Is Gransnet leaning more to the left?

As for these book lists I can’t see much relevance in them. The Telegraph list is a far from scintillating choice by goodness who. A list without War and Peace is hardly worth a look. Does that make me a leftie? After all, Tolstoy was said to be the first real Communist.

Thank goodness if it’s leaning anywhere it’s not to the extreme right. For most discerning gransnetters it will be more centrist with an eye for whichever way benefits the country as a whole.

Graphite

What has being widely read got to do with one's political affiliations?

I think if someone reads widely - it would be quite difficult to tell from the books on their bedside table which political party they supported.

Sago

I will stress at no point have I described any posters. As far left.

The Trustpilot quote did.

I simply asked if this forum was leaning too far left.

Unable to sleep, I peeked at GN... saw your OP and am now even more wide awake - only because it's an interesting topic.

But Sago your post is a tad ambiguous, I'm not quite sure I understand what you are suggesting but assume you mean that there are too many left-wing views being expressed?

I think GN is predominantly left leaning but I don’t really think there are cliques. These days many seem to be terrified of being labelled far right, particularly in the UK, so right leaning people tend to keep schtum.

Thanks Graphite

... old thread and both lists.

MG55

Could someone re post The Daily Telegraph books that seem to indicate one’s political bias (as opposed to The Guardian list?).

See my post upthread which links to the old three and both lists.

Some of the books from Kerridge’s Daily Telegraph list. Some of these also appear on the Guardian list.

Homer’s Iliad,
Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates,
Ovid’s Metamorphoses,
Dante’s The Divine Comedy,
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales,
Rabalais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel,
Cervantes’, Don Quixote
Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy,
Pepys “Diary”,
Milton’s Paradise Lost,
Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress,
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels,
Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman,
Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
Shelley’s Frankenstein,
Austen’s Persuasion,
Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge,
Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby,
Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking,
McCarthy’s The Road,
Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Mantel’s “Wolf Hall”,
Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend …

What has being widely read got to do with one's political affiliations?

MartavTaurus

It doesn't worry me that many left-leaning posters express strong opposition to the policies of the Conservative Party, Reform and even right-leaning media outlets. I guess it works both ways.

I do agree though, that posters being aggressive and rude to other posters is out of order. And belittling opinions that some value is unacceptable.

Finally, I've noticed that some left-leaning posters have a tendency to think they are always RIGHT!

Whilst I agree with what you say, I’d simply add that it’s not just the left leaning who think they’re always correct, I’d suggest everyone who posts here actually truly believes their opinions and views are “right”, otherwise why would they bother posting?

I would say I do think everyone’s views are valid and interesting, but an opinion, including mine, is simply that. It’s not a “fact”, unless, of course, it’s backed up with credible evidence, named sources and stats, where available.

I’m always really appreciative of links and sources from those who produce them, others, I’ve noticed, are not so. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Could someone re post The Daily Telegraph books that seem to indicate one’s political bias (as opposed to The Guardian list?).

How very odd that it seems perfectly OK to lob accusations at “certain” posters, such as “sanctimonious” and “rather disgusting”, then claim that posters are “likely to get a pile on”.

If you don’t enjoy robust debate and challenge, then simply avoid the N&P threads, or as someone suggested to me the other day “Watch Homes under the Hummer”, I’m assuming they meant “Hammer”.

As a long term member of GN (I joined within months of it being established) what I have noticed is how political discussion is dominated by the party faithful, faithful to their party and party line.

In earlier times, despite people having party allegiances, they were far more open to critiquing their own party's policies and we had very open and wide ranging discussions on social and political issues, now if a political issue comes up, you know before you start what the stance of every contributor will be, if you know which party they support, whether on the right or on the left. It can sometimes be very boring.

It doesn't worry me that many left-leaning posters express strong opposition to the policies of the Conservative Party, Reform and even right-leaning media outlets. I guess it works both ways.

I do agree though, that posters being aggressive and rude to other posters is out of order. And belittling opinions that some value is unacceptable.

Finally, I've noticed that some left-leaning posters have a tendency to think they are always RIGHT!

Sago OP- "After looking through the thread on the Guardian top 10 books it prompted me to revisit a thread I started in August re the Daily Telegraph top 50 books. The responses were pretty negative on the whole, it would seem posters felt the list was “subjective, tosh, prescriptive, snobbery, silly, objective, woke". The Guardian list was far better received. This got me thinking is Gransnet leaning too far left?"

Any newspapers top 10 or top 50 books, complied at different times by different persons will have ;posters of whatever political persuasion disagreeing with the list. Such a list will always be subject to the person/person compiling the list and their reading preferences rather than their political leanings.

I wonder what it is that got you thinking specifically whether Gransnet become leaning too far left and then going to Trustpilot and Chat GPT? did you not have any thoughts or views yourself as a Gransnet poster? Did finding one single and sole Trsutpilot poster that posted Gransnet has a number of Far Left supporters confirm or alter your personal view? When you turned to Chat GPT it did not mirror the single Trustpilot poster. You indicated Chat GPT indicated had no academic research found strong views on both sides

Do you have any personal observations you wish to share?

