I am extremely saddened by the way these boards are being used and abused at the moment.

There are rules on this site that are not being adhered to and I do not understand why some posts are being allowed to stay.

Rules of Netiquette
4. You will not, nor will you encourage any other party, to make any statement or introduce any content which includes:

(iv) ... the harassment of other users of the site (either privately or in a public forum...;

I believe that by purposely calling someone a name other than their login and then posting a derogatory remark directed at them surely infringes this rule? Or continually goading members in to responding by posting nasty comments about a presenter/chef/etc?

I know trolls should be ignored as they can only feed off the attention they are getting. There is one person on this site who is hell bent on getting that attention. Can we not try to ignore them?

(vii) any derogatory remarks about UKTV Food, UKTV INTERACTIVE LTD or the site.

I take this to include the presenters on GFL and I see a thread last night was started with a harsh criticism of a presenter. Why? It is not constructive; if that person saw it they couldn't think 'Oh, I will make an effort to change that' as the remarks were not of that nature. The remarks then illicit a rapid response from others and away we go again with long threads of one liners, bing bonging backwards and forwards. We are ALL for freedom of speech and YES we DO live in a democracy but why slate a presenter - what good does that do? Do we need to know you particularly loathe a particular person?

The boards seem also to be used more of a instant chat forum than a message board - although there is no rule against this, it is quite dull having to plough through one or two worded posts to see the point being made (if there is one).



Sadly I think the message board is not as welcoming to new people as it could be - I know I have been put-off recently and I have been posting for some while.

I apologise for this rant and I hope people can see it is heart-felt and not a dig at anyone - just letting off a little frustration. These boards are a form of escape for some people, a place to meet and greet and have fun. I do feel the fun needs to be put back in.

three cheers for Georgie. Well put, Ive been feeling much the same but got told off for saying so. Lets hope we have a more positive approach to the boards at the weekend.

Totally agree Georgie. Ditto everything you said.

I agree Georgie, but think you're wasting your metaphorical breath. There's a hard-core of us on here who try to stick to the rules and have a bit of fun while we're at it, but there seems to have been a few newer people join of late who're only interested in causing trouble. [sigh]

As I have said many many times, the rules are no longer clear, when we had them listed and they said what they meant, we could at least point out a rule to people. Now it is only what you can interpret from what reads like "terms and conditions".

Sorry if the chatting is boring, this time, Georgie, but with people asking for a chat room I think that will be an ongoing thing. Maybe it should be kept to off the menu, but I think it good to see people being nice to each other.

But completely agree with all else you have said.

Mark - I agree with you to a point, but can't regular posters just ignore the people only here to cause problems? If no one posted a reply the thread would die.

Rustie - maybe a chat forum is the answer but can't see that happening as the authorities would be so frightened of people passing on emails, etc. However, your suggestion of keeping the chat to Off The Menu is IMHO a good one.

Thank you Georgie for this posting. I am new to the site (August this year) and at first I was happy to post but then the nastiness started and I started to feel very uncomfortable so stopped posting although I did check in and read the posts. I even asked if the nastiness has stopped. Maybe I will start posting more often now.

I am fairly new to the site too (only a few months old) i don't think i've been nasty! Apologies if i have tho; it was unintentional.

I am relatively new and thought what a friendly site it was too. Although, it did seem to get heated. I don't think i have been rude and feel a little inhibited now about what I write.

Have to also add that keeping chat to off the menu still says that it should be light hearted banter.

Hi grubhead, dont think youve upset anyone. just keep posting and enjoy. sure someone would have said directly if you had!!

Thanks very much Relishmama. I did not think I had as a newey I would not dare. But I am enjoying it very much and will keep posting!

Hi.

I feel I must be one of the chatters..and didn't realise that alot of people weren't fond of that. So I apologise and will stop doing it.

I totally agree re slating the chefs and I know we should ignore the trolls...I apologise for not doing so but this particular troll has had a swipe at me 3 evenings and one afternoon on the trot and I was at the end of my tether.

Anyway..I am new, didn't realise about the chatter bit, and am extremely sorry that people are fed up trawling through some of my silly posts and will try and keep it down.

That will be a shame Brie. I have had lots of laughs at many of your recent postings and I am sure that lots of others have too. Please keep your sense of humour it is refreshing

Thankyou grubhead but I must confess..I have been worrying lately that I have been a bit full on as have only been here 6 or 7 weeks...and have worried that I may be annoying some of the people who were on here before me..and I would never want to do that.

Just everyone (well nearly!! ) has been so lovely on here...it's been a little haven for me lately!

But looking at how many posts I have done..I am aware I do post too much..and sometimes just a smiley..which is annoying..so I will try and tone it down.

My post was not aimed at any one person in particular. However I now seem to have upset people who think I was.

I don't know what more to say on this matter. I was not looking for people to apologise. My frustration is with the message board guidelines, the fact they are not being adhered to and that some posts which don't adhere to them are being allowed to stand. I am not getting at new posters or regular posters or long standing posters or whoever. I certainly don't want people to stop shooting the breeze with each other either! My original post now seems to have been counter-productive and sadly I am not able to delete it.

