forum vs mag?

[Scotty Mitchell]

after some opinions on this, are forums better than magazines when it comes to angling enlightenment? i think its an interesting question. IMHO, this forum is more informative than any mag iv ever read. there are people on here who obviously know their onions very well indeed and thankfully pass on this knowledge. since being a member iv made mistakes and been promptly "cut down", had invaluable advice, hopefully given some, seen new patterns, heard about new places and made some buddys, all free! i just dont know how any monthly publishment can keep up. this is from the biggest technophobe north of the border so im not biased in that way! what do you lot think?

scotty

[marmalade]

It's difficult to read this forum while sitting on the loo, or when on a train: a magazine might work better in these cases. And of course, if you get caught short bankside the forum won't really help you at all..

A magazine also has the advantage that someone (hopefully an editor) has already done the quality and quantity control for you: on a forum it's sometimes hard to know which posts are authoritative and somethimes difficult to find the ones that are in amongst the vast quanity of information here and quite frankly this sentence has gone on far too long.

On the other hand a forum is more immediate and you get to interact with people with a huge pool of knowledge.

So do both!

I got fed up with magazines repeating and copying each other, and all the pages of the same old ads, on the other hand you can ask and get first hand information here on the forum, and it's for free, we've never had it so good.......

[Former member 3]

Are magazines better than forums? Probably not...

Magazines are the perfect places for the contributors and businesses to churn out advertising, I don't want to pay £3.40 something for a glossy magazine full of worthless junk. A Glasgow angling center catalogue already accounts for about 50% of the Trout fisherman (however Paul Procter's articles are pretty good).

So in short for better quality advice, less advertising and to save money, stick to forums!

[Eddie O'Neill]

Totally fed up of the constant advertising in magazines. It just makes you want to open your bank account up. They do have there place, as mentioned, in the loo, the train, etc.

I much prefer forums, more interactive, great advice, great characters of all ages and a wealth of experience.

[JeffR]

I like both and think there is a place for both. Forums good for up to date info, tips, making contacts etc, but I like thumbing through mags too, bedtime/early morning reading. You might as well pose the same question about books vs internet and newspapers vs internet, but plenty are still sold. I even like the ads/sales brochures in fishing mags! Mind you, I reckon plenty of other people also do, even if they pretend they don't......

[guest4]

Both are the same, some days they are good , but most days are not worth bothering with . Simples..

[morayflyfisher]

As with everything advertising is essential for income for both magazine and also for forums,so no difference there apart from you only get one lot of adverts once a month in a mag and not every day as on a forum.

The forum provides an open debate which is instant and communication with friends and colleages up and down the country which is good aswell.
magazines are limited to a budget and remit and often ideas become limited and it ends with the editor.Some do listen and try to improve it within their means and limits and do work hard to give the angler what they want.

As far as repetition goes ,both forum and magazine are the same for it and with new anglers joining the forum tend to ask the same questions which may have been answered months ago which noone minds at all,so if a magazine tends to cover a subject again it can be applied the same reasoning,so again no difference.

For true and honest reporting on both tackle,fisheries,I 100% vote forum everytime as they are not beholden to any company for a favourable report due to advertising budgets or sponsorship and having to pay for a feature in the magazine which all looks very glossy but is it a true reflection?For reports etc they HAVe to be done honestly and true as they find it as it is on behalf of the angler it is being done.No bull,straight and factual, so the angler can get a true expectation of what to expect and give places and tackle a chance to reflect and improve or discount it at their peril.

Anglers also like to relate to places they fish and see and many of them they will just flick past as it means nothing to them and the same places always pop up every issue along with same faces.At least in a forum you get a good variation from a wide source and as said in someones previous post here you get to know who to listen to and who not to,but on the other hand everyone has a value and an opinion and it doesnt mean that a novice cannot give out good advice more than someone who has fished for a while.We can all learn in this hobby from all sources.The best of the forum is ,its instant and often unedited so you get the facts and real truth,MOSt of the time but again their can still be some prejudice which creeps in to some posts so can you class them the same?It really depends on the individual and what he writes and the reasons he writes it.If you want your mush in a magazine just put a nice face picture on the forum and reach as many as the magazines,but make sure what your writing is good and true or look a "conker" at least a magazine has an editor to help make you look good,so maybe thats what you pay for.

[The Bear]

The only thing i miss in any of the angling mags is Rod Tyes articles on lough flies and fishing .

[Darren Lewis]

Forums are great for free advice, for getting to know people, for their immediacy, and for accessing a huge amount of knowledge. Also for loopy's pics, Ryans humour, and Grouses patriotic tub thumping and wisdom beyond his years.

Magazines are great for their flexibility over where you read them, FOR the adverts ( C'mon, nobody has ever bought something from an ad, or thought, wow, look at that!? ), for competitions, for quality of writing, also the magazine doesn't argue with you, and most importantly, the content has been peer reviewed.

On the whole the forums give good advice, but every now and again, I've also seen some terrible advice, compounded by the poster arguing with people when they try and correct them. That's not to say I haven't seen some bad advice in a certain magazine, in one instance downright dangerous, but it is very rare.

Both have pro's and con's, neither is better, but the forum is getting better all the time