Mag Rumor: Desperate Measures (page 2)

wha happened?

Hmmmmmmm maybe they should just offer bible studies for food

Could be a way to keep track of faders and other inactives, if the guy behind the counter is writing down who takes what - in fact I can't imagine JW's doing it any other way. Could lead to comments on the line of "so you haven't picked any mags in about a month."

WTWizard

I know a way around that, that would waste huge amounts of littera-trash. You pick up something like 10,000 rags each week, forcing them to greatly up the order (of course, you don't donate anything for them except a fistful of Zero Dollar Bills or a Void Check). Then you put them in the shredder. Go back next week and do the same thing. At the end of the month, you report 40,000 placements (not telling them that they were all placed as gerbil bedding).

Not only will that throw them way off count when it comes to hounding you, but it would waste huge amounts of money for the organization. If you are picking up (and shredding) 40,000 rags per month, that ought to cost them a pretty penny--and they are not going to get a penny for any of it. And the gerbils will be quite happy--at least they do not know how to read.

Mickey mouse

Could be a way to keep track of faders and other inactives, if the guy behind the counter is writing down who takes what - in fact I can't imagine JW's doing it any other way. Could lead to comments on the line of "so you haven't picked any mags in about a month."

That wouldn't work. Faders could actually double the quantity of magazines they pick up and still throw them in the bin.

Waffles

gubberningbody just curious, are you still an elder?

How do you keep your sanity while juggling everything? lol! I'm in the middle of trying to get re-instated (just for the sake of having my family back) and I can barely even sit through a whole meeting without wanting to run on stage, grab, the mic, and drop some truth on the Truth.

undercover

This is what they should have done for many years. No one needs the same number of mags each couple weeks unless they're a pioneer. Idiot practice designed by bumbling morons.

Yes...in hindsight, it would have cut costs but for the longest time it wasn't about cutting costs...it was about increasing profits.

Up until the donation arrangement started, we paid for each piece of literature that we ordered and picked up. It was better to have us all order the same amount of magazines week in and week out. That kept sales steady. As the publishers increased, the sales increased. On top of that, they kept pushing us to place more and more and to make sure we had enough, so we optimistically ordered more than we really needed. Whether the mags were placed in service or left to rot in our garage didn't matter. The Society got its money.

What the Society didn't count on was that once the donation arrangement started, most dubs were sneaky, cheap bastards. They weren't paying donating for the mags/books. In time, the costs started outweighing the profit margin. Donations continued to decline and costs rose. The donation arrangement was a failure. Costs had to be cut. First the quality of the literature, then layoffs of workers. Now, another possible cost cutting measure (if confirmed and true).

NewYork44M

It is about stinking time they changed a practice that was unbelievably wasteful. i don't remember the exact numbers but I used to calculate the number of mags placed versus the amount our congregation received. Even if you account for allowing one issue for each publisher the numbers were astounding. Less than one in ten magazines ended up in the hands of a willing recipient.

May be this will save the lives of a few trees.

sir82

Yeah but its a 2-edged sword. Sure you save expenses, but a lot of people still had the idea that the magazines had a de facto price, and were paying such as contributions.

Pick up fewer magazines, and they will contribute less.

It's all a bit odd. The corporation is primarily a publishing house. They have been slashing production dramatically for the past few years (halving the Awake editions, halving the public versions of the WT, reducing the Book Study to less than 1/2 its former length, thus reducing the need for new books to study).

To paraphrase an old business maxim, companies, even religious ones, don't "shrink to greatness".

Will they change their business model? Get out of printing entirely (outsourcing and/or relying on electronically sent versions for local reproduction)? Concentrate 100% on real estate / Kingdom Hall construction as a source of revenue?

The next decade should be interesting to watch.

gubberningbody

Waffles, I haven't been deleted yet.

I think the thing to do is to get a notebook and learn the studied technique of seeming to listen while randomly thumbing your bible and amusing yourself while writing whatever amuses you ('sshhh look! He/she's taking notes!"). Then too, pick some point in random places in the meeting and write down some specific point to thank the bro on after the meeting. (you'll appear grateful and sincere)

I wrote any number of sonnets in this way. Other things would include making flashcards up and reviewing them in a zippered-covered Bible-Reasoning book combo (ala Stoops or others) and this way you could prep for tests or other things of this sort.

Then there's this place called the "Spy Store" where you can get a small electronic radio or wiresless mp3 player which would allow you to listen to a book on mp3 or whatever suits you.

Doing these things will allow you to look physically present and involved, while mentally you're shielding yourself from the numbing drum-beat of cult conformity. If you get to the point of getting your privs back you can prep an answer which sounds as if you've prayerfully considered your response (be certain to not seem too patriotic, otherwise people will get suspicious) and offer it at some mid to late point in each study session. Vary it a bit.

Be careful not to become too good at this sort of thing though, because otherwise you'll get recommended.

Mag Rumor: Desperate Measures