Well, you could have tried to answer the question without the insult.
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Remember, you have a business and you are posting under your business name. Insulting people is not a good business model.
I'm sorry if you felt my response was an insult. It wasn't. I'm not even sure what was insulting about it - the disagreement with something you wrote? The statement where I think someone is nuts to think Seaworthy isn't a marketing piece?
If you or anyone else doesn't want to use ActiveCaptain because I "call 'em as I see 'em," then don't use ActiveCaptain. Please, don't. ActiveCaptain isn't about me, my wife, or either of my dogs. It's about the hundreds of thousands of people who contribute their knowledge to it.
The reason I use "ActiveCaptain" here as my name is because I'll get in trouble with forum owners who think everything "Jeff Siegel" writes is something hidden to promote ActiveCaptain (something else that's nuts). So I make it incredibly clear exactly who I am. In most ways, I can't win and will ultimately piss off someone. So be it. I'd rather write what I think. It's exactly this reason why you never see other marine electronics companies, developers, and other boating business executives on places like this - they're often treated like crap so they've learned to stay away.
Regarding Seaworthy, I didn't realize it was the BoatUS newsletter. I thought it was their magazine. I did say that I hadn't seen it in 6 months and I meant the magazine. I don't think I've ever seen Seaworthy - didn't even know it existed - and it does seem like a well done newsletter giving tips and help to BoatUS members. It seems obvious to me that the newsletter is a way for them to pass on information that could lessen the possibility of an insurance claim. And there's nothing wrong with that - I think it's an excellent idea. I'd venture a guess that 75% of boaters who are cruising in their boats have not heard about Seaworthy.
For what it's worth, I've been in contact and in conversations with BoatUS for years about alliances for more than just saying how we each like each other (an odd thing that many businesses do). A recent meeting with the president and a VP resulted in them issuing a press release about ActiveCaptain in February. I'd really like them to challenge us to come up with ways to bring them into the internet age because I think they're missing a lot right now. Seaworthy is just one example.
So I happened to open up the online BoatUS magazine. The current issue is 102 pages. 55 of those pages (53%) contains obvious advertising. I had to laugh that there was at least one full page ad for a bottom paint...and then an article about bottom paint, exactly like my out-of-thin-air example I gave previously. In flipping through it quickly it was also interesting to see a full page ad for inReach and then editorial about it later on. And I'm not saying inReach is a bad product - I have one and use it all the time (I am working with DeLorme on a project with it). In total, what I am saying is that while only 47% of the pages contain no blatant advertising, many of them contain hidden advertising and thinking that you can really tell the difference is, well, nuts.