Posters ready to disrupt

It isn't a democracy, it is a website owned by a company. It is like saying marks and spencers is a democracy and complaining if they won't let you try on clothes in the display window.

Galaxy

It isn't a democracy, it is a website owned by a company. It is like saying marks and spencers is a democracy and complaining if they won't let you try on clothes in the display window.

Errrrm.....a clothes shop sells clothes (and food as well in their case) and obviously has a management structure.

But discussion forums are discussion forums and if no-one came onto them = they'd cease to exist.

I have never seen those trolls. Thank goodness. Maybe they don't invade too often, or are zapped in time.

Yes, Cariad, the Thread would drop off the menu.

GN has lost some really good contributors who have been banned and appeals usually fail. I really miss their posts

Do you think MN doesn't have a management structure.
Mumsnet ( of which GN is a part of) has 9 million views per month, it had a revenue of around 8 million last year. I can't tell you how many times over the years I have seen posters tell MN or GN how to operate.

sundowngirl

GN has lost some really good contributors who have been banned and appeals usually fail. I really miss their posts

That's something one regularly sees on forums.

A reports B because they don't like them. They then get C to report B as well......and so on and so on. At which either posters who've done nothing wrong (except believe Britain is a democracy and we have the right to freedom of speech accordingly) get banned or take themselves off (because they're thinking "If only one side is allowed to say something without getting leapt on = what's the point?")

I'm steadily becoming more and more convinced that the school I went to latterly was absolutely right in having a pupils discussion forum and there would be people speaking for both sides and other pupils listening/taking part. The school would sometimes make pupils speak in favour of what they knew was the opposite of the pupils personal opinion too. That school did have a lot going for it doing things like that, holding school elections, etc. We were taught a lot about how Society operates (should operate.....). We had it made crystal clear that someone else couldnt be deprived of the right to speak - just because someone else disagreed with them.

petra

Caleo
Back in the mists of time on GN some members regarded you as no better than you ought to be if you watched day time tv.
At times it really was more tea vicar unless the lovely rebellious jingles was posting.😂
Sadly missed.

Apart from missing Jingl RIP,I could hardly disagree more.
It was most certainly not " More tea vicar" but lively intelligent and still good natured debate, discussion and a bit of welcome Argy banter.
I used to "gird up" my brain cells sometimes if I wanted to respond to posts from the likes of micelf, grannyactivist, lemongrove , gadaboutgran, absent, galen , GSM and of course phoenix and greatnanRIP.
A few of the "old guard" are around but rarely post and they are missed. A sense of humour and intelligent fun seems sadly lacking and no, I do not include rude or obscene songs in that category.

RosieandherMaw totally agree 👏👏👏

I rarely post in this category because I am notoriously right wing. Too many snitches and poor quality moderation.

Humour is sadly missing these days. I remember laughing a lot years ago with some posters. The Argy was a source of great fun and not one nasty or belligerent post.

I work with someone at work who is staunchly Labour and pro EU and constantly browbeats people with his opinions and once referred to someone as an idiot for voting Conservative. It's a shame as so long as you steer the conversation away from politics, he's a nice enough man and devoted to his family, but once the p word comes up, he starts browbeating people who don't agree with him.

I think society as a whole has become totally polarised.
Black or white. No grey areas.
Such strong feelings:
Brexit.
Trump.
Israel.
Islam.
Labour.
Irregular migration.
You say one thing and it upsets another these days. 🤷‍♀️
I used to be more opinionated, but these days much less so.

AGAA4

Humour is sadly missing these days. I remember laughing a lot years ago with some posters. The Argy was a source of great fun and not one nasty or belligerent post.

✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️

Cumbrianmale56

I work with someone at work who is staunchly Labour and pro EU and constantly browbeats people with his opinions and once referred to someone as an idiot for voting Conservative. It's a shame as so long as you steer the conversation away from politics, he's a nice enough man and devoted to his family, but once the p word comes up, he starts browbeating people who don't agree with him.

Happens in a lot of different contexts.

Years back and hundreds of miles away - I had to take in lodgers for some years. One of them was a lecturer at a nearby College away from her home area and she commented to me on how often she got in trouble there for expressing her personal viewpoints (as they were Conservative ones). I could understand her point and my own take on it was "Yep...if Labour Party people can express their viewpoints then you should be able to express yours too. Though this city is now one where the Labour Party predominates"......and then suggested that maybe the best way to handle what would be a short stay in my city was to "say nowt" if anything political came up for discussion or even lie and imply she was Labour Party too (as most people will believe what they want to believe - ie that the other person thinks the same way as them). I believe people should have the right to state perfectly standard/normal views - if other people are saying theirs. I just thought it was maybe not worth the aggro for a matter of months there.

But it's not just politics that can cause problems - as one can soon find out if moving from one part of the country to another. I've learnt I can say what I please in my own city and no eyebrows get raised/it's accepted I can - but in my current area I have a quick look-round before I say some things (as I've had strangers who weren't involved in the conversation at all verbally leap on me for saying things that no-one thought a thing of for decades elsewhere) and realise I'll still be misinterpreted at least frequently - even just talking about the Government and I can see anyone who doesn't know me assume I'm talking about the Welsh Senedd.....errr...I'm not.

