Future Publishing's PC magazine

[ProfJohnL]

I'll state now that I no longer regularly read PC magazine as I don't have a caravan, and when I last looked at one (in the days of Haymarket ownership) it seemed to be crammed with more adverts than decent editorial matter. There were occasionally articles of interest to me.

But I was wondering in the light of the apparent lack of support for the forum from its new owners, if PC magazine readers are noticing any similar traits in the content and presentation of the magazine?

 

[Dustydog]

I'll state now that I no longer regularly read PC magazine as I don't have a caravan, and when I last looked at one (in the days of Haymarket ownership) it seemed to be crammed with more adverts than decent editorial matter. There were occasionally articles of interest to me.

But I was wondering in the light of the apparent lack of support for the forum from its new owners, if PC magazine readers are noticing any similar traits in the content and presentation of the magazine?

This will interest you Prof
https://www.practicalcaravan.com/news/94769-meet-the-winners-of-tourer-of-the-year-2019
Looks a promising article written by our current Editor. Adverts are an issue for all of us but sadly they do pay for the magazine and of course the upkeep of the Forum and website. IMO the general content of the magazine is still pretty good with the usual band of contributors providing varied and intelligent articles.

Future publishing don't seem interested in the Forum but if we rock the boat it may disappear for good.
Damian did write to the new Owners a while back . Whether he ever received a reply I am sure he will tell us.

 

[Thingy]

Lets be totally honest. The adverts dont pay for the upkeep of the forum and website. They are purely to make money for the publishers. Advertising revenue is what its all about.
None of the magazines caravan, car, fishing, hi-fi or whatever give a monkeys about editorial content.
Would i pay a subscription to read a load of adverts that i can see for free - not likely. When they improve the quality and quantity of articles and show more interest in the forum i may consider it.

 

[Thingy]

Future publishing don't seem interested in the Forum but if we rock the boat it may disappear for good

Free bulletin boards are two a penny, it would be no big deal to move to one. They are a doddle to setup and I for one would be willing to pay the subscription for an ad-free one.

 

[Grey13]

This forum platform is free. To host it is next to nothing, I myself host numerous web sites. I have already considered simply starting a new forum but there is a major problem. This forum is well known and has 35000 odd members. To gain that popularity is very difficult. I thought of names but for now is it really worth the pain. This is in the main a public conversation forum, not a caravanning technical bulletin board. It would also take years to gain the same popularity if it ever did and in any case there are already alternative forums that one can use. I'm not sure it's worth the pain rather than anything to do with cost.

 

[Thingy]

You make a good point re the number of members but Ill bet there arent 100 regular contributors. Many people join and lurk contributing nothing more than to click advertising. Others ask one question never to be seen again not even acknowledging those that took the trouble to try and help them.

 

[Parksy]

Instant messaging and phone apps such as Snapchat or WhatsApp seem to have taken the place of (relatively) old style internet forums.
Many forum members have complained that the adverts on this website in recent times often obscure the content submitted by members, but this website and it's forum were always designed to be used primarily by laptop or desktop computers, whereas smart phones lend themselves more to the instant messaging apps that I referred to.
In the Haymarket era, this forum was regarded by editorial staff as the online voice of the readership and also of the journalists who contribute to blogs and advice sections on the website as a whole.
Future PLC who now own this website / forum have indeed increased the amount of advertising on this website / forum since they absorbed the Practical Caravan brand, but so far there has been no feedback or acknowledgement from Future plc that they are even aware of the existence of this internet forum.
The current editor of Practical Caravan magazine continues to add articles to this website, although he has never to my knowledge posted on the message boards. To be fair, historically not many of the Practical Caravan journalists have ever done so so this is nothing new.
This forum is fairly well established with a nucleus of loyal and knowledgeable regular contributors that the brand are lucky to have as followers.
The younger generation tend to use the instant messaging apps to find or to exchange information, unlike many of us here who tend to build friendly online relationships over time.
The instant messaging crowd don't want to be anybody's online friend, they simply get the information that they are seeking and move on. This would explain why some newer forum members ask a question and never reply, and are never heard from again.
I think that it would be extremely difficult and time consuming to launch and to establish an internet forum such as this one nowadays, the world wide web has moved on and is constantly evolving so any new admin would be playing catch-up for evermore.
There are better and more efficient platforms for information sharing now, I administer the internet profiles of two of the choirs that I'm associated with, and website traffic is virtually zero, both websites are used simply as archives.
The choral Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp platforms that I admin attract regular followers, enquiries etc, and things such as advertising posters for forthcoming events and photographs can be uploaded from any camera-phone with no fuss and no need for third party photo hosting involvement.
Perhaps this might explain (but not excuse) the apparent lack of support from Future plc?

 

[ProfJohnL]

..This forum is well known and has 35000 odd members. ...

Hmm, not convinced about that. yes the data section of the page gives such numbers but that probably also includes once only visitors, and those who visit by mistake. Perhaps Parksy or Damian may have a better idea of real numbers.

 

[Damian]

Quote " Damian did write to the new Owners a while back . Whether he ever received a reply I am sure he will tell us. "

Unfortunately I have not had any reply , which I wish I could say is a surprise, but it is not.

As for an idea of real numbers, sorry that is something which I have tried to establish but cannot.
A lot of so called members seem to be one shot wonders, simply register then do nothing.

I am pretty sure that the number actually taking part in the Forum is nowhere near the 35000 quoted.
Perhaps more like 350.and that is being generous.

If I had the time and , more importantly the inclination, I would go through the members list and remove all those who have never posted since joining and those who have not posted over , say, 5 years ago.

