February 2016 SIXappeal

[David Withers]

I received the latest SIXappeal this afternoon. I've read most of it already, and completed the crossword as well!

It's a shame the magazine needed to be reduced to 40 pages for this issue, but that's 40 A4-size pages filled with interesting articles and superb photographs, so not at all bad. Quality over quantity.

I must admit that the article I enjoyed most isn't directly related to our cars. I refer to Malcolm Stewart's continuation of his "It's in your Tank" story of crude oil exploration and refinement. I spotted just one typo ("one atom of hydrogen and two of carbon" should be the other way round) but it was otherwise perfectly presented and a very good read. There were several other contenders for my virtual 'Most Enjoyable' award but Malcolm's just scraped ahead.

No historic bus story from Kevin this time, which is a pity. I always look forward to reading about our Triumphs, but some well-written excursions into other subjects make the magazine even more enjoyable.

So "well done" to all who played a part in the magazine, and I apologise for my own lack of contribution.

[Polly]

I can only second all of the above, and whilst I have to confess missing the mistake in that excellent article, i did notice the absence of s bus. I have to agree we have have come to expect a bus to appear somewhere in any worthwhile Triumph magazine, perhaps the two vintage aircraft was intended to wean us off busses.


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[Mike Stevens]

I think the point here is that Kevin is short of copy for Six Appeal so the onus is really on us all to write something for him to include! I'm sure he gets fed up having to write something himself to fill up the pages.

Cheers,
Mike.

[johnnydog]

Being a regular contributor to the Local Groups section of SIXappeal, it disappoints me that given the current Register Membership numbers, there are not more written articles and 'interesting' photographs supplied by these Members. The vast majority of the Membership are in the Register now because they are passionate about our Triumphs and have a genuine interest in the cars, rather than (as the case was back in the 80's and early 90's) as a source of maintaining their 'daily hack' cheaply as a result of other members experiences or stock of cheap(ish) parts.
The magazine is still eagerly awaited when due by many, but if the content quality dwindles as a lack of contributions, then ultimately the Membership will suffer. For those that are not active in their Local Groups (shame on them!) or within the Show scene, the only contact with the Register is SIXappeal, or the forum or internet (and even the Forum activity is currently dwindling because of the Face Ache etc).
I'm sure it wouldn't take take up too much time or thought for Register members to contribute something of reasonable interest to us fellow members......
After all, the Editor is there to 'edit', not 'write'!

[kevinw]

Wandered into the Forum today and found this topic. First, thanks you all for the kind positive comments about SIXappeal. It is always gratifying to hear and read that it is appreciated!

I've been harping on about the lack of contributions for some time; I can think of just 2 or 3 occasions when I have needed to hold stuff over because I have more material than I can use, although I do sometimes, but not very often, hold stuff back to get some balance.

Of late, the lack of material has become more obvious and you will probably have noticed that the pictures and graphics have got bigger - but perhaps this is also because as the quality of people's cameras has got better I have been able to print the pictures in a larger format. However, none of this is unique to the 2000 / 2500 Register, many will know that I have edited other magazines and contributed to paid for mags. The same problem applies across the board, but perhaps we notice it more because we have (he says immodestly) a magazine of a quality that is far in excess of what might be expected from a club with around 700 or so members

Sometimes people come up with ideas to increase the content, but, sad to say, they usually start with the words "you could...." rather than "I could..." and thus they invariably involve me in yet more work and although I am a willing volunteer, I don't really want to spend all my waking time on SIXappeal! The idea of being an "Editor" is that I should select, edit and sometimes comment on the contributions and not actually write them! There are a small number of members who are regular contributors, but without them, the entire magazine would rapidly be filled with articles on preserved buses, narrowboats and steam locomotives of the Southern Railway!

On a slightly different but related topic, people often comment on the impact of social media such as Facebook. My own view, which may not be a reflection of my fellow Board members, is that there will in time be a closer combination of different forms of media with print and online complementing each other and adding to the overall "experience". It wasn't that long ago that online communication was by way of "Bulletin Boards" and "Chat Rooms". They went when Internet Newsgroups came along and *they* faded in favour of online forums (fora?) Now, whether we like it or not, Social Media is taking the place of forums and with every change, people have said "I don't like it, I'm not going to use it" - but eventually they do. The trick is to spend some time to learn how to use it effectively and to control it.

Anyway... quite enough of my rambling thoughts - I need to get back to this bus museum magazine I'm supposed to be doing.

Kevin