davidb

ive already had the cane for smutty posts ! ,make that 3 mags down your trousers

batman

The cane! I think I'll remove the mags.

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

Harleybloke

Now Catwoman and all that leather makes sense....................

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

TimR

I have found that adding to the older threads works well. I have done that several times in the last few weeks - I look up a film that I assume is likely in the "favorite film" section, and add to it. I would rather have them remain intact. Those earlier comments are interesting, and add to my own knowledge, as several of these films are new to me.

TimR

Oh - I just saw this after I posted almost the same thing. I concur.

smudge

You Chaps!!

Any minute now you'll have me walking on a la Graham Chapman's General in Python quoting,

"Stop that- stop that... it's all getting rather silly! And a bit suspect.."


Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

davidb

now you see how easy it is !

davidb

i hope no one mentions the caning sequence in kes ,cos you guys who are yet to have it will find its administered to your hands !

batman

I'm a nurse .... I have gloves!

"Boom boom a baby .... Banham Zoo .... Banana pants! Hahahaha"

DB7

As a few of you clearly appreciate regulating the forum content is an uneasy balancing act between the site's central film theme and the occasional off-topic subjects we all love dipping into that hopefully lighten the mood. There are no 'posting boundaries' except those of taste and decency, and until April/May this year people were self-restrained and quality took precedence over quantity, then came a tendency for frivolous subjects posted ad nauseum that were scarcely different to previous threads; best actor in a hat or best actor's house etc etc. The balance went totally out of kilter, I posted a thread asking people to post with more restraint and to put some imagination into OT threads but it was largely ignored, I even confronted one member with a Latest Posts screengrab that read Off Topic, Off Topic, Off Topic, Off Topic, Off Topic, Off Topic, but still it was ignored. It really is all about balance. MB states in her opening post that 'if people start to find it dull - they stop bothering', similarly if people find it inane they'll not bother to join.

I always try to place myself in the shoes of somebody who has just browsed into the site for the first time, statistically such people do not remain long so the first impression will hopefully capture their interest. Secondly, we also have bills to pay and the hosting is considerably more expensive than many of you would imagine. We're supported by adverts and as the saying goes 'content is king', so the more substantial content-wise the site appears the more likely we are to attract advertisers.

As Smudge said this isn't the first time we've encountered such a fracture, probably wont be the last, but the route we were heading down is one we've trod before and it was unseemly as some old members will testify. Lord Brett mentions that TMC has implemented a similar tidy-up and is quiet, but in my experience it soon blows once everyone feels they're not walking on egg shells. There also appears to be some confusion over merging and purging. The 'purge' was on threads like a Quadrophenia one, which started out with about six posts about the film and was then hijacked by two pages of pictures of bikes, scooters, glamour models and the caped crusader. In fact this page is a fine example of how many interesting threads tail off (or into a full blown row).

Put simply, if members exert some self-control then the moderators will be redundant.

MB

Erm..well as I started the thread, I feel I should write an extremely wordy and dull reply for you to skim through or avoid.

I am reasonably new to forums and don't have much experience of them generally...my son, however, is a mod on a hugely popular forum and he tells me that the patterns described here and on the other forum I have used - are well established traits on the internet.

His theory is this - 'the internet is anarchy played out...and the best example of why civilised society came about..'

I think, as with most things - balance is important, responsible mods are crucial - as is listening to the members - whilst maintaining the basis of the forum. The two cannot exist without each other.

Elitism concerns me - but then..I'll try to briefly tell you what happened on the other forum I have used and it might explain why an ex punky/hippie type (who is now a respectable businesswoman ...of course) isn't waving banners around and leaving etc etc..but felt it necessary to say something..

I started using another forum a year ago - it was very liberal, concerning a reasonably controversial subject and - at the time - had an interesting mix of about twenty or so intelligent, sparky, colourful regulars and lots of people popping in. There were rows and people with very different opinions - but it worked and was very funny at times and I made some great little pals - which was nice if you're in with the kids and don't want to go out too much.

But, a few of the 'quieter' posters resented what they felt was an 'incrowd'..I say 'quieter' - they tended to be on the forum day and night, usually talking about how bored and depressed they were - posting absolute nonsense (I mean really...some people are frighteningly bored...) but, they didn't read, they didn't seem interested in cultural events..they thought we were 'snobs' who 'looked down on them'..they had a tendency to be resentful and spiteful to a woman there with learning difficulties - simply because they were bored and unhappy with themselves, I think. When we, politely, asked them to leave this poor woman alone, they claimed that we were patronising them..

I'm not kidding - they became so resentful that they 'organised themselves' on msn and started 'taking us out' with spiteful comments and campaigns to get certain members banned - they even cranked up the assault on this poor woman to see if they could get us to react. Unfortunately, the only remaining mod - tended to be of this ilk herself and (although she did absolutely nothing either way...) tended to sympathise with them..

Well, they won..the forum, once populated chiefly by interesting, sparky artists, performers and writers and having lively debates - is now the sole property of people who, literally, can sit up all night swapping favourite colours and arguing over who is more depressed.

I wouldn't have thought it could happen..and yes, it is sad when a place you have enjoyed and made good friends in is ruined...the truth was - they were prepared to stoop lower and had less going on their lives - so had plenty of time to plot and harass and get really angry...

I'm not comparing the people who have gone to this - but I can understand why you might want to preserve what you have..

But, as with anything - I'd rather rise above that behaviour and treat people as I would like to be treated - so I am glad that DB7 has explained his reasoning and that they were dealt with fairly.

Again, I'm surprised I am still here - although I only accept full responsibility for posts where I am not drunk.


Thankyou

Modesty (I'm a bit drunk tonight, actually)

homeguard

I'm not computer literate, so I have never been a contributor to any web-site in the past. Although an ardent fan of, I know very little about, the history of British film. I only joined to explore any possibility of meeting someone in the film industry who could point me in the direction of getting my film scripts read. Within hours I had received that advice. But apart from that rather selfish initial aim, I have found out so much of interest since arriving here on this forum. The help I received from members is continuing and I am waiting for a script to be returned from a company, and without this forum I would not be.
It's like being invited into somebody's house. As a stranger you are not sure what you can say, so you try to be polite. It is difficult to contribute to discussions about film if one's knowledge is limited, so I at least can only respond to those threads where personal experience lends some authority to an opinion. Therefore, it is easier to join in some of the debates on the fringe of the film world. I'm sure that must apply to a lot of new members.
May I take this opportunity, on this serious thread, to apologise if I have offended any of the members in my responses to their postings. Certainly that was not my intention. It must irritate those people who set-up this forum to see it drifting away from it's primary topic base, especially if it is costing them money to operate it. I would like to thank them for giving this computer 'virgin' a really interesting new home to drop in on whenever I want to. It's much appreciated.

Regards,
HG

HIPPIEDAVE

I was wondering why site was different, my status says Junior member although am senior and can't seem to contact anyone.D

Steve Crook

Your status is set automatically depending on the number of posts you've made. As quite a few posts have been trimmed back recently, your number of posts could well have gone down and that would affect your status.

But I don't know why you can't contact anyone. Do you mean "anyone" or anyone specific?

Steve

lordtednfs

I know in my early days in the forum I made a few boo boos by posting my email address, but I was never asked to leave and hopefully will enjoy many years of jovial and informative chat.

Some excellent ideas regarding limiting the number of threads per week and should be considered, but I was wondering if it was possible to have a search tool bar on the site, so members or guests could search for pariticular information and topics within the site, as this may help stop the posting of double threads or threads on a similar topic?

This is by far the best and only website I would give my time to. Keep on rockin' britmovie.

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Hooked off the line