|
|
The Complete France Post Bag
Topic has 223 replies.
  
|
|
Sort Posts:
|
|
|
|
 10/05/2008, 14:26
|
Benjamin
Joined on 21/08/2005
Vendée South
Posts 1,873
|
|
|
Can't pull a fast one with you watching Dick. ![Big Smile [:D]](/cs/images/emotions/biggrin.gif)
Benjamin
St Malo 1-New evidence suggests mis-trial
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 11:29
|
trees 2
Joined on 28/04/2008
Posts 120
|
|
|
|
 Deby wrote: | This Forum is losing its way. We can only say good things about companies/people but we cannot say not so good things!!! Oh please be sensible, by saying someone is not good or not recommended is not naming and shaming.
The Forum needs to have a balanced view. Otherwise everything is Disneyland and not real life. People get shot down for offering this here. The Forum should offer balanced opinions.
What do others think?
Deby |
|
I think you run the risk of having this thread deleted by a mod for MENTIONING this, and you also risk being banned for QUESTIONING it![Sad [:(]](/cs/images/emotions/sad.gif)
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 13:10
|
Russethouse
 
Joined on 23/08/2004
Forum Moderator
Posts 10,321
|
|
|
|
|
I think there are two issues:
The first concerns anyone who runs a forum that is readily accessed by the public: they have to do their best to protect themselves against being involved in cases of libel etc, therefore the no naming and shaming rules exists and will continue to do so, as far as I am aware. Whether an accusation is true or not is hardly the point, whether Archant want to start getting embroiled in law suits, is. There is no pretence here, it is perfectly clear that this forum is provided by a commercial organisation. Other forum owners may have different priorities, but, I suggest they are in the minority.
The other issue is the tone of the contributors. From my perspective I think it is fairly balanced, in fact those who arrive here wearing rose tinted glasses are soon stripped of any illusion they may have about France
www.quimperclub.org
99
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 13:35
|
woolybanana'sbrother
Joined on 18/01/2008
Posts 1,321
|
|
|
|
|
So, after a couple of years, those living here are stripped down to their rose coloured fluffy bits, RH, is that it?
Well, the last few months had certainly seen a major change of tone I must say, from bright aggressive pink to a sort of browny grey. And it is a pity because it means that people's dreams have gone up in smoke. Which means unpleasantness and sometimes hardship all round. Sadly too, there seems to be an 'I told you so' brigade out there who are only too keen to use their electric hedge trimmers to remove the remaining fluffy bits. They are the ones whom I should like to hold upside down in a barrel of pig's whatsit for being such killjoys. Nobody deserves too much reality thrown at them at any one time.
Ironically, just being able to dream might increase Archant's magazine sales.
Is the forum balanced? No, of course it isnt because balance is subjective and is made up of the accumulated opinions experience and feelings of the mods, as well as their prejudices.
Do not try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 17:17
|
Quillan
Joined on 23/08/2004
Forum Moderator
Posts 3,967
|
|
|
|
Are you saying the people here are looking at France with pink tinted glass's or are you saying we are not?
http://www.chambresdhote.com
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 17:38
|
woolybanana'sbrother
Joined on 18/01/2008
Posts 1,321
|
|
|
|
|
Many are still quietly optimistic Quillan, yes. Basically those who have been able to adapt and accommodate themselves to life here. It is similar to any expatriate situation anywhere really. As I think you know from past lives.
The totally fluffy brigade seem however to be disappearing for the moment because, one suspects, of the economic climate and health cover issues.
But recently there too seems to have been a lot of people who have become disillisioned and are hurting and there are a small number of people who seem to rub their noses in it. Which is a pity as I said before.
Do not try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
11/05/2008, 18:38
|
raindog
Joined on 26/09/2007
HERAULT
Posts 797
|
|
|
|
Narbonne 13 - Toulon 31
sociability is just a big smile and a big smile is nothing but teeth
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
12/05/2008, 11:43
|
Quillan
Joined on 23/08/2004
Forum Moderator
Posts 3,967
|
|
|
|
| woolybananasbrother wrote: | |
Many are still quietly optimistic Quillan, yes. Basically those who have been able to adapt and accommodate themselves to life here. It is similar to any expatriate situation anywhere really. As I think you know from past lives.
