PBO - Do they care

ShipsWoofy

ShipsWoofy

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Reader to reader is possibly the finest area of the YBW forums. Everyone is welcome, help is always freely given, very few crossed words. It works, without PBO I do not think the forum would be here, it is IMO the mainstay and possibly the strongest incentive for investment and advertising.

Yet, the PBO staff never appear to look in, editors and journalists look in on the other forums, answering readers direct questions, giving direct answers. The kind of feed back which can only to help the likes of YM, MBM etc. The readers feel involved, important even.

But PBO, nada, nothing, Andrew Simpson, Colin Jones, Sarah Norbury, never appear to join in with the forum, are they not also practical boat owners?

Ask the experts is a popular section which lends it's self well the forum, but do we hear from them ever? Are we subscribers to think that we mean nothing to the staff, that they have not got the time or interest to talk to their customers, remember we are your customers PBO.

I write this here as I think there is a better chance of an YBW employee reading it.
 
A year or so ago I was trying to fix up a trial for a certain towed watermaker and sent emails to PBO and YM , and was totally ignored by PBO despite a chivvying up by Keith, whereas YM were prepared to discuss my ideas, and at one time I thought they were actually going to carry out the trial, but nothing more was heard. After many hours trying to get people to talk, numerous emails and telephone calls, I gave up in disgust.
 
Exchange of views and experience R to R is the only value.

The fact that it is done on the back of a national sponsor shouldn't mislead you into thinking that the contributors are important per se. We are not, we are just grist to their corporate mill.

They get what they want- we, hopefully, do the same- don't mix the two, they are equally unimportant to us
 
In most corners of journalism, the flavour and standards of the publication is all down to the Editor.

I can think of a fair few Editors of PBO who got my respect for their involvement and willingness to 'raise a hare' when they thought it appropriate - George Taylor springs to mind - and when creeping officialdom had irked them. ( The messy 'consultation phase' leading to the RCD was one such issue )

I suppose the hard-nosed commercial org that is IPC decides it wants certain things from its appointed editors, and 'rocking the political boat' doesn't seem to be one of them today. Hence the anodyne, repetitive content of PBO these days, and the fact that I no longer bother to buy it....

I do, however, subscribe to another IPC rag 'cos it's relevant and informed, and it's Editor posts tetchy and provocative leader articles...... Don't have to agree, just like his independence of thought and ( free ) speech! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
much water under the log but the watermaker thread was blocked and the initiator i saw on another forum nothing to do with sailing,but not hear?

I used to subscribe or look for pbo on the French/Italian news stands but the articals were mostly a dis service!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I can think of a fair few Editors of PBO who got my respect

[/ QUOTE ] There have not been very many. D.D. and G.T certainly get my vote too.
 
I apologise ,I was not being serious,In fact PBP have been helpful over the phone and sending stuff out to the colonies!And Deny D did offer to make me a cup of tea when I inadvertedly went aground in Chichester harbour ,a while back.
 
I have no experience of the others but, I personaly have spoken to Colin Jones through the forum. Admittedly this was a couple of years ago but, I imagine he has a lot on his plate.

Who from the other mags put their oar in? Other than the highly informative JJ.

Martin
 
Ah okay...

...sorry didn't see that.

Whether or not people like what they do, or how they respond, I can tell you that Sarah and her team care very deeply about the subject.

In fact if you do your boating in the Poole area and get into difficulty you might even find one of the PBO team peering at you through the visor of an RNLI crash hat.

I think you'll find the PBO team do keep a watch on the forum but as has been pointed out it is remarkably good at answering its own questions and so often there's little need for intervention. In terms of adding something, they are always faced with the ultimate choice, of whether to invest more time in the mag or spend some of that time on here. Being next to the water I suspect you won't see them on here most evenings and weekends, lucky people!

Cup of tea sounds good...I used to get through pounds of tea and coffee on my boat when MBM ed. Even had readers tapping on the windows at 7:00am in the morning and 11:00pm at night to say hello.

For the watermaker block blame me...we were under legal threat over the original posts that raised the issue which were subsequently found by us to be inconclusive in terms of some of the content of the claims (not just about the product itself but of the transaction) -- faced with the option of action that could have tied us up in knots for a long time defending something upon which we had no concerete evidence or dropping the posts we did the latter. That issue however has been investigated by at least two magazines I know about although I am a bit off the pace in terms of knowing what subsequently happened.
 
You're too Kind!

Actually YM has a slight advantage because they pay me a (very small) amount of money to keep an eye on Scuttlebutt. When I was in the editorial chair I found it very difficult to keep a meaningful watch on Scuttlebutt - when it was only a fraction as active as it is today. An editor who can afford to spend an hour or so on here every day is probably missing tricks in other directions.

Having said that, YM and PBO are well aware of the importance of their forums. As you will know, a lot of what passes here appears in, or inspires material for, the parent mag and we have used it as a means of gatring information, gauging opinion and finding people willing to help with various projects we set up. Also we value your not-always-polite comments.

Thank you for your help, and be assured that we are always here in the background even if we are not among the regular day-to-day posters
 
Re: spoken to Colin Jones

I have not spoken to him, but I did get a PM from him once, admonishing me for a previous Avatar /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
It was a painting (old Master)!

Re PBO: My daughter bought me a years subscription for Christmas - My first one will be April's issue - Roll on Easter!! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
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