Daily Limit? Options

[Tweed]

There are something over 250 registered members of this forum.

On a typical day I doubt if more that 30 or 40 post any comments at all. In fact if you look at the membership details the vast majority made just a handful of posts and were never heard of again.

Now why is that do we suppose?

Bored?
Did not find the debates interesting?
Just lost interest?

Or did they (heaven forfend) come to the conclusion that it was a very limited forum for a handful of people who were on the thing all day, every day, every topic?

If any of these missing (silent) members are still reading these posts it would be nice to hear from them as to why they do not write any more.

AND WELCOME THEM BACK.

Dear Mr Regor (if it is Mr, as you do not specify, if I am wrong then I am sorry) I thought I would take up your challenge and sign up and respond to your text.

Before deciding whether I should join a forum or not I like to see the lay of the land first. How people treat one another and how the main posters treat other members; i.e. do they interact with them? On the whole I have been very impressed with what I have seen. I do not agree with your diagnosis or another member’s diagnosis that too many cooks spoil the broth. That is regular members posting, as you say, ‘every day, and on all topics.’ Personally I think it shows a high level of intellect and intelligence you have on here. I also do not think, as one member said (I think User), and going by what I have read, that having an opinion on everything is a bad thing. Yes it can be if we were talking lowbrow here, but I am not. People like Iommi, Strafin, GMR, Biker, Hugh Saskin, JeffG and many more who are regular posters actually make the forums what they are. Which gives people like me more confidence to post on here. I also appreciate the humour some add, which lightens the mood.

You will never please everyone and I am sure that somewhere along the line I will upset some members myself, as I can be Grumpy so and so sometimes, but then again is that not an accurate reflection of all of us? To me it is not about how many posts, or not, one does, but how we treat and respect our fellow man.

Please forgive me for such a long winded post - especially as it is my first tentative steps amongst you - but once I get going wild horses have to drag me away. But I hope I have answered your question in an acceptable manner?

Yours truly,

JohnT

[Bloggo]

Dear Mr Regor (if it is Mr, as you do not specify, if I am wrong then I am sorry) I thought I would take up your challenge and sign up and respond to your text.

Before deciding whether I should join a forum or not I like to see the lay of the land first. How people treat one another and how the main posters treat other members; i.e. do they interact with them? On the whole I have been very impressed with what I have seen. I do not agree with your diagnosis or another member’s diagnosis that too many cooks spoil the broth. That is regular members posting, as you say, ‘every day, and on all topics.’ Personally I think it shows a high level of intellect and intelligence you have on here. I also do not think, as one member said (I think User), and going by what I have read, that having an opinion on everything is a bad thing. Yes it can be if we were talking lowbrow here, but I am not. People like Iommi, Strafin, GMR, Biker, Hugh Saskin, JeffG and many more who are regular posters actually make the forums what they are. Which gives people like me more confidence to post on here. I also appreciate the humour some add, which lightens the mood.

You will never please everyone and I am sure that somewhere along the line I will upset some members myself, as I can be Grumpy so and so sometimes, but then again is that not an accurate reflection of all of us? To me it is not about how many posts, or not, one does, but how we treat and respect our fellow man.

Please forgive me for such a long winded post - especially as it is my first tentative steps amongst you - but once I get going wild horses have to drag me away. But I hope I have answered your question in an acceptable manner?

Yours truly,

JohnT

Nicely put Mr Tweed and welcome.

[Guest_Bill1_*]

Sorry too busy to read or contribute much to this as I AM BUSY.

Unlike some

[Strafin]

I will upset some members myself, as I can be Grumpy so and so sometimes,

Me too! Welcome to the forum. At least you can let off steam here and not be so grumpy at home.

[Strafin]

Sorry too busy to read or contribute much to this as I AM BUSY.

Unlike some

It is widely suspected that User works for the same people you do Bill. Could you track him down for us? He'll be the one sat on his own at lunchtime!

