Is this forum unrepresentative?

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horizon
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by horizon »

rmurphy195 wrote:It is - its full of people who are against everything, and post the same old things over and over again so much that I sometimes think some of them have a keyword scanner coupled to an auto-post facility.


That's because new posters ask the same questions or make the same points rather than checking for old threads and the members feel it is incumbent upon them to respond.

This particular section has loads of stuff on it that is quite useless, its so difficult to find any useful stuff on it, such as how to remove dog poo from your tyres - now that IS something that could help us all!


That's because it is the Tea Shop and it is meant to be a repository for irrelevant non-cycling stuff. Unfortunately all the threads and new posts come up under "New Posts".

As for the rest - Philip Schofileds private life is his own, why does this forum need to pick it over? Political stuff and abusive/libellous stuff about our politicians and others again serves to make the forum an unpleasant place to be


I agree (even if at times guilty).

Coronavirus is saturating the news media, why obfuscate our own forum with it as well?


IMV it is apposite to cycling and should be in the Health section. If you don't agree that cycling in the winter and a reduction in air pollution are the best defences against flu, then that is a discussion that needs to take place on a cycling forum - maybe even this one.
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pete75
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by pete75 »

Ben@Forest wrote:
ambodach wrote:The main difference I think between this forum and the general public is that those on the forum tend to be better educated and thus better informed than Joe Bloggs who gets information from the likes of the Daily Wail or others of the same ilk. Mind you I do not believe anything I may read or see in more "heavyweight " news outlets unless I can check it is true from other sources.What did we do before the internet?


I'm never sure why the Mail gets more opprobrium than the Mirror. The Mirror has little political outlook other than blindly advising to vote Labour, it supported the fascists in the 1930s (its headline on 22 January 1934 was 'Give the Blackshirts a helping hand'), and it has many run untrue, sensationalist stories just like the Sun.

I don't read the Mail, but it's had campaigns which belie the easy accusations about it, notably about the Stephen Lawrence case and the treatment of elderly in care homes. Many commentators on this forum have as many blinkered left-wing views as the Mail may have right-wing.


That is because it was under the same ownership as the Daily Mail at the time, the Harmsworth family so followed their line.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Ben@Forest
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by Ben@Forest »

pete75 wrote:That is because it was under the same ownership as the Daily Mail at the time, the Harmsworth family so followed their line.


I thought that they'd sold their interest in the Mirror by that time but haven't googled it so am prepared to be wrong. But it still makes little sense when people discount the Mail for a 'blackshirt headline' or sympathies 80 years ago but not the Mirror.

And it's interesting right now in Irish politics, should one try to disregard Sinn Fein or hold them in distaste for something the party may have said 30 or 40 years ago, but the current leadership have never said or subscribed to?
pete75
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by pete75 »

Ben@Forest wrote:
pete75 wrote:That is because it was under the same ownership as the Daily Mail at the time, the Harmsworth family so followed their line.


I thought that they'd sold their interest in the Mirror by that time but haven't googled it so am prepared to be wrong. But it still makes little sense when people discount the Mail for a 'blackshirt headline' or sympathies 80 years ago but not the Mirror.

And it's interesting right now in Irish politics, should one try to disregard Sinn Fein or hold them in distaste for something the party may have said 30 or 40 years ago, but the current leadership have never said or subscribed to?


Of course it makes sense as the Mail is still under the ownership of the Harmsworth family. It followed their line then and still does.

The Mirror hasn't been under their control since 1935 and became a completely different newspaper.

Sinn Fein are and always have been against the British conquest and occupation of their country. Britain still occupies part of it. Whatever they may or may not have said needs to be taken in that context.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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hondated
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by hondated »

reohn2 wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote: ........Although tbh I now think quite hard before expressing such an opinion because tbh I can't be bothered with the pettiness and low-level abuse (from a very small number of individuals) that sometimes results. That's completely different to robust argument.........

I agree,there are those who like to wind up other forum members for their own entertainment and not for any other reason,I've come very close to leaving the forum a number of times because of such behaviour which has become a real nuisance at times.

+1
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by fullupandslowingdown »

I've found at work and elsewhere there are mainly two types of people: those who always moan amongst themselves about stuff, and those who speak out and try to make changes. I'd imagine that this forum attracts more regular posts from the doers in life than the grumblers. So if the forum becomes unrepresentative, then it's up to the moaners to become doers......
Bonefishblues
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by Bonefishblues »

hondated wrote:
reohn2 wrote:
Bonefishblues wrote: ........Although tbh I now think quite hard before expressing such an opinion because tbh I can't be bothered with the pettiness and low-level abuse (from a very small number of individuals) that sometimes results. That's completely different to robust argument.........

I agree,there are those who like to wind up other forum members for their own entertainment and not for any other reason,I've come very close to leaving the forum a number of times because of such behaviour which has become a real nuisance at times.

+1

Although the above is as nothing when compared to the distaste I feel when, almost inevitably, a thread which could have been constructive regarding the tragic death of a little girl* degenerated into the usual helmet debate. That has made me feel sadder than I can remember.

*v-a-v release buckles seemingly being non-compliant with the regulations - something of the utmost seriousness.
pwa
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by pwa »

Ben@Forest wrote:
And it's interesting right now in Irish politics, should one try to disregard Sinn Fein or hold them in distaste for something the party may have said 30 or 40 years ago, but the current leadership have never said or subscribed to?

