@steveTu, I don't think I understand what you mean. I haven't mentioned attacking people or not and, as far as I am aware, I've never attacked anyone on this forum. Maybe you misread me or are thinking of someone else.
Sincere apologies @Busy-Lizzie - I had removed a tag by mistake.
This is due to be one of the most significant years in modern politics throughout the globe. What we've seen in other such years is the internet filling up with bot traffic from countries with an interest in election interference. Suggesting that we all go somewhere else and trust strangers for a balanced political discussion really isn't an idea that I can support. We all saw how misinformation affected people during Covid and Brexit and I've always been glad to see sense prevail in the most part here. Shutting down all political chat might be a good way to reduce bot traffic on the forum and this probably makes life easier for the moderators. I hope they can find a better solution though given how politics is going to be quite forward in people's minds for most of this year. Social media is set to be the Wild West of political manipulation so I appreciate that a safe space away from all that is also required.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I am slowly resolving my refuse collection problem . Having had a second long conversation with the local council I had my first assisted collection made. Except the gent who came down the lane had obviously not been given my directions to go behind the cottages. He was wandering around in my 2 neighbours front areas, looking for the sacks. Fortunately, I spotted him. I still have not been given a wheelie bin, the man who lives in No 1 has been given a nice shiny new one which I assume should have been left for me. I am going to have to phone the council again. I have nothing to do with the chap, he is so belligerent I wouldn't dare ask for it. Why is nothing straightforward?! This last week I have phoned for a plumber, no response, also I tried to contact my dentist, no response but I had an email letting me know they have closed their car park again so I will have to park in a pay and display then walk. I also phoned an upholsterer to confirm they were still interested in recovering my sofa. No response.
@wild edges I agree with everything you have said there. The problem is that we are seeing a situation where some won't accept that any opinion other than their own should be permitted, let alone that other opinions can actually be valid.
This is due to be one of the most significant years in modern politics throughout the globe. What we've seen in other such years is the internet filling up with bot traffic from countries with an interest in election interference. Suggesting that we all go somewhere else and trust strangers for a balanced political discussion really isn't an idea that I can support. We all saw how misinformation affected people during Covid and Brexit and I've always been glad to see sense prevail in the most part here. Shutting down all political chat might be a good way to reduce bot traffic on the forum and this probably makes life easier for the moderators. I hope they can find a better solution though given how politics is going to be quite forward in people's minds for most of this year. Social media is set to be the Wild West of political manipulation so I appreciate that a safe space away from all that is also required.
On some forums I have inhabited you can't read certain threads unless you are signed in and you can't add to these discussions unless you already have a track record of posting (usually 100 or so). That removes the worst of the problems with manipulation by unknowns from anywhere.
Whatever the topic, how you use language matters. Just adding "I think" or "My opinion is" can go a long way towards keeping things civil, together with always responding to the content of another post rather than attacking the person with phrases like "You're being ridiculous", etc. Plus, it helps to bear in mind that ideas which seem left-field today may become commonly accepted as accurate tomorrow. 🙂
The squirrel baffle on one of our bird feeders got blown down and broken in the recent storms. We’ve been trying to buy a new one, without much success. Looked in several garden centres, and emailed three others. Only one replied in the positive, so we trekked up there this morning only to discover that it was a different design, more decorative than functional. On the way home, we remembered another local garden centre we hadn’t visited, but by then, were tired and couldn’t be bothered to detour off the main road. OH has just been searching the internet for one to mail order, which we’d prefer not to do. I decided to ring the local garden centre on the off chance, and of course, they have them in stock and the same price to have one delivered. Now kicking ourselves that we didn’t stop off this morning. On the plus side, it’s only four miles from home, and it’s also a ‘destination’ garden centre, with loads of other tempting stuff, including clothing, craft items, garden furniture etc. One of the reasons OH isn’t keen on the place, but I love it! Might have to just take cash with me and leave the credit card at home, so I don’t get tempted!
Posts
Sincere apologies @Busy-Lizzie - I had removed a tag by mistake.
I still have not been given a wheelie bin, the man who lives in No 1 has been given a nice shiny new one which I assume should have been left for me. I am going to have to phone the council again. I have nothing to do with the chap, he is so belligerent I wouldn't dare ask for it.
Why is nothing straightforward?!
This last week I have phoned for a plumber, no response, also I tried to contact my dentist, no response but I had an email letting me know they have closed their car park again so I will have to park in a pay and display then walk. I also phoned an upholsterer to confirm they were still interested in recovering my sofa. No response.
On the way home, we remembered another local garden centre we hadn’t visited, but by then, were tired and couldn’t be bothered to detour off the main road. OH has just been searching the internet for one to mail order, which we’d prefer not to do.
I decided to ring the local garden centre on the off chance, and of course, they have them in stock and the same price to have one delivered. Now kicking ourselves that we didn’t stop off this morning.
On the plus side, it’s only four miles from home, and it’s also a ‘destination’ garden centre, with loads of other tempting stuff, including clothing, craft items, garden furniture etc. One of the reasons OH isn’t keen on the place, but I love it! Might have to just take cash with me and leave the credit card at home, so I don’t get tempted!