All posts in the topic Future of the other two forums (Short link)
Summary
- There are 9 posts — by 7 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Stephanie Jenkins at Nov 28 11:27 UTC
Did people know that Cowley has at present only 61 posts on it and that Central
South and West has 171 posts on it at present? while Headington and Marston has
229 posts on it and increasing. I just don't understand why people are not
posting more on Cowley and Central South and West, and why Headington and
Marston appears so popular, and what, if anything, can be done to make the
other forums more attractive or interesting to post on.
And also there are lots of names on the Headington and Marston membership list,
yet we don't seem to see much posting going on from a lot of these people very
often, if at all. I am always wondering why that should be the case. I would
like to see the younger generation getting involved, I would like to hear what
the younger generation have to say about things.
Having looked at the posts on the other forums I suspect that they're starting
to 'shrivel' because a few opiniated individuals post continuously and bore
everyone else to death.
Could it be the case that this forum is starting to go the same way? That would
account for the fact that very few people (comparatively) are posting?
I don’t think it is any of our business to discuss what is going on (or not) with the other two Oxford forums. So please can we restrict this topic to discussing how we can improve our own forum. Just for the record, there are over 150 members currently on the Headington & Marston forum, and we have lost another 23 who have unsubscribed during the course of the year. Altogether 88 have posted messages, and this is a far higher proportion than could have been expected on a forum of this kind. You can see some statistics here: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/oxford-hm/stats.html We are going to reach a record number of messages this month (but sadly quantity is not always the same as quality). We are spending far too much time on this forum discussing the mechanics of getting opinions heard, rather than tackling Headington & Marston area issues. But this forum could be a lot more powerful if it had more members. The population of Headington & Marston is (I think) about 30,000, so 150 members is nothing. It would be good if current forum members could try to encourage their friends and neighbours to join. And there certainly aren’t enough young people: I would guess that the majority of people on this forum are over 40. But this is true of almost every voluntary or political activity you can name. The Times last Thursday announced that the most common names of male members of the British National Party were John, David, and Paul, and the top female name was Susan: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5193508.ece This amused me, because the top male names on the H&M forum are identical: David or Dave (9), John (6), Paul (5), and Sue or Susie (3). This doesn’t mean that the forum has been infiltrated by the BNP: my class at school abounded with these names, and it just indicates that people of a certain age are more likely to engage in political activities.
Ahhhh.... The reassuring thud of an arrow striking firmly in the
bullseye! It's music to my ears.
Mick
Lindsey Doyle wrote:
> Having looked at the posts on the other forums I suspect that they're
starting to 'shrivel' because a few opiniated individuals post continuously and
bore everyone else to death.
>
> Could it be the case that this forum is starting to go the same way? That
would account for the fact that very few people (comparatively) are posting?
I'm called Amelia, I am 33 and this is my fifth post. So we're not all slightly
older folk! Partly I don't post because I don't have the time but partly
because I like to do things rather than talk/row about them. And I don't mean
that as a criticism, because of course it is also important to debate issues.
I imagine that teenagers are too busy having 'lives' and/or being buried under
mountains of coursework and revision plus being on MySpace and Facebook etc (go
there if you want to get them engaged) to be on this forum. I am guessing here
as clearly I am twice their age but I would think teenagers would see this as
pretty boring with lots of people arguing about obscure things that don't seem
to have much relevance to their lives. When I was that age, it was more global
things that concerned me (and still do, come to think of it) - you know, being
part of Friends of the Earth or Amnesty or whatever.
