A few (late) thoughts, written from the position of someone who has edited a magazine professionally in the past.
First, let's not lose sight of the fact that Arrivee has improved considerably over the last 12 years or so. When I first joined AUK it resembled a school magazine, with typed copy and line illustrations and full of in-jokes. There was little advertising, if any. It reflected poorly on the organisation. Now it looks like a proper magazine, generally well laid-out and printed, an ever-improving set of photos and a respectable amount of advertising. Improvements in design and printing technology have helped, but can't distract from the fact that the content has also improved.
On the content, as FF says below, so far as I can see the editors tend not to sub-edit the articles that are submitted. That's not surprising, given that they are reliant on the generosity of contributors who are willing to spend time writing for free, but it can result in pieces that are over-long, poorly written or just downright tedious. Certainly, I don't think any of the pieces I have written have been changed, but I would not have objected had they been. If people are precious about their copy they can ask for amends to checked with them, provided that they commit to responding quickly.
A second consideration is that some contributors appear not to have read the very useful guidelines in the handbook and on the web site about writing for Arrivee. I confess that I hadn't the first time I submitted a piece and it would have been a better piece had I done so. That might result in fewer accounts along the "we stopped at the first control to get our cards stamped and had a cup of tea and two slices of cake" variety. (I recall Mrs Miles had something to say about this a couple of years ago but I can't find the item.) I like a piece that will either entice me to try a ride (and include some useful information) or tells of a particularly unusual or interesting series of events - as in the 50% mechanical thread on this board, for example.
On whether we need more articles about BPs rather than permanents, I suspect the reality might be that people who have time to ride lots of perms may also have more time on their hands to write articles. I don't think distance is an issue except to the extent that the slightly macho attitude that one occasionally encounters may put off people who have interesting things to say but feel that their achievements may not be considered worthy of an article. As has been said below, an informative or entertaining piece is still an informative or entertaining piece regardless of the distance being written about, so I'd encourage people to write about 100s as much as about 1200s. Hell, I could do 500 words on my 12km commute some days!
Which leads me to my suggestions. First, to the editors, please feel empowered to edit pieces. Second, add word counts to the guidance and encourage contributors to think in terms of 600 words, 1,000 words, etc. That makes production easier too. Finally, if it isn't already happening, it would be good to see more commissioning of pieces, as has clearly happened with the PBP advice articles in this quarter's edition. I know Tim has occasionally taken leads from this forum to generate articles and I'd encourage more of that.
Overall, I think we should be proud of the mag, considering what a small club we are numerically, and the editors do a great job for little or no thanks (as well as some bitching). I think it's worth the annual membership fee alone. All we need now, to achieve its full glory, is for it to be the guest publication on Have I Got News For You.
