I really don't see the point of this thread. I have read the op a few times and am bemused.
With apologies to Lionel Shriver, we can't keep burying our heads in the sand when it comes to ban-all-sheds ("bas").
Another thread was deleted, partly I'm sure, due to personal insults directed to bas by me. Do you mean he insulted you?
Can we please have a grown up conversation about bas' contribution to this sub-forum? To what end?
I can be objective and, as long as the mods contribute, I'm happy to bow to the collective will of the majority on here. What do you want the majority to decide?
On balance, I do not believe that bas is a positive influence within the Electrics UK sub-forum. I don't believe that his intention is to help address posters' questions, nor do I believe that he holds the interest of the OP or the membership at large in any regard. I take he has upset you recently. I don't have any issue with him. If you don't like what he has written, ignore it. If he is replying to somebody else, why is it your problem anyway?
Over the eight years that I have been a member of diynot I have received an enormous amount of help from members in various sub-fora but, within Electrics UK, it has been a constant battle. bas really personifies this sub-forum - what he agrees with, goes, and what he disagrees with is beaten into submission. This either happens directly because he makes the OP go away, or through attrition because everyone else just gives up when faced with the misery of multi-quote after multi-quote. Do you really think the biggest problem is bas replying to a post? I would say that the biggest problem is when a post arrives asking for advice and (usually with the first 4 replies) the 'discussion' verers of an a tangent and stays there for the rest of the thread.
My projected position is that the Electrics UK forum is effectively ruled by bas, and that is unhealthy. From a diynot perspective (and I stand to be corrected) I don't think that a single member has this much of a stranglehold on any other sub-forum...?
How does that work? I am not aware of bas having the power to delete threads/posts or remove acounts from the site. Assuming you are not 5, you have the fre will to ignore bas, or take part in any discussion with him.
To the crux of my post;
It would be easy to see this as a personal attack, (do you think, I'd say if somebody hinted that I was a sociopath, who is likely to take a bow and arrow into a school to massacre the students, I may be inclined to take that as a personal attack. Just saying) and therefore a straight-to-deletion thread but as my topic title suggests; we have an elephant in the room.
- I'd like to understand other members' positions on bas' input, ideally with a black-or-white view on whether he helps or hinders the Electrics UK community
- I'd like to see the moderators' view on where bas fits into this, probably based on the answers to #1
bas has been allowed to grow into the unofficial arbiter of what we are allowed to discuss on here, (how does he manipulate the site as you suggest?)and that's not fair on the OPs nor on the prolific posters (many of whom have far more experience, and are far more helpful than bas).
This is a debate that needs to happen. If it's quashed then my tiny voice, along with many, many OPs with two posts, will give up and move elsewhere.
If bas posted this, would this just reinforce your view that he controls the site? If it does, look up the word irony.
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I would say that this an internet forum. It is here to help people out and provide an area to discuss Electrics in the UK. If you don;t want to read what bas (or anybody else) posts, don't read them. As in the outside world, there are times when people have a strong opinion and refuse to back down. It is a basic human trait. I persoanlly have no issue with bas. If the majority in here do, then so what. If the underlying requiremnt is get bas kicked off the site, how does that square with accusing him of demanding some kind of super status. It's a chatroom, so enjoy the banter and let the things that matter get you perplexed.
Thanks for taking the time to read my OP and respond in kind.
No, bas hasn't specifically upset or annoyed me but the cumulative effect of his contribution just frustrates the hell out of me.
You suggest that I should just ignore him and that's clearly an option for me. But I've been on here for many years and what I do see on a weekly (not daily) basis is that he drives away new posters.
In a nutshell, I think his net contribution to this forum is negative and I genuinely believe that more people would glean the advice they want or need, and return if they have further questions, if bas (in his current incarnation) was not present.
You also asked "to what end (...did I write the OP)?" - I would be delighted if bas altered the way he responded to posts and became more consistent in his desire to help people. Cards on the table; if he can't change the way he operates I would personally be delighted if he found some other place to vent his opinions that on here. Or he was banned.
Like I say, I believe his net contribution is negative.
We upbraid bas in certain posts and appeal to his better nature, but to no positive effect. As per the title, this is a topic that I think needs to be discussed because bas (despite your counter-argument, in my opinion) decides which threads can be gerrymandered / talked out / shut down purely by his belittling regurgitation of his point until everyone else gives up.