 

[Hutch]

I just ignore the adds. Using my phone whilst away touring. The adds are at the end of my screen, only seen when I scroll down to the end. Let's keep this forum going, it's the best.

 

[eddyx11]

I was as disillusioned as some of you chaps, with the state of Caravan Forums. So I made my own, there's no adverts, it's free and there's no ulterior motive.

You are welcome to check it out and see if it'll do, or not!

CaravanForum.co uk

I'm sorry that my first post is to spam you for new members.... but hey, that seems to be the corporate way!

All the best
Ted

No hard feelings if you aren't interested.

 

[Damian]

I have removed a posting by Eddiex11 for the following reasons:
First as it was, by his own admission, a spam post.
Second it was advertising which is , as everyone who reads the Forum Rules knows is not allowed.
Third it seems that from his first registering on the site back in 2011 this was his first posting and obviously had not adhered to the forum rules. His reasoning for spamming was "It seems the corporate way now"..Sorry to advise that spamming in any form is usually met by an instant ban from the whole site, but I have not done that ………...yet !!!

 

[eddyx11]

Sorry about that. However, if you want spam just look at this forum without an ad blocker!

I appreciate that you have to toe the corporate line, even if they ignore your staff's inquiries. I've been an (inactive) forum member for many years, a PC subscriber for the same. I don't post much on this type of forum purely because I don't like the corporate agenda.

Sorry again and I hope your new masters don't just bin the resource, I was only suggesting an alternative.

 

[Damian]

Despite not instigating an immediate ban on Eddiex11, he has come back and still blatantly advertising. The Ban is now in place and permanent.

 

[Craigyoung]

I just ignore the adds. Using my phone whilst away touring. The adds are at the end of my screen, only seen when I scroll down to the end. Let's keep this forum going, it's the best.

Same here . Don't think i would go else where or pay for another website . Its good crack , with us regulars & newcomers some that stay and some that go .
I wouldn't know half as much if it wasn't for this site . ( and still learning) :lol:

 

[Dustydog]

I just ignore the adds. Using my phone whilst away touring. The adds are at the end of my screen, only seen when I scroll down to the end. Let's keep this forum going, it's the best.

Same here . Don't think i would go else where or pay for another website . Its good crack , with us regulars & newcomers some that stay and some that go .
I wouldn't know half as much if it wasn't for this site . ( and still learning) :lol:

It is a good crack Craig and on the whole a good friendly place. Hopefully you will make it to a Woosiefest one day and enjoy the Forumites even more. Knowledge on here is good and usually quick.

 

[Buckman]

I belong to a caravan forum and have the option to pay a membership fee to avoid advertising. What really gets my goat is if you are looking for a specific article and then buy it, afterwards you are inundated with adverts for similar articles and these adverts are of no use as you have already bought the article in question!

 

[Grey13]

Here's a GENERAL thought

If a website forum of any sort is free.....

You are the product!

They are collecting data and selling it on at a very good profit, your habits likes etc.
Like Buckman said, in fact if you search for jacks as an example, almost immediately you will find all manner of "jack" adverts all over the place.

The world we live in!

 

[Harby]

I love this forum. We're relatively new to caravanning so I have very little to offer in terms of true, technical advice, but have tried to proffer bits and pieces from our experiences over the last couple of years, and always try and have a sneaky look at the recent posts if I have 5 mins spare. It would be a shame if the new owners didn't keep it going... but if anyone does move it, please take me with you

 

[JRS1]

Hi Grey 13, Piper and tunes spring to mind , you have it right .
Money ,money, money , cheers Jrs

 

[otherclive]

Hi Grey 13, Piper and tunes spring to mind , you have it right .
Money ,money, money , cheers Jrs

Spot on. In the commercial world nothing comes free, unless there is a trade off elsewhere. Without the recycling of finance the world would stop.

 

[Dodger524]

Here's a GENERAL thought

If a website forum of any sort is free.....

You are the product!

They are collecting data and selling it on at a very good profit, your habits likes etc.
Like Buckman said, in fact if you search for jacks as an example, almost immediately you will find all manner of "jack" adverts all over the place.

The world we live in!

That is due to your acceptance of the ubiquitous cookies that accompany this website. You had the opportunity of refusing to be tracked.

 

[Parksy]

I love this forum. We're relatively new to caravanning so I have very little to offer in terms of true, technical advice, but have tried to proffer bits and pieces from our experiences over the last couple of years, and always try and have a sneaky look at the recent posts if I have 5 mins spare. It would be a shame if the new owners didn't keep it going... but if anyone does move it, please take me with you

Thanks for your support Harby.

There's no evidence that the new owners wouldn't continue to run this forum, this thread is just about caravanners doing what we do best - having a grumble

 

[Gafferbill]

.......I'm not grumbling :cheer:

I visit this forum on my phone and laptop using the same modern browser. .....I don't see any adverts at all on either!
I do get constantly requested to set the privacy settings which is a pain......probably because my browser is configured to wipe all history on shut down.

 

[SamandRose]

Quote " Damian did write to the new Owners a while back . Whether he ever received a reply I am sure he will tell us. "

Over the last couple of years the magazine has published a few articles that I've written following our caravanning breaks. I didn't receive or ever discuss any payment for them; it was enough for me if someone other than myself enjoyed reading what I had written.

Back in May I received an email from the editor saying that he had notified Future plc that I was one of their contributors, and would be receiving an email from them shortly to register me on their payments system. Guess what never arrived ... I think that since the takeover the magazine has published one more article from me for which I received not a penny.

Back on topic - this is a great forum and can whoever is running it please keep up the good work

And as regards internet advertising, as far as I'm concerned they can show me whatever they like. Showing me something and expecting me to read it are two entirely different things ...