No Georgie..if you mean me, you haven't upset me. As I said..I have been thinking that myself lately..that I have been a bit full on on here...you ask others...I have told them that way before your post!

And I totally agree with what you have said about the contant horribleness about chefs and the trolls. I know I should have ignored the current one...just he kept saying nasty things...and sometimes..with the best will in the world you can't. But I know I should..if that makes sense.

Now feel I have upset you..which wasn't my intention. Maybe I shouldn't have written anything..just thought I'd reply in agreement, and also say I realise some points you made, that's all.

I agree with you Brie it has become a little bit of light relief for me too. Life is too short to worry about what we have said and although we are all feeling guilt if I read through my old postings there is nothing in them which would offend, I think we are all becoming a bit paranoid now. Long may we continue to post.

PARANOID - Who said that?? I didn't - Was it You ????

My turn.

Georgie, I know that you are not getting at anyone in particular or otherwise, and Brie you also know this situation and the difficulty of the typed word as opposed to actually speaking to someone.

So cummon, all of us lets pull together on this one.

The rules we abided by, that were clear and precise, that certain ones were made because we, the old time regulars felt it needed doing, have gone.

Instead we have something that I personally do not consider a set of rules at all, and I have said so before. But the oldies like myself still try to abide by, and in our own way enforce (that is probbly the wrong word) but we do.

We do live in a free speech situation, but when someone comes on here for the first time to slate a chef or presenter, when someone posts again about someones hair, or clothes, or weight or laugh, or bossiness, or oh whatever, ok, they have their opinion, but we have heard it all so many times and I wish people would a) think before they post something that could hurt the feelings of the person they are posting about, but b) when they first register or before they register spend a little time searching the site to see if it has all been said and done before. Difficult I know, but it is what I did, I spent a long time reading previous posts before I even registered and posted, and again afterwards.

As for the chatting, I think we do quite often let that get out of hand, it is so much fun when you are doing it you forget that other people may have to plough through it all to try and find if there is an answer to their question.

So this is my suggestion, if there is a thread that we start posting on, that is not on "off the menu" one of us has the sense to say...... shall we move this discussion to off the menu, that way we can have our fun and no one who doesn't want to read it has to. How is that?

I personally don't look at most of the "games" I don't have much interest in them, I don't read them, but I don't critisize them either. So the same should apply to our silly chats and parties, keep them in the right place so as not to annoy others.

The main thing that Georgie has tried to say is that some of the rules, as we knew them, are being broken, and that is something that UKTVFood must address. "We" the regular posters, "the community" can help and advise, but we cannot enforce.

But the bottom line of all of this is....... many many people who post on here, new and old, are upset by the constant slating of chefs and presenters, we do not feel it is acceptable, and we feel for the feelings of those chefs and presenters who read what is being said.

So PLEASE can we all be nice for a while, at least untill we can get the website bosses to get some decent rules on the site.

Last post from me on this subject..before I run off to have a bath.

I don't think I disagree with one word of what you have written there Rustie.

And yes...I have said many times before...sometimes, what you type out and say in your head, doesn't always come across like that when written down. That is the one unfortunate thing about forums. It is hard when you can't see a persons expression or face...see if they are smiling or cross, see their body language.

And I was just addressing the points that I made..because I feel they do apply to me and I have been thinking the same thing about my posts lately, and this has just made me think I will do something about it..in a good way..Like I say, I am new..and have worried that I may have put regular posters off a bit...I just get a bit excited sometimes!!! Don't know if any of that made sense..but it was all said and meant with the best intentions.

Anyway..off to have a bath...and happy posting everyone.

well i suppose i should put in my bit here... sorry you even had to go there with this in the first place georgie, and yes i agree with all that has been said.. so it really is quite simple, just be pleasant, nice, funny, informative, have a good laugh, help others and enjoy!!! doesnt really seem such a big thing to ask does it??

I am saying this very nicely and with NO OFFENCE to anyone, but how can we tell GFL if we (and I am speaking personally, of course) would prefer not to see certain chefs on the programme? Please don't suggest that we don't watch the programme as this is not the object of the conversation. I LIKE the programme but I do think that we should be able to let the producers know if there is someone that we don't particularly want to see. The fact that there is such a response when someone says something shows that people are interested enough in the programme to voice an opinion and different opinions can only be a good thing. Perhaps if there are concerns that those being commented on might see then hopefully it will let them know that people can be fed up with their antics and they will moderate their behaviour.
And isn't it just as rude to refer to people who have an opinion different from yours as "trolls"? Think about it!

I think that maybe you do not know the Internet meaning of the word troll lellysmum. Because if you are thinking it is just someone who does not agree with your opinion you are very very far off the mark. A troll is someone who joins a website simply to cause trouble. To be rude and offensive and to goad people.

In answer to your question about letting GFL know that you personally do not like a chef or presenter, I would suggest you use the contact button and email them. In the same vein, you could then ask the GFL team to pass your email with your personal opinion on to the person you wish to know how you personally feel about them and their antics. They then have your name and email address and can personally reply to you if they wish.

ciao lellysmum, well said. Soon we will be told by our politically correct food friends - who probably need a virtual world because the real one could not deal with their censorhsip - that you can only post if they deem it fit. As for their definition of trolls, that is a new one