THE FORUM AS IT IS NOW

[Arsenal Till I Die]

The swearing rule is a joke tbf- fair enough change the f word to f*** if you must but football is a working class sport, people swear when discussing it. I can honestly say that anyone who objects so much to swearing that they can't stand to read it doesn't deserve to support a football club and is symptomatic of everything that is wrong with the sport. Bans for swearing? Haway man, get owed yerselves!

This!

I can understand the ban on swearing if it is to another member but not in relation to football.

So from:

For F*** sake Diaby, you stupid f***ing t**t how f*** did you miss that open goal, we could of beat the f***ing c***s from down the road if you scored it

to

Oh Diaby you silly fool how could thou have missed thy most wonderful of all chances to relinquish the three point from thou most hated foe.

--


More tea vicar?

[Chippy]

can i write in italian language now that forum is changed? always wanted this!
only joking,i'm very glad to come back to read old friends posts
thank you all

How about teaching us some Italian swear words?

Cazzo.

[frankbutcher]

Someone summed it quite well. We have changed this forum to cater for the minority. Why make this forum like the dozens of other Arsenal forums? Doesn't make any sense to me. This place suffered from a lack of Mods. Now we have enough Mods I don't see the issue with allowing swearing, but cutting down on personal abuse. We've thrown the baby out with the bath water here.

[Mike1]

I question why I spent over an hour replying to some of the issues this morning when some people have obviously not bothered to read it.

By all means disagree and feel free to suggest a rule which you feel clearly defines when swearing is fine and when it's not. However, if you think I've banned it on a whim you're very much mistaken.

Also if you think that we've changed to "cater for the minority" then might I suggest that 800 people who have used the forum in the last year does not represent a majority of Arsenal fans in my eyes. It doesn't even represent a majority of people who have registered on this forum.

[Arsenal Till I Die]

I question why I spent over an hour replying to some of the issues this morning

You need to type faster mate.

[Mike1]

I question why I spent over an hour replying to some of the issues this morning

You need to type faster mate.

Haha! Thank you for making me laugh at a post!

It didn't take me long to type the reply though. The time was spent removing all the swear words!

[mcdowell42]

im glad you cant type faster im a slow reader

[augie]

im glad you cant type faster im a slow reader

All part of being a biffo mc

[Arsenal Till I Die]

im glad you cant type faster im a slow learner

Fixed.

[the playing mantis]

I have read Mikes, worthy response, however....i tend to agree with frank...even though i was never one to swear or call AW a F'ing C or insult other posters, so these new rules wont impact me much, but i see the change as slightly ominous;

putting my roly hat on here, i sense something suspicious here, and am weary. does roly have a point, not in respect of gooner ed necessarily (as i fully see kev as independent as he usually tells it like it is, although i sense a change in recent editorials regardless of performance, perhaps under pressure from above??) but in Mike???

As much as the denials go, it was clear the forum was brought down at a time of intense scrutiny of the management, and with a potential tipping point approaching with milan and spurs coming up. had things gone as expected in both games this place would have been in meltdown and every sane gooner would have been saying thanks for the memories arsene but its time to go. was the forum brought down in anticipation of this likely (although it didnt happen as thankfully sperz were off colour) occurence? also the fact that the much maligned redaction (AW fan club) tweeted complaints about this place, (and i imagine were looking for any excuse to have this place closed as they didnt agree with 95% of posters opinions on here) over a ridiculous thread that should have been deleted and nipped in the bud in its infancy and it was promptly shut, cant help but leave me thinking there could be a conspiracy going on here.

As for the concern that people interrupted the views of the forum as those of the Gooner fanzine as a whole, well surely that could easily have been stopped by prominent discliamers and indeed a pop up when you click forum, to the tune of: "the views expressed on here are not necessarily the views of the gooner fanzine, and are just a place for independent minded supporters to express their OWN views on all things Arsenal"

In my opinion, if modding had been a touch stricter and certain posted banned quicker, baba etc, then the issues that have been used to validate the change in forum would never have happened, based on that, a host of new mods but on the old forum should have been the answer, to see how that worked out first before wholescale change. (im not criticising the old mods as its a thankless task id imagine and most eat up so much time, but it was impossible for them to catch everything so needed some help which they now have.)

im not sure if this type of post will be allowed in the new santitised pro arsenal forum, bur i suppose it will be a good test of the new attitude on here of those in charge.

my fear is this place, that had an idependent voice, will now become the same as all the other pravda like forums, not allowing the justified critcism of ALL those in charge at AFC, are we now in league with the club??? i hope not, a truly independent, necessarily critical, voice must remain otherwise we might as well all give up.

as for lots of people joining but not coming back, id imagine the majority were akb's who could gave up being beaten on sane arguments about the state of the club in debates, regardless of coherent and brutally obvious facts.

my 2 cents

(also a minor point but the delineation between posts is a little unclear, maybe a clear balck line at the end of one post and the start of the next would help?)

