Subscribers Report
Teknidermy Magazine, Volume One

From: Kenray, Editor in Chief

To: The Teknidermy Subscribers

In September of 2000, I published to the web a proposal for a new e-zine for skinners. If you would like to read that Proposal, as it appeared in 2000, please click here.

Now, a year has passed, and with this issue, an entire volume is "under the bridge". This report is given to you, the subscribers, to tell you of our progress in relationship to that original proposal.

Point One:

"Proposed: the creation of a free on-line periodical dedicated to, created by, and serving the community of designers and programmers who call themselves "skinners".

This goal was achieved, mostly due to the personal sacrifice of our Managing Editor and Administrator, Jumbles, who continues to be an exceptional leader, a phenomenal worker, a wise woman, and caring friend.

Point Two:

"Proposed: that this periodical should include, but not be restricted to, interviews with prominent, interesting, and influential members of the community, news of relevance to the skinning community and it's activities, factual instruction of note, editorial content, posting of, and response to, letters, and where it is relevant, graphic images."

We have been fortunate to include a wide variety of content in Tek magazine, covering all the stated goals, and even more.

Point Three:

"Proposed: that this periodical be static, published on an "every-other-month" basis; with all issues remaining available indefinitely, in a publicly available archive."

This has been our "mode of operation" since the mag's inception, and continues to this point. To the chagrin of some, Teknidermy has been, for the most part, a "readers" journal, free of weighty graphics and "fluff".

All of our past editions remain available in their entirety.

Point Four:

"Proposed: that the first issue be for the November/December period of 2000."

Our First issue did, in fact, appear on Nov. 1, 2000.

Point Five:

"Proposed: to accept, for review and consideration for publication, any and all articles, interviews, tutorials or commentary submitted."

We have never refused to review for publication any article or interview that has been submitted to us. We have been pleasured by the contributions of many community members not on our staff.

Point Six:

"Proposed: that this periodical be entirely in service of the public interest, that it be about information, that it be concise, elegant and efficient, lacking all the blinking flak that infests so much of the internet as we know it."

We have tried, at all times, and in every way, to serve the public interest. The magazine has featured exclusive skins, tutorial and programs, interviews with leading figures in the community, and such editorial comment as I have seen fit to print.

To date, we have neither sought nor accepted any monetary rewards for the publication of the magazine. We have done it all for the love of the art, in the service of the creative community of skinners, with the hopes of someday bettering our ability to serve.

This is a typical example of the Teknidermy Site Stats:

-- Site Summary ---

Page Views Total ....................... 97,183

Average Visit Length .......... 3:19

Average per Day ................ 320

This Week .................... 1,686

Our first issue was (structurally) "thrown together" by yours truly, as the concept was untested, and I did not care to ask anyone else to spend valuable time on constructing a site that might not have any visitors. It was thoroughly praised for content, and thoroughly blasted for it's look and feel.

After the overwhelming response to the first issue, Alexandrie volunteered to create a PHP - based site architecture for Tek, which we used up until issue 5, when we experienced problems with our servers, which could not be repaired in time for publication of the issue. We have, throughout the run, continued to publish Tek in straight HTML, for those who choose to view it in that fashion.

Thanks to the hard and diligent work of Jumbles, we will soon take on a new format, familiar to anyone who has been in the skinning community. We will continue to use the color scheme originally designed by Alexandrie, with much appreciation for her taste and wisdom, and also, we will continue to use some of the fine art created by Treetog in his "Teknidermy Skin Suite", for which we are eternally grateful.

Finally, I must say how grateful I am to all who have contributed to the life of the magazine, whether it be on the pages or behind the scenes. Many times, our staff has taken time away from their families, and their personal pursuits, to meet our publication deadlines. Those folks whose names appear on the Staff page are some of the finest people you could ever want to meet or work with.

Also, as the editor, and as a skinner, and as a human being, I extend my gratitude to all of you who have taken time to browse our pages. All of us here are honored to serve, and grateful for the opportunity to share our interests with you.

In our second Volume, our second year, we will strive to create a more valuable and entertaining experience for our readers. As always, our long term goal is to create a physical magazine. If you would like to see us achieve that goal, please subscribe (if you haven't already).

A large list of subscribers is the most valuable thing we can show to a potential distributor.

Until next year...THANKS ALL!!!

Kenray
Editor in Chief
Teknidermy Magazine