A Plea from the Fungi Forum members

[PMG]

.... it wouldn't happen if everyone made it their goal to be polite at all times .... I'm not suggesting that I am an angel - or deny that my first response sometimes is '*!£%*&% get a life' or some other exasperated feeling - but I only think it - I don't get on and write it on here ..... If I think folk are deliberately 'winding' or being disingenuous then most times I don't answer and my not commenting is my comment .... Occasionally I can't stop myself from making a polite put down or explaining why such is so - and I have been known to tell folk they are wrong or talking rubbish - so no angel here. I also try not to be curt - a quick short reply can appear rude when written: its all about feelings and trying not to upset folk - it makes us feel good - it makes wab look good and it helps wab to keep members and feel that folk on here mostly good natured and helpful ...

[pressld2]

Once again I fully agree with everything that Mike has posted.

If, after posting the standard reply, you still have doubts or suspicions about someone's motives then the best thing to do is report the thread rather than respond. Sometimes we may give the poster the benefit of the doubt where you might not have and sometimes we will agree and remove or edit the post. Either way there is at least a consistency of response rather than a free for all that descends into name calling.

I'd also like to make a small plea in the other direction. It can sometimes be difficult to express one's self clearly in writing, and things that would cause no offence if spoken face-to-face can appear rude when written. Some people find it harder to avoid this than others do, and we have several long-standing members, not just in the fungi forum, who often come across as brash, brusque or even plain rude when that was never their intent. It would be a big help if people could try to recognise that there's no malice intended and shrug such posts off as "it's just Fred being Fred". But if you find it impossible to do that then, once again, reporting the post is vastly preferable to responding in kind.

Whatever we do, wherever we go, in real life or on-line, we will always come across people we get on with and people we don't. We need to embrace the former and tolerate the latter.

Dave P.

[Farplace]

If this doesn't prove your point, nothing will.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by pressld2

I'd also like to make a small plea in the other direction. It can sometimes be difficult to express one's self clearly in writing, and things that would cause no offence if spoken face-to-face can appear rude when written. Some people find it harder to avoid this than others do, and we have several long-standing members, not just in the fungi forum, who often come across as brash, brusque or even plain rude when that was never their intent. It would be a big help if people could try to recognise that there's no malice intended and shrug such posts off as "it's just Fred being Fred".

I think this sums me up quite well as a poster on WAB I often find people seem to take offence yet in real life I'm quite relaxed and easy to get on with, or so I'm told. Sometimes it is difficult to word things and I look at the post afterwards and think it looks very abrupt. Its something which I have tried to improve.

In respect to this thread it's a very difficult subject and one which I feel should be assessed by the poster, experience should be used and common sense for each individual post. For example I would not post advice on finding birds nests, give details of the location of a badgers sett and such like. Not only due to it being a public forum but also as I don't know the person I am talking to and what they plan to do with this information, the same should be implemented here, I think that the policy of posting this message is a good polite way to let people know.

Dan.