LINGUIST List 12.1962

Thu Aug 2 2001

All: Setting the Record Straight

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINGUIST, Setting the Record Straight

OK, we know you've heard the rumors; yes, even we've heard the rumors!
So in an effort to allay any fears, dispel any doubts, and, we hope,
put your minds at ease, we will try to anticipate your questions and
answer them here.

1. Has LINGUIST been sold?
	No. The ownership of LINGUIST has not changed.
	It's run by linguistics professors, staffed by linguistics 
	grad students, and financed in large part by YOU, our fellow 
	linguists. If it has an "owner," it's the academic linguistics 
	community. That has not changed.

2. Is my LINGUIST subscription and all it entails still free?
	Yes. Access to all current and any future LINGUIST pages 
	is now, and always will be, free. No changes whatsoever
	have been made in the services you are used to getting 
	from LINGUIST.

3. Well, what's this "Blackwell's LINGUIST List Plus" all about, then?
	Blackwell Publishing Company is offering, through LINGUIST, 
	to LINGUIST readers, a package of services, including some
	resources that are otherwise prohibitively expensive (see 
	LINGUIST 1324, 1438, and 1531). We have agreed that
	Blackwell could call this subscription service Blackwell's
	LINGUIST List Plus, or LL+ for short.

4. Why? Isn't that like selling the LINGUIST List name?
	No, not at all. Since this package is accessible only through
	the LINGUIST site, and since we love the idea of offering more
	options to our readers, we were proud to put our stamp of 
	approval, i.e. the LINGUIST name, on Blackwell's service. 

5. What does LINGUIST get in return?
	Blackwell Publishing Company has agreed to donate 20% of the
	LL+ subscription revenue to LINGUIST. This partnership was
	attractive for two reasons.
	a.) We feel that by serving as the "access point" for this
	package, LINGUIST is providing an additional and truly
	valuable opportunity to the linguistic community.
	b.) We need the money.

6. LINGUIST has a fund drive every year; why does it need more money?
	This new source of support is but a small part of our financial
	structure. But it is a guaranteed and welcomed one, enabling us 
	to pay our student editors for their work through the summer 
	(something they are unaccustomed to!) But the rest of LINGUIST's 
	operating expenses continue to increase. This means that our
	largest, and most valuable source of financial support continues 
	to be LINGUIST subscribers. Thank you all for your generosity!

7. OK, bottom line--how does this affect me?
	It doesn't, unless you want it to; using LL+ is completely 
	optional. But we think you will want to sign on, as this
	is just the beginning! Our partnership with Blackwell, although
	temporary, could be the first of several with publishers and
	corporations, in an effort to bring you services that you would
	not be able to get on an individual basis. Our new web site will
	make it possible for us to have a "Publications Area" or
	"Partnership Page" where we can offer an array of other publisher
	related services to our readers. And if in doing so, we can get
	some financial stability, so much the better!

Since its inception, LINGUIST and all of its services have been free.
We've worked hard to make LINGUIST something that, by and large, the
linguistics community approves of and supports--an independent, 
non-profit, subscriber funded organization. We take pride in this
status, and we promise you, this will not change.


Best regards,

Helen, Anthony, and Andrew