Welcome and introductions

First topic message reminder :

Around the autumn of 2007 I came across the MSN message boards and found one entitled "UK Politics" which I joined and enjoyed for over three and a half years, then around April 2011 MSN decided in their wisdom to close down that particular message board.

Over time the MSN message board posters had become like friends, and though I had never met any of them, they became as familiar as the regulars I have a pint with in the local village pub, one or two were fairly nasty and quite vile, most were very pleasant people.

Fortunately, one of the redundant MSN bloggers (Ivan) decided to start his own political blogging site, and many of the old MSN posters followed him to his newly created site, and after a competition to find a name, it was agreed to call it "Cutting Edge".

I have to point out that Ivan ran things in a very fair and democratic way, the members decided the rules, they chose the name and logo, several of us were appointed as moderators and common sense prevailed.

Unfortunately the host of our board was "ProBoards" whom I would definately NOT recommend to anyone, they pulled the plug and closed Cutting Edge down saying that we had broken the rules.
To this day we still do not know what rule(s) were broken, and by whom, we wrote very polite emails to ProBoards asking for an explanation, but we got no answer other than "you broke the rules".

And so here we are WELCOME

atv, proboards peramabanned one of my most highly respected members, based on some trumped up crap that was sent to them. I was told that if he ever came back, period, it would basically mean the end of my board. If he were to sneak in using a proxy, new email and user name, how would I even know?

They would not tell me anything about why he was banned by them, nor would they tell him. They also refused to reverse the decision, and he went straight to Patrick Clinger.


I received an additional warning that they had heard "there are users on your forum that violate the law by being members on your forum" and that if that was the case, I must ban them. WTF?!

That place is nuts....

"there are users on your forum that violate the law by being members on your forum"

LOL! Really? I would love to see the law that makes it illegal for specific people to be members of your forum.

I know, right? That was sort of my response. How is that even possible? Barring minors, of course, and to the best of my knowledge, I have none of those.

"there are users on your forum that violate the law by being members on your forum"


WTF would they be referring to members of the police or military, and how would you know unless they told you.

How did Proboards come by this information, would be a far more intresting ploy!

What do you expect from a bunch of ageing hippies?

astra wrote:"there are users on your forum that violate the law by being members on your forum"


WTF would they be referring to members of the police or military, and how would you know unless they told you.

How did Proboards come by this information, would be a far more intresting ploy!

I am guessing the charge came from the same person who caused my other member to be permabanned by proboards. What's so sad is that proboards just took that person's word for it.




oftenwrong - I'm not sure 'aging hippies' is appropriate, given that their boss man is under 30.

"What's so sad is that proboards just took that person's word for it."

Which appears to be what happened to us. One individual, clearly with serious mental health problems, has obviously been stalking my every move on the internet for many months, and he used another forum to launch continual vicious attacks on our forum - with the very public support of the so-called Administrator, who himself had hacked into and deleted our forum on two occasions. It is highly probable that they bombarded ProBoards with their lies until eventually someone in the Abuse Department took the lazy option and deleted three forums, including ours.

Those two individuals still won't leave us alone. One of them opened an account here on two occasions today, brazenly using the e-address that he left behind in our forum when he hacked into it. Sadly, as of now, new members require my approval, and not all of the forum can be read by guests.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Ivan, it plain sucks to have to go that route, but it's what I'd do too. My own board requires member approval also, which it never used to. But every now and again, a troll infestation makes it necessary.

Hello moonbeam. Thanks for supporting this fledgeling forum - and for your reassurance that I'm doing the right thing in the current circumstances!

All I want now is some advice on how to find nearly 2,000 members, as you have managed to do!

You shouldn't compare us in terms of member count, Ivan, lol. Mine is high because when MSN Money shut down, I was (almost) the only game in town. I essentially got all of them handed to me on a platter. Then I got some more when MSN Lifestyles shut down, because I used to post on one of those boards. In other words, I was simply in the right place at the right time.

