Model Engineer – Editorial direction

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

I have become used to these sort of letters, which crop up from time to time in every sphere of hobby publications and other types. The problem is multifaceted, as all editors will tell you. If they don't get the raw input to work with then either the publications folds or the have to go out and find articles to fill the missing space. It is a thankless task and as has been often mentioned "The editor is hardly ever given a pat on the back when things are going well, but is regularly cr*pped on from a dizzy height when this go pear shaped".

Having been an editor, sub-editor, technical correspondent and may other titles over thirty years or so I have seen this time and time again. I have over the years written articles for a number of publications mostly in the UK but also in USA, Germany and other countries as they were translated and reprinted several times. Part of, but not the sole problem, is many contributors to such magazines are not familiar with how magazines work. Very often very professional publications will simply reject articles submitted because thy do no comply with the editorial standards. Happily ME and MEW are not that type of magazine. I was pleased to note that Diane did take the trouble to offer some guidelines to aspiring writers of articles recently to lessen her and the other staff members workload.

In my days it was not unusual to be sent a handwritten screed which in some parts was illegible and this causes extra work for the staff. Also during the writing and publishing of my various books I learn't a helluva lot of how desk top publishing packages can and cannot work. Notably some scramble equations and make gibberish of some others. There is nothing more irritating for a writer to see their hours or days of work finally presented with a huge c*ck-up in the printing. So although Diane has occasionally slipped up, she is not the first and will certainly won't be the last to make b*gger-ups, it is all part of the job and the two weeks between issues isn't exactly helping. How she does it day in an day out amazes me!

On the whole I think ME and MEW is fairly well balanced and the presentation recently is better than the earlier versions as improvements in desk top to printing systems get better. Not every topic appeals to me but everyone has different interests. One German magazine I wrote for many years ago veered of the main topic (amateur radio) and seemed to be more a home computer type most of the time. Happily, the editor was changed and things reverted back to normal.

So you have a choice, as my father used to tell me when I complained there was nothing worth watching on television. "It might not be your cup of tea but some people obviously like it or they wouldn't keep putting it on. If there's nowt you like that's what the on-off switch is put there for!"

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

Neil,

I am keen to see what happens when steam is put under microprocessor control – will such machines be banned from IMLEC and the pages of ME or welcomed?

Well, you might not have to wait very long for that subject to be addressed as that is exactly what my latest project is. Not a model but a full sized steam engine for automotive applications. I have after many years research, experimentation and some procrastinating finally gotten around to assembling the Mk1 version and code is being written right now. In about 6 months time I will probably have some results for disclosure, assuming the hurdles can be overcome!

Watch this space.

[Geoff TheasbyParticipant @geofftheasby]

What is still around from 1898? 'The Engineer' magazine, for one. It was established in 1856, so by Neil's definition, it almost dates from the Industrial Revolution itself. Even Brunel could have read it, personally!

As for all those other names on the ME title page, I gather that they work for the publishers, and cover many if not all the other magazines they publish.

Geoff

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

To Clivel and others who deride the editors of these publications I would respectfully ask Could you do any better ?

And when did you last submit an article ? I wouldn't take Dianne's job on for anything Well done that girl

Roy

[Martin 100Participant @martin100]

Posted by John Stevenson on 15/03/2016 10:44:26:

Posted by Ady1 on 15/03/2016 10:36:57:

Actually, if you really think about it, what products have survived from 1898 and are still going today??

Not much

MARMITE

1902

**LINK**

I'm a professional engineer for mumble mumble decades in a totally unrelated field, but have had a workshop at my parents house and then at home for as long as I can remember (no, despite the alzheimers I don't mean 2 minutes ago)

I used to regularly read ME through most of the 1980's, MEW and EIM too. But 100 hours weeks, often working overseas, and lots of other distractions brought all magazine reading to an end in the early to mid 1990's after subscription copies were just piling up at home a few feet high still in their wraps. Many went in the bin or off to the local doctors surgery.

I still grab the odd copy of ME or MEW now and again, but it's not a regular purchase, most of my recent reads have been hand me down second hand ones a few months after publication.

I've produced monthly / quarterly newsletters in the past on another hobby, not much more than half a dozen pages and even with modern technology it's a mammoth task, even worse if you have to originate the content yourself. The idea of having to produce a magazine every two weeks, even with content provided by others fills me with dread.

