Explorer Chartbooks, A SALTY SOUTHEAST CRUISERS’ NET PARTNER, has long been the standard navigational supplement for enjoyable, informative, and safe cruising through the beautiful Bahamian waters and island visits.

Bahamas Chatter: Active Captain & Explorer Charts, Part 2
Active Captain & Explorer Charts, Part 2
Posted: 08 Feb 2016 04:18 AM PST
Readers may find this an interesting follow-up to my earlier post: `Regarding the Active Captain comments on its Facebook site about Explorer Charts’.

Let’s recap: Sometime around the week of January 15, 2016, Mr. Siegel posted on his Active Captain Facebook page multiple derogatory comments about Explorer Charts, including his statement that the actions of Explorer Charts were `criminal.’  

Shortly after his posting, several Active Captain Facebook users responded to his comments. I never saw the initial posting, but I did see that Mr. Siegel then substituted a much modified version, eliminating his earlier offensive comments. Sometime later, all evidence of his posting and comments (not all positive, from what I remember) was removed from Facebook in its entirety.

(The report from Kate Fears of Explorer Charts, summarizing the content of the initial Active Captain post, is available on the Bahamas Chatter section of the Explorer Charts site. Also on that site, you will see several other comments from Explorer Charts users.)

Shortly after my posting on the Bahamas Chatter section of the Explorer Charts site, I discovered that I was no longer able to access Active Captain. My password was not accepted, and when I attempted to re-set it, it would not let me do that. I wrote to Mr. Siegel twice, but he has not responded. It is difficult not to think that I was blocked from the site because of my comments. I hope Mr. Siegel will tell me otherwise, and if it was a technical glitch which prevents my access, I am certain that he has the skills to fix it.

Out of curiosity, I went back to the unlocked portions of Active Captain’s web page, and found these statements in various Active Captain `Newsletters:

1) `We think the customer is always right. We think that the best relationship is one of cooperation and mutual reward.’ (Emphasis added) ‘“ A.C. Newsletter, Oct 12, 2010

2) `The one feature that boaters seem to appreciate the most on ActiveCaptain is the reviews. Captains love to read them and love to write them. Everyone appreciates the opportunity to speak their mind and to see the UNCENSORED opinions of others.’ (Emphasis added). ‘“ A.C. Newsletter -Feb 16, 2011

3) `ActiveCaptain data is so rich because the data comes from you. We verify and validate the details but we don’t touch user-feedback from comments and reviews. There is never any moderation or editing done to take out something negative or accentuate something positive. (Emphasis added.) At times the comments are raw, but they’re real. You see, real matters. But you know that.’ ‘“ A.C. Newsletter- May 28 2014

4) `When you see a review, you can be assured that we’ve done everything possible to make it real. No one can pay us to remove one (we’ve been asked) and no one can threaten us with legal action to force a review to change (some have tried). And if you look, you can find negative reviews even for the sponsors who pay to make sure ActiveCaptain stays available. Documenting real experiences is the best thing for everyone.’ (Emphasis added). A.C. newsletter -January 28, 2015

While these quotes refer to reviews of marine facilities which users (including myself) have posted on Active Captain’s website, it is reasonable to expect Mr. Siegel to apply the same standards to his Active Captain PUBLIC Facebook page. For him to attack a competitor with offensive comments, and then entirely remove any evidence of those comments (as well as removing other peoples’ subsequent Facebook postings) seems shameful.

And if he actually did take steps to block someone from Active Captain for comments made on some other unrelated site, that act would be hypocritical at best.

He’s proud to say that he won’t remove a negative posting about one of his sponsors and makes it a point to say that the postings on Active Captain are `uncensored’. But he doesn’t mention that he will be quick to strip out any negative comment about Active Captain (or himself) from his Facebook site ‘“ and ‘“ unless he offers a different explanation, equally quick to retaliate against a member who has offered criticism on some website not related to Active Captain.

I’m anxious for him to tell me that what happened was accidental; if he doesn’t, I guess it’s because Mr. Siegel’s censorship rules apply to us and not to him.

‘“ Greg Allard