 100 miles is a long way, Americans think a 100 yrs is a long time..."
Yeah, I found it hard to believe there is some massive movement to share copies of Linn's via the Internet. I really wonder how much revenue they think they are losing due to having a PDF version. The failures are often self-inflected wounds.
Without an article view iin the phone app is poor (zooming and panning).
None of which amount to a hill of beans as an existential commercial threat.
"... You need to make it faster and easier to just use the originating publisher than it is to use the stolen content ..."
Back in the day, a teenager I lived with would download new movies etc via BitTorrent.
When I inquired about the ethics, s/he explained that, as we were living outside the USA, the content was not legally available in a timely fashion ... and it was, indeed, Hollywood's practice to do the "foreign" release months after the "domestic" release ... and, clearly, for absolutely no reason at all.
"When they let me buy it legally, I'll buy it legally. Meanwhile, they can go { army sergeant salty talk deleted }."
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 10 Dec 2019 06:28:21pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
If you know your way around the ‘seedy underbelly’ of the internet you can find major movies to download before they are even released in the theaters. For example, it is not uncommon to find versions of a movie where the CGI scenes are still being worked on and are represented as wireframes and green screens. Obviously these kinds of ‘still in editing’ versions could only be leaked out the back door of the studios.
Same for prelease copies of the Harry Potter books, it was easy to find them in PDF well before they ever got printed and published.
If large companies cannot stop the theft of copyrighted material like a $200 million movie or a new Harry Potter book, what chance does a specialty publishers have?
Copyright piracy is a real problem for every kind of content and as far as I can tell impossible to stop. Content and other IP piracy on the commercial level is widespread in China.
Virtually every online website is stolen without permission and wholly copied by the Wayback Machine. And many philatelic folks post links to it all the time with little or no regard to the ethical impacts.
Don
I think they over value Linn's. It is not like their content is that sought after by the world stamp community such as China. I do recall in the 70's where Taiwan was copying everything and selling Scott catalogs for almost nothing. They were printed on super thin paper.
"... I think they over value Linn's. It is not like their content is that sought after by the world stamp community ..."
If, say, a Chilean stamp club is routinely pirating Linn's content in its newsletter (or on its site), I would suggest that Amos advise dealers who advertise in that newsletter (or on that site) that their advertisements are not welcome in any Amos publication, and that their orders are not welcome for any Amos products, etc, until (perhaps some time period after) they cease supporting the pirating entity.
If that does not do the trick, you were not losing very much to begin with.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who is blissfully unaware of how many laws Amos would be breaking in how many countries if they retaliated in this fashion)
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
first of all, cancelling PDF, make spreading the magazine less, because not every one like to read it from iphone and every one have tablet, and still laptop the best way to read Linn digital versions, which put us with necessary to be online.
"London Philatelist" / " Stanley Gibbons Magazine"/ "UNPI" magazine/ APS magazine all these respectful magazines have PDF files and not concern about piracy (they concern more about spreading the philatelic culture), and we should not forget that piracy (which I not encourage) have part in spreading/revive the philatelic hobby beside Ebay/Delcampe website because it facilitates the access to philatelic stuff.
we have to mentioned that way dose not prevent you (simple user of computer) to produce PDF with few simple programs on your laptop.
The re circulation I have seen has happened more with printed periodicals. I know some that subscribed to a pricey magazine and passed it around for reading rather than have to go to the library to read it. Of the thinking is a club would subscribe and then send PDF to all members. Is that any different than passing around one copy?
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 11 Dec 2019 12:25:44pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
Plain and simple, in some cultures replicating something from books or collectables to Gold coins is not piracy as long as the copy is faithfully copied in its entirety. Enforcing Western culture on other societies is probably a thankless task.
It might be easier to understand were China to insist that we change some long held social beliefs or habits to comply with one of their cultural norms. Think of how well that would go over here.
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
"... the thinking is a club would subscribe and then send PDF to all members. Is that any different than passing around one copy? ..."
In your country, it is settled law that if you buy something physical, you own it ... and you can re-sell it, or pass it around, or burn it at the stake, or wipe something with it, or sign the back of it. Fair use.
We do not have decades of statutes & court decisions about digital media and, worse, we do have the license agreement you clicked on (or agreed to by buying the product that came with that license agreement) ... and it spells-out your limited rights, which rarely include the right to spread copies to & fro willy-nilly.
