If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

West Somerset Railway General Discussion

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by gwr4090, Nov 15, 2007.

  1. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2008
    Messages:
    7,498
    Likes Received:
    5,455
    That’s a fair comment, personally when giving a personal opinion on such a subject matter I try to make it clear before doing so. We will discuss this point and try and ensure it’s clear when a personal opinion is being given.
     
    Bifur01 and jnc like this.
  2. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2018
    Messages:
    3,498
    Likes Received:
    6,845
    Location:
    Here, there, everywhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Are not WSR volunteers 'representing' the WSR as an organisation when they post on here? It cuts both ways.

    Speaking about speaking in capacities and to take it back to the subject of volunteering, a good rule of thumb is to look at the behaviour of people in the organisation towards others. Is it a my way or the highway kind of place? Is there lots of rank pulling? Is it open and inclusive of diversity of people and thought or is it hostile to difference?

    In short - is this somewhere or people with whom I want to spend all day under a carriage underframe, in the buffet, ticket office, or unclogging drains with.

    Looking at a railway's social media is always a useful snapshot and first impression of a place. Thinking about other lines, I can see from the behaviour of people on this forum for example that it is still the same as it ever was. I can also see that the culture at another line has changed. I know where I would rather give up my free time to volunteer.

    Maybe, some of the WSR volunteers who post here and crop up on social media are different in person, and maybe I am an outlier in checking out a railway before volunteering and seeing if it is the kind of place I'd like to volunteer, but maybe I'm not. Those involved with the WSR ought to really look closer to home before pointing the finger at others when it comes to telling people how they ought to behave in public and on the internet.

    I think that the moderators here are pretty good about saying *moderator's hat off* when giving a personal opinion and I have never for one been confused between what is a moderators personal view and when they are expressing an 'organisational view'.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2021
    Bluenosejohn, MellishR, 35B and 2 others like this.
  3. Big Al

    Big Al Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    May 30, 2009
    Messages:
    21,064
    Likes Received:
    20,773
    Location:
    1016
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    If you are passionate, even single minded, about what you do then it's almost guaranteed that others may not see things as you do. There's nothing wrong with that and sometimes out of feisty debate comes new thinking that is more productive than either of the original conflicting views.

    I would venture to suggest that EVERY heritage railway is full of such folk and diverse opinion. I'm also prepared to bet that every heritage railway contains people who work together for the greater good when they may have different opinions about the railway they are working on. What seems to set the WSR apart from other railways is the fact that it is not clear exactly how the various groups associated with it work, how they individually contribute to the whole and what is the long term direction of travel. Perhaps it is clear but if it is then it's lost in the melee of individual actions and, it seems, lack of clarity from those who should be giving direction.

    Whilst you might say that "I would say that wouldn't I", this forum has nothing to do with where the WSR finds itself at present because if it did then other heritage railways and their owners would also be sounding off about how it detracts from what they are doing. So you have to conclude that the only reason there is so much traffic on here is because of what the Railway itself is doing to itself and its supporters.

    That's so sad but it's not our fault.
     
    S.A.C. Martin, mdewell, ghost and 5 others like this.
  4. Monkey Magic

    Monkey Magic Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2018
    Messages:
    3,498
    Likes Received:
    6,845
    Location:
    Here, there, everywhere
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Indeed, debate is good. Passion is good and diversity of opinions and how those opinions are given is good. The question is do you tolerate those who disagree with you or do you stifle dissent and run the dissenters off the railway?
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2021
  5. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    There's a certain irony in our movement having, in no small part, got into gear - if not actually started - by the efforts of Tom Rolt, in so many ways the epitome of opposition to Attlee's postwar brand of socialism, which produced a preserved railway with so notably egalitarian and cooperative an ethos.
     
    S.A.C. Martin and johnofwessex like this.
  6. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2005
    Messages:
    9,635
    Likes Received:
    8,303
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Alderan !
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Not for the first time you see fit to have a pop at me in terms of my activities on the forum and attempt backseat moderation without reporting through the proper channels and seek to force a moderators removal by garnering support and appealing to the site owner

    Quite why any of the moderation team give up their time to do so on this forum I really don't know . I think most of us have been on the receiving end of unpleasant criticism of how we endeavour to keep things going

    We are real people with lives , jobs , families outside NP . There is no idiots guide to moderations to follow, no training , no handbook . We get little back but there are members who see us on 24/7 call , not allowed any personal viewpoints, should be restricted from postings , should close threads that they don't like, should allow total free speech when it suits , even to Jamie's point should not have any autosignature with links to any presence elsewhere because it is promotion that in Jamie's world we are probably making stacks of cash from

    Just for the record Jamie , posts generally are only tidied up after a report and mods input , each of us will do to keep threads tidy and on topic . Occasionally something we see that just shouldn't really stay will be tidied . Sometimes and it could be any of the mod team a little warning is posting where it is thought appropriate

    The irony is not lost that you object to post removal , yet seek to suppress a group from posting which does rather make you look foolish

    If the "management" decide to enforce your suggestion then I suspect there will be no moderation team and I also suspect that there will be no volunteers to moderate to replace us .

