On 22 May 2013 at 3:21am Quite a lot of us wrote:
Over the last two weeks, a lot of us (yes, we live here) have said that although this forum can be genuinely useful, witty, radical, generous and considerate at times, it is often embarrassing, threatening, cheap and vile.
Particularly when it may seem to strangers that it represents the majority of our town.
A significant number of us never come here anymore.
So here is a suggestion.......
On 22 May 2013 at 3:35am Quite a lot of us wrote:
Nobody wants to lose their anonymity for a variety of reasons.
Nobody wants to lose freedom of speech ( no matter how much we may dislike what you or I say ).
But this forum carries advertising.
So to anyone that thinks that this forum exists solely for their benefit to let them humiliate others, I would suggest that you making an assumption.
On 22 May 2013 at 3:50am Quite a lot of us wrote:
So...the suggestion is
Compulsory Email registration. Only seen by the webmaster. Unless advertised or offered for an exchange of information.
A limited number of pseudonyms or change of names.
Once a name is used - nobody else can use it and pretend to be you.
And a disclaimer - that IPs and emails are logged and that legal stuff about incitement to etc... Still applies
It's a suggestion.
But anecdotally, this forum has occasionally become a stalkers' fun park. And it takes a brave woman to post here anymore.
I don't think I'm saying anything novel.
On 22 May 2013 at 4:05am Quite a lot of us wrote:
I can only speak on behalf of a few businesses and a few individuals.
But there's a difference in a small town between free speech and intimidation and threats.
That's it.
Now feel free to agree or not.
Or as so often happens, tell me that I live in Hampstead, eat raw kittens, hang around public parks and you know where I live.
Just a suggestion.
On 22 May 2013 at 7:03am teacher wrote:
makes sense to me.
On 22 May 2013 at 7:28am I'm not stupid wrote:
Yup - lots of sense.
That or just set up another forum that 'works' properly as this one clearly doesn't. Sort it out Webbo - we are fed up. Voting with feet.
On 22 May 2013 at 8:20am xplorer1 wrote:
I agree with the sentiments about the negative and destructive behaviour manifested on here. What the solution is, I don't know. I wonder if Webbo or his/her masters would care to comment?
On 22 May 2013 at 8:31am huw wrote:
I'm all for registration and agree that that having your own name or pseudonym registered to yourself to prevent others using it is a very sensible idea.
Also agree with people being allowed a limited number of pseudonyms, why would you need more than 2 I have no idea.
Might not be a bad thing to have some other moderators, but I wouldn't want mods wading in with their ban hammers at the slightest provocation and threads being censored willy-nilly.
It has got a little toxic on here recently and I'd be interested to know if the racist, homophobic and just plain abusive comments are being made by one or two people with multiple "names"
On 22 May 2013 at 8:34am Poster Boy wrote:
Problem is you can set up a new email address in seconds, so not a protection really. I think we shouldn't hide behind anonymity - I'm sure this forum would really come to life once the tone changes.
Many sites do not ask for registration because they see it as a barrier. Different rules apply to forums based on local, real-life communities. Identification should lead to better conversations.
On 22 May 2013 at 9:35am Newby wrote:
Quite a lot of us -I think you are right. Having moved to lewes I find it a fantastic place to live. however, This forum represents the worst aspect of living in lewes as it is so venomous at times,especially to local businesses
Yes have freedom to debate issues but at least have these without the smut, intorolence, and downright bigotry that is often shown here.
I'll sit back and wait for it now shall I ...........
On 22 May 2013 at 10:01am thoughtful wrote:
- and don't forget the rampant misogyny when making your lists. Or is that omission a symptom of the often vile anti women sentiment expressed on this forum?
On 22 May 2013 at 10:16am George I0I wrote:
The Internet is the Advertisers, Police and Governments wet dream. Anonymity my arse your on the Internet for goodness sake. The Internet is akin to what Smut was in George Orwell's book 1984!
So no I don't see the point in registration.. The bigots that sometimes post on this site are annoying and upsetting but you learn to avoid them. They might even learn to look at what it is they've written. I'm not sorry for my spelling or grammar either that is just the way it is. 'Could try harder' as my old School teacher would say, but it is just a Forum.. isn't it?
On 22 May 2013 at 10:23am Southover Queen wrote:
I agree. Registration would offer some protection, and a moderation policy which took down the plainly offensive, libellous and hate-speech rubbish would probably stop most of it.
I think, Huw, that's there is more than one troll, since they're often semi-literate in very different ways. What registration certainly does do is make it much more difficult to switch identities because you have to log out of one account and log back in with another, and a moderator is able to see immediately when someone is posting with multiple identities from the same IP address.
I've stopped posting pretty much, as indeed have most of the people I enjoy engaging with. I don't particularly care how many there are either, just that they need to be stopped before this forum dies completely.
On 22 May 2013 at 10:37am SpeedoNot wrote:
It has been apparent for some time now that this forum is a shadow of its former self. A great pity. However, Nil Carborundum, we shouldn't let the nastier people who post on this site (they could be from anywhere in the world couldn't they?) let it die on its feet.
