August 23, 1997

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

I am back! Don't panic!

Quite a few of my ZGram readers seemed upset because I was absent for 5 days and communications weren't always as they should have been - and when I finally came back, I was faced with a bit of a crisis. I saw that some plans and developments that had been in the making for quite some time had finally materialized.

Some of these changes are all for the good and are really happening at a most opportune time, and some of them will need adjustments - from you and from me. Therefore, I would like to be as frank with you as I have always tried to be and take most of what is left of August to explain to you IN DETAILwhat is likely going to happen, and see if we can pull together in the same direction as a team.

The gist of my challenge is that I have to make a decision fairly soon about whether or not I can afford to continue the ZGrams. I know how you feel about my daily "zingers" or what some of you call your "Vitamin I" and how much they mean to you. You have told me that, over and over, and it has kept me going in my work.

My daily ZGrams have largely made the Zundelsite what it is - a vibrant "cyber-presence" on the Internet. There is simply nothing like it anywhere in cyberspace - to my knowledge. However, that "cyber identity" has been bought at a cost, and now it's time to pay the piper.

I will lay it on the line for you. The problem I have on my hands is threefold: 1) time, 2) access to consultancies and/or editorial and content advice, and 3) money. All three have now moved into the red "danger zone" - and I HAVE to find solutions for any and all.

Very fast!

First, time. You, my readers, have simply no idea of the sheer amount of time it takes to run the Zundelsite and, specifically, the ZGrams. It takes three to four hours minimum to put together each and every meaningful ZGram - research it, write it, ship it to a list that has to be updated daily, post it, and then handle the avalanche of incoming mail, which sometimes comes faster than I can process it, answer it and file it.

The time factor has gotten so crucial that I cannot read incoming mail at all any more beyond the first two or three sentences, unless the e-mail is from a friend or associate I recognize. Once a ZGram is out and someone wants help, let's say, with a project or a research paper, I have to either find the sources myself or ship the request to a volunteer. It is not unusual to have 20-30 such requests in a day. There go another three to four hours. Add to that the time to maintain the Zundelsite itself, do new posts, keep the links going, do a myriad of other bits and pieces, etc. etc. - and I am not exaggerating to say that I spend 12 - 16 hours a day at my computer, seven days a week - and have done so for the past two years without a break in my routine.

Imagine what happens when I travel and have to catch up with myself!

With my present schedule there is absolutely NO leeway whatsoever for any additional projects - and I have a major, major project coming up, of which you will hear more in subsequent ZGrams. Very briefly, I have a major book coming out - in the making for more than ten years and so large that it will come out in three volumes - that will have to be launched and promoted.

I either have to find help, primarily computer and/or secretarial help, or I have to let go of my ZGrams and let the Zundelsite sit there like a tulip and do nothing.

Second point: availability of consultancies and ease of communication.

As you all know, Ernst is in a serious legal challenge situation in that the Canadian powers-that-be want to hold him responsible for what is on the Zundelsite. He is into this over his ears - both in terms of time spent in search of witnesses and in trying to raise money to cover the legal expenses.

Legally, of course, the situation is very clear: I have total control of the Zundelsite and have had that control since I created the website. The more time he spends on the questions I need to have answered, the stronger will be the opposition's claim that it is Ernst who owns the Zundelsite and I am merely his mouthpiece.

How this will be settled remains to be seen, but I know this: in the past, I have tapped heavily into Ernst's historical knowledge and "legal feel", since there is no person on earth that I know of who has both the knowledge and the experience of what is really playing here.

Ernst explained to me that he can no longer offer suggestions for my ZGram work and can no longer afford to spend his time and energies to come up with documents I sometimes needed for my ZGrams. He cannot justify doing this for financial as well as legal and time commitment reasons. I understand completely.

If I can no longer call on Ernst, however, to help me with the input he, more than anybody else, has at this fingertips, I am in a serious jam. It is simply logistically too cumbersome for me to spread myself over 5 or 6 other Revisionists for their input and access to their files. They travel; they don't always read their mail on time; they may or may not know or be willing to share what I need from them - right at the moment I need it!

Since I will not have access to Ernst directly for advice any more, I now have two choices: I can vastly simplify my ZGrams to where I am in the "safety zone" and try to be politically correct - or I can hire at least part-time additional help to assist me in managing what I will need to have done.

Final and most important point: I need to make the Zundelsite cost- effective.

So far, you have gotten a lot of freebees from me, and you did not know that your freebees have been underwritten by a long-time, small but stable pool of elderly people with an emotional investment in the name Ernst Zundel and the work Ernst Zundel has done - which is, after all, why the Zundelsite is what it is. These elderly supporters still remember World War II and would like to see historical truth triumph - but many are, to put it frankly, dying out.

This support can no longer continue, for a variety of reasons - not the least of which is that if you help to underwrite my work financially, you will be involved directly and will have more of a stake in what I am doing. It is only fair that the consumers of intelligence or historical information help chip in to pay for what they consume.

Therefore, without any apologies, I will, in what is left of this month, ask for a commitment from those of you who can and will jump into this emergency situation and urge you to become regular or occasional donors and helpers.

Above all else, I need a stable pool of financial contributors on whom I can depend for their REGULAR, MONTHLY support. I now have an estimated readership of 10,000 daily readers of ZGrams that are shipped on to them by friends. I understand this re-shipment of ZGrams happens three or four levels deep. Will ten percent jump in and help? Five percent? Is that too much to ask? I would really like to know because I will have to factor that into my ultimate decision.

I realize that some of you can't make this commitment for regular support, but I believe that all of you can help with an occasional contribution. How much? How soon?

Please take this seriously, because unless I get a good grip within the next few weeks on just how much support I can expect from a committed, serious ZGram readership, I HAVE to phase out the ZGrams, possibly as early as the end of August, and focus on my other work and develop more dependable sources of income.

In coming ZGRams, I will talk to you about that very special project I will be launching soon, my vision for the Zundelsite, what kind of support I will need and for what, the nature of my work, the reason and even the ideology behind it, successes we have had and the mountains we intend to climb - all that. And believe me that we are on a roll - we ARE thinking bigger and better!

The ZGrams were an innovative start - but trust me that, if I am given the means, you haven't seen anything yet! And neither have the enemies of truth!

With the understanding that future ZGRams will explain all this in more detail, and that you have until the end of August to make up your mind if my ZGrams are worth it to you to keep them being shot out into cyberspace, tell me the following TODAY and ship it back to me:

___ Yes, I would like to contribute $___ on a monthly basis to keep the ZGrams going. Please let me know particulars.

___ Yes, I would like to make a one-time contribution of $____ to help bridge the financial and organizational gap. Give me an address to send my donation.

___ Yes, I am interested and am considering support, but would prefer to wait and find out more - but I promise I will make a decision on or before August 31.

___ No, keep your ZGrams to yourself. I would rather spend my money on ____________. ( . . . for you to fill in the blank creatively)

Yours in the Zundelsite spirit,

Ingrid

Thought for the Day:

"In the beginning of a change, the Patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."

- Mark Twain

Comments? E-Mail: irimland@cts.com

Back to Table of Contents of the Aug. 1997 ZGrams