what has happened to reptiles australia mag

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Maybe scientific papers that have been simplified for the laymen, and or a section on taxonomy and ID methods etc.

Steve, I would like to see that too. The problem is, although scientists are encouraged by their respective institutions to publish in general literature, they are reluctant to do so because they don't get academic points for it and the magazine don't pay money for articles. So, why to bother.
 
I totally agree with Bushman's post above, and offered constructive criticism to the team regarding future articles (not sure if it was printed in the feedback section as Joy implied it would be, as I haven't picked up my copy from the shops yet). I feel there's only so many articles on pythons left, considering we are limited to species available to the hobby. I'd love to own a green python one day, but there have been quite a few articles in the recent magazines on them and I've gotten tired of reading about them. I don't know why albino death adders were covered not long after the same author's article in the now defunct Reptiles Australia magazine. I only got to flick through my mates copy so far, but there appeared to be a couple of paragraphs on them and heaps of photos, the adders also got front cover and poster spots. Meanwhile the baritji article was tucked away after it and they got the author's name wrong. I realise I'm in the minority against python and snake fanciers ( I loved Rob Porter's last article!), but would love to see articles on species like the northern leaf-tail family, broad shelled turtles, egernia family skinks, or any colubrid for that matter, none of these species are covered and there's plenty more ot choose from. I personally like captive care articles and conservation articles, but can understand that's not everyone's cup of tea. I like the magazine, I will continue to buy and support the mag but I feel the article topics are going to burn out soon.
 
As a regular contributor, I take a neutral stand on this local v o /s contents. However, I think between the RA and S&T, they covered just about every species' "how to keep / breed" in the past years. Reptile keeping is not like a computing science where innovations are thrown upon us every month and apart from "morphing", the progress is slow.
So, what would you like to read about? More images? Less advertisements (I noticed, .......they are growing by each issue)? One reason why I don't pick up the American reptile mag is because the number of ads is overpowering and it destructs from reading the articles and viewing images - I hate that! Why isn't it possible to have all the ads on the last 2-4 pages, all in one heap and keep the main features in the magazine(s) clean? The advertisers have no say or choice on which page or along which article their ads are placed anyway.

M

Thanks M . I agree that the husbandry of most commonly kept species have already been done, so don't need doing again.
Like Steve and Nick mention, field herping accounts from the our region would have particular relevance. Some of the best were the reports on the Morelia carinata expeditions (I can't remember off hand if this was published in R.A or S&T) and your Borneo one.
I'm sick to the tits of hearing about morphs both here and overseas. I reckon that it's being pushed down our throats by a powerful and influential minority that figure that there's money to be made in following U.S trends. Most of the Aussie herpers that I know and respect (the quite majority) prefer endemic and ideally locality pure, more natural forms of native reptiles.
So, it would be great to read articles about relatively new to science and herpetoculture species or to hear from those that have made advances or new discoveries with our local species. The Baritji article is a good example but unfortunately articles like this are few and far between lately.

I know that others feel the same way as I do, as we've been discussing these disturbing trends in Australian herpetoculture privately lately. I hope that my comments are taken as they're intended i.e constructively, and are received well by the people that can make a difference to content.
 
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I took them as rhetorical questions.

This one wasn't - ''So you don't think there are any 'hardcore' herpers who are into the new morphs or hybrids that are now being produced in Australia?''
 
If contributors aren't being paid for submitting articles as it appears to be the case from above comments. It kinda leaves the motivation to submit articles with the people who want to market themselves & livestock, and so we will only see more boring product placement style articles (Greens, Jags etc).
The American REPTILES magazine is still the best magazine ive read, even though pieces on Australian species are few and far between. Sometimes even written by Australians i can only guess its the higher status of foreign magazines or payment for contributors that see good Australian content published overseas instead of locally.
 
No offence taken Australis. I am actually bored reading your articles too. How many have you published now?
 
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I did not realise that authors did not get paid? Surely this is not the case? I write two articles a month for another non reptile publication and have been paid for every article. I have had about 25 articles published over the last 2 years and have only done two where I have not been paid, however these were in my interest to write them as it generated business for me.

