The Forum in General

Hi Maureen / Carol

I'll try and cover both comments in one.....

I think its blatantly obvious that I am all for the "Light Relief" some of the stuff I have posted has been somewhat ridiculous bordering on bonkers, but it's all been Osprey related, I'm up for a laugh with the best of them....Yep Carol your right, the "Super Odin" thing started with yours truly, silly campaign which ran it's course for a short while and raised a few titters along the way but it couldn't run forever. You never know, a Super Odin 2 series may appear, but it won't be this side of next season :-)

What's driving me, and it appears a fair few others up the wall is the inane chit chat about just about anything, I too have noticed that a fair number of long-standing members have disappeared!

Later in the evenings it's like reading something out of the Walton's, Carol's comment hit the nail on the head if you need to blether, do it in the right place.

To perhaps give an idea where I stand with the Osprey thing, it still cuts me to shreds when I open up GE and can see Deshar's incredibly valiant and mind boggling effort.............. I am still convinced that one day Nethy will re-appear!

The whole point of the Blog is Osprey's and that's that, pepper it with a bit of humour, fine, but please don't kill it stone dead with spurious inane drivel!

Simon -

I'll join you in going over the top of the parapet! I may have seemed less than keen in my other posts to this thread, but that was, as I said ,because I had observed that emotions were running a tad high and like you, I wouldn't deliberately set out to upset anyone.

While acknowledging that the group is of course made up of many different types, some much more keen/able/willing to display their emotions online, I have to agree with you and Carol that there is a place for everything and everything in its place---

If the current hysterical/Waltonish and totally irrelevant comments continue and because of this, we are losing relevant input from other longstanding members, then it is a shame.

When I made my own comments on the main blog, several folk  said that until and unless LG set limits on what was said in the 'Comments' box they w ould continue to use the main blog for their chit chat. As I recall, I was commenting on osprey related chit chat which while about the osprey family ,was by no stretch of the imagination a blog comment/response. There were a few attempts by the powers that be to nudge us to the new site, for osprey related chit chat, but then, suddenly, nothing more. Since then, as you say, things have got worse. So, where next, RSPB?

Hi there

First of all thank you Squirrel and everyone who answered my views on my last post here.

Not aiming at any particular area of conversation currently going on this thread, to me the RSPB  forum is about birds and that is what it is first and foremost.  Yes, a bird experience, and a laugh are good to let off steam too.   Personally. I can make jokes about birds and wildlife to keep on topic as the interest is there to do so.

Yes, keeping on topic is a must for everyone, even though it may be a bloggers delight to waver into 'private family life' somewhere or another.  The thing is keeping it to a limit, and not overdoing it.  Going on about too much Walton mountain nasal trivia like this is somewhat child like, and not what I want to see on this forum at all  (there are other Forums for this type of chat - or open your own Forum simple as that)

As the nasty remarks aimed at certain people, I wholly agree that 'nasty remarks',  and birds do not go together at all.  To me bird watching is for pleasure, and it an enjoyable hobby to have and to share with others.  Coming onto a Forum like this is 'relax'  time for people, and upset of any type does not interest me in the slightest , and not needed here at all.

If people want to moan about everything that they do not like here,  the door is called 'sign off ',and go elsewhere that is what I say, (or open your own Forum and use it as you deemed for your own purpose)

I feel that the admin have done a lot to create this Forum, and I want to see it going form strength to strength, and not downhill into oblivion.  The admin deserve respect as having done the best to open a new Community of people and move forward as Forums do, and they have my support anyday.

If people do not like what  they see/read on here, what are they doing here in the first place tha is what I want to know?

My own experience of 'some' wildlife forums is that they can be spoilt by some peoples 'endless' wittering trying to impress people with their cyber antics to the point that they are boring.  The subject of the Forum itself does not come into it.  They use any Forum  in question as a place to monopolise,  and run as their own little place, and it is not their Forum to run at all. 

