Digital MRS Delivery Concerns

[Guy]

Hello Fellas',

I just wanted to get on here and "clear the air" a bit on the digital MRS delivery concerns. So here's the deal in a not so nutshell-

The digital world is a crazy place. Sometimes the seemingly easy things can be very complex, very costly and much more time consuming than one might think. With that said, the old eastmans.com that you see right now, was supposed to be taken down and replaced with a new and improved website over a year ago. As with most things digital, it has taken much longer than expected to work the bugs out and get it ready for launch. As part of that, we chose to abandon most of the old updates or as many as possible. It doesn't make sense to keep dumping money into a system that is soon to be obsolete. One of the portions of the current site that was abandoned last summer was the digital MRS login as the new website has a different, much improved version and was supposed to be up and running in time for this MRS season.

The other reason we chose to abandon that portion prematurely was due to the fact that it was being abused by some users who where passing around the digital MRS PDF pages to other friends, family members and non-subscribers. Serving up PDF versions of intellectual property on the internet is a very dangerous endeavor. The information is just too valuable to leave to an open source-or so the IP lawyers tell me.

The best solution for us was to let the digital magazine format do the delivery and display for us. We have invested a lot of time and money in the digital magazine format, and like most things digital it is much more complicated in the end than you would think. It costs quite a bit of money to get the files delivered to a mobile device which the old format could not do. By the time you pay Apple, Amazon, Google and Android there really isn't much cost savings between delivering the magazine to your doorstep physically and your device digitally.

When we made the change, we realized that there would be some costs involved and we would need to pass some of that along to the user or it wouldn't make sense to do it. We thought long and hard on that and did our best to keep the price as economical as we could to you, our best customers. That is where the $10 per title cost came from. I assure you, it was not done to fleece your our best and most loyal customers. Along with that, we decided to give out a free three month trial digital sub, that would get you through the bulk of the MRS season or at least half of it.

I do feel bad that some of you feel like the rug was pulled out from under you so to speak. That said, to help ease the pain a little bit at least on some of you, I do have some comp digital combo subs that I can give out to some of you who feel really slighted on the deal, that will at least get you through to next year. By then we should have the bugs worked out of the digital side of the delivery and the new website should be launched and running, in the next few months in fact.

If you need a comp digital sub email me your name and forum handle. I need to keep it within reason, a few dozen or so, as the digital "bosses" are out of town at shows this week and I am left here to my own devises. Ha ha. That will teach them.

I'm sorry for the confusion and misunderstanding. Fall and show season have been extremely busy, but as we know, business is always moving along on the Eastman forum no matter where I am or what I'm doing. I hope to see you at the shows this winter.

Good luck in the draws.

G-

 

[Musket Man]

Thanks for addressing this Guy!

 

[Alabama]

I was never mad about the cost, I just felt like we were given no notice, the MRS access was just simply gone. I just wanted to hear from someone in the company as to why this happened, and from a business standpoint it makes perfect sense. Good move on making it free for 3 months as personally I like it better with the new search function. You've sold me on the digital version so far.

Thanks for "clearing the air" and good luck to you in the draws as well (unless you put in for the same sheep units as me)!

Wesley

 

[Cobbhunts]

I was never mad about the cost, I just felt like we were given no notice, the MRS access was just simply gone. I just wanted to hear from someone in the company as to why this happened.....

This^^^

All we wanted was an explanation and a path forward. And we weren't getting anything on here. I think Scott was hiding under a blanket or something haha. Because he sure wasn't addressing the issue. Just deleting post and banning people unjustly.

In the future...I'd suggest making an advance notice of such a drastic move/change. It's clear from your post, Guy, that the Eastman's had known about this "change" for a long time before it was initiated. So when you ran all of these promotions at year end for free "knives" and "Sitka" gear, it should have been mentioned that you were taking away the MRS. Because that's what you did - you sold a product that was being taken away without advertising it. And now you're asking us to pay to get it back. Which I already have by the way, and I like it for the most part. But there are bugs.

I'd still be interested to see where this goes. I'd say there are countless upset customers (not on this forum) that bought into the end of year subscription renewals. And I'd say that they are going to be pissed as well. I wish you luck sorting all of that out.

