December 2016 Edition of the Journal

[Mike Paice]

The December edition of the journal arrived on my doorstep today and I gave it a quick glance (as the editor, I have already read and re-read the content a number of times before sending the copy to the printer). I couldn't help but notice that the formatting was hopelessly awry in one of the main articles and has resulted in the footnotes at the end now being incomplete.

I can only apologise for this mess and reassure you all that I had not fallen asleep at my computer and sent the copy to the printers in that state. Looking at past editions of the journal, this has happened before but it has not shown up in such a dramatic way and there does not appear to have been any loss of text before.

I have emailed the printer about this and will update you all when we have reached a decision on a fix.

Mike.

[lynne99]

As my mum would have said, "Worse things happen at sea". Thanks for letting us know.

[Blue70]

What page is this on? I haven't noticed it.


Blue

[Fledge]

I haven't either, Blue. I haven't read the whole journal properly, but couldn't see a problem when glancing through.

[MaryA]

Having just returned from holiday, I have found my copy delivered but not yet read it. I can only agree with others that any errors could well be worse and thank you anyway for the great job you always do.

[Mike Paice]

Hi all,

It is a bit of a mess but I acknowledge that for most of the journal members won't notice what has gone wrong. In fact the formatting has shifted throughout virtually all of it and this really shows up best on pages 235 and 237 - look at how the text looks immediately below the photos. The result has been that for this article, the footnotes at the end are no longer complete - I think that this is a particular shame because a non-member kindly sent us the article for publication. The same thing happened in the September edition of the journal (although I didn't notice at the time because the effects were far more subtle).

I have been in touch with the printers and we have a way to ensure that this doesn't happen again in future. They have also kindly agreed to do a no-cost reprint and mailing for us for the December edition.

I am glad that it hasn't spoilt members enjoyment of the journal but this matter has probably revealed what an old fussbudget your editor really is

Mike.

[Blue70]

Thanks Mike for clarifying. I think people are used to seeing short sentences of text in newspapers as on pages 235 and 237 so would have read through without thinking about the layout. Is the missing text part of reference 129 and reference 130 on page 250? There's a lot of references there and I doubt many people would cross check them all.


Blue

[Mike Paice]

Hi Blue,

Yes, you are quite right. I doubt that many will go through all the footnotes either but the journal is archived and future researchers might find the references helpful.

Mike.

[MaryA]

Thank you for all the efforts you put in to make sure we get such a great journal, your comments re the footnotes are very much appreciated.

[lynne99]

I agree with Mary. If only 1 person wants to use the foot notes then it is worthwhile. Thanks Editor Mike.