nice to see a little more activity here, keep it up folks; I've been a member for a few yrs., haven't posted much, but plan to do more, usually an interesting topic somewhere on the site!
I agree
This site has been most helpful with city government issues, snow removal (not getting done through some bad storms in recent years), selling/buying items, Berwyn activities.
It just turns "ugly" at times with a few bad apples that go on the attack. I think that's when people move on and away from BT. Let's hope it gets better in '15.
Quote from: exPROPer on November 02, 2014, 07:21:22 AM
This site has been most helpful with city government issues, snow removal (not getting done through some bad storms in recent years), selling/buying items, Berwyn activities.
It just turns "ugly" at times with a few bad apples that go on the attack. I think that's when people move on and away from BT. Let's hope it gets better in '15.
No need to wait! Got 2 months left to do it THIS year! Whaddaya say? berwynson
I agree, but I also think the people constantly on the prowl attacking need to be taken off the board immediately.
Quote from: exPROPer on November 03, 2014, 06:24:44 AM
I agree, but I also think the people constantly on the prowl attacking need to be taken off the board immediately.
I agree.
Quote from: exPROPer on November 03, 2014, 06:24:44 AM
I agree, but I also think the people constantly on the prowl attacking need to be taken off the board immediately.
I've done that for the most part. I got tired of trying to reason with assholes.
It could be a good board with useful information for current Berwyn residents, those looking to move there or the recent arrivals. But there seems to be some people who like to attack so that puts a damper on people wanting to post. Is there a moderator for BTF?
Web forum participation is dynamic. The most important participants are those who START topics that interest them or post information about upcoming meetings/events/. Providing summaries, highlights and action items that impact residents.
Chatter ebbs and flows depending on the times. At the same time, there are people who prefer there not be an unofficial water cooler for people to exchange ideas or opinions on how things are done. Much of the perceived battling is actually deliberately trying to downgrade discussions. Then they point and say how terrible the place is and how bad anyone who participates is.
It's sad really.
I think the argument that "the attacks keep people from posting" has always been largely nonsense. People on varying sides of the political spectrum have always gotten into it on local issues here. For a long while the national political discussion here was dominated by a lot of right-wing, often bigoted loudmouths. But those people have either been banned or "self-deported," so that's not really an issue any longer.
It's more correct to say that because this site never got heavily promoted, it never attracted a sizable number of people who like to weigh in on local political issues; I'll bet half the people in Berwyn who could make meaningful contributions here don't know this place exists. So the discussions have always involved a smallish number of people, with some slight growth during election season when partisan flunkies arrive to pimp their party's line. In any event, I've never seen evidence of people being cowed from posting because of attacks. Sometimes lurkers are just lurkers---they're not particularly interested in talking.
I don't come here to look for political discussion. Unless it has to do with Berwyn type stuff that I would not find out about otherwise. Then I am interested. I come here to find out about Berwyn specific stuff that could be useful to me and my family such as contractors, how to find people to fix things, new businesses that are opening or closing etc.
I can assure you that nobody's ever been attacked here because they posted about looking for a contractor.
Quote from: markberwyn on November 19, 2014, 12:02:36 PM
I think the argument that "the attacks keep people from posting" has always been largely nonsense. ...
I disagree. I know several people who stopped posting on BTF because of what they perceived to be attacks on them by anonymous people.
Quote from: Toria on November 19, 2014, 04:13:52 PM
I don't come here to look for political discussion. Unless it has to do with Berwyn type stuff that I would not find out about otherwise. Then I am interested. I come here to find out about Berwyn specific stuff that could be useful to me and my family such as contractors, how to find people to fix things, new businesses that are opening or closing etc.
Berwyn Cool Kids is full of those types of posts (find a contractor, etc.). It drives me nuts because people post the same thing over and over (e.g. does anyone know a plumber/electrician/...). Because Facebook is streamed and Facebook decides to play Big Brother on what you can see and what order you see it in, you are forced to read through those posts to get to posts you might be interested in.
At least on BTF, there are sections, so you can post in different sections and ignore sections you don't care to read. That is not the case on Facebook.
Quote from: Ted on November 20, 2014, 07:17:07 AM
Quote from: markberwyn on November 19, 2014, 12:02:36 PM
I think the argument that "the attacks keep people from posting" has always been largely nonsense. ...
I disagree. I know several people who stopped posting on BTF because of what they perceived to be attacks on them by anonymous people.
That's interesting. I certainly know of one or two cases where people were bullied by political thugs here---didn't one person have to deal with calls to her workplace and such?
I guess what I was thinking is that in the main the back-and-forth here between political topics mainly involved people who *wanted* to have that kind of discussion. If you weren't interested in it, you just didn't participate---you weren't "scared off the board."
Quote from: Ted on November 20, 2014, 07:20:55 AM
Berwyn Cool Kids is full of those types of posts (find a contractor, etc.). It drives me nuts because people post the same thing over and over (e.g. does anyone know a plumber/electrician/...). Because Facebook is streamed and Facebook decides to play Big Brother on what you can see and what order you see it in, you are forced to read through those posts to get to posts you might be interested in.
At least on BTF, there are sections, so you can post in different sections and ignore sections you don't care to read. That is not the case on Facebook.
Facebook is a terrible platform for ongoing discussions. It's important to remember the conditions and events that were happening when BTF was a hopping place. Pre-meltdown, lots of power plays and struggles, what some may/did claim were radical shifts accompanied by irrationally exuberant spending on questioned initiatives.
The economy contracting shelved a whole host of bad ideas, along with some good ones. These days there just isn't much happening that stirs people to speak out. Sadly, the bills for the excesses of the late 90s-00s are still coming. Public spending continues to rise. albeit at a much slower rate, there have not been needed adjustments. We're still locked into schemes we neither needed or wanted. The downturn could have offered an opportunity for a reality check and community level discussions, but people were in survival mode. Fearful and uncertain about anything/everything.
Well! Good! Now ya got one month left this year to do a turn-about.
Berwyn's still alive and well, no doubt.
I wish I could go see the old Berwyn Senator.........
berwynson
Weren't you going to be posting something about BTF's horribleness?
Quote from: markberwyn on December 02, 2014, 09:31:51 PM
Weren't you going to be posting something about BTF's horribleness?
To whom is this addressed? berwynson
Quote from: berwynson on December 21, 2014, 01:01:11 PM
Quote from: markberwyn on December 02, 2014, 09:31:51 PM
Weren't you going to be posting something about BTF's horribleness?
To whom is this addressed? berwynson
<pats berwynson on the head>
Quote from: Toria on November 18, 2014, 10:16:09 AM
It could be a good board with useful information for current Berwyn residents, those looking to move there or the recent arrivals. But there seems to be some people who like to attack so that puts a damper on people wanting to post. Is there a moderator for BTF?
Me.
I've not been paying too close of attention to it. Feel free to PM me if you see something bad.
Quote from: markberwyn on November 20, 2014, 11:36:55 AM
Quote from: Ted on November 20, 2014, 07:17:07 AM
Quote from: markberwyn on November 19, 2014, 12:02:36 PM
I think the argument that "the attacks keep people from posting" has always been largely nonsense. ...
I disagree. I know several people who stopped posting on BTF because of what they perceived to be attacks on them by anonymous people.
That's interesting. I certainly know of one or two cases where people were bullied by political thugs here---didn't one person have to deal with calls to her workplace and such?
I guess what I was thinking is that in the main the back-and-forth here between political topics mainly involved people who *wanted* to have that kind of discussion. If you weren't interested in it, you just didn't participate---you weren't "scared off the board."
Yes. And the police got involved in one case. That was resolved pretty quickly.