WOW This place is a ghost town - Where is everyone ?

[chameleon54]

Havnt looked in here for awhile, but thought I would call in and check the Christmas celebrations thread and New year greetings thread to see who is still around. Imagine my surprise when there doesnt even seem to be enough posters left here to run them.

And as for the vibrant threads on social issues that used to be the lifeblood of this forum .... Nought Nada Zero !!!   All that is left is a handful of die hards swapping derogatory memes and a few funny cat videos.

A few posters warned this could happen but its unfortunate that a small group who insisted on bullying and piling on any poster who had a different opinion to them seems to have been successful in wrecking what was once a really vibrant and interesting forum. 

 I,m very happy doing other things so probably wont be back any time soon but Seasons Greetings and all the best to those who are still left.

[springyzone]

Happy new year to you Chameleon.

I think a lot of everything just gets said in the blokes thread, without a new thread being opened.

What have you been up to over the last few months?

[gutterpunkz05]

Hi cham,  Happy retirement

Yep,  ebay has done a pretty good job of weeding.

[mtnlane]

All the best for 2023 for you and your family Chameleon!

Good to see you here - it has been too long 😁

[chameleon54]

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@springyzone wrote:

Happy new year to you Chameleon.

I think a lot of everything just gets said in the blokes thread, without a new thread being opened.

What have you been up to over the last few months?

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Thanks Springy, Unfortunately the retirement plans have taken a back seat.

I have taken on a voluntary backroom role in the political sphere supporting others who are the public face of disability advocacy and inclusion. This involves research, assisting in planning strategies, assisting in writing press releases and submissions etc. Very interesting, but takes a lot of time and energy.

Whilst under no illusions that any of those involved will instantly change the world, by working within the political system , we are making small but important incremental changes in the community debate on equality for those living with disability.

[springyzone]

I think that's an interesting and worthwhile role, chameleon.

Probably a lot better than going straight to retirement to be honest.

Nothing usually happens overnight but nothing happens at all unless someone makes some moves, and that is what you are doing.

[countessalmirena]

Hello, chameleon - it’s good to see you.

I hope that your Christmas and New Year celebrations were filled with joy and good things.

[johcaschro]

Chameleon, I was one of those who warned posters to this board that petty and spiteful reporting of others' posts (for whatever twisted and temporarily self-gratifying reasons) would result in a virtual ghost town.

And all that's left here now in lieu of the once dynamic, if  sometimes challenging interchange, is a milk-sop of tawdry insipidness and irrelevance.

[arctoph_49]

I came here twice before deciding it was not for me due to bullying and arrogance.

However, I am not sure hot topics should be discussed here because this kind of discussions often don't end up well. Apparently they deleted the forum for hot topics like politics in the USA (I mean on the US eBay community board), while leaving other subforums for funny or entertaining topics like music, so the real issue were the hot topics, not the fact that they were not related to eBay (as some apparently claimed).

If discussions were civilized in the past though, as you say, it must really have been great. I can imagine that some people miss those times.

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

I've been on enough different boards (including political boards) to know that there has to be a bit of tension for a board to be hopping.

You need at least 20-40 posters who pop in and out on a reasonably regular basis, you need a range of different topis, from fun to serious & you need a range of opinions and some disagreement.

I used to be on an English board (still am, but it is a ghost of its former self) that sometimes got over heated and extremely nasty but most of the time was extremely interesting.

I can say now that a lot of it comes down to moderation. Extreme bullying or nastiness needs to be stepped on.

I am concerned about one aspect johcaschro mentioned and that is the reporting of other people's posts. On here, there are independent moderators, on the English board and others, it has just been fellow members doing the job gratis and they come in for the same sledging as anyone else if boardies don't think they are doing a good job.

I personally know of one person on these ebay forums who has been banned for life recently. She was edgy, she could be blunt, but as far as I know, I never saw her swear or go too far. A warning would have sufficed, in my opinion. She told me she suspects she had someone or some people complain about her.

A lot of how a board runs comes down not just to the boardies but to the quality of the moderation. Just saying. Mind you, it's a thankless job, you can never please everyone.