Thanks for coming on and giving an explanation though, just surprised it took so long since we've been asking for it for weeks. I can only assume that you didn't get the memo and I won't hold that against you.

 

[Doe Nob]

This is very timely as I only figured this all out this week when starting on my Utah apps. Initially I was very perturbed but after I figured out the search feature I was able to get the past couple MRS's I needed to review my application strategy. I have the hard copies for the last several years, so I can go back to that if I don't want to re-up when the 3 month digital subscription runs out, honestly not sure what I will do, this is a trial season.

A few gripes - When you want to print out an MRS or multiple MRS, the black background white font destroys printer cartridges much faster than the white on black. I like to have a couple years worth of them in front of me, helps with looking at trends and spotting errors (I was shocked to learn there is 0% public land in NM unit 36! but maybe this will reduce apps so I'm not complaining). I have not got the android app yet, maybe that's a better way to do it, but I like to have hard copies for what I'm working on when I'm flying or out of cell range.

The security issue you address has not been solved. You can forward the email to a buddy and they can click on your link and access it. I'd argue its even less secure now than when you had the log in. You can't get around this. Once the magazine comes out, you can photocopy or scan or fax and send it to anyone. The most secure way to keep the information private would be to make it ONLY available online and require and ID and password. But still you could give that information out. I understand your position on memebers "abusing information" by sharing it, but that is the reality of the digital world. There is no way to keep your data secure once you release it. The film and music industry has been struggling with this, nobody has a great solution yet. Louis CK seems to be succeeding by putting out a good product (his comedy specials) direct to consumer, charging a fair price and asking everyone to be honest.

You guys put out a top notch product. The magazine looks great and I think a lot of us enjoy reading it and get great value from the MRS. I think myself and maybe a lot of others would have suggested you just up the cost on the magazine, give the digital access and archives away with the subscription. Some of your competitors charge $100 a year or more.

In then end anyone who applies as a Non-Resident just about anywhere invests several thousands of dollars yearly in application fees, points, licenses etc, not to mention the outlay when we do get drawn for a tag. An extra $20 is not going to break anyone that is complaining.

So I think we'll all get over it, but as the other 2 have mentioned, its always a good idea to get your customers invested in big changes BEFORE they occur, there is a littany of examples of failed overhauls of beloved products.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Tim McCoy]

Cobb: ...Because he sure wasn't addressing the issue. Just deleting post and banning people unjustly. ...

Scott and IKIC did address the issue in my opinion. They involved Eastman's, said an answer was forthcoming. Now there is a response. Issue is addressed. Sure, it could have been communicated better and in a more timely fashion. But let's not target Scott or IKIC, they were the conduits of info, not able to speak for the company on this issue, or so it appears to me. If they were decision makers, I retract my remarks and offer my apologies to you.

Relative to the unjust ban, I don't believe that to be a fair comment at all. I saw what the individual in question said on the MRS issue. He was way out of line, it was rightly removed in my opinion. I have seen the same guy engage in personal attacks repeatedly on this forum and have been the subject of a few of his personal attacks. A personal attack is generally defined as pointing to an aspect of the person, not the content of the argument, to discredit or invalidate an argument. Eastman's has been clear on the topic of civility on this forum. That is why myself and many others remain participants here, the vast majority of members know how to have a respectful difference of opinion and not sink to personal attacks.

My view is the MRS change was a well intentioned series of events that taken together left many scratching their heads, but the ban was well earned and overdue. In my 20 or so years as a subscriber and follower of the Eastman's, I have found them to be honorable
men with integrity, I have seen nothing on the MRS issue to change that. None of us are perfect. So we'll have to agree to disagree on parts of this issue Cobb, and that is a perfectly OK outcome in my view.

 

[hoshour]

Thanks, Doe Nob. The correct % of public land in Unit 36 is 53%.

 

[Guy]

Thank you for the feedback Doe Nob and everyone else for that matter. We will have to talk to the developers about the black issue, I think there is a way to make it black text on white background in the "reader" version. I will have to check on that for sure though. Once we get enough digital subscribers, and its getting close, we can possibly take the time and money to invest in getting a designer specifically for that product that could redesign the digital edition with specifics such as those in mind that would make the digital edition more user and printer friendly.

