I, too, have been away for a while because of ill health and subsequently on holiday and returned to the forum in the last few days. It was immediately obvious that things were ‘not right’, there seemed to me to be upset, confrontation and unpleasantness. This is not what I have been used to on this site and it no longer felt ‘safe’. When I read a sentence which contained the word “the former monitors” I thought it must be a spelling mistake but to my consternation I found something much more serious.
Then I found this “Thank you” post by Sue and Ken which is one of the most gracious posts which I have read on this site. And far more has been actually revealed about the true state of things by what Ken and Sue have not said than by what they have said. In fact some of the responses to the original post have been extremely disgraceful and have clearly shown a sample of what Ken and Sue have had to contend with.
What a tragedy it would be if we allowed Ken and Sue to be forced out by the sudden influx of folk who seem, to many of us, to have come from nowhere and whose influence is obvious in the suddenly unfriendly and unkind comments being made.
This forum has been such a blessing to those like me who found their way here in great distress having received flawed advice which clearly was not helping and was in fact making things worse. What a resource I found in these pages and the advice, freely given, was to prove the key to turning around my health. The knowledge on here is quite frankly breath-taking and whatever the advice given it was always carefully researched with acknowledgements made to any sources. When necessary there was additional advice, clearly expressed, as well as explanations and also encouragement given to test, test, test because we are all different. And the speed with which the advice and replies arrived was amazing! The responses have always been considered and measured and cross-checked for accuracy and this has resulted in an invaluable amount of written resources to which we can refer time and time again.
No-one was allowed to force their ideas to the fore with the notion that there was only one option, after all it is inappropriate since most of us are adults and capable of giving consideration to options with due regard to possible consequences. The encouragement to ‘keep going’ was invaluable and the site felt safe because any unkind or un-necessary comments were immediately dealt with, the rules were seen to be enforced because those who infringed them were informed, warned and lost their posting privileges if they persisted. All infringements, intentional or accidental, were dealt with in a professional manner and corrections were quickly made where information could have led into dangerous waters those who were unaware.
All of this is why I came on here – not to talk to anyone just for the sake of it or to be part of a personality cult or a clique! This forum was working amazingly well and I just cannot understand why Ken and Sue have been turned on in this extraordinary run of events.
Clearly the tone of the forum was set by Ken and Sue and where they led most of the rest of us followed and tried to be welcoming and helpful too. So many people on here have also become ‘friends’ and give much of their time and energies to help others. The change in this forum has already led me to consider if there is a positive future for it now and whether it would be wiser to find an alternative.
We cannot allow our friends, Ken and Sue, to be turned on in this manner and forced out of their jobs as moderators – we want our forum to continue as it has done under their leadership in kindness and helpfulness. If they are willing we should have them re-instated!
I am pleased to see that there has at least been an apology from the Administrator so that is at least a start.
Administrator and Ken and Sue – PLEASE talk, sort this out, and get things back to normal!!