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

Hi Roy Entwistle,

Hear-Hear, my sentiments exactly. I have also noticed this trend in clubs. Over the years I have been a member of many different organisations and clubs, veteran and vintage cars, model boating, model engineering, amateur radio etc and they all have a common problem.

An old member of one club I belonged to one night at a meeting was sitting next to me as some younger member sitting at the back was haranguing the committee said to me " Have you noticed young man that it is always the bloke at the back who stirs the sh*t. I thought I was at the local labour party meeting, then I realised they meet on a Friday!"

So it is nothing new to give the current editor a hard time. This wily old gentleman let the youngster at the back finish his ranting at the committee and then rose and asked the Chairman if he would allow him to speak in reply to the person. The Chairman assented and the old guy stood up and turned to the young man and told him he was going to bring a motion to hold a SGM right now – to elect him as the new Chairman, to big cheers from most of the other members. That young man never appeared again at the meeting!

[Another JohnSParticipant @anotherjohns]

Hi Clive;

Thank you for airing your thoughts. I enjoy informative discourse, as we are never too old to learn. If I may, in no particular order:

1) I have subscribed (and, thus, unsubscribed) three times to Model Engineer, due to family/work circumstances. Nothing wrong with taking a break.

2) The "Engineers days out" are to me, living overseas, fascinating.

3) Last weekend was on vacation with some friends, some who quilt. One was going through her extensive collection of one quilting magazine and found a pattern she liked, with the same photos printed 5 different times. But, for some group of people, each time it was printed, it was new.

4) In 2013, I participated in a "Mini-Maker-Faire" (google it) and one observation was that you could divide the inqusitive by age – the grey hairs knew that I had a 1950s lathe, (Unimat SL) but had no idea how it was moving "by itself" whilst the younger people knew I was running LinuxCNC with a Gecko G540, but had no idea what the machine was. (some thought that "subtractive printing" was the next new thing). This is what ALL of our hobby magazines are running up against.

5) Last weekend I also had the opportunity to browse through recent copies of the "Make Magazine" – eg, on the cover they had one little board that I had wanted to use in a project, and in the article, there was NO technical details. NONE. You had to go on-line and actually look for yourself. They had recipes for food, (looked good), but not one article had any real details in it. (purchase a copy, and see if you agree with my opinion, please)

6) My collection of bound copies of Model Engineer (1941 to 1956) sit unread, for at least a decade. The only two items of interest in the whole mouldy collection of paper is Base-Circle's shaper-cut-gears (adaptable to CNC milling…) and the Eureka relieving tool, both of which are available in books and on-line.

7) I have submitted a series of articles, (7, another one on the way this week) and I have tried to aim them to be a) standalone, b) show new people how to tie their impressive computer skills with basic manual skills, c) show the older subscribers how to bring in computers and basic CNC to augment their impressive manual machining skills.

I fully expect that those who know both CNC and machining in-depth to "sluff off" these articles as drivel, but these people are not the intended audience. (Marcus Bowman may have opinions about target audience here, too… )

I personally think that Diane is doing a very fine job, and has to keep trying to adapt the magazine to keep readership, but (more importantly for longevity) garner new, younger readers. Thank you, Diane.

John.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

The Chairman assented and the old guy stood up and turned to the young man and told him he was going to bring a motion to hold a SGM right now – to elect him as the new Chairman, to big cheers from most of the other members. That young man never appeared again at the meeting!

I had that 5 to 6 times in 6 months on a ship when I was put in charge of running the bar (against my will)

All complainants were immediately offered "the books" for them to run it themselves

Not one individual took me up on my generous offer of allowing them to make the world a better place

When I paid off Roy (I'll burst ye!) the Boy from Liverpool took charge so there would probably be less complaints after I was gone

[John FieldingParticipant @johnfielding34086]

I think the older and mature readers of these forums will agree that model engineering has changed significantly from when we first venture into the hobby.

For one thing there is a vast selection of new machines at a broad range of prices and I can see why a new beginners can be confused or unable to make a decision on what to buy. When I started about 50 years agao there was very little to choose from, a new Myford ML7 was simply out of my price range, so an old clapped out 4-inch Drummond when it was offered to me at an affordable price was my only option. Apprentices weren't paid well back then!

However, although the old Drummond, 1917 date on the plate, was rough and had massive slack all over it sort of worked and I did manage to build something. But the scrap box grew larger by the day as one after another part was binned as being not up to scratch. One learned to work around the problems and reading LBSC and his words and music spurred me on to better things.

