Diversity

Thanks rosequartz but what I don't get is why I am being held responsible for the direction the thread took. I have reread it and there were initially some excellent and insightful posts, as indeed there were yesterday.
The reason I "picked it up and ran with it" was because the initial observation was on the Katie Hopkns thread which was getting very , well toxic, and I wanted to distance this discussion from anything about Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins, etc.
I thought that reasonable at the time and having checked what I wrote do not see why there is this malign intent attached to it.
IMHO Nobody owns a thread or should be held responsible for what others say, unless the OP is in itself contentious.
Feeling not a little battered.

There were fourteen posts , no problem, then posts 15 and 16 kicks it off again .

I got the impression too, Alea, that you started the thread in good faith.
In fact I only posted once, and it was to point out, as you did, that there's a conflict between forum privacy, and having more diversity - the "diverse" person would need to reveal personal details.

ps but I don't want to drag this on further.

Of course Alea started the thread in good faith, but some threads take on a life of their own thereafter, and not always a good one.

I had mentioned on the Trump/Hopkins thread that possibly there was a lack of diversity on Gransnet which might account for some assumptions being made that people from a less mainstream background might take issue with. My remark, and subsequently this thread, appear to have caused some unpleasantness. It was certainly not my intention and I don't think it was Alea's intention either.

Alea I've just reread page 1 and 2 posts from you addressed to soon are pretty challenging given that you say you started the thread in all innocence.

However, as has often been remarked on GN, it is easy to give the wrong impression in online communication.

Two men looked out of prison bars, one saw mud and one saw stars

Can't remember where I read this, it just came into mind

I too believe Ale started this thread in good faith. Unfortunately, I think Alea fired the bullets that somebody else made.

I made comments on the Katie Hopkins thread in relation to another poster and that was because I started to feel uncomfortable in regards to somebody looking at my profile ( and others)

Why does it always have to be aimed at me petallus???
Perhaps you would like to quote the relevant posts (in full) and then have a look at the many others who lost patience.
You started off by distrusting my motivation in starting this thread and again perhaps you would be so good as to say precisely why given that many others as well as GNHQ don't appear to share your view (unless it was intended to cause trouble dissent.)

And of course nobody else got heated, lost patience, or expressed their frustrations did they??

If people care to read all through that thread they will see that even some of the most moderate posters were completely exasperated by someone else's contribution.

Yip.

I was, and willingly admit it!

Can I be described as normally moderate?
My darling daughter wouldn't agree.

That's meant to say Yep....sorry! Yip open to misinterpretation. Going to stop digging hole now...I was exasperated.

It must be obvious to everyone that soon has no malice, or deviousness, in her at all.

I say again, it would be great to see a few profiles proclaiming "I am a Muslim gran", or "I am an Afro-Caribbean gran". Or just have it mentioned on posts.

You can't get away from the fact that ethnicity goes towards making us who we are.

Some people take others' comments in the worst possible just to be unpleasant.

I find it hard to be a naive person.

the worst possible way

And hey! Why hasn't this been deemed to be a thread about a thread, beginning as it does Soontobe has said...

Many people's blood pressure was raised by what seemed like, "I can find out all about you", posts. These were subsequently followed by ones that changed it to be more like, "I meant that anyone else could find out all about you", but by then some sharp replies had been made.

BTW It is perfectly true that anyone who really wanted to could find out a lot about a poster by adding together all the bits of info that they give, and if their Facebook page gives more info that could be added on too and perhaps make their identity and location traceable. A couple of years ago I myself tried doing just that about someone on here -( just to see whether it was possible!!!) - and with a bit of crafty digging I found a name and address. If they had been posting something really personal, or something they subsequently regretted, someone nasty could have used that against them, as someone seems to have done against one of our regular posters!

I got cross and said so.

Jingle you have your opinion on posters it doesn't follow that what you think is obvious to all

No. Neither is it necessarily true.

Because it WASN'T about a thread, Jingl but a new thread about a topic and crediting the person who made the original observation.

Read my post of 10.02 in which I was perfectly clear about why I was starting a new thread with a subject which IMO might have led to a discussion. As it did, to begin with.