Exactly that! 'Pilot' was opiniated because Gilbert was his own man with no one to answer to but himself. He also encouraged such forthrighness in his contributors.
That's why 'Pilot' was always such a stimulating read. Now, it's got the corporate blandness and inoffensiveness of the other mags (save for the few articles still in the pipeline from the 'old school', like Grim Bedstead) and probably always will have.
Maybe the days of the opinionated owner/publisher have gone. If so, the magazine world will be much the poorer for it.
SSD