chris pp Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I'll put this up for open discussion and then we can see what everyone thinks.My view is that serious questions in specific "topic zones" of this forum deserve serious answers.Firstly for the benefit of the person asking a question and even more importantly for all the people that view the forum from all over the world, it is of course open to anyone, anywhere to view and the attempted accuracy of the information given should be paramount.Now, it's clear that not everyone agrees with this and finds my approach to these matters "heavy" etc.which is fine, it's an opinion.It is also fair to say that I rarely spend time on this forum anymore due to the manner in which it has developed, let's just say it's not my cup of tea and I know that I'm far from being alone in this, silly answers turn a lot of people of. There may well be nothing wrong with this, it depends on what type of forum is required both by the participants and the forum owners.While I'm at it, I also dislike people being personally insulting as opposed to debating or discussing the issue. If people wish to be insulting they should do it face to face in real life and not in hiding.There's something to be going on with.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tressy Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Not sure whether your question relates to something specific, but as a general rule I'd say wait until the OP has had a serious answer/solution to their query before diving in with a quip or joke.Mind you, it's not always easy is it? I'm thinking about occasions like the one a few months ago when someone said they were looking for someone to 'do a few jons in the garden'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tj Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 [quote user="chris pp"] let's just say it's not my cup of tea and I know that I'm far from being alone in this, silly answers turn a lot of people of. There may well be nothing wrong with this, it depends on what type of forum is required both by the participants and the forum owners.[/quote]I find the regular replies from a small minority are on the whole very negative especially when it comes to the main topics concerned with moving to France, and before one of them jumps in, I realise of course moving here is no walk in the park unless your finacially self sufficient, and people need to be aware of the down sides. Its just the feel of the forum which tends to be rather negative, and reflects the attitude of a minority, who sadly seem to have made this forum an occupation, and feel they need to downside everything and often give out very unimformed and misleading info, if they do infact ever actually get round to answering the actual question being asked.Also, posts are often hijacked and I for one would like them to turn on the delete function so I can delete my posts when the hijackers move in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I totally agree with you Chris pp but you cannot really regulate forums unless there's a breach of the rules. Voting with your feet/mouse is my answer. I have noticed the quality of advice on here is much poorer these days. Other forums such as TF seem to do much better and have in my opinion more interesting posts and far less less silly billie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Well done Chris. May I say at the outset that I think this is a worthy public debate but that you and solely you have provoked it by an inappropriate reaction to what was a harmless thread that has served its purpose. As one who you are firing at and who is prone to reply with less than serious answers on occasion, I think I have a right to say my two pennyworth, but I will take the thread in question as an example because it seems very typical of the so called problem you are raising.At a guess 95% plus of the serious questions on this forum are answered seriously and very often by people like yourself who have the authority of much knowledge which we all respect. However, that does not mean that there is only one way of answering or that a little levity cannot be entertained. In the case today, the OP received an answer immediately which was correct as far as I know. Two or three light-hearted posts then appeared, one mine concerning the possibility that the snake in question could have been a mamba. Now, it is fairly common knowledge that mambas do not inhabit Western Europe and that this was a joke. And it was treated as such.You then posted a dour rant if I may be so impolite, and with due respect, forced the Mods to take action when they had it seems been quite happy to let the thing die a natural death. I find this use of public complaining as a means of control to be particularly offensive, frankly.So why? This Forum is not just a dry as ditchwater means of passing on knowledge which seems to be what you are asking for. That is available on the web by and large. It is a place of interaction where conversations take place and all sorts of angles and light and dark moments are explored. Information is passed, jokes are made, drinks may well be taken. Different characters contribute in different ways. Squabbles take place. Sometimes things get out of hand and the mods do their best to get the ship back on course.This is not, cannot be nor should be restricted to a few threads which are marked 'idiots corners'Some subjects however are NEVER taken with levity: those concerning human need, people's problems or difficulties, though hard questions may be asked.Noone stopped you posting either an authoritative response or a link. Please, perhaps a little more tolerance from yourself might be appropriate, a little humour rather than the brooding unbending personality you seem to be adopting.Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarmby Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Chris, you can't leave this forum. Who shall we turn to next time we see something with ten legs and giant mandibles crawling across our breakfast table? While I agree with you that people with serious issues or problems deserve proper answers, it is also true that you don't have to be solemn to be serious. As the previous poster said, it would be helpful to know if you had some particular issue in mind that prompted you to write. As for the ranters and personal abusers, there do seem to be mercifully few of them on this forum. Read the Daily Telegraph forums and you will quickly reach the conclusion that most of its contributors are barking mad. By contrast we are positively Cartesian in our reasonableness. Don't leave us, Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Quarmby, this relates to a thread earlier to do with grass snakes which received a serious answer and then some lighthearted ones. Chris objected to this and made what is effectively a public complaint. Posts were removed so it is difficult to judge just how silly all this is in the great scheme of things IMNHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 It is a tough one. On the whole I'm with Tress. Once the o/p has had a sensible answer, then going off topic a bit is fair game. The mods have a pretty impossible task imo. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they shut anybody up who dares to drift off topic, they are criticised for acting like the gestapo. If they let things go, somebody else moans.But Tim is right, this is a forum - not a q&a service! It's inevitable that thread drift will happen. But we are all free to report threads if we feel strongly enough about this, aren't we? S*dding off in a huff is a bit pointless, and robs those who are looking for good advice of some of the people whose expertise in particular fields is valuable and useful.The downside of some of the banter is, I admit, that some newcomers may be put off when they ask a reasonable question, and have to sift through all the back and forth to find the answer they were after. Whilst established forum members may know who the resident grumps and clowns are, newcomers may not and I guess they can be put off which is sad - as new blood is important to the life of any community - cyber or otherwise.And for the record, I think that other forum is mega-dull by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tancrède Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 [quote user="chris pp"]I rarely spend time on this forum anymore… [/quote]In which case I must congratulate you upon the speed with which provide your excellent and accurate responses.For my part I am most grateful for the wealth of information tthat I have found on this site, and appreciative of the variety of styles in which it is delivered.