I will say though, I wish I'd had any inkling of what creating that board would entail in terms of sheer aggravation and headaches. Is it all bad? Oh no. But you know how people love to argue, especially over politics! It's been considerably more of a challenge than I anticipated.

moonbeam. People love to argue about religion as well, especially the differences between atheism and agnosticism.....

Our previous forum was set up when MSN closed their politics boards in March, and 30 people joined overnight. We only had a couple of day's notice of the closure, and when Marshabar told me of the ProBoards set up, I jumped at the chance but didn't realise that I would have to administer the forum (I assumed it was similar to MSN and Yahoo). The role is a mixture of hard work, fun and hassle, it's varied and quite creative - but devastating when you get your whole forum deleted without any explanation.

Yes, I agree. You spend all that time getting things going and then "poof!" it's gone

I remember when they shut down the politics board. I think I've been on at least 4 different MSN boards at various times - Men's and Women's Sexual health, Lifestyles, the UK Lifestyles (as well as general now and then), plus MSN Money. I feel well rounded. Or is that just fat??! hmmmm hahahha. In any case, there are a lot of names I recognize from these places, though I may not have interacted with them much, if at all.

Religion is another topic I despise, and I've only recently been allowing discussion relating to it as an actual topic. It has come up as an incidental side discussion within politics from time to time, but like politics, it often devolves quickly into mudslinging.

moonbeam wrote:atv, proboards peramabanned one of my most highly respected members, based on some trumped up crap that was sent to them. I was told that if he ever came back, period, it would basically mean the end of my board. If he were to sneak in using a proxy, new email and user name, how would I even know?

They would not tell me anything about why he was banned by them,  nor would they tell him. They also refused to reverse the decision, and he went straight to Patrick Clinger.


I received an additional warning that they had heard "there are users on your forum that violate the law by being members on your forum" and that if that was the case, I must ban them. WTF?!

That place is nuts....

 
 
First time poster here.....
Speaking of politics, I am surprised Moonbeam is using "WTF".
It happens to be President Obama's RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN SLOGAN.....and Moonbeam frowns on Republicans on using the phrase, on her politcal board. She seems to think, we might be possibly, you know, making fun of it.
Not that we actually, would, you know, make fun of it.....
Hope this board is successful, and am looking forward to discussing the old Homeland's political posturing, and how the home country really thinks, politically speaking. In all honesty, I have to say our country is decidedly lacking in the political workings of Great Britain.

<eye roll at Saviour>

I use WTF all the time, and Obama's slogan never even comes to mind. I also don't recall saying one word about not using it over there, even if you WERE making fun of Obama....

But I'm sure you can point me to a post that will prove me wrong, right?!

Howdy!  Marshabar aka fun4m here.   Congratulations on your beautiful new forum.

Thanks for that, Marshabar, and welcome. It was somewhat soul-destroying to lose the old forum - without either warning or explanation - following six months of hard work to get it established. However, thanks to the initiative of witchfinder, we have a new provider and a fresh start, and we're looking forward not back.

The format is great, Ivan, very user friendly and clean and open.  Nice environment.  I think you'll do very well here.   All the best!

Apposite aphorisms, Part One

Patience is a virtue

Everything comes to he who waits

More haste, less speed

Softly. softly, catchee monkey

Rome wasn't built in a day

If something is worth having, it's worth waiting for

moonbeam wrote:

I use WTF all the time, and Obama's slogan never even comes to mind. I also don't recall saying one word about not using it over there, even if you WERE making fun of Obama....

But I'm sure you can point me to a post that will prove me wrong, right?!

 
 
Moonbeam, hello!
No problem from me. Just usng WTF seems out of line for you, although you do get riled up sometimes
I will have to start using it back at your board, and see if you are correct in your observation

Ah Saviour....You just do not know me very well, I think. I don't say even a fraction of what I'd *like* to say to some.

If you use it, I likely won't even notice, given that I spend as little time on politics as I can.

