New Owner for Model Boats

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

What is true for the forum is also true for the magazine archive. It is still there at the moment but will that continue?

I have taken precautions.

One problem with grabbing forum threads is that whilst it is all there at the moment I really don't know which bits I will want in the future. There is also the problem that some of the images in past threads have been deleted from the albums of the contributor which of course means they have disappeared from threads.

Edited By Chris E on 16/04/2022 21:15:17

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have posted on Mayhem a couple of times in the very dim and distant past, and if our forum closed I would migrate over (no idea what my logon or password is) but the increased numbers can make for confused reading.

The American RC forum site I have also posted on,when there was a thread about Hydroglisseurs butthere are millions of topics and threads

, Ashley

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I think the fact that the forum hasn't been closed down already is a very positive sign and to me indicates that at least there is a desire to keep something going.

Mayhem has way too many armchair experts and inflated egos for me so I certainly won't be going in that direction.

As for loosing archives and data, having seen considerable amounts of work disappear in the past when forums closed down or changed hands, I now firmly believe that you should consider everything you put on a forum as expendable as it may well suddenly not be there when you log in one morning. 

I do think though that considering the value of a forum as being in its archives is missing the point.  To me the value is in the membership, their collective knowledge and their willingness to share it.  Friendly respectful forums are always more productive and valuable and any information can be repeated by the membership on request.  I have no doubt that we could take the same membership here, put them on a different completely empty platform and the same positive atmosphere would continue.

That is a big difference for me between here and Mayhem, on Mayhem you see a question posted and immediately there are a number of replies all falling over themselves trying to outdo each other and make themselves look clever and more important.  Here you see one or two answers and most other members are happy to accept it.

I wouldn't underestimate the value of this membership and just hope that we can keep it in some form or another.

 

Edited By Richard Simpson on 17/04/2022 09:24:36

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I think Richard is right that much of the value here is in a friendly community of like minded people as opposed to an online reference facility. Whilst a lot of old material remains valuable much of it quickly goes out of date such as where to buy specific items etc. I suppose it is a balance really.

The Model Flying and Model Engineer forums are much more active than this one and closing them down would impact on magazine sales I think.

However, it should also be remembered that Military Modelling magazine ceased publication because the forum was hosting all the interesting material and too few people were actually buying the magazine. The tail was wagging the dog but when the magazine stopped the forum was closed down too.

Colin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I agree with most of what you and Richard say but unfortunately over time the number of members offering valuable advice is unfortunately diminishing and so that held in older threads can be very important for anyone researching information. When I first started I read everything I could and made copious notes.

What's complicating forums as well nowadays is that some like Mahem also have Facebook groups as well and some of those posting don't post on the Mahem forum itself which rather fragments things.

Chris

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sob sob. There’s no hope really is there? Magazines closing because the forum is more successful…Facebook virtual forums detracting from real forums.

Not been on Mayhem much, but it is a bit straggly. The MB forum is noticeably non-combatative when compared to a lot of other forums.

I for one would not want to lose contact with all you decent chaps, even, in the event of forum implosion, it means having a group e-mail something pending a more general platform.

Ashley

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

This is becoming very negative about the forum continuance without any real evidence to back it up.

I guess that it will continue at least until someone queries an invoice that had arrived.

This forum is relatively quiet but the RCM&E and the engineering forum are much busier and may well add value to the magazine titles. I cannot see them shutting this one and leaving the others. I suspect any changes to the magazine will come first.

 

Edited By Chris E on 18/04/2022 09:37:43

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Chris,

I don't think people are being negative about the forum at all, It will all come down to the new owners view on such things, I'm with Colin on the basis that it is a social place to keep in touch with others with the same interests and to be able to show off our new projects .

Regards Ray

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

The purchase of the magazine didn't happen overnight and so there would have been plenty of time for Mortons to consider what part, if any, the forum had in the acquisition and what it's future was likely to be.

As is usual and understandable when information is lacking folks think the worst. Mortons mention the magazine on their web-site (but I can't find the magazine now!) but no mention of the forum. Also no mention of how to pay subscriptions!! I know in some ways it's early days but you'd think that when the announcement was made everything would be in place, given it stated with immediate effect? I haven't renewed yet as I can only do this via MTM or an independent supplier! Bit of a shambles really or am I being unfair?

Chris E – you say that there is no real evidence to support closing of this forum, which is true. But I doubt it would have been a 5 minute job transferring the RCM&E forum over and as the announcement says this has been done it was obviously planned well beforehand and a decision made. Transferring Model Boats may be more complicated as it is a bespoke web-site but you would have thought the announcement would at least say it was planned for it to happen even if it couldn't be done by the announcement date. But as zilch has been said about Model Boats I'm not holding my breath.