Today now I am officially retired, a joke really as I have more work than ever, I have the time and money (almost, you can never have enough!) to do as I wish. Not having to go to work everyday is a bonus but I miss my old colleagues. Many people when they retire if they have no hobbies to keep the mind active simply fade away.

So model engineering is a great boon to retired people, making gadgets for grand-kids and others keeps me active and I have more time to sit and think about things and plan how I will make something without masses of expensive machinery. OK It might be a bit Heath-Robinson at times but that is what engineers do, make a plan! I also had the inspiration to go back to university and do my long put off Masters Degree, a scheme they have here for "mature students" which the government pays for. All the old fogies who got pensioned off are now being persuaded to go back into industry as mentors on a part time basis to train young engineers, something we are desperately short of.

No Alth'szeimer for me, I have too much to keep the brain going. I just need a younger body!

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Posted by roy entwistle on 15/03/2016 12:20:38:

To Clivel and others who deride the editors of these publications I would respectfully ask Could you do any better ?

And when did you last submit an article ? I wouldn't take Dianne's job on for anything Well done that girl

Roy

 

I resent that argument!

In the first place I very much doubt that I could do better, but, then again why should I have to. I am a customer, not a writer nor an editor. I very much doubt that you are any more capable of doing the jobs that you haven't been trained for, than the majority of people already doing those jobs.

Furthermore I would love to be able to submit an article or construction series. Regrettably I don't have anything of interest to impart, no do I have the necessary skills for writing such an article. Nevertheless that does not preclude me from being a customer, and as a long term customer I feel that the onus is on me to inform a supplier as to why their product no longer meets my needs.

Clive

 

Edited By clivel on 15/03/2016 16:56:05

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Posted by Diane Carney on 15/03/2016 02:29:41:

I was feeling quite upbeat today – until now. I have had about five emails over the weekend from readers who have commented on the high standard of editorial content recently and how it has improved over recent years. Still … that's what happens when you almost let things go to your head. There's always plenty queuing up to bring you back down to earth.

Diane,
From the outset I would like to state that my comments were not intended to hurt, nor were they intended as a personal attack in any form, nevertheless I do appreciate that you may find them upsetting. I had hoped that my comments would be seen as constructive, but of course perceptions differ depending on which side of the table one sits.

As a long time customer of any business, whether a magazine or even the local supermarket, if changes have been made so that the product or services offered by the business no longer meet my needs then I feel that I would be remiss in not informing said business as to why I no longer intend to patronise them.

The comments I made are my personal opinion, and are my personal reasons as to why I am considering not renewing my subscription. I may well be in the minority, in which case if ME in its current form meets the needs of the majority of readers there is little need to change. If on the other hand circulation is dropping off, and only you and the circulation manager would know that, then it may be worth considering that others could feel the same way as myself.

The one point however that I do feel very strongly about, and I am sure that I am not alone, is the publication of construction series without drawings. Thinking back to the recent past, some of the series that I very much enjoyed reading without any intention of of ever actually building the project, included Nick Feast's Q1, Ray McMahon's Darjeeling, Stewart Hart's stationary engines and even the long running StepperHead lathe as published in MEW. In all cases having the drawings at hand allowed me to visualise the build and hold my interest. The series sans drawing are too abstract for my taste and my mind soon wanders. But then again this could be just me.

Regards,
Clive

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

I have subscribed to a few different types of magazines over the years and if you want to see ideas , techniques or articles that have been repeated many times pick up a magazine about fishing !

I can assure you that every 2 yrs or so a new fad will pop up that will catch you more fish but if you go back through the years you will soon see that it has all been done before and i have seen on many occasions the same person has written the article but they have just changed the photos to make it look like a new story .

i have read a few that were exactly the same word for word even the page layout was the same but different photos !

I no longer read fishing magazines for this reason!

electronics has gone PIC mad and every project they put out uses thes programmable chips or the magazine went crazy over the valve amplifier they designed and kept flogging this over and over for near on two years !

Once the Editor started to write more and more editorials about climate change and how we should all use electric mowers to combat the evil of pollution i stopped reading that magazine as well !

There is one U.S based magazine that is about machining and home workshops but seems to be doing more and more gunsmithing stories and is getting the flick when that subs runs out – not that i have anything against gunsmithing its just that the stories are usually about AR15/ M16 type rifles that are banned here so i'm not likely to see one anytime soon .

