Can anyone help me out there?

[Guest WhatNow?]

Over the years, there have been many posts on this forum where members have expressed the feeling that when they offer an opinion on something they get ‘jumped on’ and told they are ‘wrong’. Also the use of the term ‘the I love Adelaide Brigade’ used in many posts implies that there is some sort of conspiracy to cover up secret universally known deficiencies or that the people expressing this view don’t really love Adelaide but have to pretend they do.

It seems to me that if you have a strong opinion about something and someone has an equally strong opinion that just happens to be different, then you are just disagreeing and neither is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Maybe that is being simplistic? Seems like understanding this might help some folk out who post on this site and then think that everyone who responds and holds a different opinion is either getting at them or should shut up and go away…

If a post has an honest opinion in it then it should be respected, but that doesn’t mean that other (different) opinions aren’t just as valid and should be respected in return. We all have different experiences and points of view and opinions are just that – opinions – neither right nor wrong – just opinions. It would be good if folk just accepted that there will inevitably be people out there who disagree with them, stop bleating and crying ‘foul’ and get over it.

It is sad that some folk who have a strong opinion and something useful to say on the forum sometimes find it hard to express themselves in language or with attitudes that others can’t help but find offensive. If they do this then they must expect others to tell them so. Unfortunately those who (often deliberately) use lack of respect for others to express their opinions are often not big enough to accept a little of what they dish out, and it all descends to the level of a street fight.

I’m not a mod and I do appreciate a respectful exchange of opinions, which I think you see in the majority of posts on this site. What I (and I know that many people who read but don’t post) don’t appreciate is the assumption by some that their opinion is fact and that disrespect can go unchallenged by other members or moderators.

If you have an opinion that you think is worth sharing then do yourself and the rest of us a favour and take the trouble to express in such a way that you will be taken seriously. If you want to play with other people’s heads or just enjoy starting trouble or stirring the s**t, then you have no right to be surprised or hurt when you get it back in bucketfuls.

[Guest guest569]

I completely agree with all the above, HOWEVER:biglaugh: it really annoys me when people feel the need to comment on a thread that obviously doesn't involve them!! Maybe their stirring the pot or maybe they have something to advertise on their signature and every post on here counts as a free business ad !!!

Whilst i'm on a roll . I don't post on here as often as i used to and have seen many changes over the years on this forum. Its not anywhere near as good as it used to be.

[Rachiegarlo]

I disagree with you PP. When I log on and skim down the current posts, there are many small voices out there still asking for advice on the whole emigration process, what to bring, schools, areas or whatever. However the first people who began using this site already moved here are pretty much settled here now and perhaps don't read those posts anymore as it has become too distant from their own journeys. There are a lot of people who are avid users/readers/lurkers in their first couple of years of peri-emigration, but inevitably they become engrossed in their new lives/ jobs and maybe only check in once in a while, the site has served its purpose. I think the site offers an excellent wealth of knowledge and experience to all people thinking of , in the process of emigration etc and those finding their feet in the first year or so. However some people like forums as a means of expression and some continue to peruse the bits that interest them. This is what is meant when it is said that some people only appear to post when there appears to be a verbal stoush going down. This forum is still very good for its original purpose.

[Diane]

Thanks for starting this thread. Agree with everything but there's just one more thing I'd add: people I think sometimes forget that the forum and threads and posts on it in most sections are viewable by anyone out there in internet-land - they don't have to be members (there are some private sections, but not all are). If you have something to say, or a point to express, that you wouldn't feel comfortable standing on a soapbox on the corner of Rundle Mall and expressing, then perhaps think twice about posting it! There are times when I feel quite ashamed to be British, reading some of what people post on here, thinking how it must look to a local who happens to chance upon the site.

 

Also, as someone far wiser than me once said, the only "silly question" is the one that doesn't get asked, so it would be nice if the site could stay welcoming to newcomers and not make them scared to ask something that they perhaps can't find out anywhere else. I know I've asked stuff in the past and been enormously helped by the answers - stuff I'd feel really dim asking elsewhere! That's what I think is the great thing about PIA, but when things descend into insults and derision, I can see lots of newbies being put off. PM's are there for in-jokes and stuff like that - a newbie might not realise that two people actually know each other and look at what's said and be scared off!

 

Hope that makes a bit of sense - head's a bit out-of-it with the unfamiliar sun today

[duncan-clan]

I agree with some people on here think they know everything...whilst at home in uk i would often ask for advise about hose in adelaide and i would find it helpfull, but now i'm here i found to many negative comments when i posted threads,so i rarely come on here anymore...i remember one post about someone saying they could give a good deal to poms on new and used cars from a local holden dealership, there was to many 'i know better then you comments' as they had bad car sale dealers in uk...

 

alex

[Guest laurenburton92]

Its threads like THESE that cause rows, what use is this post to anyone, its not informative + its totally pointless! You all need to get a grip and stop bitc*ing over this site! If you don't like what people post, its simple enough, DON'T READ IT!

[Diane]

I think as this is in the Barbie section ("The Barbie General banter, kick your shoes off and relax"), it doesn't have to be informative as such really and it will be nice to get some differing points of view of others on the site also.

 

Thanks all for keeping it nice and civil.

[tina&steve]

I agree with some people on here think they know everything...whilst at home in uk i would often ask for advise about hose in adelaide and i would find it helpfull, but now i'm here i found to many negative comments when i posted threads,so i rarely come on here anymore...i remember one post about someone saying they could give a good deal to poms on new and used cars from a local holden dealership, there was to many 'i know better then you comments' as they had bad car sale dealers in uk...

 

alex

 

i think you are all wrong and the only opinion that counts is mine!! oh and im right!!! always have been and always will be !!!:Randy-git:

[Guest guest569]

I disagree with you PP. When I log on and skim down the current posts, there are many small voices out there still asking for advice on the whole emigration process, what to bring, schools, areas or whatever. However the first people who began using this site already moved here are pretty much settled here now and perhaps don't read those posts anymore as it has become too distant from their own journeys. There are a lot of people who are avid users/readers/lurkers in their first couple of years of peri-emigration, but inevitably they become engrossed in their new lives/ jobs and maybe only check in once in a while, the site has served its purpose. I think the site offers an excellent wealth of knowledge and experience to all people thinking of , in the process of emigration etc and those finding their feet in the first year or so. However some people like forums as a means of expression and some continue to peruse the bits that interest them. This is what is meant when it is said that some people only appear to post when there appears to be a verbal stoush going down. This forum is still very good for its original purpose.

 

 

Well i think your wrong !! And the the joy of an open debate on an open forum. An old timer like me reads the titles every day of all the new threads. If i can help i will if i can't i won't. Ive been here 5 years this week and am still learning and when i see advise given by someone who's only been here 3 months and watch the thread turn into a big spat , well i always chuckle and think i'm glad i didn't offer my advise because the newbies always know best !!! This is why no one post anymore !!!

But thanks for the civil debate !!

[Rachiegarlo]

Coolies PP