It still never ceases to surprise me that "Well - my opinion is a fact...but your opinion is just an opinion" that often comes up in life.

friendlygingercat

I rarely post in this category because I am notoriously right wing. Too many snitches and poor quality moderation.

I'm conservative, my attitude to my lovely family is quite different to yours. I missed reading your posts whilst you were busy elsewhere.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

I think society as a whole has become totally polarised.
Black or white. No grey areas.
Such strong feelings:
Brexit.
Trump.
Israel.
Islam.
Labour.
Irregular migration.
You say one thing and it upsets another these days. 🤷‍♀️
I used to be more opinionated, but these days much less so.

Wondering how long it's felt that way to you?

One heck of a lot of polarisation came up 2020 onwards - courtesy of Covid and Lockdown and Covid jabs.

I know everyone who knew me knew exactly which side of that divide I was/am and learnt it was sometimes easier to just "let them assume" - as most people who don't know one assume you are their side of that divide.

There's still people to this day who think I did Lockdown/had those jabs/etc - because they personally did. I just let them carry on assuming wrongly - as there's no point in starting to reel out facts and they probably decide to start arguing about it. Though there are a lot these days that, give them their due, say "Yep...you're right....I wish I'd never.....".

I know people could get quite angry in the eighties over things like the miners strike and Thatcher, but things became more reasoned in the nineties and noughties. Also you'd have a politician like Tony Benn, whose opinions were controversial, but he'd always say to people he opposed, " by the way, this is nothing personal", and actually had a lot of friends who were in other parties.
These days, and I think this goes back to the rise of people like Corbyn, Trump and Farage, the debate is completely toxic and very polarised. People openly hate each other for having different opinions and there is no middle ground. Also you have the venomous world of political correctness/ wokeness where anyone who says something that isn't poltically correct has to be silenced.

Cumbrianmale56

I know people could get quite angry in the eighties over things like the miners strike and Thatcher, but things became more reasoned in the nineties and noughties. Also you'd have a politician like Tony Benn, whose opinions were controversial, but he'd always say to people he opposed, " by the way, this is nothing personal", and actually had a lot of friends who were in other parties.
These days, and I think this goes back to the rise of people like Corbyn, Trump and Farage, the debate is completely toxic and very polarised. People openly hate each other for having different opinions and there is no middle ground. Also you have the venomous world of political correctness/ wokeness where anyone who says something that isn't poltically correct has to be silenced.

This is all very true. The current zeitgeist is polarisation globally.

(Are you watching Villa, CM)

I was reading recently about a village that had started it's own debating society. It was started by a man who had lost interest in debating online because 'they weren't debates anymore. It was just a load of people throwing 'facts' out there.' Often 'facts' they had read somewhere that jelled with the opinion they already had, and they had no interest in having their mind changed by debate because they already knew what they needed to know so just shouted down everyone else.

They have only one rule for the debating society:

Disagree... agreeably

Things move on, I don't miss the old guard, it is a forum, things change and people change.

Why is the Argy not still going? Did people get bored with it? The only poster I miss is Jings, I found her funny and irreverent.

I agree that society has become polarised, and think it happened deliberately. Nobody benefits as we are all part of on group or another that someone else has learnt to despise, and it's unnecessary, as generally people have more in common than not, so it makes sense to concentrate on that, rather than on the points of disagreement.

I agree with AmberGran about 'facts'. Often people who believe they have the 'facts' become even more entrenched in their views, but IMO facts are very fluid when current and in any case have 'half-lives' that vary in length.

I also agree with rafichagran's post above, and with those who would prefer to see nasty posts stay up, so that the poster can be seen in her true colours. Or not, as the case may be. OTOH, I think Galaxy is right to say that there are legal implications if someone posts something libellous, so what we would prefer and what we can have are not always compatible. I find that discussion boards often work better when members speak up if they object to something, but it can take courage to do so, as there are those who will never forgive being gainsaid.

There are people I miss too - even those with whom I usually disagreed. I'd much rather disagree openly than have snide comments draped across several threads. I can happily disagree totally with someone on one topic but agree on another, and never understand why people often find that strange.

Having said all of that, we must all be reasonably happy with the way things are, or we wouldn't be here, would we?

I miss trisher/glorianny and we fought like cat and dog, mind it is probably only because I want to tell her I was right

Galaxy

I miss trisher/glorianny and we fought like cat and dog, mind it is probably only because I want to tell her I was right

I miss Lemongrove, Allegra, MissAdventure, GSM and many more…

I also miss those of our number who have died 💐

friendlygingercat

I rarely post in this category because I am notoriously right wing. Too many snitches and poor quality moderation.

I feel the same, although my views are on the left. I'm all for a discussion and difference of opinion but having my opinions dismissed as stupid or ridiculous has become tiresome. I haven't been on GN for many months, but I already mainly stick to Games, Chat and TV where things are less hostile.