Post by District Dave on Sept 11, 2010 8:55:18 GMT
A couple of incidents have occurred recently on LU that members will have noted were not discussed openly.
In order to explain why the forum staff may choose to limit discussions it’s important that members appreciate who reads this forum:
• Members
• Railway enthusiasts
• LU/TfL staff (variety of levels including company Directors & the Mayor’s office)
• Other internet readers… including the PRESS!
How many times have we read a tabloid newspaper and rolled our eyes knowing that the story is sensationalistic, full of inconsistencies or making a minor issue appear as something catastrophic? Some years ago a post on this forum was quoted word for word in print by a national newspaper. That newspaper never asked for permission to do so and never acknowledged their source.
Knowing therefore that we are a source of reference for the press, we do NOT want the DD forum to be the direct or indirect source of speculation as the result of an innocently made post. Members may wish to speculate publicly on the causes of an incident, however the danger is that a speculative post ends up being quoted as fact to sell a newspaper or increase readership. Ask yourself; when have certain elements of the press ever let the facts get in the way of a good lie when publishing a story??!!!
In addition there are often internal/external investigations being carried out and speculation will be unwelcome. Usually LU staff won’t even know many facts themselves and if they have been involved in an incident, they certainly will not be party to ALL the information and/or would be bound by virtue of being directly involved in any investigation such that they cannot speak publically.
This forum is made up of members who are a cross section of LU staff and enthusiasts. It is one of the few places where professionals and those interested in a topic can interact! The staff intend to keep it that way!
The forum staff know that members may disagree with the pulling of threads or limiting discussion from time to time, however the Admins/Mods will be looking at a BIGGER picture. Consequently we are damned if we do and are damned if we don't. We want to make the right decisions for the right reasons and hope that members understand our position and appreciate our logic and approach.
The staff appreciate that members would perhaps like a brief outline of an incident rather than no reference to it at all on the forum. The Admins have discussed this and moving forward, were an incident to occur, the staff will make a statement briefly describing what is believed to have happened at that time. If we feel that it would be inappropriate for members to speculate or comment further, the Admins will make that request in the same post with an explanation why and lock the thread. This is not to silence members, but instead to prevent posts from being published that could be inappropriately used by others with the end result that the atmosphere or culture of the forum is adversely affected.
In order to explain why the forum staff may choose to limit discussions it’s important that members appreciate who reads this forum:
• Members
• Railway enthusiasts
• LU/TfL staff (variety of levels including company Directors & the Mayor’s office)
• Other internet readers… including the PRESS!
How many times have we read a tabloid newspaper and rolled our eyes knowing that the story is sensationalistic, full of inconsistencies or making a minor issue appear as something catastrophic? Some years ago a post on this forum was quoted word for word in print by a national newspaper. That newspaper never asked for permission to do so and never acknowledged their source.
Knowing therefore that we are a source of reference for the press, we do NOT want the DD forum to be the direct or indirect source of speculation as the result of an innocently made post. Members may wish to speculate publicly on the causes of an incident, however the danger is that a speculative post ends up being quoted as fact to sell a newspaper or increase readership. Ask yourself; when have certain elements of the press ever let the facts get in the way of a good lie when publishing a story??!!!
In addition there are often internal/external investigations being carried out and speculation will be unwelcome. Usually LU staff won’t even know many facts themselves and if they have been involved in an incident, they certainly will not be party to ALL the information and/or would be bound by virtue of being directly involved in any investigation such that they cannot speak publically.
This forum is made up of members who are a cross section of LU staff and enthusiasts. It is one of the few places where professionals and those interested in a topic can interact! The staff intend to keep it that way!
The forum staff know that members may disagree with the pulling of threads or limiting discussion from time to time, however the Admins/Mods will be looking at a BIGGER picture. Consequently we are damned if we do and are damned if we don't. We want to make the right decisions for the right reasons and hope that members understand our position and appreciate our logic and approach.
The staff appreciate that members would perhaps like a brief outline of an incident rather than no reference to it at all on the forum. The Admins have discussed this and moving forward, were an incident to occur, the staff will make a statement briefly describing what is believed to have happened at that time. If we feel that it would be inappropriate for members to speculate or comment further, the Admins will make that request in the same post with an explanation why and lock the thread. This is not to silence members, but instead to prevent posts from being published that could be inappropriately used by others with the end result that the atmosphere or culture of the forum is adversely affected.