Chris

 

Edited By Chris Fellows on 18/04/2022 13:25:12

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

As I've mentioned before I think the fact that we still have the forum has to be seen as a positive thing. The plug could have been pulled on it the second the sale took place so there is obviously a transitional period where the reins are being picked up by Mortons and the fact that the forum is still here obviously indicates that Mortons see some value in it. I also don't think it is a case of waiting for the first bill because this platform is actually owned by MTM so they would have been well within their rights to simply shut it down the second they no longer had any say over the forum.

I'm all for remaining positive for now.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Richard – I've edited my post. As you can see I'm less positive now!

Chris

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The transfer is almost certainly being done in stages as most MTM functions such as subscriptions, accounts, printing etc. are on outsourced contracts which presumably Mortons will need to take over or terminate if they want them brought back in house so it could all take a little while. Many of the MTM staff including Editors are self employed freelancers too. The IT side is still in house at MTM I think though.

Colin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I have found the magazine again this time. It does seem a bit of a weird way to operate a business – click on Buy Now and nothing happens! I can understand that it can take some time for outsourced services to be realigned but I would have thought that subscriptions would be number one on the list! I'm not paying a subscription to a company or it's agent who no longer owns the magazine.

Chris

Edited By Chris Fellows on 18/04/2022 14:51:39

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Posted by Francis Macnaughton on 15/04/2022 09:35:34:

If you go to the Mortons website and look at the modelling magazine page there is a section on MB magazine with a link straight to this website. Additionally, the FAQ page on the Mortons site has a digital products section that describes PocketMags as their digital partner with a link so you can log in to your existing Pocketmags account and access all the MBM issues you bought via MTM. Hopefully this means that there should be a smooth transition to new ownership setup.

Problem is though that the archived copies aren't available via Pocketmags, unless there is a way to add them, and without access to them I wouldn't be interested in renewing the digital part of my subscription.

Chris

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

I agree that without the archive there is little reason to buy the print + digital option.

I believe that access to the past issues archive (2007 on) is part of the digital subscription and thus part of the contract that you have. The magazine has not gone bust so any contractual obligations pass to the new owner. They can surely only change that when you renew and a new contract is agreed .

I am not concerned about losing the archive at the present time. Once the ownership fully changes who knows what the subscription package on offer will look like.

As an aside I have dealt with Mortons in the past for a different magazine and found them absolutely fine.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

That's part of the problem Chris, my current subscription is almost up and so will be soon entering into a new contract.

Even when I had previous subscriptions/contracts with MTM they tried to move the goalposts by reducing the number of issues from 13 to 12. When I challenged them on this they increased my subscription by a month.

I will contact Mortons to see what the new subscription actually provides as regards the digital part.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Chris E – can you PM me please.

Thanks, Chris

[Trevor Drabble 1Participant @trevordrabble1]

Further to my post of 10/04 , my May issue has just arrived . YEH , IM HAPPY ONCE AGAIN .

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

Mine too.

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Something to Keep an Eye On.

The digital archive has not been updated since the February issue. Neither March nor April have been included and we now await May.

I have received my Digital Copy at least a week ahead of the official publication date during the last few months. Now the May publication date is here, the magazine should be in the shops, the print subscribers appear to have their magazines and my digital copy is late not having yet arrived.

As I said just watching for changes………….

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Interesting as I hadn't noticed that as they are in my Pocketmags list and I only tend to look at the archive for older stuff as I have the more recent magazines.

I asked the question about the archive being part of the digital subscription after receiving an email earlier in the week and still haven't had a reply to what I would have thought was a simple question. Accepting that the sale has only recently happened and it was after Easter. And the email received still referred to MTM with their address!

If the archive isn't included in the digital subscription I definitely won't be renewing it and if the forum goes I shall seriously be considering if it's worth continuing with the magazine as well as for me it's all part of the package. I'm not a charity either! 

Chris

 

Edited By Chris Fellows on 22/04/2022 16:48:59

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

The big advantage of Pocketnags over the archive is that it is very easy to download pages – even if only 2 at a time.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Would be good if the archive could be added to Pocketmags.

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

I don't see that happening as you own your copies in Pocketmags but you only have access to the archive whilst a digital subscriber.

If the archive is to have any commercial value they need to limit access somehow.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Although Model Flying has now moved to a new software platform, the same procedure is still in place for accessing their digital archive.

Colin

[Author]

Posts