25Avalon

Eazybee and Sago you are both likely to get a pile on which somewhat proves the point. I’m now posting and running to hide behind the sofa with my tin hat on, as previous posters have done😂

😂😂😂

Eazybee and Sago you are both likely to get a pile on which somewhat proves the point. I’m now posting and running to hide behind the sofa with my tin hat on, as previous posters have done😂

Cossy

Sago

I will stress at no point have I described any posters. As far left.

The Trustpilot quote did.

I simply asked if this forum was leaning too far left.

Why? What prompted you to ask this?

Is there an “issue” with left leaning posters?

Is there an issue with having reasoned debates under N&P and, for example, holding Trump to account and criticising those who avidly support and follow him and perhaps may wish to introduce some of Trumps “ideas” into our country?

I'm sorry, but you still haven't clarified whether you were referring to all the Gnet forums or just N&P, sago

When you say ^I simply asked if this forum was leaning too far left' we're actually on Chat. Is this the one that is, in your opinion, leaning too far left?

Also, is that the actual question you asked Chatgtp? If it is then it is so value laden I don't see how the AI agent could possibly answer it properly. How can a piece of machine learning tell if something is 'too far' anything at all?

Anyway, what on earth is 'too far left' ?

The thread about the Telegraph “greatest” book article:

www.gransnet.com/forums/books_book_club/a1360704-50-Greatest-books-of-all-time?msgid=31739197#31739197

My reply:

*
… our critic picks the half-century of highlights that any serious reader should have on their shelf.

[Jake] Kerridge has organised his list in to pre-17C, 17C & 18C, 19C, 20C and 21C.

Only a serious scholar of literature is going to have read most of those. Several are long verse novels and hard going.

I have read many of them as I have degree in English and they were course material but I wouldn’t have picked most of them as reading for pleasure.

I am afraid than like much in the Telegraph nowadays, the headline is misleading. It’s just one man’s choice and he’s trying to impress.

As lists go, I much preferred The Guardian’s recent list of 100 novels which was a collaborative affair, Still serious works but more accessible, in my opinion. I have read all of them.

www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/may/12/the-100-best-novels-of-all-time

I do consider myself well read. My favourite novel is Middlemarch, which I can read again and again, but some evenings I just want to sit with a cosy crime or something equally light that romps along, something by Graham Norton or similar.

*

If you refer to the Guardian list, Lisa Allardice makes it clear that the newspaper polled 170 novelists, critics and academics for their top 10, ranked in order, which were tallied to compile an overall 100.

In other words, 170 opinions not just one - which sums up the opening post really and the reference to one irritable reviewer on Trustpilot and an AI response which depends on what question was asked.

When I asked ChapGPT for an appraisal, the response was:

a tight-knit sense of community. Users frequently report building genuine, long-term friendships with people they have never met face-to-face.

On the negative side it says:

because the user base is relatively small compared to Mumsnet, critics point out that the forum can feel insular. The same small group of users and cyclical arguments tend to dominate the active threads.

Both of those seem reasonable comments.

ChatGPT’s appraisal mentions neither political nor moderation bias.

Curious that the negative Trustpilot review was made while the book list discussion was current and that it's being cited now.

eazybee

I would agree with your post, Sago.
Particularly the 10% of posters responsible for 43% of the posts.
I wouldn't describe them particularly as far left, simply Labour supporters convinced of the rightness of their cause.
Far too much placing people in categories and use of far and hard and even extreme to describe the views of those they disagree with.
Plus a whiff of sanctimony.

Spot on Eazybee 👍🏻

eazybee

I would agree with your post, Sago.
Particularly the 10% of posters responsible for 43% of the posts.
I wouldn't describe them particularly as far left, simply Labour supporters convinced of the rightness of their cause.
Far too much placing people in categories and use of far and hard and even extreme to describe the views of those they disagree with.
Plus a whiff of sanctimony.

How would you describe yourself???

Sago

I will stress at no point have I described any posters. As far left.

The Trustpilot quote did.

I simply asked if this forum was leaning too far left.

Why? What prompted you to ask this?

Is there an “issue” with left leaning posters?

Is there an issue with having reasoned debates under N&P and, for example, holding Trump to account and criticising those who avidly support and follow him and perhaps may wish to introduce some of Trumps “ideas” into our country?

LemonJam

Casdon I agree re Trustpilot single post. It is representative of that single person’s view and not representative at all.

The very very many other Gransnet members can though form a view on whether posts are far left or far right according to accepted definitions not withstanding their personal political leaning I would have thought. Though accept others may not hold my view.

I agree with you.

I will stress at no point have I described any posters. As far left.

The Trustpilot quote did.

I simply asked if this forum was leaning too far left.

I tried giving Chatgtp a simple statement. 'Gransnet is left leaning. Discuss'

It immediately homed in on the News and Politics forum and ignored all the rest. Forming an opinion from one forum out of many doesn't seem to me to be a valid critique.

I suggested that it might count all the active users of Gnet and see how many there are compared with News and Politics posters. It can't do that at all easily it says. So much for AI...

In the words of some others here, what a goady post!