[Anonymous]

[JonathanCohen09]

Hello again my fellow contributors from Frequenttraveller09(for the last time)

Having created and contributed to a number of threads recently where on occassion things have become more than a little heated and on some occassions very personal, i want to ask a question and hopefully get a response from as many of you as possible out there.

My question is should we continue to have the contributors to this forum remain annonymous if they want to or should we prefer/insist that people are open and honest about who they are? there are many people who do post under there own names, so why not all of us?

I am not saying that there is a right or wrong answer to the question, it is at the moment down to personal preference but I am not sure why people want or need to be anonymous on this forum? My own view is that we should not remain anonymous any longer.

If, as i hope is the case, we are all agreed that the aim of the forum is for us frequent travellers to help each other as much as we can on any number of topics and issues, or to offer advice to one another, why do we need to hide our identities? I cannot think of a single reason why anyone out there who contributes to our discussions would not want us to know who they are unless of course our knowing their true identity would lead us to question the integrity of what they are saying.

Before you all jump on me and accuse me of being a hypocrite who is not prepared to practice what he preaches, you will see that i am now posting under my own name and will continue to do so from now on.

I would now like to hear the views of others on this topic and I would especially like to hear from the staff at BT and their thoughts on this issue.

Looking forward to an interesting debate on this thread

[Tom Otley]

I think one valid reason for retaining anonymity is it allows those working for travel companies to post information that perhaps they would not feel able to disclose “officially”.

It needn’t be as serious as a whistleblower. An informed defence of an airline, for instance, may best be performed by a member of flight crew. That individual would not be authorised to act in that way by the airline’s communications dept, yet on occasion might do a better job than the director of communications

[SimonRowberry]

Hi Jonathan,

Well done! I completely agree with you, for obvious reasons.

I also note the site administrator’s comments and fully understand the point he/she is making. However, the issue is that the majority of the comments that we object to come from people who do not seem to be in that category, but rather are regular contributors who take against one or more fellow postees, and turn the Forum into a personal abuse board.

I am convinced that a requirement to drop anonymity would immediately stamp out the vast majority of the offensive postings. Yes, we may lose some of the ‘inside gen’, but isn’t that what BT editorial is here to give us, rather than rely on postees?

On balance, I am in favour of identification.

2 points, if I may, site administrator. Firstly, you still haven’t answered Jonathan’s point made as F09 on his other thread. Secondly, your pop-up/roll-over ads are getting really irritating and keep physically interrupting me when I’m making a post.

Cheers, and well done again, Jonathan. Simon

[Tom Otley]

Hello Simon,

I’m afraid the forum software we have here won’t allow me to search through the posts to find the one you are referring to, so if you could remind me I’d be grateful.

Secondly, I’m sorry you don’t like the ads, but as you’re aware, there is no charge for using this site and all the good ladies and gentlemen working on it need to get paid somehow.

We could ask for donations for those who use the web (and who do not subscribe to the print edition), but for the moment, skimlinks, pop up ads and the rest (as well as some advertising) is the way we are keeping this website free, and our heads above water.

[SimonRowberry]

Hi SA,

The post I was referring to was Frequenttraveller09’s thread “Stop the Rot’, where Jonathan asked some direct questions about the role of moderation.

In terms of the pop-ups. I fully understand the need to generate some revenue, and would support that. There is a specific problem. I’m on the Asia site at the moment, and there is an add for ‘Vibrant’ which keeps popping up whilst I’m posting. This is leading to me losing my thread (excuse the pun) and also making typos. It pops up every time I move the mouse and is really a pain. I’m using a mac, and I don’t know if that’s a factor.

Regards, Simon

[flyingbunny]

I wish my parents had not called me by this name but…

Seriously though I do agree with the site administrator. I hide my identity because I don’t feel comfortable revealing who I work for – as the views I express may not be that of the company etc etc – but I use the site to glean useful information from people who are in the know and I also try to contribute whenever I have a tip or advice.
I think the majority of people who use the forum (and don’t use their real names) offer sound information. As is often the case it is just a few people who are intent on using the forum for other purposes.
I try to ignore any snipes and bring the debate back to the topic in hand.
I really enjoy the debates we have on here about business travel, so long may it continue – whatever name we go by.

[SimonRowberry]

Hi FlyingBunny. Yes, you’re parents must have had a sense of humour – similar to the parents of friends of mine who are called Robin Hood and Frances Drake (honestly).

