I want the old Arbtalk back....not the website but the ethos

[eggsarascal]

1 minute ago, Gary Prentice said:

My real name is Samantha....

Fancy going for a drink sometime?

[Gary Prentice]

7 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I am Andy Stubbs . Most people call me Stubby . 

I've heard you called lots of things.....

[Gary Prentice]

Just now, eggsarascal said:

Fancy going for a drink sometime?

I thought I'd edited that before anyone got chance to see it

 

If you're buying.

[felixthelogchopper]

I'm Brian,  and so's my wife.

[eggsarascal]

8 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

I thought I'd edited that before anyone got chance to see it

 

If you're buying.

I'd me more than happy to buy a white wine or a fruit based drink for the.......

[WesD]

Hi my name is Spartacus. 

[Bustergasket]

Pm sent
 
Seriously though there's some parts of arbtalk I avoid now and I think we all know there's some members here who aren't a positive influence.
 
I know a few people don't like posting anymore because if you mention pay or make a mistake you'll just get insults but that's a minority of topics and there's still plenty of places like the firewood forum where there's a lot of good information and a nice atmosphere. 
 
Personally I enjoy reading here, otherwise I wouldn't bother making this post :-) 
 
Gdh is just my initials by the way because I don't like being googled, I'm Glyn and it's easy to find out more than that from my posts if you want to for...  Reasons. 

I have to agree i have been a member for a few years now and must say the firewood forum has a great general attitude, and some real useful posts and constructive and justified views, feels like we have a basic respect for each other, my timber guy says it's honest work, happen i think he is right, think firewood focused folks have a clear defined goal and a great deal of graft and forethought needs to be exercised before you see a return let alone a profit ;-) not that that's not the case in other areas, however i feel everyone has a great deal in common on the firewood forum - Cheers Dan

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

I have to confess I miss the good old days but for one particular bloke, the old arbtalk is dead, long live the new one I say.

 

Yes it was you Blair you northern monkey

[Joe Newton]

I have to confess I miss the good old days but for one particular bloke, the old arbtalk is dead, long live the new one I say.
 
Yes it was you Blair you northern monkey [emoji6]

We've missed you too, you mushroom stroker

Sent from my SM-G930F using Arbtalk mobile app

[RC0]

On 05/09/2017 at 08:04, beechwood said:

 

I gave it quite a bit of thought before posting this but it's my opinion and I hope some good will come it. So hear goes.

 

I've found myself trying to avoid Arbtalk for the last year or so but recently, I've been laid up with a broken leg and with time on my hands, I have started to visit the site more often.

 

I used to enjoy taking 10 or 20 minutes most days to look at the posts.

I found it informative and interesting to see lots of opinions expressed on a wide range of subjects related to the field of Arboriculture and now and again I'd post a comment.

 

I stopped visiting as often because I found it had become boring, frustrating and at times I found some of the comments to be condescending and intimidating.

It seemed that less and less people were posting comments.

 

I spoke to a many people in the trade and a common response was 'I go on Arbtalk but I don't post anything'. Most said this was due to the aggressive bullying and intolerant nature of some of its more regular posters. They didn't want to post their opinion just to get shouted down.

It felt like in the past people would disagreed but would general say 'in my opinion x,y,z' and in this way you ended up with a range of opinions and experiences.

 

As far as I could see 'Arbtalk' had become dominated by a few individuals pontificating and bullying for their own self satisfaction.

It seemed to have become acceptable to effectively shout down anyone with a different opinion to your own and in a lot of cases just pick a verbal fight from behind your smartphone or keyboard.

 

I don't expect that these people would be brave enough to say the things they did directly to somebody's face and with good reason, as their behaviour was unacceptable.

Perhaps some didn't realise the effect their attitude and tone had on others.

 

With the arrival of the new website Arbtalk appears to have lost a lot of contributors but I'm glad to say the condescending and intimidating posting seems to have reduced. Maybe a lot of people shared my opinion and having to work out the new website is just a good reason to not bother with Arbtalk anymore.

 

Sorry if my opinion upsets some but it appears to me that a few have ruined a good forum for the many and I for one would like the old 'Arbtalk' back.

 

May I suggest that to order to regain the old Arbtalk we...

 

When responding to something we might not agree with, take time for a simple reread before pressing send, just to check how our comment may come across.

 

If you have something to contribute to a thread, do it, without fear of what others may say because your experience and/or opinion will help and/or interest someone else.

 

We cross our fingers that people haven't been put off for good.

 

Just my opinion

 

Neil

 

 

why don't you just say who it is you're referring to ? Theres no point compaining but then missing out the most important part. Whats the worse that can happen. They might not realise they're causing offence. And if they don't like it, they can either explain themselves or clear off.