Ok, the more savvy posters can get round registration. I wouldn't have a clue how to get round it myself. It could be a big overhead for Webbo to get registration underway but I feel sure that it would help. If it doesn't work then maybe the forum has had its day. But that would be a sad day for Lewes.
On 22 May 2013 at 12:02pm padster wrote:
I have been called a troll, unfairly i might add. I always post under one name and i know others don't i once caught somebody doing this to bolster their argument...sad.
Anyways, i don't bother with this forum anymore.
I appreciate the irony of posting on a forum that i state i no longer post on.
I agree with registration if that were to happen.
On 22 May 2013 at 12:04pm Clifford wrote:
Yes, I miss a lot of the regular posters it was a pleasure to cross swords with in the past. But it seems to me that a lot of the semi-literate abusers have disappeared as well. I think we can slowly take the site back if we simply post sensible and informative posts and ignore the rest.
On 22 May 2013 at 8:08pm Lewes lady wrote:
Yes, I'm rarely bothered to look around on here these days. But surely the abject lack of action by Webbo to all the calls for registration means that he doesn't want to go down that route?
Maybe the total clicks and hence revenue are higher when people are checking the bile than the days when less people got on well together?
On 22 May 2013 at 8:11pm Frak wrote:
I think the biggest problem is imposters pretending to be long standing contributers deliberately inciting arguments. Not only is it tedious to plough through, but means that those people then never post/add to the content of the forum. Only post occasionally and would be perfectly happy with registration.
On 22 May 2013 at 9:11pm Webbo wrote:
If you did bother to look around Lewes Lady you would have seen what I posted a couple of weeks ago but I'll post it again for you here.
...and xplorer1 who do you think my masters might be? What goes on this site is goverened by no one but me, not the advertisers and thank God as no one would be able to speak their mind.
Moderating this place has been more onerous of late but it gets more and more visitors month on month so that to be expected I guess.
I'm currently really busy with my real job but when I do get enough time the plan is to implement the below. If you all club together and send me a tenner each I might be able to do it sooner.
On Thu 28 Mar at: 13:15 Webbo wrote:
As you may know I'm not in favour of mandatory registration as I think it will deter the casual poster and slow down the turnover of threads and posts
I have been considering optional registration such that if you wish you can register and reserve a nickname but in order to use it you will have to login.
If someone tries to use a reserved username they will not be able to without the email address and password tied to that nickname
This will still allow anyone to post using unreserved names without needing to login.
Thumbs up for 'Yes please Webbo', thumbs down for 'No thanks'
Check it out here »
On 22 May 2013 at 9:43pm Regular. wrote:
I have been here for 6 years. A frequent poster in those early days when it was fun. Not so much these days...But I still look in as couple of times a week like a lot of you do. I don't see hpw registration would really help as trollers troll because they can. If registration is required they will just find another way of getting on here and causing mischief. It is still a very vibrant forum that has undergone a few changes over the years. Most of them are good. Mischief makers make it a bit sad really eh....
On 22 May 2013 at 10:59pm Deelite wrote:
The forum has to change. Its been pretty evil recently ( nest of vipers as some say) and has come to represent the slimy underbelly of Lewes. Most of the interesting posters have stopped or post much less than they used to (as you'd expect when they are abused and threads regularly descend into hateful vindictiveness). I am certain that Webbo spends a faitr bit of time fighting the tossers, and that the only reason they are not here at this moment is because Webbo has recently banned them. But they'll be back. They always come back.
For the forum to stand any chance of being useful it has to be possible to reserve usernames, but personally I'm certain registration is also a necessity. At the least registration would slow the idiots down and simplify management of the forum. However, I thinks idiots have short attention spans and bore quickly so won't be bothered with continually registering new email addresses and making new accounts just to make their spiteful and illiterate one line posts.
I also think Webbos fears are unfounded. He seems worried that traffic might reduce. Personally I think it'll increase markedly in six months as the quality of the content improves and people become aware that they can post wihjout havingf some anonymouse coward come along and slag them off. If Webbo wants to increase traffic further there are three things I'm sure would help:
1 Alerts by email when posts are replied to
2 Threads ranked by last post (keeps popular threads at the top)
3 Remove the limitation of how many posts a thread can include
These facilities have been included in all popular off-the-shelf forums for a very long time. The reason for this is that over decades they have been proven to work and help keep forums alive, fresh and popular.
On 22 May 2013 at 11:45pm Lewes lady wrote:
I'm sorry webbo - I had missed that. Interesting to hear that visits and revenue are indeed on an upward spiral. Car-crash behaviour??
On 23 May 2013 at 12:12am George I0I wrote:
I like the way Webbo has worked hard to set up a Forum with out constraints. There have been some quite nasty comments on here of late which have been dealt with.
oh! sorry deelite thats two lines..
On 23 May 2013 at 1:11am Quite a lot of us wrote:
The funny thing is I left my email, so Webbo knows who I am.
I appreciate everything that he says and the protection of a nickname would be a massive start.
