On 28 Dec 2019 at 1:41pm Nevillman wrote:
There seem to be three sites on which Lewes people can raise and discuss issues. Lewes present and lewes Facebook sites try to restrict discussion to Lewes matters only. They are also heavily censored by their moderators who will remove posts and threads they disagree with purely because they disagree with them.
This is the only Lewes site that as far as I can tell does not do this so you can be confident that you are getting the views of the contributors and not just the moderators. The downside is we get trolls like sensible on a thread that is wishing everyone seasonal greetings rather than starting their own thread which if they were genuinely trying to raise a point they would have done. I think this is a price worth paying for an uncensored site. Just ignore him or her and don't let them affect you.
Freedom of speech is valuable and worth working for even if you sometimes don't like the response to your views. Support the forum.
On 28 Dec 2019 at 2:06pm Sleeveless wrote:
100% agree.
Although I’m not a Facebook user, I do look at the posts made on the Lewes Present Facebook site and find it amusing to see how some chap call Symes only allows opinion if it is the same as his own. To read his posts makes him sound like a small town sheriff.
On 28 Dec 2019 at 3:20pm Blatant Liar wrote:
There’s Political Lewes where left wing twaddle can happily be posted. There you can debate it with seven other like minded
On 29 Dec 2019 at 11:40am Ferret wrote:
This forum is not "uncensored". Unacceptable comments have previously caused great offence, and been in breach of the terms & conditions, and even of the law. They were removed. The "webmaster" controls comment more effectively these days. Don't be tempted by Nevillman's comment.
On 29 Dec 2019 at 1:26pm Nevillman wrote:
I appreciate that there has to be some censorship to remove offensive posts. To the best of my knowledge that is the only censorship on this site and I would be grateful to hear any evidence to the contrary as I will then no longer use it. The lewes present and Lewes Facebook sites censor because the moderators disagree with the views expressed not just on grounds of offensiveness. That is why I don't use those sites.
I think it is appalling that they are allowed to call themselves lewes sites. Neither moderator is up to the task. They should rename the sites leaving out lewes.
I hope people will stop using them and return to this site as long as there is no evidence that webbo is imposing his own views.
On 29 Dec 2019 at 3:25pm Sleeveless wrote:
Ha, I agree with everything you say Nevillman. But do you remember “if you want the Conservatives out of Lewes, vote Lib Dem” (or similar, my memory is getting hazy).
On 29 Dec 2019 at 3:43pm webbo wrote:
It’s never been my intention to moderate this forum based on my political views.
I added a strap line above to let people know how to tactically vote to get a result I would have been happy with but this forum has never otherwise been about me. It is for Lewes people whatever their political, religious or spiritual beliefs may be.
The Lewes Facebook sites moderators do sometimes appear to have agendas and healthy egos but I don’t personally believe that’s how a free an open forum should be.
Enabling every voice may mean that there will be more disagreements but we are mostly grown ups and I’m hopeful users of this forum can appreciate that.
On 29 Dec 2019 at 11:41pm Mark wrote:
Webbo, you're a legend in your lifetime. It's a shame that Paul Newman's brain exploded a few years ago. He was fun.
On 30 Dec 2019 at 7:02am David Stanley wrote:
I used to think i would prefer a totally unregulated forum but it's dull to have to endure the haters. Is it me or is the forum slowly growing again? It was very quiet for months after the registration issue but seems healthier now.
On 30 Dec 2019 at 9:35am Nevillman wrote:
I think everyone agrees that a site can't be totally unregulated David because there are too many idiots. The offensive posts must be removed and the perpetrators barred. The moderators of the lewes Facebook sites went beyond this. Webbo maybe shouldn't have had the strapline but he allowed people to argue about it. Symes on the lewes present site actually barred people for saying it or even questioning whether he should bar people for expressing their political view. He did this because as a conservative he feared a tactical vote. That is completely unacceptable for someone moderating a site which purports to be for lewes people to express their views. I am disappointed that anyone continues to use the site after that.
Hopefully this site can return to its former self as we need a proper forum. Ignore and pity the idiots and do not let them get in the way of real free speech.
On 30 Dec 2019 at 10:18am Green Sleeves wrote:
At least the "dogging" posts seemed to have eased up. The political chat may have scared off even tweenies.
On 30 Dec 2019 at 10:27am Ferret wrote:
This forum has struggled to recover because decent people have been put off from posting about their missing pets, their search for a decent plumber etc, their public events, their concerns about litter or traffic etc, because of the idiots who can't resist contributing inane or insulting responses. Strong moderation is required. Other towns and villages seem able to have community forums which are not plagued by trolls.
On 31 Dec 2019 at 4:21pm Blatant Liar wrote:
Ferret
We have a very good community forum called Lewes Present.
If the owner of this forum had done his job then LP wouldn’t have taken off.
Fortunately no one dominates on LP and political nonsense is deleted
Nevill Man can continue to play his ‘big fish in a very small pond’ routine on here. No one cares …
On Wed 1 Jan at 10:36am Nevillman wrote:
I'm afraid that Lewes present is a long way from being a very good community forum blatant. Posts are only allowed if they are personally approved by the moderator and he agrees with the view expressed. I have been barred from it by questioning this. Once we start allowing self important people like Symes decide what views can and can't be expressed then it is not a community forum and I don't want any part of it. It is HIS forum not a lewes forum. It is also a very dangerous sign for democracy.
I would love to see more people back on this site as only on here can you be confident that you are getting the views of Lewes people rather than just the views that have been approved by someone who happened to start the forum up. I am genuinely interested in what you and many of the other contributors that I have seen on here over the years have to say on local and national issues.
On Wed 1 Jan at 12:50pm Blatant Liar wrote:
Getting the views of people using pseudonyms ?? Seriously?
This place is finished, get used to it.
On Wed 1 Jan at 1:04pm Basil wrote:
Blatant Liar, why would my opinions be of any more value if I attached my actual name to them? If they are worthless they are worthless whatever I call myself.
On Wed 1 Jan at 7:13pm Blatant Liar wrote:
Basil
Because they’d at least have some authenticity to them if actual names were used.
You could be a Nigerian spam bot for all we know
On Wed 1 Jan at 7:21pm Green Sleeves wrote:
@ blatant liar. I think anonymity at least allows people to speak freely, and raise genuine concerns, without fear of being stalked or harassed in real life - particularly given we're all "neighbours", effectively!
I can't say I'd be comfortable about having some knuckleheads like Hamid Barr or Tom Pain know where I live. The formers already challenged me to a mexican stand-off in the centre of town!
On Wed 1 Jan at 7:33pm Nevillman wrote:
Another of the problems with sites using real names is the 'virtue signalling'. I bet that Lewes present is full of people saying how much they care about the missing fireman with Symes going crazy trying to demonstrate that his caring nature is bigger than everyone else's. No need for that on here. Everyone can just quietly be concerned without having to demonstrate it to anyone else.
On Thu 2 Jan at 9:31am Blatant Liar wrote:
NMam
On this one I agree with you
Everyone is getting a bit gushy on LP regarding the fireman
They’ll be laying flowers outside The Lamb next
On Thu 2 Jan at 1:13pm Sleeveless wrote:
Gushy, caring and now sometimes irrational. The posts keep coming on Lewes Present despite the family appealing for speculation to stop.