Active Captain Preaching?

[sv-Mystique]

I think the OP needs to step back and ask himself why he's annoyed at the process of sharing information. As a sailor (person) I seek information and everyone has information to share its up to me to process and decide if it has value. Like the information you shared in your post -

[thinwater]

I publish a guidebook, based upon years of sailing in some remote areas. Are the opinions mine? Yes. Do I check facts, more diligently than most guides? There is nothing in it, not one anchorage or hotel, where I haven't spent the night.

Do I accept advertising? I've been offered such, and most guides do, but I do not. A personal choise.

Does he have a right to do something to raise money? Since he does not charge for the web site, absolutly he does. He put a lot of work into the coding and he has a great concept. The only weakness is that of most cloud or web products; unlike traditionally published work, there is no editor responsible for checking the accuracy of the content. You get what you pay for and as such, it is a great deal. I'm cool with that.

[Mambo]

Wait! I am beginning to think that Jeff and Karen paid YOU to start this thread so that people would rush to their defense and say good things about Active Captain?

Damn this is a complicated world we live in . . .

[stevensc]

To me it is about the most important and entertaining boaters source on the internet. The user reviews give you an unbiased opinion of marinas, anchorages, and places on the site and waterways.
Invaluable in trip planning.
Steve W

[PamlicoTraveler]

Y'all give TwistedTree a little break. So he expressed an opinion - it's not like he felt up his cousin in the garage that Thanksgiving when I was nineteen.

[FSMike]

Most of that kind of stuff I read about on AC seems to be related to electronics etc. that make using AC simpler/more convenient etc. I don't have a problem with Jeff's credibility on any of the recommends he does.
Unless, of course, mambo is on to something and the op is really Jeff in disguise lol.

[twistedtree]

No, I'm not Jeff, nor did he or anyone else put me up to this. This little sh^&t storm is all my own making :-) It's amazing how a question that I thought would draw a bunch of yes/no answers, instead drew such heated emotion. I guess there isn't a job waiting for me in the Diplomatic Corp :-)

[RabidRabbit]

Flink- From the title of the thread I guessed it was people complaining about others preaching about how great AC is. I assumed that it was a bunch of sailors who felt the same way I do. Once again I am very wrong. Happens all the time.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I have no first hand knowledge of AC - but I have an opinion nonetheless!

I think it is a great idea!, as long as it being a Jeff Review is made crystal clear and holds a hard Editorial line for impartiality and honesty to maintain Editorial integrity for the whole magazine / website (probably helped by at least some of his Reviews being less than favourable!).

Folks can then make own decision on how valid his view is from past experiance or personal knowledge of other products they have personally used. Would also be a good way for him / the Website creating a "thread starter" for others to then chip in comments.....as well as simply fill a few gaps if folks have not reviewing much for him recently!

Indeed, I would go even further - if he favourably reviewed an item and also had it for sale via his website then I would not automatically rule out buying from him just because he had self reviewed it! For that the price would need to be competitive (whether Googled or just from gut feel) plus I would need to have built up some degree of trust in him / the website in the past.....and I would be feeling too lazy to bother hunting down the item elsewhere! for me it work on some items, but not for others.

[Jane.Joy]

Originally Posted by flink

And RabidRabbit:

You're sick of hearing about AC yet you clicked on this thread. Strange indeed sir.
Are we to assume you are some sort of masochist?

To each their own....

HA.

[HeartsContent]

Active Captain!
Active Captain!
Active Captain!

(was that a thump I just heard?)

What a great service to all boaters and I have reviews in there. These folks are fantastic contributors to cruising and the OP cannot be serious.

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by twistedtree

2) Jeff and Karen's reviews of various products and services

#2 is the thing that I find objectionable. To me, the beauty of Active Captain are the boater's reviews. I can read through them, good and bad, and get a sense of a place or service. I can then apply my own values to the reviews and decide what's best for me. Everyone gets a voice, and all voices are equal.

That’s the problem with believing everything you think.
At some point, even logic does not make since.

[DennisM]

I find ActiveCaptain the best online cruising tool available. Yes, I get the emails and find them a bit tedious, but only because they are usually too long for me to read without a commitment of time that I am usually not prepared to give. The information I have taken time to read, however, has ranged from interesting to valuable.

Being in the marketing business, I do not find Jeff and Karen's approach overly promotional or intrusive. In fact, the personal touch they add tends to lend more credibility to their messages, in my opinion. And while I tend to be overly suspicious of just about everyone, I do not detect undue influence in their reviews.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Jeff publicly for responding to a thread I posted a couple of years ago, offering me a free mooring in Castine, ME. He and I have never met, and I appreciate his most generous spirit, freely extended to a stranger. I'm hoping to take him up on it this coming season. I look forward to meeting him and Karen.

[tamicatana]

I remembered how to disassociate from the emails:

Go to the AC website. At the right, below your name, is the 'My Account' link. click it.

At that page, the left box with the 'My Account' head, at bottom of that box is an option for 'subscribe to newsletter.' Deselect. You're done.

[Auspicious]

I have the pleasure of knowing Jeff and Karen (and Dana and Dylan). We are, I think, friends. There are lots of people who just spew unsubstantiated opinion or cut and paste from other sources. There are other folks, Jeff & Karen and MaineSail being good examples, that I listen to because they are experienced and don't speak outside of the areas they can be authoritative about. If you skip over the bits of their newsletter in which they share their experience with products and services then you are turning your nose up at useful information. I don't always agree with them but I always read what they offer carefully and consider my own position before making a decision.