Hopefully it's not a reflection / consequence of the economic climate! Just a thought.

Simon

I think very few, if any, people like change so a dip was to be expected. The new site has good points and bad ....

I agree with ahoskins about the 15 minute rule. I also recall that you could get a message advising of new posts to a thread that you wished to follow. The new system is better in that you can follow any thread, not just those you have contributed to, but the site seems to forget to send messages out after a day or two so it is not satsfactory.

Maybe time will heal?

It takes time to adjust and learn anything new. Some of us had or made the time; others may be less fortunate or motivated to make the effort to change.
The working climate out there is getting more demanding and so maybe the ability to post during the working day is more of a reason than the changes? I was challenged recently about my use of the forum during the "working" day and I am sure others have experienced the same thing.
Any forum usage will fluctuate for any number of reasons and I doubt that the new format will make that much difference in the long term
Some notable names have been missing of late but generally there seems to be a good flow of old and new.


P48

I agree with Steve's comments about the search facility; and have too experienced the same problems with freezing etc. The results seem very difficult to navigate through - or maybe it is the search criteria that i am putting in? I was going to mention about a spill chucker but thought better of it!!

I think that the forum change of format, over moderation and absence of interesting topic/subject matter has put an end to this forum

I can only speak for me and personally rarely posting (or logging on) anymore has little to do with the new format. Yes the new formal has had glitches and there were some irritations and still are but you get over them eventually.

For me it is over moderation of the forum that has led to the inability to give an opinion and mostly boring subject matters.

The fault of this I put down to both the Moderators and the Forum users themselves.

Moderators are too quick to lock forums, too quick to remove posts and too quick to dish out warnings when all of the mentioned are often an over-reaction (in my opinion) in many instances. Don't know why. Too worried that peoole are going to complain? Too PC? Too ready to misunterpret meaning? (sorry I know moderators are kindly doing it for free in their own time but that's my opinion - you see I still feel I have to try not to offend anyone!!)

But forum users are equally responsible for being too quick to complain, taking offence too easily, being too PC and being too quick to (deliberately??) misinterpret meaning.

Personally I work in a harsh industry dominated by men where I have to learn to take and give banter and brush off harsh comments. I sometimes think many people on this forum must live in sterile work environments where no one has heated discussions and no one falls out and everyone is just really nice to each other (yeuch!!).

Heated discussions are good and unless someone is being really really offensive then that should be left as it is. And so what if the subject sometimes strays off the path. Aren't we human? Cant we let off some steam? Can't we have a laugh sometimes?

So for me the forums have become sterile and boring. I dare not post most of the time for fear of someone taking exception to what I write. And there is little light relief form the humdrum same old same old H&S.

Such a shame when this forum used to (and sometimes still does) offer useful and fascinating advice from people who really know their stuff. And dare I say (shock horror) that sometimes it felt good to have a good old fashioned grown up debate about an issue.

Hi,
Speaking personally I don’t go onto the forum for entertainment, unfortunately I don’t have the time, but the anonymity does allow forum users to mouth off and entertain us all until stopped by the mods. I go on to search for answers and I might post an answer myself but time is important so its quick on and off. I don’t think the new forum is as good at searching as the old one and that really is a key point for me. Additionally I think perhaps there are fewer H&S bods about, certainly fewer job opportunities, support staff such as H&S are being made redundant, the work is being picked up by managers, also the bonkers/conkers perception means who would do it or want to do it?
Regards
Steve

I see the moderators have locked another thread because they felt it has run it's course :-(

I didn't see the posts before they were deleted by the Mods but surely it is down to the forum to decide when the whole thread has run it's course? Obviously if people are breaching the guidelines then each post can be dealt with accordingly (though sometimes I do feel it is over-zealous - sorry mods).

But I'm not convinced that mods should shut a thread becuase they think it has run it's course. Isnt that a bit like censorship?

I use many forums and this is the only one I have ever known Mods to close an entire thread.

Maybe this post or event the thread will get locked too!

The forum is short of robust discussion. When it is initiated a number of people complain. Ultimately, this forum will stall and revert to the mundane discussion concerning risk associated with pencil sharpening, navel gazing etc.

As I have said previously the majority of forum veterans have all but stopped posting and I certainly do not remember the same issues resulting in the locking of threads upto 18 months ago.

Like Shaun, this forum and even as CMIOSH, I feel that IOSH has little to offer me anymore.

The moderators have agreed to re-open the FRA topic after representations from several contributors who felt that there is much left to be discussed.

Robust discussion is good for any professional discussion when it is focused. However, when it includes denigrating, ridiculing or questioning the competence of others simply because of an opposing or different view then it can be both extremely daunting for newcomers and less experienced contributors. We have seen many examples, as a moderating team, of people leaving or choosing not to join in for just this reason.

FR3 clearly requires that we “be respectful towards other guests, IOSH members, moderators and IOSH staff.” We would ask that all contributors respect this forum rule and ensure that their contributions fall within not only the letter but the spirit of the forum rules. This is the only way that we can keep the forum a challenging but friendly place.


Enjoy the continued discussion.

As long as it's not death by fire :-) Is it still Friday?

I don't know what you could possibly mean, Chris... :-)

Cheers.

ahhhh, but death by fire is not a natural death!!!

Worth very little IMO

I'm not so sure it's the mods Claire, they are following the guidelines. Following the changes to the TechSP / TecHIOSH there was heated discussion that was clamped down on pretty hard and was later deemed to be IOSH members business and shuffled onto the IOSH members forum. The same happened with the discussion regarding locking threads of those looking for work.

I spoke with both certain mods and IOSH and the decision (certainly with regards the job threads) was made by IOSH. I think personally it was a very poor way to treat members, especially in the current climate. I haven't bothered renewing my membership and will give other bodies my money. I have also gone to other forums - one of which is very friendly (especially to beginners in health and safety 'hint'). And I only come here occasionally, I prefer to use other forums. Given the number of people that I've met here that I see on other forums now I suspect that like me others have drifted to other forums (which in turn I've seen become more active) whilst the IOSH forum has dwindled.

In this I don't blame the mods, they are following the rules/guidelines that have been given.

Are users aware that you posts can be deleted because someone takes offence, even if you weren't actually being offensive and the mods acknowledge that you weren't actually intending to be offensive.