S.U.B.

SUB stood for Super User Bureau, a commercial concern set up by Richard and Julie Turner to provide support services for the Sinclair QL in the late 1980s. They were based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, but operated via a Shildon P.O. Box number. In addition to support services and the magazine, they also sold a wide range of third-party products for the QL.

As part of their subscription-based support services they set out to publish an A5 newsletter called "QL S.U.B. The Monthly Publication Of QL Super User Bureau". You could also buy individual copies for about £1-25-£1.45 at the time.

This started with a 40-page A5 newsletter uniquely titled "issue 0", produced with the QL desktop publishers of the day. The last issue was sent out on 10th July 1989 (I know because I still have the envelope address label  with the date and issue 3 printed on it!). The content was actually pretty varied and interesting, but the poor print quality and small typeface made it a difficult magazine to read.

4 irregular issues of S.U.B. were produced, probably "irregular" because the owners became a little overwhelmed with the demand for their services and a constant mention of staffing issues, such as this quote from one of their letters to subscribers: ""...we cannot offer a wage of more than £60-£80, so our staff are young or inexperienced, but always enthusiastic..."

In their letters to subscribers, they admitted that "QL Super User Bureau was formed with the best intentions. We had, perhaps, greater enthusiasm than backing or financial knowledge."

Proving that their first year had not been profitable, they wrote in their letter to subscribers: "Unfortunately, just fighting for survival has sometimes lead to problems. Now that the first year's accounts have been done, we have still more to prove. We heavily subsidised the organisation in the first year, bearing the loss ourselves."

SUB disappeared amid some controversy in the end, having written to subscribers on 14th November 1989: "Regrettably, lack of support over the summer months has lead 'QL SUB to a crisis, where 'SUB', the company that actually pays for the telephone help-line, bulletin boards, and full-time staff to be available, is unable to fund these services, up to now offered as a bonus on subscription, free of charge."