I finished reading the new issue the day it arrived and loved it, as usual. I subscribe to a dozen magazines. PI Magazine is the only one that doesn’t have a regular Letters to the Editor column. I think such a column would add greatly to the importance of PI Magazine. One can learn a lot about the influence, importance, reach, and reader appreciation of a magazine by reading the Letters to the Editor. The tone of a letter tells a lot. Sometimes the letters add something valuable about a previously published article, or correct a fact, give deserved praise to a writer, pose a good question to a writer or the editor, or suggest a topic not previously covered. Most of all, I think, they give the reader the feeling that they are members of a group of people on the same frequency. Subscribers are like members of a club, and it’s nice to know who some of the other members are. The vast majority of readers never write a letter to the editor, but those who do add something very valuable to the publication. I know you and Jimmie get a lot of feedback from readers on your travels, but this isn’t shared with the readers. I hope you’ll reconsider and start a regular Letters to the Editor column.

Best regards,
Skipp

Why is anyone in the P.I. world surprised that so many legislators and privacy advocate groups are seeking to restrict our activities and access to information? While the case can be legitimately made that we perform many needed and valuable services for the public, we have in our midst too many money hungry purveyors of information without regard to potential consequences.
 Do a simple Google search and it will return countless links to P.I. web pages offering to find anyone for anyone. All they want is the fee. It’s a stalkers paradise. While we all know about the worst-case scenarios where a person winds up dead after their address was provided by a P.I., there must be hundreds of lesser-known cases where the person located suffered harassment, embarrassment or simply just wanted to be left alone.
 I propose that the various state and national associations adopt in their by-laws a provision that states no member shall provide an individual with another person’s address without first obtaining that person’s permission. It should further include a provision that any member’s advertising should express that condition or be subject to expulsion from the organization.
I believe adoption of the above recommendation will greatly enhance the image of our profession and result in greater protection for the public as well.

Bob Taylor