A Leaf out of East Dulwich Forum's book?

[admin]

I was going to get out my Spiderman outfit, JRW

[JRW]

Eugh! Lycra on anyone over 30 should be banned.

[admin]

JRW, the little emoji indicates I was JOKING.

admin

[JRW]

As was i, sweetie!

[The Clown]

From what I have seen, a lot of the problems on forums stem from a culture where others comment on the opinion of others rather than simply posting their own opinion.
The emotive responses are often magnified by a quote of the original post.
A simple “I disagree, my opinion is this..” rather than calling out other posters. Opinion is an entitlement.

We have to trust admin to moderate. It’s a huge job, particularly when issues are complex.
I was called out on an emotive post of my own recently and it was dealt with very respectfully and reasonably (I was in the wrong).
You can go back and delete contentious posts and I would encourage those who may have become a little excited about their opinions to do just that.
We’ve all experienced similar no doubt in our working lives, with emails. Sometimes people’s “voices” are misconstrued or misinterpreted.

I freely admit to getting absolutely lost in respect of the Sydenham Society debate but the call for transparency seemed reasonable and I was surprised not to see some sort of correction of that position (not a response to posts on this forum but a statement on their own website about how transparency can be obtained).From my perspective, some measure of reputational damage has been achieved / appears evident.

It would be great to freshen up the feel of the site, but I imagine from a tech point of view that would mean quite a bit of work.

I wonder how much the demographic affects the amount of posts and activity on a local forum too.

These are just the early morning musings of a clown

[admin]

JRW said

As was i, sweetie!

But no one knows unless you put an emoji in your post! That's my point.

(I was taught this by one of my offspring, btw)

[JRW]

The emojis on this site are so small and uninspired, I can't be bothered. Anyway, how on earth do you cope with reading the newspapers if you need a klaxon to tell you someone is joking?

[admin]

well you tend to have a couple of hundred words to get the tone of the article in that case, JRW. It's harder in half a sentence!

[mosy]

What does or would "more active" mean in real terms?

STF is mostly factual in the Town Hall and The Cafe, it is neutral (Mod efforts duly applauded for that), plus the number of posts doesn't reflect lurker readership. <- Best I can do in one sentence

Change is good, as long as it's change for the better. I.e. in STF terms what is the problem attempting to be solved?

[Tim Lund]

I.e. in STF terms what is the problem attempting to be solved?

Reach, in a word. I also think STF is a pretty good local site, but I don't think enough people know about it, and unfortunately, some who do will discourage others from looking at it, or posting to it, so restricting its reach.

I think this is somewhere that a newcomer like Dom, with fresh eyes, and wanting to get to know people round here could help. As I said in an earlier post, the rise of SE23.life was very much about all the face to face meetings Chris set up, and the buzz that created.

[Pally]

I agree with earlier comments about giving opinions rather than personalising against others opinions! Language used is also very important! Emotive language; personal interpretation of facts can both lead to an impression of "inaccuracy" and "personal abuse"! And emojis are a clear modern methodology for avoiding at least some "misunderstandings"!

I think newcomers comments are always helpful to think about; different perspectives are good!

[Robin Orton]

From what I have seen, a lot of the problems on forums stem from a culture where others comment on the opinion of others rather than simply posting their own opinion....A simple “I disagree, my opinion is this..” rather than calling out other posters.

I thought discussing different opinions was one of the things a forum like this was all about. Just saying 'This is what I think, so there' would kill any discussion dead and be very boring. To discuss something you've got to engage with the views of the other person. This involves saying why you disagree with them (if you do) and may require you to criticise their argument. It is perfectly possible to do this in a polite and friendly way.

[Dom Johnston]

This is exactly what I was hoping for to be honest.

Lots of different people in an open debate. Agreeing and disagreeing but not in an aggressive way. Collaborating on new ideas.

I do think that it's the reach of the forum that is hindering it.

As far as the look of the forum, I think it works fine. Aesthetically the grey is a bit uninspiring, but it's super functional.

I think meeting at a pub to discuss ideas is a great idea and could almost form a forum group (with admin included with or without spiderman costumes...) to come up with new ideas of really getting things out there and spreading the word!

We have just exchanged contracts and we're completing on the 26th October, so I would very much like to get involved with said discussions if something can be arranged.

[JRW]

Roll on the pub discussion; I hope it will happen soon. On second thoughts, I think Darth Vader would be the ideal disguise for Admin.

[admin]

Perhaps those who are keen to attend such a meeting could indicate on here? Just a few words would suffice.

admin

[KEVD]

Any more thoughts of how to improve the forum and amount of people using it?

[Dom Johnston]

We complete on our house tomorrow, so once we're settled in, I'd be happy to arrange something. If the Admin don't mind of course?

Might take a couple of weeks until I'm straight, but I'm happy to take the lead on arranging something?

[KEVD]

Sounds like a good idea if admin agrees?

[admin]

It's fine with me.
Make sure you include Stuart in your gathering though.

[stuart]

I was going to get out my Spiderman outfit, JRW

Can I come dressed as an Admin?
[Golden Lion gets my vote - quieter]

Stuart