It is unfortunate kath, but on the plus side, we have had no libelous comments and no threats of legal action since the changes were implemented. Hopefully individual groups are now able to discuss all important issues with a bit more privacy on restricted access sites, or with a bit more responsibility and control of content on public access sites.

David

Yes, I must agree with Kathml, I rarely bother logging on now. I'm following all of the exploits from the various complex's on their respective forums.

Although there are less threads, it does mean any put in are more useful.... it was the same Palmwhatever thread everyday !! and to be honest it was worse seeing them updated everyday because I tended to ingnore them as the original question thread had taken on a life of its own and was about something totally different - which could have been relevant had it been logged under the proper subject,.... lus I would hate to see the site closed due to too much libellous talk !!

Yes, I must agree with Kathml, I rarely bother logging on now. I'm following all of the exploits from the various complex's on their respective forums.

I think think a lot of other members are doing the same, & if they visit the other forums they are not visiting HolidayTruths. If you look at the number of posts in the ex-pats & owners abroad section, some days there are no new posts at all.

I don't visit HT half as much as I did, partly because it is so quiet & partly because I visit our 'community forum' & then forget about HT.

Don't let us forget it was HT that brought us all together in the first place!!
I agree with what has been said about it being quieter on here at the moment but can understand why the decision was taken by HT.
It is up to us all to contribute to help keep it a lively and informative forum -yes, use other forums for your own community chat but it would be unfair to abandon this one that started us all off.
HT is excellent without resorting to childish and idle comments (on the whole!)
Some of the other forums have some very boring posters I must admit.(And I hate text type postings)
V.M
Aka grumpy old woman

but it would be unfair to abandon this one that started us all off

I wouldn't say I've abandoned HT, just that I have got out of the habit of visiting.
I am sure that as it gets busier when the holiday season comes around I will be back as I was. (About 10 times a day).

...I suppose that it could be said that HT is like a lot of things in life....what starts out as a small, friendly, close-knit "community" gradually expands and prospers until its sheer size and scope causes "splinter groups" and the whole thing gradually contracts again to a manageable state.....I know, we could call it evolution.....
I still use HT (mainly in the Tenerife section ); but nowadays there does seem to be less activity by "regular" posters for some reason....surely nothing to do with the abolition of the old "star system"......

Personally I prefer the forum without individual urbanizacion threads. I quite liked the old general ex-pat chit chat and general help and advice that there was on here. I ended up browsing on the Other Costas, Short Break and Benelux threads. each to his own i suppose.

The point is that for those of us who own property abroad, a lot of the postings in the individual complex threads were actually very useful and informative. Okay, some people did go over the top and make things personal but that happens on all forums, you just have to ignore it. I can appreciate however that it must have been boring for people who don't own or don't know the areas or complex's involved.

Hi Cyberhiker ... being 'boring' wasn't so much a problem, as boring topics can easily be avoided by those who have no interest in them. One of the main problems with some residents/community threads was libel, something which we could not afford to ignore.

For some people, things had sadly not worked out as well as anticipated with their new homes or investments. They had serious problems which they wanted to share or discuss with each other and in doing so, libelous comments were regularly and perhaps understandably made against the individuals or companies involved. These were comments which were not simply mildly irritating and required editing when a Mod or Admin next came online and spotted them, they were so serious that they jeopardised the legal position and perhaps the future of the whole site.

We had to consider the position of Holidaytruths, which is of course primarily a holiday discussion site. But we also had to consider that these members had very serious issues which they needed to discuss in privacy, free from our moderation, or threats of legal action from those they may choose to comment about.

Restricted access forums seemed the best way forward to protect both our interests and theirs. Some communities have created public access forums, but presumably they are less prone to libelous comment than others. Whether public or restricted access, those using and running these new sites will be wholly responsible for the content, which may hopefully result in them being more aware of potential risks and having fewer libel related problems than we had with their threads here. Most appreciate that the changes are to their advantage.

There were various other reasons for the changes, but libel was certainly the most worrying and potentially damaging one for us.

The ExPats & Owners Abroad forum was only ever intended for general discussion, rather than the more specific community threads which developed. The forum may now be quieter as a result of the changes, but we hope that those experienced ex-pats will still hang around to help and advise those considering a move overseas with their general enquiries.

David

I appreciate that you have concerns over libel but my own view as much as i enjoy (enjoyed) visiting Holiday Truths is that it is far too heavily moderated..I'm not talking about the removal of any postings containiing foul language or racist inappropriate postings..thats fine to remove ..What I have a concern about is that the moderators seem only to quick to lock a postings when clearly it is very much a "live posting" that people wish to contribute to..

As an example over on the Tenerife board a posting regarding the prescence of Timeshare touts/scratch card offers has been locked..Now anyone that has gone to Tenerife or even more so anyone contemplating going to Tenerife should be aware of the prescence of these people ..If the post remained open and there were literally thousands of postings from people expressing their negativity regards these people and holidaymakers feelings towards the quality of their holiday then maybe the authorities might be alerted and take action on these people especially as people have stated they are not returning because of these people

This is but only one example of a posting that in my view has been locked by an over zealous moderator

As an aside since the various community postings have been removed I hardly bother logging on myself as really the ex pat board is really quite dull now...I'm assuming Holiday Truths gets some sort of revenue from page click advertising..The mods might like to reflect on this before locking discussuons that the majority of us find both fascinating, interesting and something we would like to contribute to.

As I was the last person to post in the "timeshare/touts" thread before it was locked, and it is quite obvious that my sense of a joke is not to everybody's liking....and it was a joke.!
I don't see why posters should come on the board having a snipe at the moderators.
You would know all about the libel laws then, I take it.?

The Canarian Government already know the general publics views on touts and when the economy of the Island suffers, then and only then will they take measures to rid the streets of these people.
Various councils like Arona are already starting the ball rolling....with or without HT's help.
Why should one group of people who were using HT as a free platform to air their grievances, be allowed to continue, and put the whole site into the position of being closed down.?

Believe it or not, there are many thousands of members who have absolutely no interest in either buying abroad or what the ex-pats community gets up too.
Just in case you have forgotten, this site is called Holiday Truths, which means everything related to Holidays, and the ex-pat section was just an extension ...not a personal grievance platform.
I have had many posts either removed or edited, but I would like to think that I would take the matter up in a private message to the appropriate moderator, instead of throwing my dummy out of the pram and posting on the board.

One group of people cannot be allowed to put the whole site in jeopardy and then the rest of us all suffer as a consequence.
Have you ever heard the saying"¦"¦
You can please all of the people most of the time, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time.

I personally think your post is out of order.

Sanji

Thanks for the reply, David. Your comments are appreciated.

tut tut,like all things in life ,you,ll get used to the change,the forum is answerable to any bad publicity that is not true for letting it be printed on here,lets stick together and let them do their job well done,i couldn,t do it,i miss certain things too but soon wil get used to it,and like other forums it is always not so busy this time of year

Nothing new to add here, as Sanji has said it all very well already. The various discussion boards are very well moderated, and that is not an easy task I can ssure you.