For what it's worth:
I have been following the forum for about 2-3 years, active for about the last year. I do not subscribe to the magazine at this point, but hope to in the near future. I was not going to add any comments to this subject, but got to thinking about how you can download a free copy of the magazine, which I did about a year ago. I realized that I have not read it!!!!!!!! Why, probably because it is not lying on a table somewhere that makes it conveinient for me. I think a hard copy sitting somewhere is also a big advertisement feature for the magazine itself. It is there for anyone to see it that comes along.
I would guess that those who are computer savy (and who would want a download version of the magazine) end up finding this forum. To me this forum is better than any online magazine that could be published. You have the search feature which lets you look up so much past information. If you can't find your answer, you can ask a specific question that is tailored to your exact need. How can that beat a regular magazine. Compared to other forums of all different kinds, this one far exceeds them. I can only guess on this, but the people that contribute to the magazine are also available here for questions. They may not give elaborate answers becauce the subject was in a magazine or past posts, but if the question brings up new ideas/thoughts/questions, they are without a doubt there to help.
With all the past PondBoss magazine issues that have been created over the years, it sure would be nice to have a computerized search method of them, much like the forum has. Not for the info itself, but of possible articles that may apply to your search. Then you could buy them as needed. I have heard many suggestions on posts that such-n-such was covered in an article, go buy it. Thats good, but that seemes like a limited way to find out and get additional revenue. Possibly there is already a way to easily search the back issues, but in the few years I have been here, I don't remember any mention of such or how to do it.
Thank you PondBoss for creating such a usefull forum, Jim
P.S. If anything, this thread has got me to think about how this forum is like a magazine and should be treated as such, and spurred me to donate. Hopefully it will remind other newer folks that this forum is as good/better than a magazine and will do so too.
