# Update: we got a Collective goin' folks
https://discord.gg/cZTArQcPJU
## What??
You heard me. Let's publish a zine! Why aren't we already doing this?? You don't need nobody's permission to create a zine!! Well, ok, in our instance we _do,_ but, more on that later.
Think of anything that is missing from or underrepresented in contemporary videogame coverage... then think of the fact that we could be doing that. Videogame critique, analysis, retrospectives, personal reflections, gonzo, art showcases, mixtapes, fiction, Multi-language content, or, shit, even non videogame any of that.
Let's make the publication we want to see in the world!
## Why?
It'd be fun!
And, perhaps, it'd be filling several needs, among us and among the broader sort of videogame playing/liking/making sphere.
It's no secret that mainstream videogame journalism has overall failed to support and highlight commentary, critique, and analysis that is anything other than superficial fluff to justify ad-buys. You can barely even rely on videogame news sites to deliver videogame news in a format that doesn't come with some major compromise, wading through a horrendously laid out website or sifting through general pop culture crap you're not interested in.
On the other hand, like many of you I log on here regularly and see so much passion, intelligence, insight, talent, and love for, well, videogames, but lots of other things too. I might be one of the most prolific posters on here but I know I'm not the only one who has written things on here that, maybe, with some polishing, would be worth putting in front of an actual wider audience.
I genuinely believe that even just thinking of an Insert Credit Community Zine as a digest version of this forum would inspire some people to think of collecting things that they are proud of having written and put together, putting it into a convenient and cool format, and putting it out there to the world. To say nothing of the idea that providing a further outlet for the creativity of everyone here would inspire people to write and create even more things.
Maybe no one will read! Who cares? If it is a catastrophic failure, at least we can say we tried, and we can even more easily go back to not doing it. But if it will be a thing we'll all have a blast making and will pick up a readership because it puts forward a desperately wanted unique perspective, there's only one way to find out if that's going to happen.
## Who?
Well, obviously, anyone who is both reading this and will be able to contribute.
For every question of "well, who will do the layout? Who will edit articles? Who will XYZ?" Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but, at the same time, don't feel like this is a call for only contributors, but for anyone with any sort of skill that could be used to make a zine, even if it's as simple as being a beta-reader.
## When?
The only realistic publishing schedule at the moment is "when we have enough material and a format to put it into," so, I think there is far more important prep work to do first.
Such as...
## How??
There are as many comprehensive answers to this question as there are people reading this, but we have one requirement to adhere to, and I, personally, have one--very strong--suggestion as to how we can get this going.
#### Requirement: We must honour the legacy of the original and ongoing Insert Credit, which includes not presuming/appearing to take ownership of "Insert Credit."
If you're reading this thinking "even for Gaagaagiins this is a pretty audacious thing to put forward, I mean, wasn't Insert Credit already an alternative videogame publication? Who does he think he is?"
Well, don't worry, because I thought of that. It has been a while since I brought this up to him, so, maybe things have changed, but I did more or less soft pitch this to Brandon. And, his bottom line was that it was fine to do so long as we were clear it's the Insert Credit *Community* Zine.
I also think that, should we do this, we do it with and only with the blessings of Brandon and other founders of the original publication/website and current members of the podcast, and with a shared commitment to the values and vision of the original publication as well as our community here. I think we can trust them to not be tyrannical or control freaks about it! But we should still be careful to not misrepresent who we are, and be aware that we have a high watermark to at least do our best to aim for. I'm confident that with enough time, work, and collaboration, we'll make something we can all be proud of.
If nothing else we should be mindful that if anyone other than registered members of this forum read this, it will most likely be because it's something people become aware of through the podcast, one way or another.
Speaking of collaboration...
#### Strong Suggestion: We found a Insert Credit Community Zine Collective and manage/editorialize/contribute/format/publish in a non-hierarchical, democratic/collaborative fashion.
Am I secretly trying to radicalize you all into communistic/anarchistic politics at the same time?? Yes!!! Always!! Community organizing can start anywhere and everywhere, so, why not an internet forum's community zine publication?
I have plenty of ideas on how to accomplish this, but, mainly, at the moment, the main idea is to invite people who are interested in giving this a shot into a Discord server I will set up, through which we will collectively and collaboratively brainstorm, debate, draft, and ratify a sort of mission statement and governance structure. We'll all essentially be co-editors-in-chieves, basically.
It might take a while but I do have a method and trajectory in mind for this, so, I dunno, just take my word on this, and assume anything is possible. Keep an open mind and assume this won't require much more than reading and making decisions on other peoples' ideas.
What I will say is that you don't need to be a bureaucrat to be involved at this stage, and, as well, you don't need to be in on this part of it to be a contributor. But I think as long as there is a handful of us who want to do this part of it, it will be an interesting process in of itself.
So! I guess at this point, I'm going to gauge peoples' eagerness to do this based on the reaction to this post. Like this first post in this thread if you want to create an Insert Credit Community Zine Collective with me! Or, if you got a better idea of how to get a zine made, usurp me in the replies! But if you do that you better take charge and get a zine made or I'll have to at some point say "I told you we should have done it non-hierarchically!!"
If there is a good amount of positive respond to this, I'll post a discord server invite! And if this is responded to with crickets, I'll die from embarrassment!
Miigwech!
-Jay
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXjf1otUsAA6ePV.jpg