So, yeah, digitally broadcasting digital media is different than buying physical media and passing your one copy around.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 11 Dec 2019 06:57:52pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
Hi ikey,
I did not perceive this thread to be about personal property rights, I thought it to be more about copyright protection. For me the issue is about content ownership, being able to retain ownership of what you create. Amos, and other publishers, have this right no matter what the format or media type might be (in the Western world). A photograph, a book, an article, a painting, a banana duct taped to the wall, or a website should all be afforded a level of copyright protection. If there is creativity then there should be protection at both the legal and ethical levels.
That said, I think the thread also covers the reality of being able to exercise copyright protections. In our new shrunken world, applying Western values, ethics and laws can become problematic but the logistical parameters can loom even larger. It is hard (costly) enough to chase people around in a single Western country for possible copyright infringement(s). It is ludicrous to think that a small company like Amos could chase people around on the other side of the planet. I assume that this is why they are doing what they are doing.
My position is that it is not going to work and may in fact be the opposite of what they ought to be doing. Many would argue that the correct approach is not to use costly, toxic chemicals to protect the vegetable garden but rather to simply grow extra veggies to cover the amount of the pest loss.
Don
My comment about over valuing was more a statement that the loss of sales due to re-distribution is likely low (most would never pay) so not really losing revenue. The advertisers could benefit since their ads are seen by more.
The solution is to create a product that someone would actually want to purchase (content, delivery method). Amos needs to break the mindset of selling printed products in a digital form without taking advantage of additional opportunities with digital.
Astrophilatelist- Space Cover Collector 12 Dec 2019 07:18:46am
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
In response to Linns change of policy referring to saving pdf's, I stated the subscribers are and would not sell or use their content. I possibly see their subscriber numbers decreasing. All most collectors want to do is to save the archive to use for research purposes. The stamp hobby needs positive coverage for the hobby to stay viable.
"... I did not perceive this thread to be about personal property rights, I thought it to be more about copyright protection ..."
Agreed. To be fair to me, Al's question - Is that any different than passing around one copy? - was very particular to the purchased physical media, not its content, and purchasing is the interface between copyright & property rights.
"... All most collectors want to do is to save the archive to use for research purposes ..."
Unless we are hoarding because we hoard things.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who would not care to have an auditor go thru my bookshelves and see how many times how many volumes have been touched since they were shelved)
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
"Since 1999, winners of college football’s top award have been prohibited from selling their hardware. At least 11 Heismans from older winners have been sold in the last 20 years."
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey (who could not have timed that better if he'd tried)
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
I don't see in this thread where anyone mentioned being able to
print an article from the current online issue;
I did, however.
The article regarding the error on the 1931 local Christmas Seal
by John Hotchner.
I had no trouble copying and pasting the wording from the online article
into Word, then saving the image of the error stamp to a folder and then placing it
into the Word article.
I wanted a copy of it for personal reference to be put in my
Misc. Seals Album.
Anyway, what I'm saying here is - no difficulty was involved.
The author can set a PDF property to disable copying text out of the page; either the original file, or the reader, "should' have this enabled if they are that worried about protecting their copyright.
Similarly, the author can set a PDF property to disable printing from the reader, but the read has to honor this property.
Stopping you from using the Windows Snipping tool from grabbing your screen is another matter.
Cheers,
/s/ ikeyPikey
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
I can understand the publisher's position. As said, it would be human nature for someone to send a pdf copy to their whole club and think nothing of it.
Years ago our club paid a professional to produce a video of our Model Car Show. It was fine at first, then we got to the point that we only sold 10 copies, which wouldn't allow us to produce it anymore.
People would right out tell us that their club bought one copy and made copies for their members like they did nothing wrong. I know when we stopped making the video, many more people than 10 complained about it!
I was reading Linn's this weekend using the flipbook software and saw an article I wanted to keep. I use the screen capture / download feature (part of the flip book). The resulting png file was much lower quality (text much fuzzier) and hard to read. It was worse printed.
Net - not that good for printed copies of pages. I was able to enhance it some in software (improve contrast, etc).
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 17 Dec 2019 02:52:30pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
PNG format sucks rotten eggs.
View on highest resolution display you have access to, change the screen resolution to the highest it will go to (even if it makes the text too small to read), do a screen capture or ‘print to PDF’ . This will give you the best quality images with the most readable text.
Anything that is displayed on a screen can be scarfed, the only thing the various ‘security’ hoops that they making subscribers jump through is doing is making it a bit more inconvenient to take their content. If something is worthwhile (i.e. has value and enough demand) there are large rooms in 3rd world countries filled with people who are more than willing to do screen captures all day long. This is why I said in posts above that it is silly to think that content can be protected. If something is published (hard copy or digital), it can easily be re-published no matter how it is ‘protected’.
