Forums and magazines: a blurred line

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Nick, waiting for the latest issue to come out (BW35), but on trying to purchase BW22 I keep getting an error.

I see that F&C has just made a case in point. Just bought their latest mag online and see that Rob's mask cabinet has just been published. I really enjoyed reading the WIP here; do I need to pay to read it again? I think they saw me coming #-o

H.
 
Could you email me about BW22? I'm on the move and may otherwise forget.
 
I've emailed the technical department and will post the moment I have news about BW22.

On a separate note, about the publication of WIP from forums in magazines, I would just add that people may underestimate how much work is often done to a project to interpret, clarify and expand instructions, not to mention the addition of illustrations. Often we just extract one or two (and sometimes more) key techniques so that they can be used by woodworkers for something else later on. That said, I will always check the provenance of projects from readers in the future, though I don't think I've offended before!!!

Nick
 
I never post anything that I have written for publication by a magazine on forums. Usually the article or review will also be published on-line some time after the publication of the magazine. I may post additional material after the publication date, but it is up to the publisher what they do with the original material.

If anyone wants to publish something that I have posted on a forum that has not been published elsewhere they are welcome to do so provided they seek my permission.

Some forums contain clauses in their rules or guidelines that allow the publication of excerpts from the forum.

Walter
 
British Woodworking - that's a new one on me. I don't browse book shops much these days (or any other shops for that matter) so I'm not up to date with the latest offerings. How long has BW been going?

K
 
Nick - the guys at pocket mags sorted it out in about ten minutes after I emailed this morning - but thanks for looking into it. The magazine looks good on the tablet too!

In my original post I did make a point of saying I appreciate the production values that go into making an article, and I also appreciate that you may ask for certain things to be highlighted in any specific article. I also think having a forum to ask specific questions about a project is great but it should come after publication and therefore complement the article, not the other way around.

H.
 
Halo Jones":3dy0jjsw said:
I also think having a forum to ask specific questions about a project is great but it should come after publication and therefore complement the article, not the other way around. H.

Couldn't agree more. But is there not scope for us to see something on a forum (say the amazing Italian 'blurry' cabinet mentioned the other day), and do some research and show how it was made, at least in part? I think a relationship between forums and magazines can be valuable.

Woodworking forums owned by magazines in Britain don't seem to get much momentum, compared with the independent forums. One reader suggested we have a British Woodworking section on UKW to follow up on articles/projects in the magazine, rather than starting up our own forum. I never got round to asking Charley and the mods if it might be a possibility. Currently we promote three forums on our website, but I'm not against a more formal link with UKW. I quite understand if there are reservations.

Nick
 
One reader suggested we have a British Woodworking section on UKW to follow up on articles/projects in the magazine, rather than starting up our own forum

I think that is potentially a very good idea. I can see a few potential problems your side such as making sure someone from the magazine manned the forum and kept up with the content. If a forum thread referenced a particular article then it would be most beneficial if the author of the article was responding. Do you then have to pay the author for the extra forum work?
 
Halo Jones":ymevkhzq said:
One reader suggested we have a British Woodworking section on UKW to follow up on articles/projects in the magazine, rather than starting up our own forum

I think that is potentially a very good idea. I can see a few potential problems your side such as making sure someone from the magazine manned the forum and kept up with the content. If a forum thread referenced a particular article then it would be most beneficial if the author of the article was responding. Do you then have to pay the author for the extra forum work?
A really bad idea.
However good or bad the mag we need to be able to comment freely and not have commercial interests cosying up. Nothing personal Nick, but there is a point where input becomes promotional rather than simply a discussion. Ads should be paid for or completely banned.
The same applies to any other commercial interests IMHO
 
Halo Jones":1hezjrl8 said:
I think that is potentially a very good idea. I can see a few potential problems your side such as making sure someone from the magazine manned the forum and kept up with the content. If a forum thread referenced a particular article then it would be most beneficial if the author of the article was responding. Do you then have to pay the author for the extra forum work?

There are issues. Not sure how it would work in reality. I'd probably have to act as a conduit, alerting authors when there is a question or comment. The clearer they are with their instructions, the fewer questions they'll get!!!! The same's true for us. I can only just afford to pay them for their contributions, let alone aftercare! And there are the issues of commerciality, as mentioned by Jacob. I quite understand.

Nick
 
Nick Gibbs":3sb995do said:
I've emailed the technical department and will post the moment I have news about BW22.

On a separate note, about the publication of WIP from forums in magazines, I would just add that people may underestimate how much work is often done to a project to interpret, clarify and expand instructions, not to mention the addition of illustrations. Often we just extract one or two (and sometimes more) key techniques so that they can be used by woodworkers for something else later on. That said, I will always check the provenance of projects from readers in the future, though I don't think I've offended before!!!

Nick
Nick, are you saying you take stuff from forums, repackage and publish it? How does the author get recompense?

I for one, would be outraged if you took something substantial I wrote in a woodworking forum and used it in some way in a printed magazine format without at minimum asking my permission, and better still, offering financial reward. On the other hand, if I write something intended for publication in print, I write for that medium, and it doesn't appear in what I consider to be a polished publishable form in a woodworking forum, or similar, until much later, many months later.

Maybe I'm a bit of an oddball nowadays, but I've always been, perhaps sadly, a bit protective of my intellectual property, of which my written work is a part. I realise that online public forums have particular intellectual property issues, and maybe I've completely misunderstood what you said.

There again, I haven't written anything intended for publication in a journal or magazine for some time, so perhaps my alarm bell is ringing needlessly. I haven't stopped writing for publication; it's just that the writing I'm working on now isn't aimed at publication in a journal or a magazine. Slainte.
 
I have never repackaged stuff from forums, but I've occasionally quoted people from forums, crediting members and the forum accordingly as a journalist should. It is, after all, in the public domain and perfectly legal.

Nick
 
Re-reading Richard's comment, I think he may think my use of the word 'extract' refers to information on forums. This is not the case. It refers to projects we are sent by contributors. Apologies for any confusion. I do not steal things from forums.

Nick
 
Nick Gibbs":3lso08uy said:
Re-reading Richard's comment, I think he may think my use of the word 'extract' refers to information on forums. This is not the case. It refers to projects we are sent by contributors. Apologies for any confusion. I do not steal things from forums. Nick
Okay Nick. I think I now understand. I did wonder if I'd misinterpreted you, hence me writing "maybe I've completely misunderstood what you said". Slainte.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top