Now that this is my third issue as editor, I hope that the magazines are meeting with your collective approval. I am especially satisfied that we have been able to get Operations back on a more regular schedule, and I plan to keep it that way.

There is only one drawback to putting out an issue ever 3-4 months. My backlog of articles waiting to be used in the magazine is now depleted. The materials that will appear in future issues (not to mention how often future issues can be produced) is now entirely up to the contributions received from the subscribers.

So this is my official plea for articles. When I receive articles, I first read over them and make a few edits (usually just for grammar). Then the article often gets sent to Dean or one of the other Honchos to ensure there are no obvious rules violations or illegal strategies involved. After that, I will make any more corrections and send the author back a rough draft of the article (usually in PDF format). This is how I make sure the author is happy with how his/her article will appear in print. I once had an article published in The General which the editor absolutely butchered and made me ashamed to have my name listed as the author. I will never let that happen to a contributor to Operations. After the author approves any changes and adds other corrections, the article will be ready for print in a future issue of Operations.

I've been hoping for the chance to meet more of you in person, but my schedule hasn't allowed it this year. I missed all of Origins due to my graduate school classes. I made it to WBC (as I do every year), but I spend 99% of my time there playing games, and never had time to hang out at the MMP booth or demonstration table. Homercon came the same weekend as my local town Oktoberfest, when everyone who ever lived in my little hometown comes home and spends the weekend drinking an insane amount of beer. I would never miss an event like that, not to mention we usually have about fifteen weekend guests at the house.

My next foray out into the gaming public will be in late February for the BPA Winter Activation Meeting in Baltimore, a weekend of card-driven gaming. I still do not know about Origins this year, but I will again be at the World Boardgaming Championships, and maybe can sneak up to this year's Homercon for a day if my new teaching career does not prevent it.

If you ever see me at these or any other events, be sure to stop me and let me know what you think of Operations and any ideas you may have for improving it.

Again, remember that articles are in dire need right now. This is your chance to break into another part of the hobby if you have never contributed before, or a chance to help get Operations on a more frequent schedule in you are a previous contributor. Besides, the pay isn't half bad at $30 per page. That's a lot more than I used to pay people for contributing to The Boardgamer, but I always was a cheap magazine publisher.

Hope you enjoy this issue, and with your help, each subsequent issue every four months.