News, Local history and Thanet issues from Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate see www.michaelsbookshop.com I publish over 200 books about the history of this area click here to look at them.
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Carole Urwin, Susan Anthony and Ray Urwin exhibition at the York Street Gallery in Ramsgate, pictures of the pictures and a ramble from me.
10 comments:
Comments, since I started writing this blog in 2007 the way the internet works has changed a lot, comments and dialogue here were once viable in an open and anonymous sense. Now if you comment here I will only allow the comment if it seems to make sense and be related to what the post is about. I link the majority of my posts to the main local Facebook groups and to my Facebook account, “Michael Child” I guess the main Ramsgate Facebook group is We Love Ramsgate. For the most part the comments and dialogue related to the posts here goes on there. As for the rest of it, well this blog handles images better than Facebook, which is why I don’t post directly to my Facebook account, although if I take a lot of photos I am so lazy that I paste them directly from my camera card to my bookshop website and put a link on this blog.
sadly Thanet Life last four posts attracted zero comments. I will kick off this thread for you
ReplyDeleteI guess anon that the halcyon days when Simon could let it run without comment moderation are gone for ever and there lies the rub; which I guess is that in the playground environment that modern Thanet blogging has descended no senior councillor can communicate with us the local taxpayers in a free and open environment.
DeleteIt runs now, at its worse, something like, I will make some outrageous claim and if you counter it I will set my big brother on you, or in real terms I will stake legal action. My lawyer charges £190 plus VAT per hour, so this could be an expensive game to play, even just to check your legal position.
Of course, we, the local taxpayers would like our elected representatives to be able to chat fairly openly with us about local issues, or even in this case the latest art exhibition in Ramsgate, but I don’t think this is going to happen much now
One thing Michael and Simon do have in common is excellent photographs and the rest of us should be grateful for that. I have to admit to not getting over to Ramsgate yet to the exhibition in the York Street Gallery, but, if I do miss it, at least I have had the pleasure of seeing some of the exhibits on Michael's blog. Likewise, some of Simon's air to ground photos make interpretation of events easier.
DeleteAgree with Michael about councillors being driven off the blogs by the trolls and spammers. Particularly miss Chris Wells who was always very informative, but one either has an open house with lots of comments, even if dozens of them are some twit talking to himself, or a censored blog with minimal comment. One only has to look at ECR's site to see comment after comment by the same anonymous. Hardly lively debating.
I would say my baseline for voting with any politician would be the effort they make to communicate about the issues that effect the local community within any sort of public forum.
DeleteBut then I am, of course, highly influenced by my own blogging activates and the difficulties associated with trying to communicate with local people, believe me when I say it aint an easy game to play.
I am often reminded, when dealing with comment, of the words of the great trickcyclist R. D Laing
They are playing a game. They are not playing a game. If I show them I see they are, I shall break the rules and they will punish me. I must play their game, of not seeing the game.
Looks like old 0% has gone into respite again while his carers away. What peaceful bliss it is in consequence.
ReplyDeleteOne solution to promoting open discussion is not to have any money. Libel is all about money. Nobody sues someone who hasn't got any. For the most part, it isn't worth suing private individuals because a) they have limited funds, and b) it's a long drawn-out process which requires that the person doing the suing has deep pockets, c) however strong your case, there is no guarantee that you will win once you get in the court-room (if the judge got out of the wrong side of the bed - beware!!!).
ReplyDeletePeople of real stature wouldn't engage in pithy little exchanges with members of the public, but they would use the internet to keep people informed, and to inform people of their views. Your views are your views and you are entitled to express them. As long as you don't insult and abuse other people when you are doing this you CAN'T be sued for libel.
Rick, of course Simon Moores blogs as an individual and a sidebar disclaimer on his site makes it plain that it is a personal view on life. Strange as it may seem, councillors are people with individual views on matters and, certainly from my point of view, much happier in engaging in an exchange following the thread of the post than being badgered for views on council matters. There are proper channels for that.
ReplyDeleteOn your Thanet Gun Range topic, it never ceases to mystify me as to why, if there was a thread of truth in your allegations about middle eastern users, the authorities have not done something about it. Seems strange that a bloke acting suspiciously near the Dartford crossing at the weekend attracted a massive response and brought traffic chaos for hours yet a bunch Arabs shooting away happily in Birchington has been ignored by all except you.
In the case of Arabs on the Thanet Gun Range: there is a possible military connection here. Richard, I have it from a reliable source that you should question Air Craftsman J. M. Ross.
ReplyDeleteDear William Epps. I am the poster who made the anonymous contribution above (4:23 pm) My name is not Rick and I don't have a gun-range topic. I find it interesting that you and your cronies moan incessantly about the person who posts on this topic, yet in his absence you start going on about it yourself. Presumably, you have nothing worthwhile to say.
ReplyDeleteDear Anon, 7:39, the comment to which I was replying was one by Lyndon T Palmer, alias Rick Card, and which was deleted by the blog administrator after I had responded. I was not referring to your comment at 4:23.
Delete