Just catching up. Was going to reply to everything, but with seven pages of comments, I realised there would probably be another seven pages by the time I had replied to each one. So I will try to answer most of the points raised.
First, yes it was me that wrote (in LRO) about the female member of an internet forum who had left in disgust because of the cyber-bullying she had received. I have no idea what forum she was on, as I wasn't a member of any Land Rover forum at the time, but I was concerned that the treatment she received was, apparently, so nasty that she gave up her interest in Land Rovers, too.
Was it Landy Zone? I don't know and I don't really care. I would suggest that it wasn't the forum, but the people on it at the time who were responsible.
Second, I have no control over adverts, subscriptions or anything else on LRM. I am a mere contributor to the magazine. But among my contributions is teh news pages, so like I said, if you have something you think might make a good news story -- for example if you are holding an off-road day for charity, or doing a sponsored greenlanes run.... or anything else that makes a good tale... just let me know.
Third, is the above spam? If so, sorry. But I thought a few people on here might find it useful to deal directly with teh person who puts together the news pages on a Land Rover magazine that's read by a lot of people. If you really want to get your message across to a lot of people, I'm giving you the conduit.
Four (and this is the last one), I've got to admit that I have had my doubts about internet forums in the past. For example, around 2004 I was involved in a fishing website forum which degenerated into a lot of personal abuse. And I don't like that.
But I do realise that the internet is increasingly becoming the place to communicate with others. For example, I can't remember the last time I wrote and posted a letter: these days I communicate mainly by email, but increasingly via Facebook and Twitter.
AND... therefore if I want to communicate with people who share my interest in Land Rovers, it seems pretty obvious that the place to do it is on the forums. Yes, I'm sure there are going to be some obnoxious tw*ts who talks bo***cks and attack other people for no good reason, but the same is true in all walks of life. A**holes exist everywhere, not just on forums.
I've got to admit I'm a bit surprised by the reaction to my appearance on the forum, but at least I got a welcome of sorts. So, if you don't like the idea of a Land Rover journalist on the forum, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I'm not the sort to get bullied, whether physically or the cyber kind. Get used to it.