[mcdowell42]

im glad you cant type faster im a slow learner

Fixed.

God i missed this place

[Mike1]

putting my roly hat on here, i sense something suspicious here, and am weary. does roly have a point, not in respect of gooner ed necessarily (as i fully see kev as independent as he usually tells it like it is, although i sense a change in recent editorials regardless of performance, perhaps under pressure from above??) but in Mike???

Interesting point of view and nicely articulated! See? It is possible to make a point without being abusive!

People love a conspiracy theory and will no doubt make up their own minds. I doubt there's much I can say to persuade them otherwise, but I have absolutely no dealings with anyone at the club and I'd be surprised if Gazidis or any of the power-brokers at the club knew me from Adam.

I've actually always taken the view that I never wanted to try and get "in" with anyone at the club because I did feel it might compromise our independence and that's one of the reasons we've so rarely interviewed any of the current playing staff, despite requests from the readership to do so in the annual survey every season.

And before someone points out that we DID interview Cesc a couple of years ago, that was to mark our 200th issue and was done with some reservations on our part. Given the way the interview went, it's not something we'd rush to repeat.

I see the point you're making about the timing of the suspension and can understand why people might draw a conclusion from that. I can say you're wrong, but I can't prove it so guess it's up to you whether you believe me or not. If I'm honest, I probably won't lose much sleep either way.

Like I've said elsewhere, we could have done things differently in the past, but the fact is we didn't and by we, I really mean I because ultimately it was my idea to have a forum (a decision I regret on a regular basis given the amount of work it creates) and it's down to me to put the right infrastructure in place which I didn't do.

That's a lesson learned and why I've spent so much time trying to right some of the wrongs over the last five weeks.

Time will tell whether it was worth the effort.

[Chippy]

Reply to playing mantis. We mods have had no instructions whatsoever to restrict anti club or AW posting. All we've been asked to do is make sure it does not include swearing or abusive language. But if you're into conspiracy theories you probably believe that I'm some sort of lizard.

[goonersid]

I've just noticed i have had a warning for asking if swearing using asterix' was allowed Thanks reb.
I think the swearing ban is ridiculous. Football had always been the sport of the working classes and it could be said that swearing is the language of that class.
Swearing, in it's many guises, appears in film and on television, in books and in the press. I can understand swearing in the form of personal abuse being outlawed, but to ban these colourful expletives as a means of expressing and emphasising ones feelings is absurd and completely out of touch with the common fan.
I have no doubt in my mind as to why these changes are taking place, and they like the pricing out of "woking class" fans from football, are driven by the same thing "money". I suspect sales of the fanzine where falling and that this was attributed to the fanzine being perceived as anti-wenger by the new generation of affluent supporters.
As for the forum as it is now? well it's shite (can I say that? )
It has sold it's very identity for "corporate wealth" and to appease those who don't even understand it.

[Chippy]

I've just noticed i have had a warning for asking if swearing using asterix' was allowed Thanks reb.
I think the swearing ban is ridiculous. Football had always been the sport of the working classes and it could be said that swearing is the language of that class.
Swearing, in it's many guises, appears in film and on television, in books and in the press. I can understand swearing in the form of personal abuse being outlawed, but to ban these colourful expletives as a means of expressing and emphasising ones feelings is absurd and completely out of touch with the common fan.
I have no doubt in my mind as to why these changes are taking place, and they like the pricing out of "woking class" fans from football, are driven by the same thing "money". I suspect sales of the fanzine where falling and that this was attributed to the fanzine being perceived as anti-wenger by the new generation of affluent supporters.
As for the forum as it is now? well it's (can I say that? )
It has sold it's very identity for "corporate wealth" and to appease those who don't even understand it.

Fraid not mate. For those putting interpretations on things, please click on Mike's user name and look up all his posts for Feb and March where he has explained his reasons to all of these points.