Sky & Space magazine - Page 5

Omaroo (Chris Malikoff) · #81 22-06-2009, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

I can just see Mike's eyes rolling at that Jonathan.

But a year book..... there's an idea.....with contributions from members.

Glad someone's thinking. What a stupendous idea - a short-run coffee table book with a page for each member who contributes. Get some decent design work happening (maybe a comp?) and it'd be a yearly hit I reckon.

iceman (Mike) · #82 22-06-2009, 12:30 PM

A topic for another thread, perhaps?

A little off-topic in here.

h0ughy (David) · #83 22-06-2009, 12:48 PM

where is that link from Erick

erick (Eric) · #84 22-06-2009, 12:50 PM

Here it is:-

http://www.davidreneke.com/astro-space-news

stephenb (Stephen) · #85 22-06-2009, 08:06 PM

Okay, so let me understand this...At least two individuals had an involvement in a registered publication in this country, and have received monies for subscriptions, to which the payees have not received the goods for. Did the publication or company publishing the magazine go into some form or bankruptcy/receivership? Have the persons concerned now wiped their hands of the previous financial management of the monies owed, and simply moved into new jobs? Forgive me for being cynical here....

Above all, one word comes to mind to describe the overall issue "communication" - or lack of.

Marclau (Marcel) · #86 22-06-2009, 10:09 PM

This is yet another sign of the struggling newpaper/magazine market.
McGills in Elizabeth St Melbourne just closed down and I was shocked as only a few days earlier was told my overseas magazine had arrived.
When I arrived, the doors were closed.........might have to go across the road to Mag Nation.

In fact I saw many astronomy mags there too!!

spacezebra (Petra) · #87 22-06-2009, 10:22 PM

That is sad news! I used to work in Collins Street and McGills was my favourite newsagency.

Cheers Petra d.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marclau

This is yet another sign of the struggling newpaper/magazine market.
McGills in Elizabeth St Melbourne just closed down and I was shocked as only a few days earlier was told my overseas magazine had arrived.
When I arrived, the doors were closed.........might have to go across the road to Mag Nation.

In fact I saw many astronomy mags there too!!

erick (Eric) · #88 22-06-2009, 11:56 PM

Now that is a shock and doesn't make sense - they were always full of customers. Wait a minute, they were full of people standing and reading all the magazines, like I did with the overseas astronomy magazines that I don't buy - woops!

stephenb (Stephen) · #89 23-06-2009, 07:17 AM

That's sad about McGills as I always went there for my tech and reference books.

I think David Reneke better tell the Melbourne Herald Sun of his job change. He is billed on page 41 today as "news editor of Sky & Space Magazine". But given his track record of keeping people informed and updated, I doubt it will change for a while.

Alchemy (Clive) · #90 23-06-2009, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erick

Dave Reneke's latest Astro Space News contains:-

"Effective from this week I am no longer involved with Sky and Space magazine.... Sky and Space is currently in a hiatus situation at the moment with plans by the owner to re-publish again sometime in 2010."

to me that reads he was only an employee of a company run by someone else.

i personally think you are going to have to accept your subscription is unlikely to be completed.

Not only that but there is the competition AST which now has a solid market base.

having been through a number of closures as a creditor, the liquidators just wind it up, pay the secured creditors (banks) and you get nothing, and even if it looks dodgy ASIC wont intervene they dont have the time or the assets (ive done some work for one of their senior lawyers and i discussed this with him) you could if you were so aggrieved persue it but it would cost you more than its worth.

In the building industry this happens week in week out and not for just a couple hundred dollars. You learn to move on after you have been burned a few times.

Enchilada · #91 23-06-2009, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alchemy

...you could if you were so aggrieved persue it but it would cost you more than its worth.

What about a class action???

Hagar (Doug) · #92 23-06-2009, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada

What about a class action???

On track record it is going to be hard to get money out of a stone. Even with a class action the costs would probably out way the returns to subscribers. The legals will always get paid first.

