A few folks have asked me if I'm going to make the magazine, Pith, available on the Internet, and I have given this a great deal of thought. I have not, until now, given a definitive answer to that very reasonable question, because I wanted to be absolutely certain about my course of action. After several weeks of consideration, I find that my answer to this question is "No," and I expect that that is what it will remain.

I have numerous reasons for this decision, and I find that they all seem to be sound, and that they all stand up against the various arguments that I have encountered and imagined. I will do my best to enumerate my reasons here in this essay, so that you will understand why I have made this decision. If, after reading this, you do not agree with my decision, I would be very gratified if you would write to me and let me know your reasons for your disagreement. This magazine, and this website are both on-going concerns that involve many artists, writers and readers, and the ultimate purpose of both of these projects is to encourage and enhance as much communication as possible.

That purpose, in fact, is the first reason for my decision to keep publishing Pith on paper. As wonderful and far-reaching as this "World Wide Web" is, it does not actually reach the entire world. If I were to make the entire magazine available on the Web, I would be doing a disservice to many of my subscribers. Some of the people who create the work that goes into Pith don't even own computers, much less have Internet access. The same is true for many of my readers. Obviously, to publish something in a medium that the creator of a work cannot even read seems rather unfair to that creator.

Some people claim that all information should be entirely free and available to everyone, and, while I agree with this in principle, I am also aware that the Internet is not free. I know several people who do have free access to it, although most of them seem to have gotten this access through what seems to me to be unscrupulous and even dishonest means. I'm not meaning to judge this, but since I did pay quite a bit for my computer, and I regularly pay a phone bill and an Internet bill, it seems to me that the Internet is not as free as some people claim. Even if access to the Internet were entirely and honorably free, from what I can tell, computers themselves still cost money.

When all or even most libraries have computers with Internet access that any patron can use for free, then I may very well re-think this argument. Until then, however, I remain mindful of the fact that some of my readers are willing to consciously skip a cup of coffee or two in order to purchase the magazine. To deny them access to the magazine, simply because making it available on the Internet is easier or cheaper for me, would be going back on my word, and that is abhorrent to me.

Pith was originally created as a vehicle through which unique and fun and interesting and thoughtful stories, essays, poems, and artwork could be shared with as many people as possible, and by which emerging talents could gain the experience of being published. There were, and are, other reasons for the existence of this magazine, and most of them also remain, and will be discussed as the need arises. For now, please understand that the original intent remains, and that I will continue to publish Pith for as long as I am able.

Part of the dream has to do with generating income, at least enough to make the magazine self-sustaining. We are a long way from that, but I have not let that deter me. It has been important to me to keep it affordable, and to make it available to as many readers as possible. This does not, however, justify me giving away the work of my contributors. Even if I were in a position to offer the magazine for free, I would still charge for it, just to indicate the value of the work that so many people have put into it.

I have, as you may have noticed, included a few of my own works on this website, but I see that as my prerogative. I created the works, and retain all rights to them, and I am paying for the space on the Web, so I feel that I can share these works of my own as samples of what people might expect from the magazine. (They should in no way be considered "representative samples," except in the broadest sense, because Pith is a constantly evolving entity, and it is very difficult to select any one or more pieces to give a suggestion of what the magazine might contain. They are shared simply for the reader's enjoyment, and to indicate the breadth of style and interest that one might find in any particular issue of the magazine, itself.)

It is not out of the question that the site might include samples from other writers and artists in the future. That will depend on the desires of the artist, the whim of the editor, and the specific details of the rights that are negotiated. The site, too, is a constantly evolving entity, so we shall see what happens.

Pith does not exist in a vacuum, obviously, and there is much still to be discovered about this enterprise. I am open to learning, and to new ways of sharing information. If you can think of a reason that I should be publishing this for free, I would be happy to hear from you. With what I've discovered so far, however, I am convinced that the magazine is worth the few bucks that I ask for it, and so I will continue to publish it on paper, and sell it in that format.

So read some of the pieces you find here, and see if you think it's worth the risk to you, to be even more entertained, and to own a small book that you can take to bed, or to the bathroom, or on the bus.

I will say this much for it: no one has yet asked for their three dollars back.

Thanks for stopping by. You make a difference.

Randy