Seriously, I understand your position, and I guess you won’t be the only one with this difficulty. It’s interesting that the one or two people whom some of us consider to be the prime abusers, and therefore are the root cause of this thread (and the Stop the Rot predecessor) are stunningly absent from either debate. It is precisely these people that Jonathan and I would love to see identify themselves. However, it’s like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.

It seems to me that the only way we are going to overcome this impasse that seems to be building up, is through stricter and more proactive moderation.

And still the SA is silent on this subject……..

[Tom Otley]

Simon,

I’ve replied on the other thread.

As I said there, I’m not being silent, I’m working in New York and back to London tomorrow!

But to repeat or summarise part of what I said there:

1. I don’t think we have the resources to moderate this forum to the degree you would like us to.

2. I don’t want us to moderate the forum to that degree.

3. I don’t think it’s necessary

4. If this is all about just one or two individuals, then it shouldn’t mean everyone who posts has to reveal themselves.

5. I’m not sure how I could force people to reveal their identities even if I wanted to (which I don’t).

6. If you’d like me to ban VK and others (which I’m not suggesting), and I did, what’s stopping him registering as someone else? Would we then ban anyone who used one of his turns of phrases or who defended / knew a lot about BA?

It’s a great debate – long may it continue.

I’m also going to start a thread asking how much forum users would be prepared to pay to be free of pop up ads.

[SimonRowberry]

The SA has responded – see Stop the Rot.

He/she raises some interesting points, and it seems like there is no easy answer to this one.

I vehemently disagree with the SA’s comments about political statements.

Clearly, we’re not going to win this one, Jonathan, and we’re going have to continue to put up with comments from people who are, frankly, cowards. This must surely be a reasonable term for people who make the comments they do, knowing that they are untraceable and will never be held directly to account for what they say.

It’s a pretty serious matter. I recently (earlier this week) received a personal message (to a personal inbox) on a music forum I subscribe to, and where I use my real name as well. That person had cut and pasted a comment I made on here (this BT Forum), which they clearly didn’t like, and made a comment which could be taken as being personally threatening. Needless to say, that person was hiding behind a pseudonym (different from any I’ve seen on here). If that isn’t grade 1, 100% cowardice, I don’t know what is.

SA – it’s not actually VK who bothers me (you mentioned names). He/she is someone one gets used to and, often, VK makes excellent contributions. It’s one or two others who become actively abusive. I do also understand the resources issue and the speed of response that would be necessary to be truly effective in moderation.

Guess there’s no easy answer at all.

Sadly yours, Simon

[Tom Otley]

Well I’m sorry that happened to you and I’m sorry someone used his forum as a way of doing it.

If there is any other abuse, then please notify us and we will remove it and warn / ban whoever is doing the abuse – but that’s for the future, not retrospectively.

Tom Otley

[golfpro]

The reason the SA wouldn,t ban someone like VK is because they are travel buddies being hugged and cuddled to give good reviews, twitter or whatever platform for their CLIENTS (the airlines). Has anyone ever considered adopting a format like Time Out and review all products based on the assumption that no gift or freebie is involved to ensure a REAL review rather than the tripe a freebie ticket will get you. Maybe some proper reflection on some peoples behalf would be refreshing!
Just a thought.

[PAMPASBULL]

I really don’t think it’s necessary to reveal ones own identity. It’s rather naive to think that if someone is out to be abusive they will post under their own name anyway…..they could just call themselves John Smith instead – how will you know if that is or not their real name?
Best way is for you to ignore what you find unsavoury and not reply to it.

[excessbaggage]

I totally agree that it should be up to personal preference whether you post under your own name or a pseudonym. I also agree that the personal attacks on the forum are unecessary and unwanted, but i have to say, since the topic has been brought up in this and other forum strings, the attacks seem to have stopped.

Let’s just draw a line in the sand. It’s been brought to the attention of the moderators, so hopefully if any personal attacks start again, the users have already been warned in advance.

[SimonRowberry]

Wisdom from excessbaggage.
Let’s indeed draw a line in the sand and try to maintain high standards of behaviour from hereon in. This is an excellent Forum, with a lot of good people contributing helpful and constructive info. That’s it’s value.
Anyway, from what Tom has said, our next battle may be keeping it free!
Regards to all, Simon

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