Old forum had gone a bit shite over the last few years. Plenty of knowledgable and interesting posters knocking about it, but they seemed to be increasingly drowned out by the shite about soup and the likes. Nothing wrong with a bit of craic and a few in jokes on a forum, but when it started stifling discussion and turning off other posters then the balance is wrong. Perhaps the new incarnation of the forum can promote a better balance, maybe siphon off that sort of stuff to a thread of its own or something.
Not overly optimistic about the lifespan of the new forum, though. Eventually the moderator there will decide to pull the plug, or have that decision made for him/ her. The simple fact is that you can't trust people to behave themselves online. Most will be dead on, but you will always get shitheads posting stuff that will cause problems. The local focus of something like a county forum will magnify these problems. Word will spread quickly about contentious posts, and the specificity of the forum's audience will make it fertile ground for the airings of local disputes and vendettas against individuals. It's naive to suggest the place can police itself. Moderating an online forum must be a nightmare, good luck to anyone that takes on the challenge.
Not overly optimistic about the lifespan of the new forum, though. Eventually the moderator there will decide to pull the plug, or have that decision made for him/ her. The simple fact is that you can't trust people to behave themselves online. Most will be dead on, but you will always get shitheads posting stuff that will cause problems. The local focus of something like a county forum will magnify these problems. Word will spread quickly about contentious posts, and the specificity of the forum's audience will make it fertile ground for the airings of local disputes and vendettas against individuals. It's naive to suggest the place can police itself. Moderating an online forum must be a nightmare, good luck to anyone that takes on the challenge.