Deleted thread.

I deleted the 'post a letter' thread. No one detests thread locking and deletion of members posts more than me, but I believe it was the right thing to do, I should have done it earlier my bad. The thread in my opinion broke our very minimal rules and a valued member was very clearly annoyed, I suspect other members were not amused. I am a great believer in humour and some friendly banter being very important on a forum, especially when at the end of the day diabetes can be a very stressful condition to live with at times. Clearly the slapstick and tomfoolery went too far on this occasion, and I will take full responsibility for that.

That being said, please feel free to criticise or make your views known, without free speech we might as well call it a day. I know 'the rules' have been used as a method of control elsewhere, for all sorts of sinister reasons, but even here, we must have some rules albeit minimal. Let's all put it behind us and move on, we may be small but many people read this forum, please carry on posting all of you, please carry on your good work. In a world of misinformation and diabetic dietary stupidity, we are making a difference. All of us have helped many people to a better place, we have so many more to help.

Thank you to all the members that have joined and post.

Best regards Eddie

The rules

We welcome all and encourage robust debate on any subject. We detest censorship, but please note! we will not tolerate racial, religious hatred, homophobic, and overtly sexist posts of any kind. Any posts of this nature will be deleted and a warning issued, on subsequent events permanent banning will take place. Please keep posts and comments legal, and please remember, children may read this forum.

I applaud the fact that you have been so upfront about what has happened - it's the mysterious disappearances and edits that confuse the hell out of people. So bravo

Well Eddie, if you wish to be so correct , then I suggest that you drop the word FUCK from your posts, after all, as you say ,children may be looking into this forum. Same rules should be applied to everybody.

The word "fuck" is in common usage and hardly unknown to children. In my view, it is a word that should be used sparingly, but occasionally. I say "sparingly" because overuse can make the speaker come over as simply unable to express themselves, but I also say "occasionally" because it is a useful expletive of last resort, expressive of having reached the end of the line on a particular subject.
The thread, which has been removed, also contained content which is familiar to many children, but its presence here suggested that we condone the portrayal of women as sex objects and are happy to see their bodies as items of amusement.
I think we come here to share information, incredulity, anger around the subject of diabetes and occasionally the word "fuck" helps express certain emotions. We don't come here for sexual gratification or to be made to feel that our bodies are being judged.
Sally

I posted on that thread so perhaps I'm at fault too although I didn't see what was posted after mine. There is a fine line between humour, banter and causing offence. We all have our own filter level. I am 49 years old but still won't swear in my mum's house but I have a pottymouth at home !
If Eddie deemed it necessary to remove thread I'm sure he wouldn't have done so lightly. I'm also sure that whatever was posted was not put there to intentionally offend anyone. Let's keep smiling and carry on :-)

Well Mo, you could have put a nicer pic up for us ladies to look at

I agree though the atmosphere here is generally great.  We don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable. Let's keep on with what we do best - appreciating each other and supporting one another and fighting diabetes....yes and smiling too.  

Sorry about that, at least now I know where the line is drawn.

I was just happy to have found the disk with my collection of silly photos, jokes, etc. and I'd like to state for the record that I'm an Equal Opportunites Sexist.

Hope this one does'nt offend, or are there Animal Rights Activists here?

I wasn't going to post my personal view on sexist photos, but I will now.  It isn't that I don't have a sense of humour (I do) it isn't that I'm a prude (I'm not).   As an older woman (aged 57) it hurts that I'm not young and sexy anymore.  That's a fact of life.  Mostly I'm used to it, but yes it can hurt when I see something like that photo which implies that a woman is only good for one thing.  I didn't mind when I was younger and good for it too lol,  but if I'm feeling down anyway it can make me quite miserable and make me feel worthless now.   It's not the same for men, they age differently.  There isn't a point where they suddenly lose their youthfulness in the same way so most men don't seem to understand why some of us females have a problem with it.

So I see both sides to this argument.   I'm sorry I wasn't around earlier to say what I thought, I got back from holiday exhausted on Friday evening and then had to get up at 5 am yesterday, so I didn't have the energy to think about it properly.   I don't even fully know what happened and that doesn't matter.  What matters to me is that we all get along together and to do this sometimes we need to explain why we are hurt/offended, what seems like a trivial thing to one can be quite a big issue to others.  That doesn't mean we can't all get on though, I have loved the forum this past month or so and the jokes are a great way to start my day.  I often really do laugh out loud, so keep them coming folks.  

"I didn't mind when I was younger and good for it too lol,  but if I'm feeling down anyway it can make me quite miserable and make me feel worthless now.   It's not the same for men, they age differently.  There isn't a point where they suddenly lose their youthfulness in the same way so most men don't seem to understand why some of us females have a problem with it."

I reckon it's the same for men. Until I got to around 55 I had never had a days real illness in my life. Then I started to clap out, swiftly. Slowly gaining weight, diabetes then heart trouble. The once workaholic alpha male a gibbering wreck. Great, no more targets no more big plans no more expectations, into cruise control and nothing to prove to myself or anyone else. Whatever I was going to achieve had been done, what had not been achieved would never be achieved, that's a sobering moment, but passed quickly. The bottom line, after a certain age we are all on the way out, no more love affairs, no more big money jobs, no more ambitions, that suits me fine. All I want is to keep what I have and that is very little I can assure you, less is more, but it took me 60 years to achieve that, I am free at last. I have become a Wanderer.

From a book by the actor Sterling Hayden called the Wanderer. It had a profound effect on me.  A passage from this great book.

“So it is no wonder that the mass of people regard the wanderer as a cross between a romantic vagabond and an irresponsible semi-ne’er-do-well who can’t-or won’t-fit in. Which is not to say that those who are fated to stay at home and toe the line do not look at the wanderer with envy and, yes, even awe, for he is doing what they would like to be doing, and something tells them they will never do it unless they either “strike it rich” or retire -and once retirement rolls around, chances are it will be too late. They know that too.

This would seem to mean that the whole thing is largely a matter of luck, with which I would be the first to agree, having been blessed with good fortune through most of my working life. But I would be remiss if I didn’t add that if you want to wander, you’re going to have to work at it and give up the one thing that most non-wanderers prize so highly-the illusion of security.

I say “illusion” because the most “secure” people I’ve encountered are, when you come right down to it, the least secure once they have been removed from job and home and bank account. While those unfortunate enough to be locked into some despised and unrewarding job are even worse off. And if I have been favoured with good luck all down the years, I can also quickly single out scores of men and women spread around this beleaguered old world who, without “luck”, have managed to live lives of freedom and adventure (that curious word) beyond the wildest dreams of the stay-at-homes who, when fresh out of school, opted for that great destroyer of men’s souls, security.”

What I thought was humorous was the expression on the face of the guy who was looking . . .

 . . . yeah it's no fun being a guy as you age either, but at least it means I get to flirt with women half my age or less AND THEY NO LONGER NOTICE

I have others

See there is a difference....I can't flirt with men half my age....unless it's at a footie match, when they don't notice because I'm talking the same language as them there....

"I can't flirt with men half my age" Jan tried it once, she was in limb traction for over six months.

Eddie wrote:"I can't flirt with men half my age" Jan tried it once, she was in limb traction for over six months.

lolol.