Forum changes

Thu 23 Oct 2008, 17:46

There are now three boards within the forum:

• the main forum, for Charlbury discussion
• the admin board, for discussion specifically relating to the website
• the Grease Pit, for largely unrestricted discussion

Please take a second to check you have the right board before submitting a posting - thanks. I've moved several recent topics to the admin board. You can move between boards using the links on the forum index.

Keeping the forum on an even keel is taking an increasing amount of time and there have been a couple of times in the past few weeks when I've considered simply removing it from the site and pointing people elsewhere. The rest of the site is sadly suffering from the amount of time it takes to run the forum.

It's probably impossible to please everyone, and I certainly wouldn't claim to make the right decision every time. The aim is that anyone in Charlbury, not just forum regulars, should feel welcome on the main forum board, so I'll usually err on the side of caution. Obviously people's opinions on this differ but the consensus that I hear in and around the town is that most people would prefer "gentle and welcoming" to "inflamed and passionate".

However, bearing in mind that some people would like to use the website for "discussion for the fun of it" (which wasn't the original intention), I've set up two new boards. One of them, the Grease Pit, will be moderated with a lighter touch than the main board. Threads and postings on the main board that have strayed will be moved to the Grease Pit. It won't be "anything goes" and any gratuitous rudeness or insults will still be removed, but I hope it'll provide an opportunity for those with strong views to express them without fear of offence. (Remember that all web forums are hosted somewhere, and that if you want somewhere where it's guaranteed your comments can't be deleted or edited, you need to use the decentralised Usenet: uk.local.thames-valley is our local newsgroup.)

(The Grease Pit replaces the old off-topic board.)

The second new board is an admin board solely for discussion of this website. Endless threads about the forum tend to clutter up the main board and are offputting for those who aren't regulars, so this new board gives them a home. If you'd like to discuss this posting, for example, please do it there.