[Bartholomew]

Ah, light dawns, so this User is the same User on the other Newbury forum I used to read, I should have known. It is his type of posting that stops people like me from joining in. I can put up with constructive debate, even a bit of banter that goes off topic, but this unnecessary attacking over petty issues does my head in.

So my message to User23 is, I don't have a problem with certain members posting a lot, but I do have a problem with posters like you coming on just to cause trouble.

Agreed. This kind of needling encourages others not to post.

Respectful and thoughtful debate is enjoyable. Pickig on small points and deliberately misinterpreting replies simply makes the debate tiresome.

[user23]

Picking on small points and deliberately misinterpreting replies simply makes the debate tiresome.

Discussing the small points is the essence of debate, talking about how things actually work (or don't) in detail. Some shy away from this as it highlights the flaws in their arguments when you start looking at them through the magnifying glass.

It is those make generic, sweeping statements on everything and anything going that I find tiresome.

[Guest_Newbury Expat_*]

Agreed. This kind of needling encourages others not to post.

Respectful and thoughtful debate is enjoyable. Pickig on small points and deliberately misinterpreting replies simply makes the debate tiresome.

Sadly, there is no forum that is 100% free of trolling, not even the Newbury Today forum.

There's getting a response because you raise interesting points worthy of discussion and then there's posts (and even threads) deliberately meant to be antagonistic which do not promote debate, but are made solely to encourage slanging matches. The latter type are easy to recognise as they contain lots of reasons why something is wrong, but very little content on how to make things better. On some occasions they contain nothing at all, with the exception of provocation.

When you see that this is the modus operandi, it is typically best ignored as it is quite difficult for someone to start a fight in an empty room.

[Guest_Bill1_*]

It is widely suspected that User works for the same people you do Bill. Could you track him down for us? He'll be the one sat on his own at lunchtime!

[Bartholomew]

Discussing the small points is the essence of debate, talking about how things actually work (or don't) in detail. Some shy away from this as it highlights the flaws in their arguments when you start looking at them through the magnifying glass.

It is those make generic, sweeping statements on everything and anything going that I find tiresome.

If the points are relevant to the subject of discussion, it is valid to reply and debate. When replies are deliberately misinterpreted and the discussion thread is deliberately diverted the conversation is no longer a coherent argument and debate. This is when the value of discussion disappears.

[Tweed]

Discussing the small points is the essence of debate, talking about how things actually work (or don't) in detail. Some shy away from this as it highlights the flaws in their arguments when you start looking at them through the magnifying glass.

It is those make generic, sweeping statements on everything and anything going that I find tiresome.

Hello Mr User, as you are probably aware I am new to these forums but I have read some of your entertaining responses to some of the members on here. You do seem to be a person who likes throwing the odd cat amongst the geese. I think this is more to do with your own amusement than engaging in serious discussion.

I have also noticed that when you reply to people on here you are very selective in what you answer, and in some cases do not answer at all. But seem to get annoyed if people do not reply to your points. I do not think this is cricket, if you do not mind me saying. You say some ‘shy away from this as it highlights the flaws in their arguments when you start looking at them through the magnifying glass.’ I think, observing how you work, that actually you shy away when you are put under a ‘magnifying glass,’ yourself, which I feel is a shame. I get the impression you are quite happy to make people squirm, but will not accept the compliment back. This I find, as an observer, exasperating. This is a pity. I also do not think people make such ‘sweeping statements’ as much as you suggest. I do find that people do say things with a humorous slant, regrettably, you seem also unable to decipher that humour and because of this, it seems, you feel threatened and go on the attack. As in ridiculing the person who you believe has spiked you. I could be wrong but I am usually a good judge when observing peoples written words. Basically what I am trying to say Mr User is try to liven up a bit and do not be so self-protective, that way it will make for a better debate. I think this forum needs people like you and it would be a shame if there was a breakdown in communications to the detrimental effect to yourself. I hope I have not stepped on forum etiquette by stating my interpretation of your words? I have no problem you doing likewise to my words. It would be unsporting of me to say otherwise.

Yours truly,

JohnT