I will continue to buy S & T mag as for a few bucks it is still a good read however in all forms of business, any feedback is good feedback so please do not take the criticism as a whine as we are all different.

As for a few positives,
The quality of the printing and images is usually top shelf!

Cheers,
Nick
 
I think that some people got paid and some didn't Nick. I'm not sure what arrangements S&T have with their contributors but it's well known that R.A (or Alex specifically, rather than anyone else associated with R.A mag) didn't honour some of their agreements towards the end.

As an artist and photographer as well as a herper, I also have a design suggestion...
In S&T (& R.A) the small sized images are placed right next to the edge of the pages. In my opinion, an image needs some sort of border, without the images touching each other or the edges of the paper.

Australian Geographic for example, has great layout and informative articles and I see no reason why our herp mags can't emulate such high class mags as this. Speaking of Australian Geographic, Prof. Rick Shine and other well respected scientists regularly publish great articles with them. I know that Rick wrote one article with one of the herp mags but nothing else since then, which is a shame.


P.S - To Jay...
This one wasn't - ''So you don't think there are any 'hardcore' herpers who are into the new morphs or hybrids that are now being produced in Australia?''
I didn't say I don't think there are any hard core herpers into new morphs or hybrids.
I wrote: "I'm sure that Nick and I are not the only hard core herpers that are disappointed by the recent directions that S&T are going in."
 
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i have to say i enjoyed RA far more then i have with Scales and tails so far, i think i have only purchased one issue of scales and tails so far but have had a flick through many of the issues in news agents (have missed a few including the issue with the baritji article) and i just havent seen much that really made me want to buy the mag, as with nick and bushman there is just too much emphasis on morphs to keep me interested, i dont know if its because thats the articles that are being submitted or the ones the editors are choosing for the mag but i would like to see more articles focusing on wild herping, wild type animals and of course some of the lesser known species in the hobby like smaller skinks, dragons, monitors, pygopods, colubrids and small elapids. Big issue there i guess would be no material i guess. While it is a reptile magzine i know many herpers are also keen on invertebrates so would love to see a few articles on them (i still aim to get that article i spoke to you about a while ago done up and sent your way when time permits).
 
Bushman, as far as photography and layout goes, unfortunately, the final structure and presentation is in the hands of the publisher and their graphic designers. I say unfortunately, because if there was more room / time for communication between the photographer and the production, the results would be better - I am talking in general terms, not about any specific publication. Having worked with several publishers, including some big names, I have to say - they are terrible time managers, forever chasing deadlines and that leaves no time for any dialog with their contributors. Consequently, pictures are often placed in a wrong order, captions muddled up and so on.
That's why top shelf magazines such as National Geographic employ their writers and photographers. They come back from a shoot, sit around the table with the gr. artists and editors and put their stuff together.
So, Bushman, if you want your art work to be presented the way you want it and have an absolute control over the production and quality, you have to self publish. I would never go back to some of the publishing houses I dealt with in the past.
 
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i think scales are going well,its a pity reptiles australia disapeared,more so with out a reason given and still taking subscriptions ect,but i think scales is going quite well,and look forward to reading future issues,there always on time down here in melb,if anything they suprise me by popping out early here and there,lol,id love to see more articles on lizards,as thats where my passion lies,but the mag isnt about me,and i like the different subjects found with in,and keen to put pen to paper and try get something published myself,after all,magazines rely on folk suporting them and im sure they would love articles for future issues
 
Fair enough, I understand that layout issues are largely out of the hands of contributors, so thanks for that Michael.

What happened to Reptiles Australia magazine was most unfortunate. For what was once a great publication for Australian herpetoculture (when it was at its best) to finish so badly, is a real shame. The arrival of Scales and Tails magazine onto the scene and the competition that it brought with it, raised the standard of both publications.
 
