List of what is currently wrong with the forum

You are Welcome, ma'am!

Lotus said:

ry not to give up!

I would like to give you a sweet to cheer you up, but my virtual drawer doesn't have any, so here's a crown to make you feel special!

Bless you, and thank you, I now feel like a Queen.

Unknown said:

Your absence was noted. I thought you'd absconded

'Absconded' is the word of the evening.

I was actually AWOL.

I may still be.

You however are definitely in range.

The other day I was reading a (completely uncontroversial) post of Peter’s and just as I was finishing, this appeared:

I refreshed my screen and the post was gone.

I’ve been lucky so far.

Your absence was noted. I thought you'd absconded

Sorry to hear that Debbie, I always enjoy reading your posts.

Try not to give up!

I would like to give you a sweet to cheer you up, but my virtual drawer doesn't have any, so here's a crown to make you feel special!

Yes, I know.

I watched both sides tearing chunks out of each other......whilst those of us who didn't have strong feelings on those particular topics.....and were content for both sides to coexist.......quietly drifted away.  I certainly am feeling the drift today, myself!

Deleted User said:

Are you locked out again?

PS good to see you again, I was starting to worry.

I am indeed.

Thanks A.

I can't be here much because the problems with posting nowadays outweigh the value I get from being here (and some other forum related issues).

I've had a break of around 5 days and made one post which I changed twice, and now I'm locked out.

It's just not acceptable.

Thank you for your kind words.

Unknown said:

Earlier this year, a huge swathe of long-standing contributors seemed to drain away during a protracted period when "culture wars" seemed to infiltrate, override and stifle more interesting autistic and varied matters of discussion.  This was a really sad and upsetting time for me here.  Personally, I think that automated bots helped fan these flames very effectively.

I don't think there were automated bots but just people (myself included) standing up for what they believe in when faced with some views they found offensive.

Are you locked out again?

PS good to see you again, I was starting to worry.

Bunny said:

The result? I’m left wondering why I bothered trying to post in the first place. 

Me too.

It's beyond frustrating.

I posted this on your 'autist' thread but made 2 changes and boom - I'm out.

I took a quick screenshot and am hoping it will post here.

So, this reply is to Number and yourself.

This is beyond frustrating.

Automatic quarantining of new threads remains an issue for me. Once approved, an edit that I then made to try and better explain myself then caused it to go straight back into quarantine.

The result? I’m left wondering why I bothered trying to post in the first place. 

This is a difficult subject to write about without sounding negative.....as you rightly say....but I do think it is important.

The new forum does seem to have culled another swathe of regular contributors.....but we should also be mindful of other issues/problems that existed BEFORE the new forum debacle......that arguably equalled this cull effect.

Earlier this year, a huge swathe of long-standing contributors seemed to drain away during a protracted period when "culture wars" seemed to infiltrate, override and stifle more interesting autistic and varied matters of discussion.  This was a really sad and upsetting time for me here.  Personally, I think that automated bots helped fan these flames very effectively.

Before the "new forum", I was regularly perceiving lots and lots of "human-looking-bots" here......although many folk here did not appear to share that perception and interactions with them seemed common - normally just one or two exchanges - but it still helped keep the forum looking "vibrant."

Since the "new forum", I am seeing virtually none.  Whilst this lack of bots is compounding the "lack of traffic", hopefully, their exclusion from here will diminish the chance of another period of "culture war" getting out of hand in the future.  So that is GOOD NEWS.

So who knows what the future will bring?  Hopefully, more interest - and contributors - and the return of some familiar folk!

It does seem to drop off sharply since that date. It's very sad.

I was searching old threads earlier so that I wouldn’t create duplicates of things that have already been discussed, and in the process realised just how many regular posters don’t seem to have made the transition to the new forum.

I’ve tried not to be negative about the upgrade but this has to be the single biggest problem by far. It’s a disaster for the forum and the community here.

I hope those missing are okay, there are too many of you to name here. If you’re lurking and not posting, please consider rejoining us. You are all missed. Every one of you.

No Just this one, and it often takes me back to the first page, page one, when I've clicked back so as I can go directly back to the page I've been looking at.

One more thing to try if I may.

Try right clicking on the link you want to open, select Open in New Tab and see if it opens another tab in your browser OK.

This will test both the ability of your browser to identify the link as being there and also both mouse buttons - the left being the most important one.

I doubt it is the mouse as you are trying 2 different ones.

Do you have the same issue on other sites?

I've not got any moving dots, it's just ignoring me and it dosen't matter if I use the internal mouse or the seperate one I've got plugged in.

TheCatWoman said:

Having to click on a thread multiple times before actually getting onto it rather than the synopsis

I can't say I'm having this issue - I'm also working on a PC using Firefox (I beieve you said this is your setup too).

The way to tell if the web page is just waiting to load (ie it has accepted your click but hasn't refreshed the screen yet) is to look at the title bar and see if there are 2 little dots moving side to side:

This could be down to your internet connection speed, your computer being slow or even the website being slow to respond. I don't think it is the site as I've found it significantly faster since the upgrade.