Difference between revisions of "Communications"

Revision as of 11:25, 1 September 2024

The Communications Department of The Augustan Society, Inc., includes all forms of communication, including publications, letters, email, web sites, and electronic fora. The policies established by this department apply to all others.

The chairman of the Communications Department is styled Editor-in-Chief who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the President.

The department is under the nominal direction of the Communications Committee, chaired by the Editor-in-Chief, and including the chairmen of each of the immediate subsidiary committees, such members as the Editor-in-Chief may see fit to appoint, and the President and Headquarters Staff ex officio. As this committee has never met, it remains a theoretical construct.

Chairmen for each of the activities listed below are named by the Editor-in-Chief. Their titles may be Chairman, Editor, Webmaster, or something else specific and appropriate. In the vacancy of any, the tasks revert up.

Primary activities of the Department are scheduled using the Communications Calendar. This has at times been a published electronic notice, but as usage was zero, it was discontinued. It is contemplated that a new web site be deployed that would include a calendar, easing this task.

Activities may be subdivided into several categories:

Current Periodicals

• Augustæum, the Society's bi-monthly newsletter
• The Augustan Omnibus, the Society's annual journal. A subscription is included with Membership and Life Memberships started after 2014, subscriptions are also available to the public, either by the year, by four issues, or by Life Subscriptions.
• Rosarum, (formerly Noble Company of the Rose Newsletter of the Noble Company of the Rose)
• Augustan Society Roll of Arms

Back Issue Sales

• Back Issue Sales, which includes scanning, digitizing, and reformatting. This project is assigned to Headquarters Staff, save for digitizing which has been delegated to the Digitizing Study Group.

Back Issue Publication

• Back issues of Society publications shall be printed on 11×17" white paper with goldenrod paper covers, but those over 20 pages will have goldenrod card covers, except as below.

• Back issues of The Augustan Omnibus that are so formatted will be printed on 11×17" white paper with a cover printed full bleed on 12×18" white card, trimmed to 11×17". That said, consideration is being given to create a PDF version of issues with full bleed covers that condense them to fit on 11×17" stock that would be used only for selling PDF copies, not for paper copies.

• Back issues of magazines originally published by other agencies (including without limit: The Octavian Society, Heraldry Society of the USA, International Chivalric Institue, and the Order of St. Lazarus) shall be printed on 11×17" white paper, and those over 20 pages shall have white card covers.

Reprints

Reprints are offered of collected articles on a single topic. In rare cases, a reprint will be made of one article if it is of particular value. Single-article reprints in the catalog will generally be discontinued as stock is sold out. As the underlying magazines are digitized, Reprints will be digitized and printed on demand once physical stock is sold out.

Reprint Publication

Reprints shall be printed on 8½×11" white paper, two-sided except that the verso of the title sheet shall be blank. When a reprint contaings multiple articles, they are to run on consecutive pages, with no blank pages between them. PDF files should include this deliberately blank page.

Books

The Society has a program of book publication. A number of titles have been published, both in hardcover and softbound. This program is under the direction of the Books Editor who is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Editor-in-Chief. He may, in turn, appoint Editors for each book or series contemplated.

The contents of the books may be assigned to the Communications Department, to another Society Committee, or to an author (with a separate Editor), as may best suit each situation.

Book Standards

Printing standards:

• Size A — printed on 11×17" stock folded, trimmed as needed.
• Size A/2 — printed on 8½×11" stock folded, trimmed as needed.

Binding:

• Hardcover — goldenrod cloth ¾ binding, with black cloth spine and gold imprint. Note: This is the opposite of the rebinding standard.
• Softcover — Cover art may be at the discretion of the editor and Art Director, but the spine shall be black with goldenrod text. The American standard will be used for vertical text orientation.
• Saddle stitch — Cover art may be at the discretion of the editor and Art Director. Near the outside spine will be a ½" black stripe on both covers with the title and author in gold on the front cover.
• Maximum page count per volume — not yet determined for hardcover, but expected to be in the range 300pp for size A, 200pp for size A/2, 100pp for paperback.

Titles

The following titles are presently in work:

Other Titles

• The Ancestry of King Charles III: A Continuation of Paget's Ancestry of the Prince of Wales, by Arthur Germond, edited by Bruce A. Metcalf
• Vigil: A Knight's Training Program, by Jessica Hartwell
• Revised Little Manual of Heraldry
• Revised Guide to Orders of Chivalry, edited by Nicholas A. Hoffmann

Rolls of Arms

The Augustan Society Roll of Arms is is a continuing series of publications. To date, three volumes have been published in a black & white format (though Volume III did include some color plates). Future publications proposed, all in full color, and otherwise compliant with the Book Standards listed above, are:

1. Rose Role of Arms, Editor is the Rolls Editor under the Communications Department
2. Augustan Society Roll of Arms Vol. I, Production Editor under the Communications Department
3. Augustan Society Roll of Arms Vol. II, Production Editor under the Communications Department
4. Augustan Society Roll of Arms Vol. III, Production Editor under the Communications Department
5. Augustan Society Roll of Arms Vol. IV, Rolls Editor under the Communications Department
6. Augustan Society Roll of Arms Vol. V, Rolls Editor under the Communications Department (pending sufficient registrations)

The Rose Roll is proposed to be first as it will serve as a test bed. It will also be softcover or saddle stitch in size A/2, while the others will be hardcover. The Rose Herald is the contact point for the Rose Roll of Arms, and he may be named Editor of that volume should the Rolls Editor so decide.

Support from the Heraldry Committee will be needed to review and confirm blazon translations. Should that Committee fail to provide such support, publicaiton may be delayed.

Video Programs

A special project not presently recognized by the Board, this is presently funded by the Editor-in-Chief personally.

He has declined to provide a description for this Wiki, but it appears to include:

• Video programs presented online via Zoom on various Society-related topics; and
• A video archive of these programs, which may some day be connected to the Society's website or held and distributed by the Library.

Web Services

• Main Website, presently hosted by CitySoft

• Online Armorial and Ordinary
• Heraldry Index

• Online Store, hosted at RimuHosting
• Library Catalog, Koha OPAC hosted at RimuHosting
• Staff Wiki, hosted at RimuHosting

Email

This section covers the Society email forwarding system, the ENS Blast email system built into the main web site, email naming conventions, and email etiquette.

Note that with the upcoming change to CitySoft as our website host, the Email Blast function will no longer be available. It's not yet clear if CitySoft provides an equivalent function.

Social Media

As public discourse is increasingly taking place online, and particularly in various social media venues, it is appropriate that we have an officer who focuses on this topic. The Social Media Chairman is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the Editor-in-Chief.

His duties are to determine which venues deserve a Society presence, and to solicit Moderators for each. At present, these include:

• The Forum on the Society's main website (presently deactivated);
• A Facebook page;
• A Linked-In page that presently exists as only a placeholder;

Staff

• The Department is led by a chairman styled Editor-in-Chief.
• Editors are named for each title (periodical and book).
• A Production Editor is responsible for printing and distribution all print publications, including reprints, except that the Omnibus Editor is responsible for printing and distribution of the Augustan Omnibus, and the Augustæum Editor is responsible for printing and distribution of Augustæum to offline members.
• All web services are led by the Webmaster, including websites and email.
• Each individual website may have its own Assistant Webmaster.
• Email has a Postmaster.

The Editor-in-Chief serves in these lesser roles when such offices are vacant, they are not permitted to go dormant.

• back to Main Page