[quote user="woolybananasbrother"]dry as ditchwater… [/quote]Excellent - thank you for this useful expression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris pp Posted June 28, 2008 Author Share Posted June 28, 2008 It should be made quite clear that I did not either report or make a complaint, I commented on the nature of the replies in the thread concerned which is not the same thing at all. Whatever I have to say I say in public so that everyone can read or hear it and comment accordingly.There was one response to the question which was "it sounds like a grass snake", this was followed by a few "mambas" and as not everyone knows what snakes there are in France or is of equal intelligence I thought it was both unnecessary and potentially misleading for the reasons given in my opening post. If this is what people want, that's fine but I make no apology for being serious, I am serious and in being so I hope that the information that I provide can in general be given some credence.Next????Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Chris, instead of reacting as you did, why did you not give of your knowledge to the OP?By the way, I think the average IQ on this forum is pretty high and that the presence of mambas in France is well understood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 There are some good and valid points raised so far.A forum which becomes nothing more than an information service is not going to be 'alive'. Yes, there are grumps and clowns (Coop, I love that expression !), there are those who lurk and rarely join in, there are those who ask a question, get an answer and then dissappear with no further contact. Its the way life is, a social mix of the good, the bad and the not so pretty.There will be bad manners and good manners, people having a 'bad day', serious people and frivolous people, its all part of life's rich tapestry.I would agree with Tim that serious problems are dealt with (on the whole) seriously but outside of that there is nothing wrong with lightheartedness, life is far too short for 100% super seriousness.I didn't read the snake thread as I'm not really that 'into' snakes, so ignored it, just as I ignore some other threads.I will finish by saying that I consider this forum to be a bit of a lifeline at times for me, as it keeps me in touch with life outside this boring, hot, not very nice place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Well there we are then, the Forum keeps Gulf expats alive. Which is quite a challenge and worth three cheers. Hope you are enjoying the summer heat PD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Yesterday I and some other female members of this forum, were involved in a four page thread about Verbascums (verbasca?). The o/p was not a long-established poster. There followed an (at times) funny and informative thread where we debated the things, and various animals ears, all the way from Wales to the south of France. The o/p got her answer (she e-mailed me later to say how impressed she was by the forum's bredth of knowledge) and we had some fun and got some good info' along the way. That's what forum life is like. If it had been a "What's this plant" "It's a whatever" - how bloomin' dull it would have been.Lighten up a little, we're not at school any more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hope you are enjoying the summer heat PD. No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 [quote user="powerdesal"]Hope you are enjoying the summer heat PD. No[/quote]I do not think that you and the wooly fruit are taking this thread seriously enough. Discussing the heat, indeed, whatever next?When you've moved to France, Steve, does that mean we'll hear less from you then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Powerdesal and Cooperolla, you've said it all for me. I think the Forum should be fun as well a place to pick peoples' brains. I do remember something about a reference to a mamba, but was a bit surprised that offence was taken. I find Chris, you are a mine of information and I, amongst many others, have learnt a lot in my short membership of this forum. I can understand one can get a bit p*** off when someone asks a serious question and someone else gives a joke answer. But it's not meant to be anything but a bit of fun. SO PLEASE don't even consider disappearing .....On the subject of hi-jacking a thread, it can be very easy to digress, follow red herrings, whatever you like to call it when involved in a discussion. I would be surprised if people are deliberately trying to hijack a thread - what could they possibly hope to gain? If the OP is not happy, then he or she needs to jump in quickly and say so. I know I've had to apologise for going off at a tangent more than once !When someone really does have a problem, I have seen that people are very sympathetic and offer great support. It's a fantastic thing to do for someone who you only know as "X" on the forum, and it's clear from the OP's response that he/she appreciates it very much. It is also a case of being sensitive to the feelings of a poster if they ask what may seem a dumb question - we have all been there sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 I always think of this forum as a bit like real life. If we were all the same it would be bl**dy boring.The thread about the shortage of peas the other day springs to mind and how it got taken off thread almost immediately but it survived and the discussion carried on.Life's too short as someone else has already pointed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 [quote user="Benjamin"]The thread about the shortage of peas the other day springs to mind and how it got taken off thread almost immediately but it survived and the discussion carried on.[/quote]The thread on pea shortages proved to be of continuing importance to many mambas of CompleteFrance and reports continue to come in - most recently from the Vaucluse - of peas being unavailable from supermarket freezers across the country. It's a worry. [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 When you've moved to France, Steve, does that mean we'll hear less from you then?Being serious (as one has to be), I will possibly / probably / hopefully not be moving to France full time as yet. I still need a job unfortunately.How much time I have for the forum will obviously depend on where I am working.Hopefully you haven't got rid of me yet [:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Give us time PD whilst you indulge in airconditioned luxury at enormous tax free salary rate that most of us cannot dream of. All those dusky maidens pulling punkas and handing you the gin and tonics as you relax on your hammock chewing on a pomegranite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerdesal Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Seriously Wooly, you have a vivid imagination.Why would I need dusky female punka-maidens if I have air-conditioned luxury?G & T is a girly drink. I drink Bacardi and (diet) Pepsi. ( or Baileys at this particular moment). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 "Vivid" is one word for it, p/d. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybananasbrother Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 It is the impression that counts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted June 28, 2008 Share Posted June 28, 2008 Get a grip, people.The proper spelling is punkah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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