There is usually something in M.E & MEW for the majority of readers and there will always be times where there may be little of interest to a few readers but the editors cannot control that as every one is different and has different tastes , interest and views .

If we were all the same and all liked exactly the same things i'm sure that would make the Editors job much easier as all they would have to do is put into the magazne what they like and we would all be happy but what a boring world that would be !

Just renewed my subs and MEW will be done later in the year.

keep up the good work Diane and Neil  your job is one i could never do !

Ian

Edited By XD 351 on 15/03/2016 17:13:48

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

> Regrettably I don't have anything of interest to impart, no do I have the necessary skills for writing such an article.

I have to take issue with that Clive.

This isn't aimed just at Clive – it goes for many posters on this forum.

Why do so many people, who put informative and interesting posts up on the forum, think they have nothing to offer in print?

A short article doesn't need to be any longer than the first post in this thread, plus a photo or two. In the recent issue 239, which received more praise than any other I have edited SEVEN articles were less than a thousand words long, and three of them were less than five-hundred words.

I regularly see posts and threads on this forum that would make excellent articles in the magazines. I do contact people from time to time to see if they would consider an article, but to date I have tried to avoid 'recycling' forum content unless more detail can be added. I have always assumed this would cause complaints.

I do wish people would have more confidence in their abilities, honestly I would struggle to think of anyone on this forum who have nothing of interest to pass on or the inability to put it in writing. And PLEASE bear in mind that, as editors, it's our job to help new authors find their voice.

Neil

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Posted by John Alexander Stewart on 15/03/2016 14:47:57:.

7) I have submitted a series of articles, (7, another one on the way this week) and I have tried to aim them to be a) standalone, b) show new people how to tie their impressive computer skills with basic manual skills, c) show the older subscribers how to bring in computers and basic CNC to augment their impressive manual machining skills.

I fully expect that those who know both CNC and machining in-depth to "sluff off" these articles as drivel, but these people are not the intended audience. (Marcus Bowman may have opinions about target audience here, too… )

John,

Actually your "Making Shay Links" article was for me one of the highlights of that issue – regrettably too short though. This is the type of article I would like to see more of in ME, but of course Diane can only publish what she gets.

What I like about the article is that although still practical, it illustrates a fresh way of doing things. Although I hanker for the older project heavy ME, I don't believe that ME should be stuck in the past and restricted to older methodologies.

Clive

[Diane CarneyModerator @dianecarney30678]

Posted by Lambton on 15/03/2016 07:48:00:

Diane tells us that she produces the ME single handed and I quite accept this .

In this case what are all the other people listed on the first page of every ME doing?

I refer to people with titles such as such as Technical Assistant, Production Designer, Illustrator, Retouching Manager, Ad Production, Head of Design and Production, etc.

Technical Assistant: Stewart checks drawings and checks for obvious 'impossibilites' and dangerous practices that I might miss.
Production Designer: Yvette lays out the pages and prepares them for print. Neil and I share Yvette.
Illustrator: Grahame Chambers prepares drawings and diagrams for print. Grahame works on numerous titles.
Retouching Manager: Brian weaves his magic on your photos and makes them publishable. Brian works on every title.
Ad production: Artwork for advertisers.
Head of Deisgn: Oversees everything that MyTimeMedia sends to print from the design perspective.

There is only one person responsible for compiling the magazine and editing its content.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/03/2016 17:14:20:

>I have to take issue with that Clive.

This isn't aimed just at Clive – it goes for many posters on this forum.

Why do so many people, who put informative and interesting posts up on the forum, think they have nothing to offer in print?

Gentlemen,

I would like to take the side of Neil here, I read MEW regularly and I agree with his sentiments regarding the above, for instance the recent piece on batteries recently.

I subscribe to another magazine based on my main hobby of Stationary Engines and over the last few years I have been submitting articles to the magazine regarding shows and rally's but recently I submitted a piece on the manufacture of Diesel Fuel injectors, it ran to four pages with pictures and I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, I find if you know your subject its easy to research and it helps to have a wife who used to be a secretary and can spell as well.

Take it from me there is nothing more enjoyable than to see an article you wrote in print.