Surely the introduction of scales and tail had no effect?
The australian herp culture is more than large enough to support 2 reptile mags at a minimum.
As both publications are / were printed bi-monthly offset the release so not in direct competition that way we would of had a edition a month as fans of both mg and there be more then enough support.
Sounds more like poor business decisions on behalf of RA that led to their demise. Which at the end of the day is sad for the hobby.
Now all we need to do is convince S&T to go monthly :)
 
Surely the introduction of scales and tail had no effect?
The australian herp culture is more than large enough to support 2 reptile mags at a minimum.
As both publications are / were printed bi-monthly offset the release so not in direct competition that way we would of had a edition a month as fans of both mg and there be more then enough support.
Sounds more like poor business decisions on behalf of RA that led to their demise. Which at the end of the day is sad for the hobby.
Now all we need to do is convince S&T to go monthly :)

I would like too see that also Yommy however if the quality of S & T has dropped over the last few editions, wouldn't printing monthly cause the quality to go down the drain pipe?

It would be awesome if S & T kept doing what they are doing to keep the general public and newbie herps happy and I reckon that there is still room for a reptile magazine that covers Australian only content and covers more specific in depth articles without the kiddie content and a magazine full of advertising.

There are plenty of herps that would be interested in a magazine that had thorough field trip reports, insight to less frequently kept species of lizards, monitors, geckos and snakes.

Someone mentioned that all of the 'how too' articles have been flogged out over the last few years. There are countless species that are still uncommon in captivity that are being bred in small numbers that would interest many herps.

In depth field reports of rarely encountered species would get any true herps blood running. Plenty of people simply cannot afford the time or money to justify spending a few weeks in the middle of nowhere to photograph a few animals.

I think if S & T does not start to incorporate some of these features into the magazine ASAP, someone else will fill the void that is currently there for the taking.
 
For those who have tried contacting me to alert me to this thread and to see why I haven't responded, I didn't realise what was happening here until last night. I've been in Newcastle supporting their Expo and only flew back into Brisbane this morning, just arriving at the office now. Thank you to those people who have been shocked by this and phoned me to say that they made copies for me in case I couldn't get to a computer.

I'll be back to play in a few hours, once I've had a chance to catch my breath and read this whole thread to see exactly who has been starting false rumours, if any, and if I need to be concerned or if it's just a matter of a few bantam roosters having a crowing competition.

Good constructive criticism is definitely welcome and thank you to those who fall into this category, as it helps us to stay at the top of our game. To the rest, false rumours are another story entirely and will be sorted out!!!!!
cheers
Joy
 
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Nick, I am not into that kiddy stuff either but I am sure many kids and their parents are. When S&T started, that set them off them from RA and I think it was a smart strategic move. I am also not sure if "Australian only" would cut the cake. Have you ever been tempted to do some herping in PNG, Solomons and other exotic places? Reading about it is what inspired me to get up and go.

Going back to Bushman's post - why isn't Rick Shine writing any more? No doubt he is a very busy person and scientific papers have priority. However, his lab (and other universities) is full of post-grads very capable of writing articles for a general magazine. From what I hear around my neck of woods, these people are still students, living on stipends or grants and they would appreciate some money for their efforts.
 
For those who have tried contacting me to alert me to this thread and to see why I haven't responded, I didn't realise what was happening here until last night. I've been in Newcastle supporting their Expo and only flew back into Brisbane this morning, just arriving at the office now. Thank you to those people who have been shocked by this and phoned me to say that they made copies for me in case I couldn't get to a computer.

I'll be back to play in a few hours, once I've had a chance to catch my breath and read this whole thread to see exactly who has been starting false rumours, if any, and if I need to be concerned or if it's just a matter of a few bantam roosters having a crowing competition.

Good constructive criticism is definitely welcome and thank you to those who fall into this category, as it helps us to stay at the top of our game. To the rest, false rumours are another story entirely and will be sorted out!!!!!
cheers
Joy

How did you go Joy? Do you think that there are any valid points in the thread where S & T could be improved?

Nick
 
False rumours? I Haven't been back through the thread but can only recall constructive remarks. All the shocked people? Whats so shocking?
 
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