The totally fluffy brigade seem however to be disappearing for the moment because, one suspects, of the economic climate and health cover issues.
But recently there too seems to have been a lot of people who have become disillisioned and are hurting and there are a small number of people who seem to rub their noses in it. Which is a pity as I said before.
|
|
I take your point but to be fair I personally have not noticed anyone rubbing people’s noses in anything or perhaps they have done in such a way that I never saw it. There are some professional people out there who are very articulate in their writing and you can almost hear them laugh as they type and I openly admit it goes over my head but then if that is how they get their kicks then it’s a bit sad. I personally think that this is a very nasty way to act but it takes all sorts to make a world, we all have to try and get along and in the end people start to understand and see them for what they really are.
There are many, as you say, who are hurting, mainly from a financial point and are often living off of a UK based fix income which they have seen reduced effectively by 17 to 20%. In a way I pity them but normally I would not say that as it sounds condescending and is probably the last thing they want to hear.
There are those that look through incredibly bright rose tinted glasses and are thinking about moving to France. Some people respond feeling they are 'putting them right' although I don't think there is any element of gloating or nastiness intended. The problem is people don't like it when their dream is destroyed but then do you think it right to say nothing and let them spend (possibly) their life savings on something that you know won't work for them? Don't you also sometimes read a question and think "are they mad"? It's a tough call at times and difficult to know what to do for the best. I am sure there have been times when you to have wished somebody had told you before you tried something and it all went wrong.
You mentioned the moderators in your previous post. We are often put in very difficult positions. Of course we know about a certain forum where posts from here (and another French forum with a nickname ending in Farce) are often discussed and both this forum (plus the other one) and it's members are frequently vilified and described en mass as "morons". I am sure some of our members here would be disgusted (to say the least) if they saw some of the posts there.
We see racist posts there and note that whilst those members that post on both forums jump up and down when somebody makes a joke demanding they be 'hung, draw and quartered' yet when a blatant racist comment is made there say nothing. It borders on being two faced or perhaps it is. We see harmless members who do excellent charity work in France rubbished on this other forum and yet we say nothing here. We have never discussed that forum in public here in the past neither as did we with its predecessor which closed down because of certain peoples behaviour (a problem when you have an unmoderated forum). In fact we know quite a lot about some things that have gone on in the past but deem it unprofessional to discuss it in public (some we are banned by Archant from discussing) which at times is particularly difficult when what we read is quite different from what we know to be true. This means we end up being ripped apart by members for something we know is not correct but can do little about.
Before we became moderators we were just ordinary members who were later asked if we wanted to be moderators because of some serious problems with the forum about 5 years ago which nearly led to it closing down. It was a choice as far as I was concerned, see the forum close or help protect it and its members so it could carry on. I have learnt a lot from the forum, from people that are still here and from those that have moved on for which I will always be indebted. As many know we receive nothing other than a free magazine for our work, we don't get any uniform be it physical or cyber and we can't please everyone all of the time. We can't always be here although we try to have somebody around most of the time. Are we strict, no we are not, as current examples just look at the 'English' thread where after mentioning about banned words people are playing around to see what they can get away with and likewise we have not pulled this thread although some posters have 'dared' us to several times.
In the end this is a forum about France, very few of us are professional writers or even typists and make mistakes but that is not important. What is important is 'being there' for people who have questions, problems etc and to help them out to the best of ones ability and hope that others will do the same when you have a problem or whatever. What it's not about is trying to 'get one over' somebody because their English is not up to scratch or to make nasty comments just because you disagree with something somebody has said and then to go and hide away somewhere else and ridicule them further.
Oh and by the way in response to the original post I personally am a bad typist and often miss characters so I use a web based spell checker. The trouble is that it is a US product and often puts hyphens in when it shouldn’t likewise it often spells words differently like a ‘z’ in apologize instead of an ‘s’. If people find it annoying I apologise but perhaps they could point me to a UK version as I don’t want to spend time copy and pasting it in to word and back again. Life is too short.
http://www.chambresdhote.com
|
|
|
|
|
Report
|
|
|
|
|
France Forum » General Discuss... » The Complete Fr... » Re: Balanced Forum
|
|
|
|