Don
There are two ways to do screen shots. There is a ctrl-shift-s that creates a pop up (my first test) and then there is a Windows key - shift - s that uses a Windows utility that will yield better results. The former appears to be part of the flip software app. The window app just copies to clipboard to paste in a document. The flip app has a full screen mode to give maximum size for clipping.
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"Stamp Collecting is a many splendored thing"
nlroberts1961 12,8 cm Kanone 43 L/55 in blueprints only 17 Dec 2019 10:55:48pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
Its a mindset locked in the past. But even simpler is the common sense that the people who obtain it by copy are not going to buy it anyway. Just embrace an opportunity for broader exposure. Offer extras to subs e.g. access to all archives etc and hope that someone who reads a "borrowed" copy chooses to sub. Take the money you are wasting on copy protection and use it to enhance your content.
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"Euros think a 100 miles is a long way, Americans think a 100 yrs is a long time..."
as stamp collector, we have that gene of collecting, even digital ones, and that way apart us form that genetics, they are not aware of collectors mentality.
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nlroberts1961 12,8 cm Kanone 43 L/55 in blueprints only 18 Dec 2019 02:14:13am
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
well said !! if only people understood each other. alas...that road is only begun ...
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"Euros think a 100 miles is a long way, Americans think a 100 yrs is a long time..."
Whenever I want to save something, I just hit CTRL PRT SC (control, print screen). That takes a snapshot of your entire screen. Before you do that, maximize your target as big as you can. Make your browser full screen, then if needed bring the content up past 100%.
Then I will paste into IrfanView, and crop just what I want. Saves as a jpg.
/s/ ikeyPikey (who uses the Windows Snipping Tool to save himself an edit)
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"I collect stamps today precisely the way I collected stamps when I was ten years old."
Harvey I think, therefore I am - I think! 20 Dec 2019 04:55:43pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
When I was a teacher one of my "joys in life" was to help out with the musicals our high school used to produce every year. The kids were fantastic and the whole experience was fantastic. Of course a lot of the parents wanted copies of the show so they could watch it whenever they wanted and remember their kids at that time in life. We would video tape the production and sell the VHS tapes for a minimal cost to cover the cost of the tape and put a little bit aside for next year. Then we learned we were breaking the law by violating copyright - something we never considered. It was not just the selling, taping alone was also forbidden! We stopped and the parents rented their own machines and got copies anyway - we let them break the law. Also do you realize you are not allowed to change a single word in the script without permission? One local group applied for and got permission to turn West Side Story into a gay version, it was amazing! And you also have to make sure one seat is available in case someone from the production house wants to attend. You also have to buy one script for each person in the production and any copying of script material is illegal. It's only high school, but even with the many restrictions we managed to have fun!!! I know this is slightly off topic but it does relate.
As far as I can recall, they have always allowed you to download PDF's and print them. Linn's did not respond to the comment about saving documents. I am sure this action is not going to help increase their circulation.
First Century Collecting 1840 - 1940 21 Dec 2019 09:21:44pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
This is my first posting to any discussion; I am hoping it will be useful.
If I am understanding the issue is trying to capture a page from the on-line version of Linn’s. I am suggesting the following approach:
Use the Print Option to save the page
1. Flipping through the issue to article you want to save, two pages display at a time
2. Use the “Print” button on the tool bar
3. Select the page you want to save
4. The selected page will load in a new tab in your internet browser
5. A print menu should appear
6. Select either “Microsoft Print to PDF” or “Microsoft XPS Document Writer” as the printer
7. The use the print button
The result should be a good quality PDF or XPS file that you can save on your computer. This is easier then scanning each page you want to save from the printed version of Linn’s.
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"The art of stamp-collecting is to get a number of good stamps, not to get a good number of any stamps."
This is a huge 'own goal' by Linns and (if I can put it abruptly), just plain stupid.
This is nothing more than short-sighted paranoia over some theoretical lost revenue. A far greater consideration should have been the retention of exiting subscribers, many of whom will want to file articles away for their own personal reference in the future.
The new software prevents this (unless, as mentioned, you go down the clumsy print-screen route each time.
The new flip pages are hopeless next to the flexibility and easy readability of the pdf. My forecast is one of greater lost revenues due to subscribers moving to more flexible alternatives.
Quite who these 'bad actors' are (were?), God only knows. If I were Linns I'd be actively trying to get my name and material distributed to the widest audience possible...
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 26 Dec 2019 05:13:13pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
re: Limiting circulation
Even ‘unpaid circulation’ has benefits. For example more eyes on an issue can turn into more subscribers if they like the magazine. Additionally, I assume that the advertisers also benefit from more eyes on the magazine. In fact, if I were paying for costly advertising I would want as many people as possible seeing my ads; I doubt I would care if a new customer had seen my ad in a purchased magazine or seen it in a magazine they had ‘borrowed’ from a friend.
