Don't fully trust r/BenefitsAdviceUK on subreddit.

flaneurs_lobster

TimeLord1 said:

Reddit: Personally, I would not be asking for their opinion. I have seen random topics taken on a very negative, off-topic stance.

Are you referring to r/BenefitsAdviceUK specifically?

Don't think it can be true of Reddit in general, it's far too broad a forum with thousands of subreddits, each of which will reflect the stance taken by their moderators on postings, including going off-topic.

Briansteen50

flaneurs_lobster said:

Briansteen50 said:

That to me is a BIG flag when you're banning somebody without hearing their point of view, especially when you're reposting official information received from the DWP people. As i say I did get banned and 'muted' so I couldn't even reply to their message they sent me.

I also think it's worrying when some of them also say they worked for the DWP previously as it makes you 'trust' them that bit more. 

Two points.

1) You have reposted YOUR advice given to YOU on Reddit, may or may not be generally applicable.
We have no knowledge as to the context or tone of your interactions over on Reddit, but let's just say that they can be (in my experience) quite robust, forthright and often downright offensive. Getting banned over there is not exactly hard.

2) Again, anyone can claim anything online, might well be true that someone worked for the DWP, maybe they were senior frontline staff dealing with benefit claims, maybe they worked in the canteen, maybe they just made it up.

You make very good points. I have seen nice posts take dark turns with people just screaming at one another or going completely off topic. 

I would hope I am not like that. As I say above I am not into internet Drama or arguments. I always believe typing to people how i'd speak to them in real life. 

My edit and comment were not angry or came across as argumentative etc. The Edit simply said i'd been in contact with CAB And DWP who confirmed I am not eligible and was updating it in hopes it would help somebody in a similar situation.

My comment to the post late last year was the same. I said i'd been in a very similar situation with the exact age gap and wasn't able to do to my partner being below pension age. You can only get it if you were claiming before 2019 (i knew the year the time and had the link the CAB person had sent me). I went back on later to copy and paste the link when i noticed it had been removed and i'd been banned.  

TimeLord1

flaneurs_lobster said:

TimeLord1 said:

Reddit: Personally, I would not be asking for their opinion. I have seen random topics taken on a very negative, off-topic stance.

Are you referring to r/BenefitsAdviceUK specifically?

Don't think it can be true of Reddit in general; it's far too broad a forum with thousands of subreddits, each of which will reflect the stance taken by their moderators on postings, including going off-topic.

No, just general questions, and if you read the replies, it doesn't take long to read something abusive or offensive underneath.

TimeLord1

elsien said:

To be fair, that happens here sometimes as well. Just one of the joys of anonymous Internet forums.

I think people on here are more tolerant and mostly understand the rules and responsibilities, to be honest. Occasionally a new account will vent, but very rarely.

sheramber

Briansteen50 said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

If you find out that someone has given bad or incorrect advice on an online forum then you can decide to post a repost quoting your more authoritative source, but be aware that you may not get thanked for your correction, you might get yourself banned, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a bunch of abuse. 

That to me is a BIG flag when you're banning somebody without hearing their point of view, especially when you're reposting official information received from the DWP people. As i say I did get banned and 'muted' so I couldn't even reply to their message they sent me.

I also think it's worrying when some of them also say they worked for the DWP previously as it makes you 'trust' them that bit more. 

The rules have obviously changed since they 'used to work for DWP'.

Albermarle

TimeLord1 said:

elsien said:

To be fair, that happens here sometimes as well. Just one of the joys of anonymous Internet forums.

I think people on here are more tolerant and mostly understand the rules and responsibilities, to be honest. Occasionally a new account will vent, but very rarely.

Plus is someone corrects an inaccuracy on these forums, the usual reply is 'Thanks I never knew that' or something along those lines. 

Altior

reddit is structured differently, there are many posters on here that have inferred authority in a particular specialty due to their extensive posting record. but they have no formal authority, which reddit seems to have structured for some subreddits. eg 'top 1% poster'

there are 'ambassadors' on mse but they aren't mods and if there are Benefits ambassadors for example, they don't appear to post too often. The ambassadors seems to be more about ensuring posts go to the relevant place, get exposure etc, rather than the nitty gritty of content reliability.  

TimeLord1

Albermarle said:

TimeLord1 said:

elsien said:

To be fair, that happens here sometimes as well. Just one of the joys of anonymous Internet forums.

I think people on here are more tolerant and mostly understand the rules and responsibilities, to be honest. Occasionally a new account will vent, but very rarely.

Plus is someone corrects an inaccuracy on these forums, the usual reply is 'Thanks I never knew that' or something along those lines. 

I prefer forums again to social media. I think there's a big shift towards forums. 

flaneurs_lobster

TimeLord1 said:

Albermarle said:

TimeLord1 said:

elsien said:

To be fair, that happens here sometimes as well. Just one of the joys of anonymous Internet forums.

I think people on here are more tolerant and mostly understand the rules and responsibilities, to be honest. Occasionally a new account will vent, but very rarely.

Plus is someone corrects an inaccuracy on these forums, the usual reply is 'Thanks I never knew that' or something along those lines. 

I prefer forums again to social media. I think there's a big shift towards forums. 

Hardly surprising - have you been anywhere near X or Facebook recently? Toxic doesn't quite describe just how unpleasant it is.

TimeLord1

flaneurs_lobster said:

TimeLord1 said:

Albermarle said:

TimeLord1 said:

elsien said:

To be fair, that happens here sometimes as well. Just one of the joys of anonymous Internet forums.

I think people on here are more tolerant and mostly understand the rules and responsibilities, to be honest. Occasionally a new account will vent, but very rarely.

Plus is someone corrects an inaccuracy on these forums, the usual reply is 'Thanks I never knew that' or something along those lines. 

I prefer forums again to social media. I think there's a big shift towards forums. 

Hardly surprising - have you been anywhere near X or Facebook recently? Toxic doesn't quite describe just how unpleasant it is.

I don't use Facebook or X.  I use blue sky and YouTube and various platforms.