Martin P

[DanielParticipant @daniel]

Posted by Harry Wilkes on 14/03/2016 21:30:58:

I too find myself in this position not with ME or MEW but with the steam magazines my interest in steam is as strong as ever but I find the topics they now cover not to interest in the main .

H

Don't know if we're talking about the same magazine, but my sentiments echo yours. Maybe there's only so much that can be written on one subject ?

[Marcus BowmanParticipant @marcusbowman28936]

Picking up the points by Harry and Daniel, perhaps there is another aspect of all of this we should perhaps think about.

When you know something, or you have developed a skill, continued practice takes you through a cycle where you begin as a beginner and are a bit lost. Then you get into it a bit and find you can see what this new world is all about. Then you begin to increase your skills and knowledge, until one day you discover that, in the case of, say, a model engineer, you have the confidence to be able to tackle most things in the workshop (I didn't say anything about the standard of the result…).

You begin to develop insights, and a deeper understanding until, finally, you become a Zen master.

Without the detail, this roughly follows a well-known description of the learning process.

But I would say that at each stage ME, MEW and EIM are a crucial aid to learning.

The small dissatisfactions with the magazines may simply be a reflection of the feeling that you are having to look down, from the Zen position, and see little new or challenging. There are, though, those occasional nuggets which provide a different view of this world, and introduce some new knowledge or techniques. For there is no Zen, really, just a continued journey.

Oh; and it is accepted practice for those who achieve enlightenment (at any level of the process) to return their knowledge to those who might benefit from it. None of us know, or will ever know, everything, and we all benefit from the knowledge and skills of others. For me, the Master in the early days was GH Thomas, and there have been two or three others over the course of many years. I have learned a lot from them; and would not have known any of it if they had not shared it in the magazines.

I said earlier, as did others, that I had been reading old copies of ME form the halcyon days of the 30s to 60s. Halcyon? Actually, no; I really don't think so. So much has changed that most of what is written in those early volumes seems somewhat lacking compared to what we have seen in, say, the last 5 years of current magazines. The technology has changed; the equipment in a typical workshop has changed dramatically; and the standard of today's average and best quality models is light years ahead of what was going on then.

All of that takes us much, much further and makes us much more capable. And it was all because of the magazines. So; while I might be disappointed in some of the content, some of the months, I know that over a period of time I will be able to look back and be satisfied that I learned something. In fact I will be glad. So I won't be failing to renew my subs.

Marcus

[mgnbukParticipant @mgnbuk]

27 replies before the inevitable "if you don't like the content, write your own" statement popped up !

I posted a similar sort of lament a number of years ago about MEW under the previous editor & got the same sort of reply so, after taking the first 210 or so issues of MEW on subscription, I quit. I had already dropped ME a couple of years before that for similar reasons to those initially stated.

I appreciate that there are new editors of both publications now, but the same business model is in place by the publisher and it appears to me that this is the basic problem. The editors are constrained by the publisher & until the publisher changes tune and employs staff writers (like most other mainstream periodicals) to generate content, rather than rely upon the "club magazine" format of the readership supplying the content, I am unlikely to return. I regularly pick up copies of both in the "WHS Reading Room", but have yet to feel sufficiently interested to buy a copy – that others are happy with the current situation suggests that I am in a minority (or am I ?).

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I just voted for Diane by renewing my subscription!

I don't buy the magazine because it perfectly matches my tastes, I buy it because I am generally interested in what others like me are doing. I like people who make or know about ram-jets, clocks, accessories, engines, boats, radio control, fixing stuff, restoration, aircraft, industry best practice and all things similar. I like the history of technology and I enjoy reading about plans, methods, tools, materials, performance, tribulations, exhibitions and club news.

Not all editions are equally interesting to me, nor do I expect them to be. And there's always a risk that I might drift away as interests change. Like others I have a small collection of ME dating from 1919. The old magazines reflect what the majority were contributing at the time: in 1919 it was Wireless! In the 1940s model boats, internal combustion engines and model aircraft were much more popular than they are today. Then there was a time when the pages of ME were dominated by traction engines. At the time these shifts in emphasis pleased many and thoroughly annoyed others. One thing has never changed – guilty or not it's the poor old editor who takes the flak.

Cheers,

Dave

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Nigel B on 15/03/2016 20:30:07:

27 replies before the inevitable "if you don't like the content, write your own" statement popped up !