Ireland (N&S) badly needs to get away from the past and move on, and part of that process must involve embracing Sinn Fein as a movement that now rejects terror and pursues its aims through peaceful means.
reohn2
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by reohn2 »

Bonefishblues wrote:
hondated wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I agree,there are those who like to wind up other forum members for their own entertainment and not for any other reason,I've come very close to leaving the forum a number of times because of such behaviour which has become a real nuisance at times.

+1

Although the above is as nothing when compared to the distaste I feel when, almost inevitably, a thread which could have been constructive regarding the tragic death of a little girl* degenerated into the usual helmet debate. That has made me feel sadder than I can remember.

*v-a-v release buckles seemingly being non-compliant with the regulations - something of the utmost seriousness.

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carpetcleaner
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by carpetcleaner »

fullupandslowingdown wrote:I've found at work and elsewhere there are mainly two types of people: those who always moan amongst themselves about stuff, and those who speak out and try to make changes. I'd imagine that this forum attracts more regular posts from the doers in life than the grumblers. So if the forum becomes unrepresentative, then it's up to the moaners to become doers......


Brexit has happened now. Moaning about it will do no good at all.
Ben@Forest
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by Ben@Forest »

pwa wrote:
Ben@Forest wrote:
And it's interesting right now in Irish politics, should one try to disregard Sinn Fein or hold them in distaste for something the party may have said 30 or 40 years ago, but the current leadership have never said or subscribed to?

Ireland (N&S) badly needs to get away from the past and move on, and part of that process must involve embracing Sinn Fein as a movement that now rejects terror and pursues its aims through peaceful means.


Exactly. What now their party may have said in 1940 or 1970 (and really I'm thinking about violence here) should not be a sword of Damocles over the heads of Sinn Fein politicians now.

But that applies to the Mail too - they are not pseudo-fascists because of headlines or views in the paper 80 years ago. One can make arguments as to why one sees the Mail as excessively right-wing now, but l despair everytime l see the 'Hurrah for the Blackshirts' headline posited as a reason for disliking that paper.
carpetcleaner
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by carpetcleaner »

Ben@Forest wrote:
pwa wrote:
Ben@Forest wrote:
And it's interesting right now in Irish politics, should one try to disregard Sinn Fein or hold them in distaste for something the party may have said 30 or 40 years ago, but the current leadership have never said or subscribed to?

Ireland (N&S) badly needs to get away from the past and move on, and part of that process must involve embracing Sinn Fein as a movement that now rejects terror and pursues its aims through peaceful means.


Exactly. What now their party may have said in 1940 or 1970 (and really I'm thinking about violence here) should not be a sword of Damocles over the heads of Sinn Fein politicians now.

But that applies to the Mail too - they are not pseudo-fascists because of headlines or views in the paper 80 years ago. One can make arguments as to why one sees the Mail as excessively right-wing now, but l despair everytime l see the 'Hurrah for the Blackshirts' headline posited as a reason for disliking that paper.


I don't. In my opinion it shows how poor some people's arguments generally are and that's why they are often reduced to calling people fascist or racist. It's all they've got, and why the electorate usually ignores them.
rmurphy195
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by rmurphy195 »

Ben@Forest wrote:
Exactly. What now their party may have said in 1940 or 1970 (and really I'm thinking about violence here) should not be a sword of Damocles over the heads of Sinn Fein politicians now.



Perhaps, but I would feel less antipathy towards Sinn Fein if it helped identify, and bring to justice, those involved in, for example, the Birmingham pub bombings.

I haven't been to Letterkenny for a while, but I wonder if the Sinn Fein offices still displays sell mugs, towels and the likes with pictures of thier IRA soldiers on them c/w balaclavas and guns (when I first saw the shop window from a distance I thought it was a souvenir shop, until I got a bit closer).
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roubaixtuesday
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

carpetcleaner wrote:
fullupandslowingdown wrote:I've found at work and elsewhere there are mainly two types of people: those who always moan amongst themselves about stuff, and those who speak out and try to make changes. I'd imagine that this forum attracts more regular posts from the doers in life than the grumblers. So if the forum becomes unrepresentative, then it's up to the moaners to become doers......


Brexit has happened now. Moaning about it will do no good at all.


Brexit has not "happened", it is a process that will take years.

Characterising those with different opinions than the government as to the best way through that process as "moaning" will do no good at all.
pwa
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Re: Is this forum unrepresentative?

Post by pwa »

rmurphy195 wrote:
Ben@Forest wrote:
Exactly. What now their party may have said in 1940 or 1970 (and really I'm thinking about violence here) should not be a sword of Damocles over the heads of Sinn Fein politicians now.



Perhaps, but I would feel less antipathy towards Sinn Fein if it helped identify, and bring to justice, those involved in, for example, the Birmingham pub bombings.

I haven't been to Letterkenny for a while, but I wonder if the Sinn Fein offices still displays sell mugs, towels and the likes with pictures of thier IRA soldiers on them c/w balaclavas and guns (when I first saw the shop window from a distance I thought it was a souvenir shop, until I got a bit closer).

Good point.
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