I can readily understand that anti social attacks on named individuals will result in almost instant removal of a post, but generalisations of a non racial, political or religious nature, such as my view of uninsured drivers being tight, irresponsible morons, target no named individual! Nor is that group protected by law. Perhaps there should be a way of naming & shaming the law breakers & con men on the Net. Many people have poo pooed my idea of writing on windscreens to draw attention to the uninsured (trust me, it does not damage glass!) & suggest that the matter is left to the gendarmes. Would that be your opinion if one evening you find yourself pinned in your overturned car unable to move while you await rescue, having been hit by a right hand drive car who came into your lane to see if it was clear to overtake? Perhaps you will think of me, first on the scene, noticing your wifeās hand hanging limply out of the passenger window dripping blood from her fingertips as we approached the car. How do I feel as I reach in through the broken windscreen to turn the ignition off & notice that the roof has caved in & crushed your wfeās skull whilst you have been lucky, the same roof pushing your head back over the seat & pinning you there by your shoulders. I have to think of you as you see nothing of this & I try to comfort you knowing that you have lost your wife but not knowing until later that the bundle of old clothes in the back seat was the body of your 5 year old son, whoās neck was broken as your car rolled into the field, hitting that concrete post. Now think of the driver who caused this who later confessed to not being insured. What you have lost no amount of money can replace but it can help. Unfotunately you will end up paying out for funerals, etc.This incident actually happened. I was with friends on my way to a restaurant when we came upon this accident. So please forgive me if I do not regard upsetting uninsured drivers by writing on a car windscreen with a harmless chalk pen as childish & unfriendly!
We should be able to comment on the poor behaviour of our peers without what seems to me to be uncontrolled & inconsistent censorship!
Having had to clean a white board with ancient board marker on it Iām not sure that āchalkā pens are so friendly. Especially after several hours in the sun.
The usual excuse Iāve been given for zelous moderation is that there is a possibility of legal action against the forum owners should a poster incite any form of anti-social behaviour, racial abuse etc.Name calling and hazing of other members is also considered offensive and will cause your posts to be edited or removed.
AI is a forum which takes itself far too seriously. I have been censured, deleted, erased there more times than I can count, due to what I would consider harmless remarksā¦and it is right that you should NEVER take the info there posted as being correctā¦but still it remains very popular.
Hi Carl,
Thanks for joining in!
I would not promote mass chalking of English cars either, only the ones which are uninsured & therefore socially unacceptable & I sincerely hope these are in the minority. Iām trying to think of a way to maybe embarrass those who blatantly ignore the rules without getting physically involved with the rule breakers & a chalk pen would alert passers by to this crime without causing any damage to property, as a quick squirt with the washers (if they still work) would eliminate the writing. Perhaps you can suggest an alternative non confrontational way of getting wayward English cars to conform? A.I. removed a complete paragraph containing a conversation I had with a UK reg carās driver which was not displaying a tax disc. It did have an out of date CT sticker but no French insurance vignette. No names were named, no car number given. I cannot therefore see any reason for THAT bit to be edited.
I think there are forums all over which have overzealous moderators who think it is ok to edit your post. Unless you are being offensive to someone I donāt see why they feel the need to amend what you have written. This happened to me on a cypriot forum (I have interests over there too) and it put me off using that forum. It seemed like unless you were one of the moderators you couldnāt have true freedom of speech or make recommendations. They also seem to come up with all sorts of rules about what you can and cannot say about your business even if it is totally relevant to the thread & would be useful to people on the forum unless you pay for their āpremiumā service which presumably means you are āin the clubā and can write what you like. In which case these are not free speech but selective postings based on who can pay to post.
Survive France is leading the way in having an open forum and so far everyone apart from Jane seems to have been behaving themselves.
On the subject of chalk pensā¦we were amused to see our neighbour wrote on the wall opposite another neighbours house with something like āBe Civil and respect your village clean up after your dogsā after one neighbour was letting their puppy & older dog use our street as a toilet (much to everyoneās annoyance) the message seemed to have got through, so maybe the chalk on the windscreen might workā¦
www.UK4Me.co.uk
UK Stores Delivering Overseas
Here, Here!!
Interesting that the Indy is now instituting an āidentify yourselfā before commenting too as a result of vitriolic comments.
We got there first thoughā¦!!
In any case, this has turned out to be a good thread.
Now weāre cooking with gas! Iām reading all sorts of feedback, some gelling with my thoughts & some not. But nobody has stooped to calling anyone names! Nice to find such a group!
A few weeks back on Anglo there was a thread headed āBike for saleā followed by 6 pages of what appeared to be a personal attack on the reputation of a certain lady in a certain village - the moderators let it runā¦
Thousands of forums like this exist all over, including back in UK, although location is actually immaterial really.
They all suffer from the same problem. Even the ones that use real names to some extent, since you can register in what ever name you want.
It is human nature, but for some reason some people think it is acceptable when posting on forums to say things they would never consider saying in public.
Here Here. I think people use them for a bit of everything. Some come across as helpful, others, as you rightly say, are a little āegoistā.
