What's Up

       There has been much discussion lately by James and I about the value of our continuing publication of What's Up. Our original goal was to publish a gay magazine that would show the positive side of gay culture and provide a venue for gay community service groups and gay organizations to get their messages out without cost to them. While at the same time working towards trying to bring the various factions of the LGBT community into a unified structure for political strength.

       It seemed like a good idea in the beginning. But it did not take long for us to realize that there were actually people in the community who did not embrace the concept of bringing the various groups and organizations together into any kind of a united voice.

       It is difficult to write about this without becoming negative and attacking the people who have caused us many difficulties and have in their own way, taken from the community that they should be supporting. But the main issue is, are we achieving what we originally intended, or have we gone off in to many directions due to all the crap that we have encountered?

       There is no doubt that we have expended a great deal of time and effort promoting the positive things that were happening in our community. But, was the time and money spent doing this, the most effective use of these resources? That is what we are trying to evaluate. Would the money and effort being put forth by us and others be better directed elsewhere? Recent discussions with others about whether the community is receiving any benefit from What's Up have further raised this issue with us.

       Couple these facts together with being sued, cussed out, cheated and lied to in a continuous stream since becoming involved with this publication, well, it really makes one wonder: Is it worth it?

       There are certainly many bright spots to look at, and there are many people who have given their contributions of content and / or support from the very beginning. But we are at a crossroads and we will have to make a decision in the near future as to which direction to take. The response that has been received from our readers has been 95% positive, but has not been large enough to give us a handle on the effectiveness of the endeavor.

       We are changing to a monthly publication, and will come out on the first Friday of the month.

       If you would like to express your opinion about this article, or any other issue or event in the gay community, please let us know. Our phone number, address and Email can be found in our masthead.