Several times recently there have been occasions when some of the comments on this blog have gone over the top and have degenerated into little more than a slanging match between differing viewpoints. As a result of this, and with immediate effect, all comments will now have to be moderated before they appear instead of the current situation where anyone who has previously commented gets their comment automatically added to the blog. It is unfortunate that we have had to do this as the majority of those comments which
are added to the blog add to the story and discussion but some of the recent comments which have been added are completely unacceptable with personal attacks on individuals.
Considering that the majority of people contributing are adults I would have thought it would have been self policing but for some that is obviously not possible and so we are also including some basic guidelines for people when adding comments:
- We will not tolerate personal attacks on any individual or organisation. People are obviously not always going to agree with each other but you can easily do this without resorting to personal insults – any comment which falls into this category will no longer be approved.
- Think before you post a comment! If you think your comment might be a bit controversial take a step back before pressing submit and consider whether you really think you should be making the comment – the chances are that if you are unsure you shouldn’t!
- Please try to use good English when posting comments, and word your comments carefully to try and avoid misunderstandings. If someone doesn’t use what you consider to be good English please don’t criticise the original poster as it adds nothing to the debate and just causes more arguments.
- No foul or abusive language will be accepted.
- Do not post complete comments in capital letters.
- We ask that everyone using the blog tries to respect the opinions of other people using the site, and that you do not criticise other individuals or use personal insults because someone fails to agree with your point of view.
British Trams Online aims to be a generally positive website to share news and photographs of trams in the UK, although obviously the writers also give constructive criticisms from time to time where we feel this is appropriate. We ask that readers also try to be constructive when using our blog to criticise any tramway operator, museum or preservation group, and also please appreciate that any criticisms you do make may result in other comments expressing opposite views.
It is unfortunate that we have had to include these rules onto the website but as mentioned above we feel recent events have left us with no choice. If you have any comments or queries regarding this please either email (gareth.bto@hotmail.co.uk) or leave a comment below.
I have to say that I applaud this move. On other forums that I frequent similar degeneration into petty slanging matches is ruining sensible debate and I have had to resort to notifying moderators of unacceptable inputs. Lets hope the move is welcomed by all.
Hear hear. This is an excellent website and the last thing that is needed is for its standards to be brought down. Some of the things going on at Blackpool are bound to lead to widely opposing views but making personal and abusive comments adds nothing to the debate, in fact it detracts from the points being made.
It’s sad that there’s a need for your workload to be increased in this way, but please be robust in your monitoring, helping to keep hostility out of the tramway fraternity. Many thanks for the blog, by the way.
Following my post yesterday (under “Widened Balloons … “), I fully understand and support the action that you have been obliged to take. Sad, but necessary in these less civil times.
I comment on the Railways – National Preservation website rather more than on this one and I am afraid that they too are afflicted by contributors being unable to set out their opinions in a courteous manner. However, moderation prior to publication will inevitably take away much of the immediacy of views which is what makes these websites so lively. NatPres sometimes suspend offenders by putting a month’s block on them. Could you try this?
Unfortunately it is not possible to stop individuals posting comments – it was something I looked into when the problem first came up but discovered I couldn’t do it. This outcome is the best option we could come up with as the only other course of action would have been to insist everyone registered before posting a comment which would likely have put off more people than this. Either myself or Andrew (often both of us!) are normally on the blog each night so comments shouldn’t be that delayed before appearing. As said above it is sad that we have had to do this but felt we had no choice following recent comments.