    Finally thank you to those members who have kindly posted in support
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2021
  7. Sidmouth

    Sidmouth Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2005
    Messages:
    9,635
    Likes Received:
    8,303
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Alderan !
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    think about it , if any mods post is deemed to be on behalf of NP as a whole then by implication NP collectively (and therefore by implication you) supports a singular viewpoint . Clearly that is not the case , NP is broad church covering a diverse range of viewpoints
     
  8. 62440

    62440 New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2020
    Messages:
    143
    Likes Received:
    316
    Location:
    4A
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer

    If you say so.
     
  9. Great Western

    Great Western Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2009
    Messages:
    327
    Likes Received:
    174
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    If this thread shows anyone thinking about giving up their free time to volunteer at any railway one thing, its don't! No matter how hard to you try to keep your head down, nob along nicely to play trains a few times a month youll always upset someone its really not worth the hassle!
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2021
    Sidmouth likes this.
  10. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Messages:
    9,185
    Likes Received:
    7,226
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Thorn in my managers side
    Location:
    72
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
  11. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Surely it should be the other way around, i.e. that when moderators post on NP, it is always in a personal capacity, giving their own personal views, unless they explicitly state they are speaking as a moderator. As a suggestion, perhaps NP could have a different coloured background for moderator's posts when they are speaking as a moderator, to make this quite clear.
     
    jnc, ross, The Dainton Banker and 4 others like this.
  12. Glenmutchkin

    Glenmutchkin Member

    Joined:
    Sep 18, 2017
    Messages:
    281
    Likes Received:
    398
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Scotland
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    For a few years I was a moderator on a non-railway forum. Moderators were allowed to post and did so regularly. If we were posting with a moderator's hat on or on behalf of the forum management the text colour was changed to blue.
     
    ghost likes this.
  13. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    Jun 18, 2011
    Messages:
    25,487
    Likes Received:
    23,719
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Grantham
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Other forums I belong to manage quite well with the moderators declaring hat on or off, and not needing something more robust. No moderator, here or elsewhere, gets it right all of the time; I think the team here get it pretty right most of the time.
     
    goldfish, staffordian, jnc and 5 others like this.
  14. Miff

    Miff Part of the furniture Friend

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2008
    Messages:
    2,857
    Likes Received:
    2,793
    +1 to this suggestion. I'm a member of other forms where this is the normal practice and seems to work well. But thanks to all our Mods for all that you do.
     
  15. Bayard

    Bayard Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,826
    Likes Received:
    3,871
    Gender:
    Male
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    To make it explicit would shut up those who try and promote censorship whilst purporting to have a genuine complaint, like post #4104.
     
  16. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    .
    Wanna bet? :Meh:
     
  17. johnofwessex

    johnofwessex Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Messages:
    9,185
    Likes Received:
    7,226
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Thorn in my managers side
    Location:
    72
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Some of us are also on RM Web where the moderation can be a little over zealous compared with here
     
  18. martin1656

    martin1656 Nat Pres stalwart Friend

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2014
    Messages:
    17,609
    Likes Received:
    11,222
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    St Leonards
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I would fully understand it, if the posts were over the top, but they aren't, this is nothing more than some WSR members trying to silence people who are critical not of their railway, but of certain people in positions of power, who it would appear have used that power to stifle dissent, and looking at it continue, to ,other wise why are they calling for the moderation team to be censured? no one else is, its just a few who happen to be supporters of the WSR plc.
    The railway is in a dire position, and its not the fault of anyone on here, moderator, or not, its only down to the actions of the WSR plc, and those who hold positions of power, and have used that power not for the good of the railway, but for what ever agenda they may have, that has made this position that much worse by their own actions.
     
  19. burnham-t

    burnham-t New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2008
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    65
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Staplehurst, Kent
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
  20. burnham-t

    burnham-t New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2008
    Messages:
    88
    Likes Received:
    65
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Staplehurst, Kent
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    "Punctuates the coastal train line"?
     

Share This Page