When I suggested compulsory emails, perhaps I did not explain that I meant that then you would receive a password to begin to use the site. Afterwards changeable.
Only Webbo would see your email address, but once an email is sent, tracking is possible, and IP is visible if anyone breaks the law and needs to be blocked.
If they use a new email, the same IP shows unless they have a proxy, are using public Wifi or their mobile phone.
Webbo? I believe that 90% of posters here use it every month. Any stats to show this casual traffic that might be put off?
And isn't a happier forum going to be busier, better for the the town and generate more what's on and advertising?
I use my mobile and some of the pop ups are dodgy to say the least.
BTW... I am happy to type my real name if requested, but The kicking I got last time means I will only do it if accused of being hypocritical.
Anonymity fine. Unaccountability not.
On 23 May 2013 at 1:28am Quite a lot of us wrote:
Thoughtful? I did point out the misogynism. I called it a "stalkers fun park" A lot of us have been horrified. And I cached a thread once because I was so worried about the safety of a friend of mine. And seeing as the poster named her and said I know where you live and you cant resist me anymore on the forum, it was a legitimate fear.
If that isn't an argument for registration, then I don't know what is 
On 23 May 2013 at 8:12am teaboy wrote:
I'm yet to hear 1 good argument against registration. Pretty much every other internet forum manages it. Guests can still read posts, but to contribute should register. It can be automated to send a link to the email address they give, and takes seconds. After all, to post at the moment you need to type in the name you want to use and your email address EVERY TIME - if you could just 'log in' and stay logged in you could simply reply.
How many 'casual posters' are there anyway? Is it a major chunk of the traffic, or a small few?
On 23 May 2013 at 9:43am Webbo wrote:
In the last month alone, this site attracted over 18,000 unique visitors and who generated more than 167,000 page views, ie. each visitor on average viewed more than 10 pages in the months
As far as the Forum goes all I can tell you is that of the 1,903 posts in the last 30 days 801 are from distinguishably different origins.
I realise of course that doesn't mean all that much as most people don't have fixed IPs. I hope that helps.
In the meantime, would anyone interested in being a beta tester for optional registration please let me have your email address and nickname via the contact form.
I would like to guage real demand before embarking on the work.
On 23 May 2013 at 10:03am brixtonbelle wrote:
I like the anonymity of the forum, but I've changed my user name from the one above as I felt some of that anonymity was starting to slip and my style of posting was too recognisable. I was also attracting some abuse. There are some opinions I've expressed here that would probably upset some local friends and in a small town this is the only way to express those opinions publically. I think forums which are not anonymous can be a little too serious and lacking in fun. Having said that - most of the fun and silliness seem to have gone out of this forum anyway.
On 23 May 2013 at 10:43am teaboy wrote:
Anonymity still exists with registration. Nobody needs to know who you are. Should anyone be 'outed' against their will it's possible for the mods to change usernames for you. It simply stops someone else assuming your identity. It also makes moderation easier as registered users can be banned from posting if necessary.
On 23 May 2013 at 3:25pm Regular. wrote:
That's what I have found... The fun and silliness has gone. If you look in the archives (they probably don't go back as long as 5 years ago) we had fun !! Ok,the normal parking threads abounded as did the dog poo threads but it seemed we had a lot of fun in the old days. The threads now seem so much more serious.
On 23 May 2013 at 4:21pm Quite a lot of us wrote:
The threads have become serious? Or just nasty?
It may also reflect that we are sadly living in serious times.
On 23 May 2013 at 5:29pm Zebedee wrote:
And nasty times too then?
On 23 May 2013 at 5:37pm Quite a lot of us wrote:
And thanks for the stats, Webbo. Very interesting.
The Beta trial is great news!!!!
On 23 May 2013 at 7:46pm Hiding to nothing wrote:
Perhaps the beta trial ought to be advertised in a thread of its own so a reasonable amount of users sign up to it. Its a bit hidden here and if no one signs up then there will be no registration.
On 24 May 2013 at 11:55am Independent Thinker wrote:
I don't understand the point of putting in a lot of work for optional registration. That would only address one issue, of people impersonating other users. That's a problem, but only a fraction of the real problems this forum has. It would remain a trolls paradise with anonymous posting under multiple identities. I'm completely baffled about what Webbo's objection to compulsory registration for posting is. Anyone would be able to come and view the site, read the forums, see the ads etc. And to post you'd just need to sign in with an anonymous user name if you want. It works on every other forum I use (some I register for, others I just enjoy reading the comments other people leave). What is the problem with that? Where is the evidence that use of the forum would drop if people had to register to post?
On 24 May 2013 at 1:11pm Zebedee wrote:
I was going to write exactly the same thing, but my phone blipped. So.. hear, hear.
And worse still is that if the partial registration experiment fails (as i think it probably will) it will be used to say that full registration would never work here.
Reminds me of the Condem referendum for the half-arsed PR Alternative Vote Proportional Representation system. The huge negative vote properly squashed any chances of ever implementing the far superior true Proportional Representation system.