I don't say even a fraction of what I'd *like* to say to some.

Amen to that.

Hi everyone, and I suppose I should have posted here first.

I believe it was witchfinder who said most from MSN political forum had become like family, and put aside concerns from the copy and paste kid Often Wrong.

Having been involved in numerous debates elsewhere since the MSN political forum closed down (the last MSN debating forum to close down), I must confess missing you all, especially Often Wrong.

For those who remember Curious Canadian, he is posting within debates on UK Debating forum, and I did leave him a message where to find you all.

Anyway, I trust everone knows I am here. I certainly made enough posts to attract attention.

Hi all.

I am new here, and I did get an invite from the UK Board, but I am not one of the old gang from there.

I do not see why you would not welcome us new persons stating our own threads here.

This system will not let me view my own profile either.

Just saying.

:affraid:

Hello JP Cusick and welcome. You can start threads here, and I will investigate why you can't view your own profile!

Hello JP, (hope thhat's not Justice of the Peace!!)

Just joking. I find the varied views and interpretations given by AMERICANS about AMERICA is quite informative (sometimes) thought provoking - you lot aleays pick a different angle/starting point.

Once you are logged in, the profile button takes you to the appropriate part of the site. But Then! he spots the Avtar! sees that this part has been negotiated and has a cup of tea!!

Welcome enjoy.

Ivan wrote:Hello JP Cusick and welcome. You can start threads here, and I will investigate why you can't view your own profile!

For the Introduction it says this = "Sorry, but only administrators can post topics in this forum."

And I just checked it again too.

JP. I think we are talking at cross-purposes!

You can start threads, and you've already started one on the USA Politics board, but this first forum is just to say hello and for the staff to write advice about posting and copyright etc. I'm sure you can find an appropriate place on the discussion menu for any new threads you want to start - if not, use general discussion!

What I am concerned about is if you can't access your profile. Nobody else has said that to me, but I am investigating.

... the same old band of waundering, itinerent poster children I see.

Welcome indeed, Curious Canadian, to our small section of the known world.

Please be gentle with us, as we have only been here for a few weeks.

Now remind me. Canada is very BIG, and Canada is very COLD. Did I leave anything out?

They have BIG huggy Bears!


Hello, nice t'see you

Hello, I am from cape town. I like it here, but wish there were more people.

I hope people here don't fight, I hate that about other forums!

Hoping to meet you all in a friendly debate network.

Hello Charlatan and welcome - thanks for accepting my invitation to join us. We all wish there were more members, but 44 isn't so bad considering that the forum is only five weeks old. I spend a great deal of time advertising this site and sending out invitations, and I'm confident that the membership will increase.

Hurrah, my work and my personnal responsibilities don't allow me the time I would like to spend on tinternet, but I would like to thank all involved on these boards as there are too many to list.

As I convalesced over the year that I had my ops, the likes of the people on this board and others helped me through that period. I must admit though the MSN and Yahoo politics boards were my faves.

Happy days to all. . . .

PS particular thanks though to Moonbeam for updating the link and to Ivan for the email.

Hoping you are feeling better. Looking forward to some "banter" I think I remember you from the MSN board. I think

I must admit though the MSN and Yahoo politics boards were my faves.

Good to see you here, Humanist. Although the MSN political board became history in March, the Yahoo one is still thriving, and I often make a nuisance of myself there (as well as here):-
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Spot on Astra. And yes I'm well, this was a couple of years ago now, and the feeling is mutual. I do miss those days of MSN though.

G'day folks,

Thanks to your advertising down under at Debate Relate, you lot hooked yourselves a true blue Aussie. Looking forward to testing the waters here.

moonbeam wrote:How I wish we could hear each other talk. I LOVE hearing different accents.

Well stone the crows, if it ain't Professor Higgins.

Actually... I don't have an accent... but you all do.

Actually... I don't have an accent... but you all do.

LOL! That's what I tell all the Americans when they comment on mine ... even though I live in the US. They're the ones "talking funny."