Better to forget about it and move on. We are not talking about life savings here.
If by some chance a new Mag appears the descision to buy would need to be made then. At the moment it is all supposition.

stephenb (Stephen) · #93 15-08-2009, 11:46 PM

I had a friend say to me that they were going to subscribe to Sky and Space via their website. I immediately jumped on them and advised them not to take up a subscription to this obsolete magazine.

What is down right wrong is that this poor excuse of an Australian magazine is still masquerading as a current publication. How lazy are these people? Can't they just take down the website? Just have a look at the website. It has not changed for months or even years. Oh look, the latest issue is out!!! Sept/Oct 2007!! I hope no poor unsuspecting beginner doesn't get sucked into trying to take out a subscription.

It is clearly obvious that they are no longer in publication, I wish they would admit it to themselves.

I don't care if they are/were operating using volunteers, as is suggested. If you are not publishing a magazine, take down you useless website and move on to something more productive in the world.

Ian Robinson · #94 16-08-2009, 07:07 PM

The subscribers have blown their money .... despite paying their upfront subscriptions in good faith to get a magazine that at best had a very poor record wrt publishing on time over the years .... a reason why I ditched Sky & Space years ago as well not being impressed with the content.

The ones I feel sorry for are the local very small astrogear vendors, whom will have signed up to buy advertising in Sky & Space , several issues in advance and will have paid for some or all of that advertising which will not have been cheap which they will never benefit from now (but at least they can write the cost of that off against their tax as a loss).

If I were in the trade and Sky & Space returned sometime in the future I'd be very reluctant to throw more money at them to buy advertising spreads in the reborn magazine. Once burnt twice shy.

Companies who take people's subscriptions and do not deliver the goods , just shut down and keep the subscriptions are crooks.

Ian Robinson · #95 16-08-2009, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenluceskies

I had a friend say to me that they were going to subscribe to Sky and Space via their website. I immediately jumped on them and advised them not to take up a subscription to this obsolete magazine.

What is down right wrong is that this poor excuse of an Australian magazine is still masquerading as a current publication. How lazy are these people? Can't they just take down the website? Just have a look at the website. It has not changed for months or even years. Oh look, the latest issue is out!!! Sept/Oct 2007!! I hope no poor unsuspecting beginner doesn't get sucked into trying to take out a subscription.

It is clearly obvious that they are no longer in publication, I wish they would admit it to themselves.

I don't care if they are/were operating using volunteers, as is suggested. If you are not publishing a magazine, take down you useless website and move on to something more productive in the world.

This should be a police matter .... keeping the subscription website up and open (to take money for a magazine that "might come back ... maybe") is not just lazyness and incompetence - IT IS FRAUD.

yoot · #96 01-09-2009, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenluceskies

I hope no poor unsuspecting beginner doesn't get sucked into trying to take out a subscription.

I took out a sub in March 2008. At the time the credit card processing facility was down and so I just left it there. However, next day or so someone there contacted me to say the system was "temporarily unavailable" and that I could pay by cheque, which I did. However, no issue received and sub is now of course expired.

I'm not exactly a beginner but I was unaware of the chequered history and assumed the next issue must be just about out.

Seems pretty bad that the website hasn't changed since then and I hope they are not still accepting payments, surely they aren't.

matt · #97 01-09-2009, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miaplacidus

Well that's it. Is there no one out there that will still going to stick up for these victims. I know the libel laws being what they are, and paying heed to S&S own actions in this line, we can't just come out and call people low-life scum-sucking immoral swindlers, but surely it is obvious to everyone here what's going on.

Clearly there is a worldwide conspiracy orchestrated by the global amateur astronomical community to persecute this particular magazine. Clearly anyone who has dealt with the staff of Sky and Space would be able to tell you that they are all the soul of probity and righteousness. It is unthinkable that they would take money from unsuspecting people and fail to return it expeditiously at the earliest opportunity as soon as it became apparent that they would be unable to meet their committments. I sure hope they contact the police and initiate court proceedings so that they can clear their much besmirched name once and for all.

(I sure hope I'm not going to be sued by those conspirators...)

Good luck with that