Anyhow, I will be adding a lot more when my broadband is up and running next week, asI have more time to add posts here and I look forward to it very much indeed.  Cannot wait to add a blog or two too, and talk to others about birds on here.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

I also agree that the site has lost its focus on all things relating to Loch Garten and the family of Osprey's that have given us so much joy and sometimes despair this year.

I must admit that I am also one of those that has stopped posting on the main site.A shame really as also living so close to LG my input e.g. weather reporting could have been of some relevance.

A plea to RSPB sort the sitiuation out with utmost of haste.

All I want to say is that I agree with Maureen and Tish.

This forum is great and it caters for lots of different levels of knowledge re ospreys.

How long do you think a discussion that only featured ospreys would last.

Some people are starting to be elitist i.e thinking that they are more intelligent and know more than others and want to exclude us lesser mortals from their highbrow platform,

I have worked for many years in IT and met lots of these sort of people and I dont want to see them here.

This is a fun blog and forum with the main topic being ospreys. Lets keep it that way. 

It would seem that Normsky has achieved his aim. 

I have seen it happen so many times before where somebody decides they want to cause upset and they  go all out to cause it by  what ever means.

He only joined this Community this month and has posted 2 messages.    Hardly a seasoned poster on the blogs etc.

Have to agree with you Teresa

I have been called many things in my life (lol) BUT never a coward like I suspect Normsky is. Why would he not be prepared to have a reasoned debate, by locking his blog???      I have never been afraid to speak my mind.

 Thanks AP for your support.

What a shame it is to hear all this.  There are so many cases in life where one or two dissentive voices can spoil the pleasure of many.  I for one was pleased to find such a friendly place to share views on osprey related topics, but also the usual trivia of life which, after all, affect us all at one time or another. We all love the birds (I thought....) so why this need for bickering? After all, we have all been logging in at all times of the day and night and there cannot be something osprey related to talk about, every minute of every day.

Blimey, not only have I found a whole new section of this site I didn't know existed I've found the slanging match bit!

I'd just like to add a few comments of my own if that's OK with everyone.

I joined this community because I've followed ospreys for many years and especially the Loch Garten nest since the streaming webcam started. I also follow all of the other "known" osprey nests around the country, however this site seemed to offer the best opportunity to communicate with like-minded osprey addicts like myself.

There are definitely problems with the structure of this website but  I think some of the comments have been extremely disrespectful to the staff at the RSPB who have tried hard to provide a site to accommodate a variety of views on a number of subjects.

I must admit that my biggest problem with this site is that it is glacially slow to load pages, although I assume that is a server issue. What I do not have a problem with is the people who post on the LG blog, or what they have to say. Whether or not that is the right place to be saying the often irrelevent things they are saying is a technical issue for the RSPB team to offer some guidance on. If I don't like what one particular contributer is saying I move on to the next one - is that so difficult?

I'm afraid some of the comments on this thread have upset a number of LG bloggers. I am aghast that people have stooped so low as to question others mental health. Personally, I find that shameful and outrageous.

Let's be honest here, with over 200 members of the LG bloggers you're bound to get a cross section of people. There is, for example, a massive discrepancy in the knowledge of ospreys and osprey behaviour. So what, we are all learning all of the time. The bottom line is that every single memeber of the group is the same in the fact that they can't get enough of the LG ospreys.

I have read almost every comment on the LG blog and on the DU pages and apart from a couple which were close to the knuckle I have not come across one that is abusive, offensive or disrespectful in any way. I had to find this secluded corner of the site to find that!

The great thing about the loose structure of this site means that anyone at all can start a new thread, forum, blog or whatever and if you don't like what you see on the current ones then start one of your own. I can even suggest a name if you like: In the spirit of Basil Fawlty you can call it "No Riff-Raff".

I am gutted that, on the day of Mallachie's confirmed departure I feel the need to defend fellow blogger's actions rather than concentrate on the fantastic achievement of seeing all three sisters off on their magnificent journey.