Solar Section Newsletters download links missing

[Mr Nick Tonkin]

I see the PDF newsletter archive can no longer be downloaded as the download hover links to each of them are missing.

Can section admin look into this please.

Thanks

Nick Tonkin

[Andy Wilson]

Hi Nick,

You need to be logged into the website to download the Solar Section Newsletters. I suspect that if you login then that will solve the problem.

https://britastro.org/document_folder/baa-document-store/sections/solar-section

Best wishes,
Andy

[Robin Leadbeater]

There seems to be some inconsistency. For example VSSC, Comets Tale and Infinite Worlds are all open access while the I&E, Solar Section and Deep Sky Newsletters are members only. Is this at the discretion of the section director or is it due to where they are located within the website?

[David Arditti]

It is inconsistent and is a policy of the individual Section Directors. When I became Director of the Equipment & Techniques Section I determined that the Section Newsletter should be a service for members only. But some of the observing sections wish their publications to be open access and they take contributions from non-members. There are many, many inconsistencies in how the BAA is run!

[Nick James]

The word “inconsistency” has negative connotations which don’t apply in this case. Each section can decide how it wants to make its material available. In the case of the Comet Section I get and share observations with groups around the world and contributors to the Comet’s Tale are a mix of members and non-members. For Journal reports I do prioritise observations made by members and most of the images I use to illustrate those reports will be from members. Where appropriate I encourage contributors to join the Association to support the work we do.

[Robin Leadbeater]

From a practical point of view though it would greatly help if there was an option to stay logged in on the website. Trying to view or comment on something which is restricted to members only to have to log in and then be directed away from the page you were viewing is very frustrating.

[Andy Wilson]

While it is a shame not to have consistency, I think in general it is a good policy to give Observing Sections as much autonomy as possible. The Observing Sections are the heart of the BAA, and are run by experts in their field doing world class observing and research.
The Variable Star Section is a good example of why it can be useful to make a Circular public. I know that professional astronomers read it. If it were behind a pay wall then that might not happen. Having the professional researchers read the Circular benefits the members who contribute to the Section.

[Gary Poyner]

But Robins point on logging in each time is well made. It’s maddening! Why can’t we stay logged in if we want to?

Gary

[Dr Paul Leyland]

Gary: I don’t understand.

I remain logged in for days or weeks at a time. Perhaps we use different browsers: Firefox under Ubuntu here.

[Robin Leadbeater]

Chrome win 10 here. I stay logged in to the BAA site if I close the tab but keep the browser open but it logs me out immediately when the browser is closed. Many websites/forums give the choice to be remembered or not (which IMO is the best arrangement) while with others (like Amazon for example and soon Outlook) you have to physically sign out unless you are using private browsing.

[Mr Nick Tonkin]

Morning Everyone.

I thought I was, but it didn’t occur to me that I should be, as when I checked another sections archive, just to see if this was a global problem rather than a section one, I was able to download their newsletters.

I didn’t realise it’s up to section directors to open up or restrict access depending on BAA membership, so will remember that in the future.

I can see both points of view – Open access or BAA member only , but maybe an explanation of which policy is being followed would avoid any confusion like mine.

Nick

[Robin Leadbeater]

Andy Wilson wrote:

The Variable Star Section is a good example of why it can be useful to make a Circular public. I know that professional astronomers read it. If it were behind a pay wall then that might not happen. Having the professional researchers read the Circular benefits the members who contribute to the Section.

I’ve experienced this just today. It was an unexpected treat to see in a paper just published on the RW Cep “Great Dimming”
“Atmospheric dynamics of the hypergiant RW Cep during the Great Dimming”
https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.11701
several references to my BAAVSSC article on this

Cheers
Robin

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