Just read the thread. Thatās terrible! I do not understand why people think it is okay to be rude and ignorant on forums. Donāt know if you can block people on that forum, but I think he or she would be first on my list!
The way it read to me, it sounded like it was the posts on the forum plus the draconian moderation that had annoyed you.
The info sheets are useful as guides, but again, that is all they are. If you are not sure about something, you canāt rely on information on a site like AngloInfo, Guide2 or dare I say even SFN!! They are good for getting an understanding, but as you say, can become out of date as things change.
I think long and hard when I produce an information sheet for Guide2, but I think I may add a disclaimer at the beginning to state that they are guides only. Where a professional in a particular field writes the info, I think I will include a date the guide was produced.
They are fantastic as research tools, but in the end, if you are not confident in what has been said or your ability, go to a professional. It may end up being cheaper and safer in the long run!
Many people purchase and sell various items through that forum. Regarding information given, just like information given to you by someone you have never met in a bar, you have to make up your own mind if they have given you the correct facts. There are often links to various official websites which can be helpful.
I very rarely use Angloinfo, because there are so many know alls who never make any mistakes in life and seem to enjoy being rude.
I imagine they removed because it could easily have kicked off. People will say very different things when they believe they are posting anonymously. Like this poor pie lover for example - http://www.lost-in-france.com/forums/index.php?topic=2252.msg11688#msg11688
Hi Martin,
My gripe is not so much with posted information, which by nature will always have a personal spin, but with the permanent so called fact sheets. The ones that Anglo info provide are not always correct.
And Julia, I sympathize with your friend. The boundaries are ill defined & when the censors scissors come out there is no explanation given. It seems that you can only write nice things on Angloinfo, heaven forbid you actually criticize something!
I think you are right - it is almost vigilantism! As I said, it should be the authorities that are clamping down, but I can understand the frustration of some that see others just ignoring the law of their adopted country.
With regard to cars in particular, uninsured drivers are a serious problem. How would you react if hit by one of these drivers who could not be bothered to get his car registered and insured? It is that problem and the lack of enforcement that causes people to react in extreme ways.
I would hate to think what the reaction would be if someone caught Mark writing on their windscreen!
However, the original post was about the way in which AngloInfo moderate their forum, with the car insurance being an example. Should his comment have been taken off? I donāt think so. It is his view and he is entitled to it. Forum users are free to make up their own mind if it is right or not and post their comments. The problem is that something like this can quickly degenerate into a slanging match! Maybe that is why AngloInfo removed it?
Hi Mark,
Bob Toovey recently ran a survey on the Tint Network about AngoInfo and the way it is moderated. He had a reply from them about the results - http://www.tint-network.co.uk/blog/?p=146 - which just about said either take it as it is or leave!
Part of the survey was carried out on Twitter and there appears to be a lot of disgruntled users, me included!
Not wanting to drag people away from here, but there are new forums on the block in the form of Guide2. They are regional sites rather than France wide like this one. I have a vested interest as I run Guide2MidiPyrenees. Our social networks are called MyGuide2 and I agree with Catherineās comment about free speech. As long as a comment is polite and respectful, you can debate whatever you want. The discussions are very loosely moderated.
I do agree that some of the info on AngloInfo is completely made up by the posters, but that is part of a forum. Visitors to the forum should be aware that they cannot rely 100% on information posted and if it relates to something legal or financial, always seek professional advice. Forums are good for discussing things openly and gathering info, but not a definitive answer.
re the original post about cars, I agree with you. Something need to be done, but it must be the French authorities that get their act together and start clamping down. Until then, people will continue to ignore the rules.
My favourite anglo info story everā¦
Someone wanted to meet dog owners in our area with the same breed of dog.
James replied as the dog - " Hi, Iām Mischa, Iām six years old, castrated, good with other dogs , love chasing sticks and would love to meet for a run on the beachā Etc.
The post got pulled - as he hadnāt included his tattoo number!!!
Did they think that James needed a tattoo number OR that the dog had an email address and was able to type? The mind bogglesā¦
Thank you for your replies - you are right Roger, this IS what a forum is for, & the views expressed will be broad!
With regard to Graffiti, a chalk pen writes with chalk, so a brief application of the wipers is all that is required to make it disappear. In the meantime perhaps the owner of the car has been shamed into making his car legal. Letās not get away from the fact that being involved in an accident with an uninsured driver is no small matter, particularly if someone is injured. If you see a UK reg car with nothing at all in the windscreen, either UK or French, itās fair to ask why. Very few tourists come here without tax - the ANPR cameras at the docks make that difficult. Maybe my chalk pen idea is a little radical, but Iām not (yet) advocating a lynch mob! What other solutions can you all come up with?
My comment about Angloinfo is that the incorrect information does not always originate from the discussion forums but from the āFact Sheetsā which by their very nature should contain facts, a forum contains views. Catherine has hit it on the head, say what you want, just be polite. I do have strong views about some things, some of which some would disagree with. Fuel for healthy & intelligent debate! I donāt think heavy handed editing of anything controversial is healthy unless it contravenes Catherineās simple rules.