We are here for the long haul!

Yesterday we passed the ten thousand post milestone, not bad for a small forum that only started in the summer. Not many members, and as often the case with forums, the majority of members do not post regularly, but thems the breaks. The most disappointing thing for me, was back in the early days, some members who joined, under a known other forum names and posted, then came back to change their names and disappeared. Such is the fear of being seen to rock the boat by the other forum.

The other forum, riddled with corruption, with no freedom of speech, and run with an iron fist, mostly by mods who are complete idiots. This is especially tragic, when you consider the lamentable situation so many diabetics find themselves in these days. Lies and corruption from big pharma and junk food, propagated by people we should be able to trust. Outfits such as the NHS,DUK,ADA and the BDA.

Time are changing fast my friends. People such as Professor Tim Noakes, Dr. Robert Lustig, Dr. Jay Wortman and recently, nearer to home, Trudi Deakin are gaining worldwide acceptance for their work. The low carb higher fat diet, referred to by some as a fad diet, is now becoming mainstream, especially for diabetics, it is here to stay, and so are we.

Special thanks to Mo and Paul, without them this forum would never had started. Thank you to the posters who have contributed and got us to ten thousand posts. We are getting there. A few years ago Graham and myself started a blog, we hoped a 100 or so people might read it a month, it receives over a thousand reads a day, and is well on it’s way to 1.3 million page views. From acorns etc..........

Check out the post view numbers of this forum, many people have read your posts. We will never know how many people have gone away, and said to themselves, I am going to give low carb a try from tomorrow, we will never know how many we have helped, all we can do is pass the good news on. We are here for the long haul. Thank you to members who have stayed with us,    you will never be a disposable commodity to this forum, or a target for our mail shots. You are highly valued here.

In it for the long haul too right, once we got our diet sorted out thanks to the excellent help and advice from the knowledgeable LowCarbers at DCUK we could have just walked away, but the naysayers still spreading their misinformation proved to be a big incentive for us to carry on.

Great post Eddie. I too feel a little saddened by many members who signed up but never really gave us a chance. Historically, I've heard of members complaining because we have mentioned "the other forum" and even ridiculed certain individuals. I'm not saying this is how we planned things to happen and it doesn't happen lightly but you have no idea how frustrating it is to see the corruption and unfairness that goes on over there behind fake smiles and niceties.
The latest event is what appears a permanent ban on Andy12345. His crime ? He "liked" someone's post. This is a guy who's spent untold hours there raising smiles and educating the newly diagnosed. This is just one example, many good people have received permanent bans. Great posts are edited or deleted. The whole ethos there is not for the benefit of the member. There is no fair recourse. Anna has been aggressive and unfair on many occasions. So, what can you do about it ? Well, you're encouraged to complain or report this. So, you have a complaint against the senior mod, who deals with this ? Yes, the senior mod.
So, am I totally happy with some of our name calling in the past ? No, not all of it. However, at least nothing is hidden here. There are no hidden agendas. Everything we do is clear and available for everyone to read. Believe me, far worse behaviour occurs "over there" but much of it is hidden. We've all seen it but the majority ignore it and carry on. That's fine, but please understand that occasionally we will call them out. I make no apology for that.
Thanks for all that have stuck with us and continue to take an active part here. We will never be huge but our message is loud and clear. It is being seen, it is changing opinion.

I don't think anything has been said here that wouldn't be said to people's faces, we also know it was said knowing the recipients would see it here, I make no apologies, I did however get involved in the Facebook thread with regrets as that was two faced tbh lol

I think we have a really good message, are we perfect? No. But we are doing things out loud, our cards are on the table and no one here is playing insane games with people's lives for God knows what reasons

Long live us, lol

Well guys I 99% agree with your sentiments.  I would have liked to have thought that I was here for the long haul too.  However I'm not so sure about everything being in the open.  I have posted very little recently because I don't want to be the cause of anyone "tiptoeing round here like they are walking on eggshells".  If anyone has a problem with me I would rather we sorted it out then I can stay here and feel comfortable posting again.

So I was the one who complained about name calling here.  I said what I had to say and am happy to leave it there.  The same with other subjects too.  I thought that's what uncensored speech was all about.

Hi Zand I understand why you had a problem, but don't understand what isn't in the open? If we are wrong to insult people fair enough but we do do it openly lol


Do do ? I'm sure that needed a comma

Zand,
Speak freely, I'm sure we are all adult enough to respect each other's opinions

Zand, that's exactly what we're saying. We want you to be able to post exactly how you feel. Same for anyone else. We will never agree on everything but we won't edit or delete what you say.
You know you're always welcome here and we'd love you to stick around.

Andy12345 wrote:Hi Zand I understand why you had a problem, but don't understand what isn't in the open? If we are wrong to insult people fair enough but we do do it openly lol


Do do ? I'm sure that needed a comma

OK, whilst I don't like all of the insults (I don't have a problem with a lot of them and have joined in on occasion too) I understand that I was in the minority and as such was happy to have had my say and leave the rest of you to that particular thread. That was all in the open I agree.

The thing I am talking about was when I had been chatting and a couple of you said something like "Well if you understand it, please explain to me" This was followed by someone saying...

"Give me a ring Mo and I will explain. Even I tip toe about in this place, believe it or not......."

