The Decline and Fall of GN?

Well let's see what happens!
Gransnet surely has to investigate any postings they're alerted to, so the fault lies IMO with the people doing the reporting. There are so many people nowadays who shy like frightened horses at anything in the least bit controversial, others who enjoy stirring things up. IMO Gransnet could be a useful forum for robust opinions, and what used to be called the cut and thrust of argument, expressed by people with experience of life who are intelligent enough to understand that there may be people out there who have different opinions.

Speaking as one whose wrist has been slapped with monotonous regularity especially when I have reacted to saccharine tosh (to put it mildly) I am resigned to this new bland GN and frequently only find one or two topics/threads I even want to look at

I am saying absolutely nothing. I don't think I want to be out on my ear again.

Anyway, you know how I'm feeling at the moment. Just don't get it.

Maybe we need a vote of no confidence.

Or maybe we need to learn how to discuss issues without resulting to sweeping statement, personal attacks or mean spiritedness?

There’s debate and vitriol..... some people spread their vitriol in the guise of plain speaking .

Just my opinion of course ?

Hahahaha, MawB, my copy-book has been blotted a couple of times too.
I wasn't being PC enough !

I do think it's a shame when posts and as happened before, entire threads are deleted.

I understand that GNHQ needs to monitor the site but I think it might be better to let posts stand and allow the majority of mature and reasonable GN's, to respond.

It can also be rather frustrating when a post has been deleted before you get the opportunity to read it, for me anyway.

I now know that there are over 300,000 members of G'net. Do we now have a case of 'the bland leading the bland'?

some people spread their vitriol in the guise of plain speaking

And others in apparently innocuous mock horror or innuendo alas, N&G
Not meaning present company!

I'm a lurker and I've been following with great interest a couple of threads which seem to have disappeared. In RL contentious subjects are debated without censors hovering in the background waiting to put their fingers on the button. I mourn the freedom of speech GN used to bring. We have opinions and should be able to express them without risk of being censored by the unknown and unseen. Big Brother's not too far in the background.

Not well expressed, but I feel very uncomfortable with this 'us and them' atmosphere....

I understand Lara especially regarding homophobic and racist comments, but when it comes to personal attacks perhaps GN's responses would have more of an affect on the offender than deleting the post.

Being reprimanded by your peers can sometimes be more productive.

Lara can you please tell me where in the rules it says a thread may be deleted because it is a "tad offensive"?

As said in my post deleted just now, this is posted with all due respect.

I'm certainly on GN much less these days. No point in getting into the same old arguments about brexit among other political topics. Nobody has anything new to say about it all anyway.
I was pissed off to discover that there had been PM ing about potential meet ups and, when actually discussed publicly here, I decided that I wouldn't go under the circs. I had always enjoyed GN meet ups before now. Oh well. Things and people change and move on. So I will too.

Like Smileless I also understand the need to delete threads which are homophobic or racist (although I would prefer just the individual post being deleted rather than the whole thread).

No-one wants GN to become soft and cuddly discussing only knitting, kittens and unicorns and whilst it is true discussions can become heated when people hold strong views - isn't that just a reflection on real life?

I don't like it when posters start insulting each other, but in that case if the person being insulted complains then I think GNHQ should consider that post and then if necessary delete just that post leaving the rest of the thread.

I think the “tad offensive” threads are the interesting ones, Gonegirl.

I'm a fan of 'tad offensive' as well. I think a lot of us are. But recently we've turned 'being offended' into a national sport.

Lara can you explain why it is racist when quite obviously a remark was made tongue-in-cheek. The problem with deciding something is racist when actually it is a form of comedy is that you shut the door to so much sarcasm and humour which let's face it most of us on GN recognise and enjoy. Just because some people don't recognise when somethng is a joke means we are unable to enjoy the humour. It is playing to the lowest denominator which really restricts GN's audience.

It's stretching the imagination a bit to think that the OP really thought that ALL British children were noisier, fatter, whatever than French children.

The OP is a grandmother to British children as are most of us here.

Lots of sweeping statements are made in relation to behaviour, habits, etc., and people pick up on this but it's surely not against the rules?

Many a time posters say how in Mediterranean countries very young children are out late at night with their parents, in restaurants at midnight, fall asleep where they drop, etc.

In the main, British children go to bed much earlier.

Both sweeping statements but not really saying that one style of parenting is better than other purely based on nationality.

In any case, it led to an interesting discussion, which is what keeps the site going, surely?

Smileless
being reprimanded by your peers can sometimes be more productive
Absolutely. After all, who/ what is GN: we are.
If there are offensive posts we have more than enough intelligent articulate women who can put these 'offensive' posters back in their box.
I feel that we 'know' other posters far more than HQ.
Sometimes I see posts by people that I 'know' These posts might seem 'offensive' to posters who don't know them but because I do, I know it's not meant in the way it's come across in the virtual world.

It's a wonder any Americans ever make return visits to GN!

They're very stoical considering the comments that are often made, usually ill-founded assertions on their use of the English language, or the biggest gripe, 'Americanisms' invading these shores

Watch it Riverwalk You'll get us deleted. The ubiquitous "Thread about a Thread" will be invoked!