h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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Well, I could have. by me.

Maybe just repartee, of course, which is too. But if you're meet-minded I'm in La Belle France three or four times a year, a couple of days at a time, usually Lyon-ish, sometimes Paris, occasionally the Lorraine or Marseilles-ish. Next visit mid-Nov, when it'll be
Paris.

As you might guess, the impending trip to the general-right-area was what jogged the memory of Facteur Cheval. At first I discounted the possibility of going to Hauterives, but circumstances contrived to open a time-gap, and I went for it.

Fate is neat, and France, for some reason, is brim-full of it.

Pin

No probs... Next time you're heading down this way and have an evening free we can try out one of my favourite 'bouchon lyonnais'

Hi Whisky
This is intended to be a discreet lurk-resistant note. I'll unsubscribe from this thread as soon as I've posted, but I'll check your Space for an answer on it. I'm hoping you'll be able to throw light on what's going on.
I met my father in RL today. You know him as Ancient Brit. Though he's not the kind of guy to admit it, he was upset and perhaps even shaken by what's been happening over Wendy's previously-invisible POV user space.
Because of the Moderation there's not much I can read, so I'm really going on Dad's version. He says what he posted to the U-space he opened up was completely benign. I believe him. It might have been quirkish, I guess, because that's how he is, but surely the reaction is extreme.
I don't know who pushed the shriek button, of course, but I recognise some of the people who've been sniping at him all too well. If there really have been assertions of 'stalking' made, then that's slanderous.
The guy is 76 years of age, for a start, and though he can be disconcerting and mischievous, I can't believe that a newbie would find him anything like as rude or intimidating as I find some of his detractors.
Hootoo is at a low ebb right now, Whisky, and we can ill-afford to drive away our sharper contributors. My father is a very intelligent man, who came here at my suggestion. He contributes tellingly to some of the most fundamental debate about the BBC's on-line activity and aspirations, and about the nature and politics of this community.
It's not my bag, that stuff. I'd rather just write, but I do feel responsible as well as rather angry at the moment.
I don't know what I'm asking from you, other than whatever impetus you can give to resolving this. It's a real mess right now, and it's deeply upsetting to see someone you love hurt by cruel and petty people.

"I don't know what I'm asking from you"

And to be honest I'm not sure what to reply

The whole situation is unfortunate, I can't for a moment imagine that your father either expected or thought such an outcome was possible and I do understand that he may have been upset by the results of his posts.

However, whilst it's obvious by my discussions on-site that I'm friendly with many of the BBC staff I've no 'inside line' on any of the sites so I'm no more aware of what was going on behind the scenes than anyone else outside the BBC.

In addition, there are several other reasons making me rather unwilling to get too involved in these events...
1) This conversation is in no way private - I can almost guarantee that even though _you_ may not be subscribed to this page, as it is visible on my page then someone somewhere will be lurking.
2) I have never really understood your father's 'crusade' (for want of a better word) to produce a single community.
3) There's a lovely axiom on h2g2 which I find appropriate here (and I'll probably be quoting badly)
- Don't criticise until you've read the whole backlog
- Nobody has ever read _all_ the backlog
- Some of the backlog you can't even see!

Thus, as I'm relying on my memory of what these conversations were about and what the tone was I'd be extremely foolish to start passing judgement either one way or another.

His motives may well have been misunderstood and on this occasion that got him into a bit of bother, but quite frankly, as Mark Moxon once said "It's only a website"...
His motives may have been misunderstood, which can be quite easy when you're dealing with a text only relationship, but maybe his methods weren't, with hindsight, the best that could have been used... and all I can suggest is that he shrugs his shoulders, chalks this one up to experience and moves on.

Thanks, Whisky.
I think he maybe is moving on (in the good way, I mean. I thought at first, this was it; he'd leave).
I don't wholly understand the crusade either. I wonder if he likes ideas more than people, sometimes.
You're maybe right about backthreads, if no other reason that back-threading-reading is like counting to ten.
I hope some of the others can move on too. It's such a shame that hootoo has its self-pitying flock of circling harpies.
(You don't need to comment on that last off-the-chest remark - or to reply at all. See you around)
Pin

At last paragraph...

Unfortunate side effect of the internet I'm afraid

As for him being more interested in the idea of a community rather than the people... Well, it might be true, but there again, it takes all sorts of people to make up a community - although his priorities might not be the same as many of us - it'd be pretty boring if we were all the same.

And his way of looking at the site is _much_ less annoying than those people who's sole reason for logging on seems to be to complain and/or attempt to cause arguements with staff and other users.


Whisky