Fred James

PDT is not a "Spanish" forum. It just happens to be a part of the main Spanish forum. It is not a requirement of threads on PDT to have anything whatsoever to do with Spain.

It is open to any BE member, including those that choose to post on TIO which is another BE forum that anyone is free to post on.

The normal site rules apply to all forums, including TIO and PDT in particular Rule 1 regarding personal attacks.

This rule will be enforced rigidly and anyone breaking it will almost certainly be banned, as had already happened in some cases.

jimenato

Sultan well done for trying but I think you'll find that most people have gone.

I've seen this happen on more than one occasion with fora - the biggest one being the Richard Dawkins forum which was closed overnight - but others as well.

People don't appreciate the fragilities within an online community and how quickly it can all fall down.

Of course it doesn't matter at all. No-one will care too much, the world hasn't come to an end.

BE will keep going more-or-less unchanged - except the Spanish forum and its sub-forums - they have changed.

SultanOfSwing

There is an ebb and flow on a forum, this is correct. We've seen it in other parts as well. New members will eventually come along though. I just thought there looked to be enough existing posters around that they might be able to keep things going.

moneypenny20

I'm obviously being a tad dumb here but how have four forums changed when all that has happened was half a dozen threads from one forum got moved to another one? And why does it feel that you somehow blame a few random posters from around the world for that?

jimenato

The people making up the forum have changed so the forum has changed.

Because fora, in fact all online communities, are as much about the people involved as about the structure within which they run which is relatively insignificant.

And I'm not blaming the posters nor anyone. I'm just explaining what has happened.

rugbymatt

You're probably right but it's not the first time it's happened. I remember well when Siesta Time was formed to provide the likes of me, Sam, Debs and others a place to be a little more frivolous and have some fun. I can remember going to bed in stitches at some of the posts in the past and by and large we all got on brilliantly. Meets ups took place, some of the forum users have become very close friends both virtually and in some cases in real life and by and large it was a pretty good place to be. Some serious threads popped up but the Spain section got left alone and was closely moderated by three Spain mods in those days but something changed. Not only did people start complaining that the threads were too frivolous but that it was cliquey. Maybe it was but it certainly wasn't exclusively cliquey, whoever wanted to join in was welcome to but the seed had already been sown and then we got some new members join from some fall out somewhere on another forum and things went from bad to worse.
I called this. When people started complaining about the standard of posts and threads and then complaining that certain people weren't being "disciplined" enough by the Mods I knew there would only be one outcome. In fact by and large those people who complained about the biased or lackadaisical Moderation are the ones who have succumbed to the new less tolerant regime. That's what happens. It was the only course of action that could happen.
As one group leaves or is pushed out another will fill the void, they might be better they might be worse but let's all just remember one point. No one is forced to post on here or anywhere. It's an option you have when yom start your computer device thingy up.
Still... The endless bitching threads that remind me of the horses, barn door and bolting phrase are hilarious.

agoreira

Precisely, but it has a very Spanish name, Plaza de Toros, and is part of of the "Spain" main forum. I said all are welcome, but until recently all the members here have had some connection or interest in Spain (that's why we were here), it's only since threads have been moved to TIO that we've had the new arrivals. However they will confine themselves to the PDT threads only, the learned regular posters that have legged it used to write in all the threads, so the forum has lost their expertise and advice. New members that actually come here to learn about Spain will suffer, already the number of posts in the "Spanish" forums seems to have declined a lot. Sad times for the forum, IMHO.

lutonlad

PDT used to get overheated and personal at times, that I acknowledge.

Even so, I still considered it to be (in the main) good debate - which now has been somewhat diluted.

Shame that many regular posters have been pushed or jumped, even if they did sometimes overstep the mark. They certainly made the forum interesting.

But what really pisses me off is the fact that some posters who clearly inflamed debate, still peddle their one-liner (sometimes one-word), sarcastic drivel, now appearing in various other threads such as TIO. I surprised that one of them hasn't popped up here, with a typical Awesome Thread... comment.

They obviously think they are on a higher intellectual planet to those that prefer to string sentences together to explain a point of view.

BEVS

Yes.

Lion in Winter

I probably shouldn't, but I'm going to ask anyway, where has this idea come from that "one liners" are discussion-destroying and should be prohibited?

I mean, we are talking about a lot of British people here and this is how we talk a large percentage of the time, poking fun at ourselves and others. I know I do it and most certainly not just on BE, and what's more so did most people in PDT including those who aren't around any more. It is different from the silly personal vendettas that were carried on here by a few.

Why are these jokes now considered a bad thing? It's just part and parcel of a conversation among Brits, called "banter" in other places, and if none of us are going to be allowed to poke fun at viewpoints we disagree with then BE is going to become a very dull place. Might as well live in the U.S. Oh, wait...

jimenato

I don't think anyone is saying that they should be prohibited - unless of course they break forum rules like any other post - they are often off-topic but not in a serious way.

What they are is irritating and annoying.

A couple of times I have seen a decently put together post disappear unnoticed behind a flurry of banal inanities.

It doesn't encourage putting decent posts together.

Lion in Winter

I suppose it's just like any other conversation then. Most of which are not like academic debates but just free-flowing.

The number of banal inanities will increase or decrease, depending on the day. Some people here have been talking to each other for years, so there is a built-up history. Some people come here to relieve stress and need more banal inanities than serious debate. Others will pick up the serious posts and respond seriously. Still others will use jokes to poke holes in opinions put forward that seem wrong. I have certainly seen some posts on here which, had I not poked fun, I would have laid into in a possibly unpleasant way. Sometimes poking fun is a way of showing that someone finds the view put forth to be absurd or downright unpleasant. It is what the British do, and this is a mostly British board. I have certainly been on the receiving end of one-liners, right here in PDT, in response to a serious post. Or sometimes it was just a row of laughing smilies. No harm, no foul.

jimenato

Clearly it is a posting style that some are happy with - others not.

rugbymatt

I honestly think that what we are experiencing here is a lack of tolerance. For some completely unknown reason people are far less tolerant now than they used to be. There are a few posters I just didn't and don't get on with but they make up the greater, multicultural community we have here and I guess we just have to stop bitching about how bad poster/forums/ posting styles are and just accept that there will always be people you don't agree with, you've just got to get on with them or **** off.

Lion in Winter

There also seems to be a lack of personal resilience, with people getting personally very upset if the views that they post on a public discussion forum are challenged. If that isn't your bag, probably better not to post that stuff and keep it to the privacy of your own home where you can better control who you are talking to. Posting on BE is like asking thousands of people for their opinions on what you think - so you are going to get them, the good, the bad and the ugly.