A request for EVERYONES support

blind-as-a-bat_2

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wherediditallgo

Totally agree. I'm beyond the point of caring who started it off & who else made it worse, I'm just saddened by the fact that the post was there before 11am yesterday & took several hours (maybe until this morning) to be dealt with. Whether someone thinks the thread was enough to make AlanD unwell or not, the point is someone was targeted by other forum members - by nothing being done about it, the impression was given that the thread was acceptable until action was taken. This board needs mods actually online checking it as it happens, rather than people who react to complaints - I know the Board Guides have lots to do & I know they don't deal with abuse issues, but unfortunately no-one else seemed to either until almost a day had passed.

I've had so much help from here, & my debt problems are well on their way to being resolved, so I'd like to think that it's worth me sticking around to help others where I can. Not for one second do I claim to know everything there is to know about going BR & its effects, but I can pass on the benefit of my experience & also learn something from others while I'm here. It will take a lot more than people not following Martin's sticky regarding expressing their opinions on bankruptcy & other members for me to be driven to leave the forum completely. However, the last couple of days (& similar previous occasions) have left me thinking perhaps I should take a break from here for a while & only come back every few days as sometimes it gets too heated for comfort, & the posts where people are asking for help are getting swallowed up in the pointless arguing.

It costs a lot of money for Martin to run these boards, & the people who help him do so voluntarily. I think it's time for him & his helpers to ask for more help, as otherwise this board is going to become a pit of spiteful comments, where people ignore Martin's sticky because they think nothing will be done about it for several hours, or maybe even days, by which time the damage has been done.

uther_2

I agree totally. At first I was here several times a day, offering what limited advise I have to people asking questions.Because of the bile i see here lately,I don't visit so often.People should NEVER forget that this is a help board for sometimes very vulnerable people in a very stressful situation.

savagevixen

As Batmobile is aware, I have pmed Martin Twice, I had a response to the first (and the posts were withdrawn soon after) I have further replied stating grave concern.

Broken_hearted

I think Martin does a great job, yes things get heated but they do in life.

NekoZombie

I agree with the above, but think we all need to take some responsibility for our actions. I think at times the board has been guilty of 'feeding the trolls' when really we should report the post, stop typing and walk away. Moderators or not, I know of no more effective form of fire fighting.

The first thing you learn about fires is that they need oygen, fuel and heat to survive. If you remove just one of these things, no fire.

desperate_mum_3

I didn't read the thread mentioned yesterday so don't honestly know what all the fuss was but if it is serious enough to threaten this site then that would be a tragedy ... this site has helped me through the worse weeks of my life and I would not have had the strength to go through with BR if EVERYONE had not been here to help and support me . Even though my life is FINALLY sorted and I got to the light at the end of that dark tunnel I still want to be involved and come back here to hopefully help and share my experience in any little way I can with people who are in the same situation I was in only a couple of weeks ago ..
PLEASE....PLEASE.... lets keep this going . I think more than anything this site helps because we can all ask for the advice and talk about our problems that we could never do face to face with people for many reasons ..

savagevixen

It's the ability to define the line between a healthy interesting debate, and downright abuse. At times when passionate about something this is difficult.

And sorry, but I find the term 'Troll' pretty offensive and flammatory. I think that, that description is used far to much and it alone inspires posters to react and get angry.

rog2

I agree, in principle, with what has been said, but am just a little worried that we 'could' end up with a 'closed community'.
One of the things that, in my opinion, makes this board 'special' is the fact that it is open to all - there are many instances where posters who normally frequent other boards have come along and given us excellent advice.
As with all true democracies, there are always those who just wish to cause trouble - often gaining some sadistic pleasure in inflicting more pain and suffering on people who are already at 'rock bottom'.
Of course live moderating would help, but there is a risk that this could become little more than just 'censorship' where all posts would only be allowed if they pass the moderator's criteria, thus excluding those genuine posters who may be employing a 'tough love' attitude.
Perhaps an alternative could be a 'Troll Factor Index' where posters, who are continually being reported for 'abusive' threads, can be totally excluded from the MSE forums.
That said, I must admit that the level of antagonism that we experienced this weekend, was too much and I do hope that Alan will review his decision, to stop posting, when he feels better as this board is the better for his presence.

southernscouser

I haven't got a clue whats going/gone on so won't comment on that.

What I would say though is that this site has survived as long as it has without the need for moderation. Why does it need to start now?

If there is something we don't like we all have the power to walk away or log off.

There are always gonna be @rseholes who have nothing better to do than to come on places like this and !!!!!! stir. Laugh at them and walk away. They only want one thing. Attention. Ignore them and they move on. Respond to them and you as an individual are just as guilty as they are for any following consequences that result.

The only moderation that is needed on here is via ourselves. If you see something abusive, report it, post on the said thread that it's been reported and leave it at that. Ignore it and it will disappear.

NekoZombie

savagevixen wrote: »

It's the ability to define the line between a healthy interesting debate, and downright abuse. At times when passionate about something this is difficult.

And sorry, but I find the term 'Troll' pretty offensive and flammatory. I think that, that description is used far to much and it alone inspires posters to react and get angry.

Sorry, I disagree with you here. A troll is an accepted term; as a noun synonymous with flamebait. As a verb, to post controversial or provocative messages in a deliberate attempt to provoke flames.

IMHO, nothing flammatory about that definition. The fact of it is, this board has been subjecting to trolling (sloppy comes to mind). I'm not sure how denying that is helpful, particularly when people are actively calling for more moderation.