One item of news should be of interest to young, old, and in-between. The Headington Fairtrade Co-operative Ltd (HFC), an Industrial and Provident Society, with myself as Secretary, will in February 2009 be opening a Fairtrade shop, in Windmill Road, to be called The Windmill. This will stock a wide range of fairly and ethically traded goods and environmentally friendly products, to complement and extend the range available in existing local outlets. HFC Ltd is now actively seeking shareholders. A single share ensures full membership and costs only 1, but supporters are also invited to subscribe for multiples of 50. If you would be interested in becoming a shareholder, making a donation, or being a voluntary worker in the shop, please let me know. Information about precise location and opening times will be posted on the Forum before long. Ian Alexander Amelia Foster <ameliacfoster@yahoo.co.uk> wrote: I'm called Amelia, I am 33 and this is my fifth post. So we're not all slightly older folk! Partly I don't post because I don't have the time but partly because I like to do things rather than talk/row about them. And I don't mean that as a criticism, because of course it is also important to debate issues. I imagine that teenagers are too busy having 'lives' and/or being buried under mountains of coursework and revision plus being on MySpace and Facebook etc (go there if you want to get them engaged) to be on this forum. I am guessing here as clearly I am twice their age but I would think teenagers would see this as pretty boring with lots of people arguing about obscure things that don't seem to have much relevance to their lives. When I was that age, it was more global things that concerned me (and still do, come to think of it) - you know, being part of Friends of the Earth or Amnesty or whatever. Amelia Foster Info about Amelia Foster: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/ameliafoster This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/7KOyN9fDrgaABfaPvmBTPB
I would be careful about calling it The Windmill because this was, and as far
as I know still is, the name of a famous fringe theatre company outlet, and you
may want to be careful about the conatations and associations it may make
people have. And be careful about the famous expression saying tilting at
windmills.
This business proposition appears to be a mix of The Bodyshop, Holland and
Barrett, and Oxfam all in one shop, so not really that much of a revolution
there then you could say, but nevertheless an interesting concept.
I think Amelia is right about the Youth, young people angle, of going on
Facebook and My Space to get them engaged, this is something that could be a
longer term project for the forum, to break into this segment of the market,
and develop a youth oriented version or off shoot of the forum.
Perhaps you mean the famous Windmill Theatre in London, named after Great Windmill Street in which it's situated. Not quite a 'fringe theatre company outlet'. I can't see how this venerable institution is going to see a shop named for the street in which it's situated as infringing its copyright in any way, even were it to be made aware of its existence. I don't remember anyone stating exactly what will be in the shop, so jumping to conclusions about whether it's a mix of the Bodyshop etc. is perhaps a little premature. Nor do I detect a claim for its being revolutionary, merely that it will provide fairly traded and ethical goods for sale. That will be very welcome indeed. Is there any relevance to your comment about tilting at windmills? As to getting youth engaged in politics, when I was younger I was far more enthusiastic about them than I am now, cynically in my middle age. ----- Original Message ----- From: nicholas fell To: Oxford - Headington & Marston Neighbourhood Forum Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 8:36 PM Subject: Re: [HMNF] Future of the other two forums I would be careful about calling it The Windmill because this was, and as far as I know still is, the name of a famous fringe theatre company outlet, and you may want to be careful about the conatations and associations it may make people have. And be careful about the famous expression saying tilting at windmills. This business proposition appears to be a mix of The Bodyshop, Holland and Barrett, and Oxfam all in one shop, so not really that much of a revolution there then you could say, but nevertheless an interesting concept. I think Amelia is right about the Youth, young people angle, of going on Facebook and My Space to get them engaged, this is something that could be a longer term project for the forum, to break into this segment of the market, and develop a youth oriented version or off shoot of the forum. nicholas fell Royal Borough of Headington, City of Oxford Info about nicholas fell: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/nicholasfell This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/2P9nC94EqnwpUPsoFUP0BU ----------------------------------------- To post, send your message to: <email obscured> To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on," in subject line and send to: <email obscured> More info about Oxford - Headington & Marston Neighbourhood Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/oxford-hm E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net
Can we please close this discussion now, as the title bears no relation to the
content; and in any case it is not a subject that should have been broached in
the first place, as it breaks the forum rules.
I have started off a new thread about the Windmill Fairtrade shop, which I
think is an excellent name. No one is going to confuse it with the Windmill
Theatre: everyone will expect to find cans, not can-can girls, there.