Whether there ever was a phone call or not, or whether this was said in jest or not, it doesn't say to me that everything is out in the open. Surely if everything is out in the open there's no need to tiptoe round? I don't want to be the cause of someone not feeling they are free to speak. I would have preferred to finish off a previous conversation where I can see now that maybe I answered too harshly and forcefully whilst trying to make my point. If I had chosen different words it would have been preferable, but I don't feel I had the chance to put things right. If I offend someone I want them to tell me so I can explain things better.

This isn't about me being upset with someone saying horrid things to me, it's about me not wanting to upset anyone and leaving them feeling they can't talk to me about it.

Maybe a Pm system would have been useful here, but I respect and understand the decision not to have one.

Oh

Zand I honestly do not know what point you are making with your posts today. Some of the quotes ring a bell and I may well have said them. The bottom line is, if you or anyone else here asks me a straight question, I will give them a straight answer. Also, any member can criticise me in any way they think fit, or say whatever they like about the forum and mods. There will be no editing or deletion of genuine members posts and certainly no threats of banning etc.

The point I am making Eddie is that if you or anyone else has a problem with me, I want them to come right out and say it. I don't want it to fester or be left unsaid. Openness works both ways. If I know this will happen then I will feel comfortable posting regularly again. That's all.

zand wrote:The point I am making Eddie is that if you or anyone else has a problem with me, I want them to come right out and say it.  I don't want it to fester or be left unsaid.  Openness works both ways.  If I know this will happen then I will feel comfortable posting regularly again.  That's all.  

I don't have a problem with you, and I don't know anyone that has a problem with you or any other member. I certainly don't have a problem with any member, I appreciate some may not like me, or my style of posting at times, that's life. If we all agreed on everything it would be a very dull place.

Chill out my friend, you are one of the most prolific posters here, and highly valued, why would anyone want to upset you.

Kind regards Eddie

eddie1 wrote:

zand wrote:The point I am making Eddie is that if you or anyone else has a problem with me, I want them to come right out and say it.  I don't want it to fester or be left unsaid.  Openness works both ways.  If I know this will happen then I will feel comfortable posting regularly again.  That's all.  

I don't have a problem with you, and I don't know anyone that has a problem with you or any other member. I certainly don't have a problem with any member, I appreciate some may not like me, or my style of posting at times, that's life. If we all agreed on everything it would be a very dull place.

Chill out my friend, you are one of the most prolific posters here, and highly valued, why would anyone want to upset you.

Kind regards Eddie

Thanks. I just want to be sure that if I upset someone we can talk about it openly and sort things out. It's not about anyone upsetting me it's about me upsetting others.

I'll be back later.

Yikes so all is well then

I wonder if there's an ombudsman one can refer to if response to reports or moderation 'over there' are not to your satisfaction. Of course there isn't but it would be fun to ask - one day ...

Andy12345 wrote:Yikes so all is well then

Yep Do ya fancy another fight now?

sanguine wrote:I wonder if there's an ombudsman one can refer to if response to reports or moderation 'over there' are not  to your satisfaction.  Of course there isn't but it would be fun to ask - one day ...

lol that won't be me! I've been vocal enough over there recently. Time to spend some time here now methinks.

The DUK forum is closed at the moment as 'improvements' are made; I wonder if those improvements are the removal of all low-carb posts...

And low-carb posters?

One thing I hope we can all agree on this sometimes we won't agree on everything. However, I'd hate to think someone here felt they couldn't speak their mind. Myself and Paul have the easiest moderators job on the internet here but please be assured we would step in if we thought a member was being bullied or similar. It's so much easier to sit on the fence and post remarks which are pointless but attract "likes".
"Go see your doc"
"We're all different"
"Eat to your meter" etc etc

These are all fine but what do they really imply ? What good are they to someone who's just been to the doc, refused a meter then joins a forum desperate for help !
So, apologies for repetition but because we tell the truth and are sometimes "in your face", we expect and attract criticism. I would still rather this though than spend all my time on a forum getting splinters in my ass !

sanguine wrote:I wonder if there's an ombudsman one can refer to if response to reports or moderation 'over there' are not  to your satisfaction.  Of course there isn't but it would be fun to ask - one day ...

Lol ! Anna is the biggest culprit with editing, deleting and banning. So, if you are unhappy with this, PM Anna !!!!
That's the trouble with that style of moderating. In my mind, to ban someone permanently is a huge thing. It should be put to all mods or a board or something to vote. That's not how it happens. Trust me, I was a mod there. If someone feels like giving you a lifetime ban for little reason, maybe they got out of bed the wrong side that morning, they can. Who remembers "Chopper Osidge" ? Rolls up after years in the wilderness, bans a few members then back into hibernation ! And people accuse us of unfair play !!!!!

It sickens me that Andy has been bleached from the liked/notable members list over there now.  He has helped so many people over there (me included) and this is the thanks he gets.  Shoddy.

^^Delete the word "Andy" and insert the word "Mo" to save me typing that lot out again!

Avocado Sevenfold wrote:It sickens me that Andy has been bleached from the liked/notable members list over there now.  He has helped so many people over there (me included) and this is the thanks he gets.  Shoddy.

^^Delete the word "Andy" and insert the word "Mo" to save me typing that lot out again!

That is how the place has worked for years. Apart from a chosen few, members are disposable items, nothing but cannon fodder.

And people give me a kicking for turning a spot light on what goes on over there on a daily basis. It does not matter if some members post complete dross, much of which is misleading and dangerous, as long as they don't rock the boat, that's cool. But, members who have helped countless people such as Andy, Mo, Paul and many like them, are eliminated at the click of a mouse. And by Mods who are not fit to run a whelk stall. It will be forever thus.