Don
I ended up subscribing to Gibbons Stamp Monthly and enjoy seeing more articles for areas I collect. They provide a flip version (not as good as Linn's version) and PDF's of full issue and a PDF of each article!!! The back issues seem to go back to 2010. I do not think they have separate mobile version.
I also noticed that GSM had a lot more ads so wonder if the business climate is different in Europe compared to US.
" wonder if the business climate is different in Europe compared to US."
Of course it is.
Our current civilization goes back two thousand years whereas the U.S. current civilization is still in its infancy.
Therefore we do not have the same hang ups as the US.
It could be said that we look at you as an unruly teenager, that when things don't go your way you stamp your feet , pick up your toys and run away shouting I'm not going to play anymore.
John, your letter to Linn's has been published in the January 6, 2020 issue of Linn's. They responded to you as well. The bottom line is that it is all about the money, and preventing others from downloading the issues and passing it on to other people whereby Linn's loses on the money from a subscription.
I believe that it is quite often where one subscriber of the hard copy issue will read it, and then pass it on to another collector. That, too, is a loss of revenue the same as someone passing the digital copy along to someone else.
I guess the biggest difference is that the digital copy is more easily transferred between people than a paper copy.
I do not think the difference in the length of a country's existence (akin to maturity) explains my observation on the comparison of ads in Linn's compared to SG.
My comment about ads was about the health of the stamp hobby. Ads are usually a good sign. The days of the Linn's printed weekly may be numbered. Is there a weekly equivalent to Linn's outside the US to judge?
Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy.. 30 Dec 2019 08:30:11pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
".... Is there a weekly equivalent to Linns outside the US to judge? ...."
I am sure there were weekly publications in the UK and other
countries but now I am not aware of any in the UK beyond GSM,
and that is a different kind of bird.
The only competition to Linns was "Western Stamp Collector"
of fond memory, but that went from two issues a week to one,
and I think once a month before it was sold to the Krause (???)
publishers.
That was bought by Amos publishers
Those were the days when both Linns, WSC, Global Stamp News
and a Canadian stamp news paper. All arrived through out the
week. Then there was the American Philatelist and Stamp Monthly
as well. I am thinking that there was one more, but my memory
just can't pull it up. Who recalls the name of the Canadian
Stamp newspaper ?
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".... You may think you understood what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you think you heard is not what I thought I meant. .... "
GSM is more akin to the monthly issue of Linn's. There is also a "Stamp" magazine (not issued by SG) from UK that is also published monthly.
Amos bought the "Stamp Collector" from Krause. This was tossed in the sale when Scott bought Minkus.
John Dunn publishes "Meekel's and Stamps" (combination of Meekel's and Stamp publications of old) 24 times per year and "US Stamp News" monthly that includes the "US Stamps and Postal History". John buys the library of these now defunct publications and then recycles them.
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"Stamp Collecting is a many splendored thing"
nlroberts1961 12,8 cm Kanone 43 L/55 in blueprints only 01 Jan 2020 02:06:36am
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
don't fret angore .. Brecheanexit is just fretting over the fact that he will soon be part of the triune kingdom once again. Having no recourse on a dull day day than to watch the ... ugh I was going to say bbc but its getting the axe or going for a drive but boris outlawed the gasoline engine so uhh umm maybe he we can go for a walk except its too polluted ah well the Uk can always recall they had the first nuclear meltdown ...
Mekeel's was a great mag ... there is a ton of it online at google books. All those questions you have about those old issues, they probed them at the time. Read it when it happened.
as an alternative I offer up the option to resolve the influence of Albert Camus on Chipwrecked! and you thought we were slumming ...
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"Euros think a 100 miles is a long way, Americans think a 100 yrs is a long time..."
Astrophilatelist- Space Cover Collector 06 Jan 2020 02:37:55pm
re: Linn's Subscription Changes
I am glad charged their stance on the archive and downloading pdf's. It know makes sense if you have a paid up subscription and access your account, you have ability to download from the archives. Thanks for the heads up Angore. My letter to the editor must have had some effect on their stance. Was an email sent to subscribers telling us of this change? I have not received one yet.
If I had to guess, it was simply a setting they had to enable. Since they seem so concerned about losses due to bad actors, I’m sure someone at Amos made the decision to turn that off for the initial rollout.
When I started that post, I didn't imagine that interest, so Good for Linn's for that interest by Philatelists and also Good for it to partial response.
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