Re: [Paddlewise] magazine recommendations

At 05:56 PM 11/30/99 -0800, Dave wrote in response to Nick:
<snip Nick>

>SK-bashing could take up a lot of bandwidth if we got started on it.  I
long for
>the John Dowd days when it was pithy and chock full of technical info.  Gotta
>admit Cunningham and crew have a lot of flashy articles, and that that's
>probably a necessity.  Somebody (some advertiser) gotta pay those bills!

Nick, Dave, et al:
I bought SK for years in the earlier days, then gave up. Too much fluff. I
was happy with local newsletters, and made contributions often, mostly just
got out on the water in every situation imaginable, had fun, miss-spent my
youth. And yes, SK was kind of expensive too. Most of the Brit boat
paddlers here, as well as Brit boat retail shops kind of looked down on SK
- too many "f'n" lake and canal articles, as well as technical errors. I
liked and contributed to (and still do) Wavelength Magazine, donating my
cash reward to environmental causes. Eventually, SK asked me to submit
stuff. As they pay in US funds (I get $1.50 for every Canadian Dollar) I
sold my soul. I also get a *free* subscription now. What people will do to
get free magazines, eh? I sent some input to the Editor based on Matt's and
Dave Kruger's comments/concerns, and boy, did I get the cold shoulder.
However, I'm seeing changes and will be more subtle with my input, but
nevertheless committed to improvement. I do know that a lot of you have NO
IDEA what goes on behind the scenes at a publication - about the drain of
deadlines, having to please the bulk of the readership, dealing with
diametrically opposed input from readers on what they want, staying
solvent, etc. I made a commitment a few years ago to never whine and
complain about anything in life, if I'm not willing to give my own time and
energy and suffer a smack or two to see effective change. 

BTW, while I have your attention, PLEASE forgive me if some of my post are
off base or weird, or incorrect in any way. I post late at night after a
busy day AND evening, then get up and ride my bike to work at 5:30 in the
morning. Some late week nights, I really should stay away from PW. And for
all you lurkers out there, listserver can suck sometimes if it is only the
"few" who post. Speak up, PW "belongs" to you if you abide by the rules.
Enter the discussions ENTHUSIASTICALLY, give FREELY of your experience
while trying to CONFINE your discussions to the topics at hand and allowed.
Do make sure you say what you THINK, be PATIENT with others (like me), and
always APPRECIATE each other's points of view. Be GRATEFUL for PW (and
other publications, electronic or otherwise). Hey, where else could you get
such statesman-like writing as that which Richard Culpeper submits, or the
humor from John Winters - all for FREE. AND, don't go off in a huff if
someone or something offends you, that isn't mature - safe, wise paddling
is all about maturity. 

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd (who really isn't trying to supplant Jackie as the new listdad)

   


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