I posted a similar sort of lament a number of years ago about MEW under the previous editor & got the same sort of reply so, after taking the first 210 or so issues of MEW on subscription, I quit. I had already dropped ME a couple of years before that for similar reasons to those initially stated.

I appreciate that there are new editors of both publications now, but the same business model is in place by the publisher and it appears to me that this is the basic problem. The editors are constrained by the publisher & until the publisher changes tune and employs staff writers (like most other mainstream periodicals) to generate content, rather than rely upon the "club magazine" format of the readership supplying the content, I am unlikely to return. I regularly pick up copies of both in the "WHS Reading Room", but have yet to feel sufficiently interested to buy a copy – that others are happy with the current situation suggests that I am in a minority (or am I ?).

.

 

Forget the moderator tag at the side, I am entitled to and do have a personal opinion.

 

Does anyone else see the TOTAL  hypocrisy in Nigel's remarks above ?

 

Openly states that he no longer subscribes to either of the magazines, admits to going into WH Smitt and company to read but not buy the magazine and then has the gall to come on here and say how things should be run and force his views onto the rest who have a right to be here ?

 

Why don't we bring back the old reader's help voucher system when you had to quote a coupon number of of the mag to get a help query published.

 

[edit] Added TOTAL  hypocrisy to the post

Edited By John Stevenson on 15/03/2016 21:57:56

[Enough!Participant @enough]

Posted by roy entwistle on 15/03/2016 12:20:38:

To Clivel and others who deride the editors of these publications I would respectfully ask Could you do any better ?

And when did you last submit an article ? I wouldn't take Dianne's job on for anything Well done that girl

…. and what? He therefore has no right to voice an opinion even, dare I say it, a complaint? Clive's (and others) contribution is to buy the magazine – and that, in my book gives him at least as much right as anyone else involved to say what he thinks.

I always find the argument "if you can't do any better you can't complain" so specious. I can't lay bricks, but if a have a bricklayer build a wall and that wall then collapses, I will most certainly complain. He's presenting himself as a professional and taking my money for doing the job. I don't see that editors are any different (albeit, I'm arguing in the abstract here – I don't read ME at all and haven't read MEW much in the last few years so I don't really know how Diane and Neil do).

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Clive was actually castigating Diane for not chasing people to get them to contribute; I don't think he can complain if he then gets chased!

Notwithstanding Nigel's perspective, ME and MEW are very much magazines written by their readers, and I know both Diane and I see them as a 'virtual club'. This forum is our clubhouse and the Exhibition is our big get-together.

It's interesting how popular this forum is seeing as its written largely by readers without ANY editing. And this forum is VERY popular if you compare its web rankings with other websites for model engineering and similar hobbies.

Anyone who doesn't ship over Smoke Rings when reading back-issues will know that this is exactly how Percival Marshall thought, indeed he had the notion of a 'worldwide brotherhood of model engineers' bound together by ME. I think this forum probably realises that idea more than ever.

There is no obligation on any reader to write for the magazines. But the majority of people who write for them ARE readers and naturally new authors are most likely to come from the readership.

I would urge everyone who has waded into this debate without reading the magazines within the last few years to go out and buy a copy of each. In fact I think some copies of ME in WHS will have a free MEW packed with them this month, so you can see both magazines on the cheap!

You may actually be surprised by what you find between the covers.

Neil

[clivelParticipant @clivel]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 15/03/2016 22:26:11:

Clive was actually castigating Diane for not chasing people to get them to contribute; I don't think he can complain if he then gets chased!

Actually that was Julian, who I might add, with his wealth of experience is probably far more capable than I at making a worthwhile contribution to ME.

Clive

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

I think the concept of a "virtual club" is an excellent one, and this website, most of the time is indeed a VC. I subscribe to MEW and generally enjoy it, of course there are some bits that I don't enjoy, 3D stuff and CNC stuff in particular, but that's my problem. It's not the fault of the magazine that occasionally there is an article or two that doesn't float my boat. ME magazine doesn't appeal, mainly because I'm not into steam, sooo 19th century!! Just joking.

The amount of help and advice that's available on this forum is amazing, got me out of the mire on several occasions.

I suppose that it goes with the territory but some members of this virtual club still surprise me with their lack of humour, thin skin and general pomposity. But it's all grist to the mill. There are always the others who frequently write something of real interest, or make me laugh out loud. Just like a Real club really, I suppose!!

keep up the good work

cheers

Bill

[Author]

Posts