With regret I have decided to end my involvement with this forum.

[Hopeless Romantic]

I have tried to provide some topics for reasonable discussion but there are two or three members who seem to view my contributions negatively and often respond in that vein (notably "non sociopath skin" who seems to reply to my every post with a sarcastic remark)

I'd like to say thanks to the couple of posters who have supported me on occasion.

Perhaps if one of the moderators reads this they could delete my account for me.

Best of luck to all.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Maybe just give it a rest

and then come back.:hug:

[LeftishBrit]

2. Firstly, if you have a problem with the forum you should contact the mods directly

Secondly, I think the problem is that a lot of the articles that you post are from people who wish to move the Labour Party to the Right, or are generally critical of people and grops on the left, and this can lead to suspicion that you yourself support right-wing policies. This is certainly not true of all your posts - you posted an article about the 'precariat' which sums up a lot of what I've been thinking. But on a message-board it's hard to tell whether someone's posting an article just because it may lead to discussion, or because they agree with it. (I sometimes post right-wing articles, but I make it clear that I'm doing so to show how nasty the author is and what we're up against.) It might help if you stated your own views a bit more directly.

[non sociopath skin]

4. I'm sorry if you think I'm too caustic, HR, but the fact is as LB has pointed it out.

I don't come on a left-leaning forum to read how the left would be alright if it was all right. There are plenty other places to go for that.

LB seems to have a possible solution for you - a comment expressing your own views would put you above suspicion.

And please feel free to report me to the Mods if you think I'm breaking forum rules.

The Skin

[T_i_B]

5. The daft thing is....

....I have a number of gripes about Ed Miliband and the Labour party, but none of the garbage posted by certain people came even close to addressing those gripes. Instead we got lots of bile posted from the likes of Fraser Nelson & Paul Staines who have no desire for any sort of opposition to the Conservatives from the left.

[oldironside]

6. The obvious question here...

is "Why don't you post more often yourself?"

Looking back at the current page of discussion topics, only one thread was started by you. If you feel strongly about something, post it and let us all have our say. It doesn't even need to be a link to an article. Just sound off and wait for the response. I for one would be glad to hear what everyone really thinks about Mr Ed and the future of Labour in general.

While not everyone agrees with HR's choice of posts, and some question whether she was suited for a site like this, she at least tried to generate discussion. How many times have we all come to check the UK thread and found no change at all? It's going to happen a lot more in the future.

Oh, and as for "bile from the likes of Fraser Nelson & Paul Staines who have no desire for any sort of opposition to the Conservatives from the left", I would remind you what Brian said to the members of the People's Front of Judea (Officials) and the Campaign for Free Galillee.
"Brothers! We should be united against the common enemy!" i.e. The bloody Tories, so what these bastards are saying about the left is very relevant.

[T_i_B]

7. I go through phases of posting stuff

Sometimes I have the time and stories I'm very keen to discuss, sometimes I don't. I always start threads on whatever elections are due every year for instance.

I think the last thread I started might have been something about the expansion of the academy system into primary schools which disappeared without trace.

[oldironside]

10. Don't think I was having a go.

I was just trying to make the point that we can all post what we like. I have phases too, and it's never pleasant when you start a thread you think will be a good one, and it just dies. On the other hand, I thought that bloody Ryan Giggs rubbish would go on forever. How many views?

So, hopefully HR will come back and have a look at this thread at some point. I kinda miss her already.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Actually...

T-i-b does post quite a lot, and for a long time, and in particular, a few years ago, was one of the first to mention the dangers of Clegg!

I think it *would* be a good idea if more of us posted a few more OPs. And as I've said in an earlier post: I think we need to know what our enemy is saying; we just also have to remember that they *are* our enemy. I'm saying this more in response to comments I've seen on the main forums implying that right-wing ideas should not be rejected out of hand (yes, they should!) than to anything here. As regards Fraser Nelson and Paul Staines - I think there's a difference between them. Nelson is a Tory writer, whom probably we do need to know about from the point of view of knowing our enemy. Paul Staines is just a nasty gossip writer, and totally vicious and destructive in every way - and not even just about the left; he spread vile homophobic rumours about William Hague, who is certainly not my cup of tea politically, but nevertheless it showed Staines' vileness! I'm not sure that he should get more traffic than he does anyway. To be fair, I don't think that HR has actually quoted him.

All of which leads to the next obvious comment - you should post more yourself! I always find your posts really interesting, and would welcome more.

[oldironside]

9. Thank you for the positive feedback.

I agree with your post. Staines is nothing more than a Troll with a personality disorder and a weird private agenda (did you catch all the pro-Papist stuff?). I wasn't trying to bitch at T-i-b, but just found it a bit odd that he seemed to be complaining about "What we get" when we can actually post what we like.

As for going through phases of posting, I think we all do that, and we all tend to have our own pet subjects to rant about. You may have noticed that I get mildly vexed with the intricacies of constitutional politics in the UK, and I think we can all name the subject that keeps jeneral awake at night.

Basically I post stuff that gets my interest, quite often not totally relevant for a progressive forum (although my Budweiser FA Cup thread went down rather well!). I have started quite a few threads I thought would grow and grow, and they were still born. e.g. My Prescott had his phone tapped is still at 0 comments. I expected a wave of righteous indignation mixed with discussion of what a Quisling Prezza is.

Still, it's nice to know someone reads (and enjoys) my posts, even if they don't always comment.

[oldironside]

3. The appropriate response...

... in this situation is to say "Fuck you!" and carry on regardless.