Here here. Other than the things you mention, the migration rate from the UK to Australia has dramatically decreased in the past 3 years. The theme of the website is naturally not going to attract as many newcomers.

There's kind of 2 choices. Attract people with discussion on importing dogs or a lively debate. Why not both? After all the 2 lively threads going on at the moment are always at the top of the board.

To be clear.
I am all for lively debate & discussions be it dogs , CoL or current affairs and the like. I'm not even bothered if it is lettuce. New Zealand seems stuck on the price of tomatoes.

I am not for bickering, snarking & insulting sideswipes. That attracts no-one except those embroiled in the tussle.

It's also not so good to see threads derailed from the topic in question to degenerate into a series of who can fling the most dung type posts.
It's boring and simply does not encourage others to maybe think to have a punt and join in.
This is especially true of the debate and discussion threads of late.
No sooner does something interesting get going , then it seems to descend into little more than posturing and a form of name calling.

I agree about FB , Twitter & other social media. Everything changes and time always rolls on. I've also noted there are far less people these days seeking advice on emigrating 'down under'. Perhaps all the info is actually already out there these days.

That doesn't mean that BE doesn't still have its place . Just that as I see it repetitive bickering and sniping is not the most welcoming or interesting sign & entrance into any room.

At its core most people try to avoid bickering, but sometime a good debate can bring that on. It just happens and we all move on.

BE does have a place. We all migrated somewhere and have good knowledge of 2 countries. There's a common theme.

I don't believe for a second that the odd bickering keeps newcomers away. Its reserved to the odd thread. You need attract newcomers in different ways.

How about starting a thread on ways to attract newcomers so we can carry on the debate in this thread. People might be able to throw out some pretty good ideas.

Without labouring the point, I will labour the point.

One can accept that there will be an outbreak of bickering. The word bickering is starting to sound funny in my head now.

The point is about encouraging what newbies are out there to post. Not just to any immy thread or some safe price of eggs thread, but to feel able to join you all in a discussion like this. I know. It can be said that if you can't take the heat do not enter the kitchen but surely it would be no bad thing to have some new blood to jostle with.

It is not just about any newbies looking in y'know. It is also some established members. Several would probably really enjoy flexing their points of view and opinions but will & have been put off by the tone you use to each other. Not everyone wants to be labelled one way or another for a PoV . Not everyone wants to be diminished in some way for expressing their view & surely more posters contributing is a good thing.

Anyway. Hopefully you guys will understand what I am talking about. How the look and feel when you enter a premises either makes you want to stay around , find out more, get to know the locals ....or not.

I'd actually like to thank you guys for listening instead of negatively reacting.
I don't post all this windy type stuff for the fun of it or because I've nothing better to do with my free time. I post when there is enough of a prob to warrant that.

I agree with your point about the current thread topic Beoz. However, this thread was the best place to gain you guy's attention.

What I will do is to move these posts into a thread of their own in a couple of days time.

Meanwhile please do continue your discussion without the snarkety snarks.

And yes. Beoz. I would really appreciate one of you guys starting a thread about how to attract and then keep new posters. You lot may well have some very good ideas of your own.

I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say this but anyway. People often say there are less migrants from the UK. True. There are many ways to find info. True. BUT, there are other expat / emigration forums that seem plenty busy with people looking to move from the UK or already living abroad...I won't mention them because I know they are not allowed to be named. I think their platforms are better, more modern...offer social functions people are used to now, like liking posts, a much more granular breakdown of the forums. making it easier to find info.

I think it's more long term people that are likely to tune out based on the circular nature of a lot of the discussion on here over a period of time. Call it debate if you (not you Bevs!) like but most of it is schoolyard stuff...amusing for a while then mostly tedious.

It's just like TV - if you like a program, you watch it, if you don't like it you don't watch and you don't moan about it. i.e. if you see a thread which you know is going to be of interest you open it and contribute; if it doesn't interest you don't bother posting. I appreciate you are a moderator but I'm commenting on the vast majority of members who aren't.

Speaking of TV, I'd add that the proliferation of the wanted down under type programs has also reduced the dependency on this forum for information. However, even those programs have changed to cater for the modern taste for reality type TV. I've always thought they should get 10 British families to try out migration and a panel of celebrity judges and the public vote on who wins. Each contestant has to cook a meal, survive in the jungle, do a renovation, sing or do some type of act and live in a house with glass walls and cameras everywhere. I think that would be a winner.

Reminds me of the pupil who talked about 50 crates (Socrates) the Greek philosopher.

i.e. you keep talking about democrates.

Samsung does, see other thread. I think its fixed.

Personally I'm quite glad BE is dying. There was always bickering about something. It actually now looks like the Aus vs UK debate has actually died..finally! and been replaced by GarryP vs Beoz and Zulu. With original stalwart OzT back.

I used to find the average migrant fascinating which kept me dropping by. I always preferred the heavy weight debaters not the iceberg lettucers.

The rest of BE is doing nicely, its just Australia which is petering out, not with a bang but with a whimper.

Rename Be

BeZuGePspats after the main contributors..

You've kind of missed the point.

The reason all that remains is bickering is because nobody really posts anything else. Even if you try and post on more interesting subjects, nobody bothers to keep the conversation going.

Recently I've basically given up on it. The far right will continue to post their ravings - but really, what's the point in pointing out the errors and falsehoods; they're not around for a discussion, just for the fights.

So, back off, let them devour themselves.

And on the subject of the fall off in migrants to Oz - it's very noticeable that the extreme visa requirements have put people off. People aren't going to spend years and large chunks of money on uncertainty - particularly not if they are coming from first world countries. There's a tipping point, and they pushed the visa pain past it.

Get over yourself champ

Oh I dunno. Oz must be very attractive if you are from Sri Lanka or a refugee from the Orange Free State !

Exactly. We are keeping it going. If you have an interesting thread to discuss, start one. I tried a skiing thread, fitness thread ..... all died in the arse. Go nuts. All the gear comes alive every now and then.

Probably a bigger issue than bickering at play. What about the website interface. Bit 2005