As for the security issue, that is one reason the new website is taking so long to develop. We had to go almost to the highest levels of web developers to add the security and login component of the site that will integrate with the digital sub and even the forum. The forum itself will stay the same so don't worry about that. We ended up having to go to an outfit that did the login architecture for the Wall Street Journal. That is proving to be very costly in time and dollars, but I think it will be well worth it in the end.

Thanks for the feedback guys. We really do value your opinions, ideas and even your gripes and concerns. It helps us to build a better product.

Be easy on Scott as well. I was on the road at shows for the past six weeks and told him I would handle this one myself. I should have done it sooner and for that I apologize to all of you personally.

We really do need good hard feedback on this new digital product so keep it coming. Like I said earlier if any of you want to be "beta" testers on the digital side let me know and I will get you comped up with a combo digital sub. You just have to promise to give us feedback, good and bad on what we can do to improve the digital side of the business. This is just the start. We have some very exciting things in the wings on that front in the future once we get the architecture of this system build and running smoothly.

A completely interactive and customizable MRS embedded in an app could be on the horizon. One of the reasons for the big changes this year in the format.

Keep at it guys, you are the best of the best in the hunting community and we appreciate your feedback, loyalty and time.

G-

 

[buckbull]

The background color and text can probably be modified on the PDF.

With the file open in Arcobat Reader,

Click on Edit --> Preferences --> Click on Replace Document Colors. From here you can edit the background color and text color.

I can't verify this will work with the MRS pdf in question cus I don't have it but this is how you can do it. Good Luck.

 

[marcusvdk]

I was never mad about the cost, I just felt like we were given no notice, the MRS access was just simply gone. I just wanted to hear from someone in the company as to why this happened, and from a business standpoint it makes perfect sense. Good move on making it free for 3 months as personally I like it better with the new search function. You've sold me on the digital version so far.

Thanks for "clearing the air" and good luck to you in the draws as well (unless you put in for the same sheep units as me)!

Wesley

^^^^ this is it in a nutshell. Thank you for addressing our concerns on this Guy.

 

[Alabama]

How do I turn the page 90 degrees to read the digital on my desktop? Example: The 1st 2 pages of the wide load AZ strip buck article are turned. How can I turn them to read it on my computer?

 

[ScottR]

Top left corner there is a tab that says open article. Expand the window when it opens and you should be able to read it.


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[Ricochet]

Top left corner there is a tab that says open article. Expand the window when it opens and you should be able to read it.


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

When I click on the tab for New Mexico elk the MRS chart is not there. All of the charts are there but not New Mexico elk. Thanks

 

[JEandAsGuide]

When I click on the tab for New Mexico elk the MRS chart is not there. All of the charts are there but not New Mexico elk. Thanks

Same problem here

 

[ScottR]

I will get that fixed.


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[ScottR]

Are you guys using desktop version?


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[ScottR]

Update, the charts are working in mobile. I will have to talk to our service provider on Monday as to why it is one place and not the other.


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[ScottR]

Also on desktop it should be zoom able.


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[roknHS]

I much prefer the hard copy in the magazine. Even zoomed up, the tables can be hard to read and follow. At least with the hard copy you can use a ruler and a magnifying glass to keep things straight. Are the season dates for Antelope units 21 and 30 right?
I'd pay the extra $20 bucks to get hard copies sent to me each month instead of staring at a computer screen for hours on end.

As far as security being the reason for this change, you are chasing GHOSTS. Once you publish the info either digitally or hard copy and send it to a subscriber...........what he or she does with it after that is out of your control. Hard pill to swallow but, that is reality.
You could use disappearing ink and then sell magic glasses to everyone.......that might work.

Guy says a lot of the reason behind this change and the cost increase was so you could make an "app" for I-Phones. I don't have one and don't want one. Why not just charge the I-Phone folks for the "app" and leave the rest of us to our stone-age bliss. If the "I-Phone" guys think the "app" is worth something they'll buy it. Shouldn't take long for the market to tell Eastmans if the
change is a money maker or not.