Leaving the forum (again)?

[p_m21987]

You are accusing me of being a liar

No. I never said anything like that and I never intended to imply anything like that.

I wasn't aware that any posts in that conforums thread had been deleted. I was describing what I was seeing and what I understood from what I had seen.

But even if Zaphod was previously against you returning to the forum when he posted in that old thread, he just posted yesterday that he "would very much like you to continue as you have been since your return and as long as you are able". I would suggest that you try to think about that instead of dwelling on upsetting things that he or other people have said in the past.

I cannot find his post to the Yahoo! group either, but that does not mean it was a figment of my imagination: most forums allow the author of a post to withdraw it.

I have never meant to suggest that anything has been a figment of your imagination. But I do think you have a tendency to overlook positive comments and focus on the negative.

I've been trying to reassure you but it looks like I've only made you more upset, so I'll apologise now and stop replying to this thread.

[Zaphod]

Richard is correct and I did express that I was my preference that he did not return to one of the Conforums groups. I was mystified that he had suddenly absented himself to start with.
At the time there were two groups and Richard was active in the other newer group whilst a few of us stuck with the old. In my opinion the nature of the group changed so that more peer to peer discussions took place and it was somewhat less intimidating for newcomers. I saw that as encouraging and saw no problem with the two serving slightly different functions. People could still ask question on the other group and get the benefit of Richard's knowledge and expertise. Those groups merged and eventually closed.
Again I was guilty of expressing an honest opinion when the question was asked. It is something I have always done, but does have its downside!
For this group supporting BBCSCL there is no real alternative for technical input than Richard so I hope he is able to continue.

I am done with this discussion topic: whatever will be, will be.

[guest]

At the time there were two groups and Richard was active in the other newer group whilst a few of us stuck with the old. In my opinion the nature of the group changed so that more peer to peer discussions took place and it was somewhat less intimidating for newcomers. I saw that as encouraging and saw no problem with the two serving slightly different functions. People could still ask question on the other group and get the benefit of Richard's knowledge and expertise.

The dual-forum setup did have advantages, and had nearly everybody been a member of both it could have worked. But so many people failed to join, or even read, 'my' forum (which was initially created to support BBCSDL, whilst the old forum supported BB4W) it was never a very satisfactory arrangement. I was encouraged by the admin to attempt to rejoin the BB4W forum, and had it not been for your objection and those of a couple of others I would have done.

But irrespective of the pros and cons of that arrangement the announcement, at very short notice, of the closure of Conforums forced a rethink. I had discussions with DDRM, the admin of the old BB4W forum, about how to proceed and we agreed that it would be worth attempting to merge the forums. The hope was that by sharing the admin role it might meet the concerns of you and others, but sadly it was not to be: some very experienced and knowledgeable BBC BASIC users (including yourself and David Williams) failed to join the new forum.

So eventually I had to make a decision as to whether my presence was more or less valuable than the 'absent' members and I was (and am) in no doubt whatever that it was more important to encourage people like you and David to join than for me to remain. So I left the forum and relinquished my share of the admin role - and it worked! Not long afterwards both you and DW joined, something which I was delighted to see.

As I've said the only real frustration was not being able to post announcements, for example of new releases, here. Although DDRM kindly republished the announcements I made at the discussion group it wasn't the same, and I couldn't field any queries about those releases. So once again I approached him to see whether there was a possibility of rejoining, and he agreed to contact you, David and one or two others to seek their reaction to that prospect.

I was always anxious about rejoining, because of the fear that once again it would provoke resignations. Indeed after a month and not a single post by you (after having averaged about ten posts a month for the immediately preceding period) I concluded - perhaps prematurely - that my worst fears had indeed been confirmed. That's why I expressed my uncertainty about remaining a member a couple of days ago, and is why we are where we are. I am certainly encouraged, if surprised, by your positive reaction.

I don't know what to do now. What I do know is that my stress levels are 'through the roof', I am hardly sleeping at all and I feel absolutely terrible. I don't say that to attract sympathy, merely a statement of fact.

[DDRM]

Hi Richard,

I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling very stressed, but I hope the tenor of this thread has helped improve your mood. It seems clear to me that there is total unanimity that you should stay, and continue to post. Your concern about the lack of posts from Zaphod appear to be due to his travelling, and therefore not monitoring the forum. I hope we can now put this problem to bed, and get on with enjoying BBC BASIC!

I am happy to continue in the admin role, and to discuss things with you privately if you have suggestions/concerns that you don't want to post on the forum.

Best wishes,

D

[mikeg]

What I do know is that my stress levels are 'through the roof', I am hardly sleeping at all and I feel absolutely terrible. I don't say that to attract sympathy, merely a statement of fact.

I have problems with sleep too. Sleep apnea so bad I have to use a machine to keep breathing. 30 seconds out of every minute on average I stop breathing without the machine. Lack of sleep and oxygen can affect your anxiety amongst many other cognitive issues. And it can cause pain all over. I know the breathing machine is not always desirable, but it is necessary.

[guest]

Perhaps a compromise would be - with the admin's permission - to extend my 'trial' membership, from the month that has just elapsed to, say, three months.

Before somebody else reminds me, I am aware that I am now two months into that extended probation period so just one more month to go before my fate is sealed (I do not intend to ask for another extension).

[DDRM]

Hi Richard,

I think the discussion in this thread has been absolutely unequivocal: we consider your return as a huge asset to the forum. You don't need to consider this a trial period, but are welcome to remain as long as you wish.

Best wishes,

D

[KenDown]

And, as a very infrequent poster, I would second and third what everyone has said. I welcome your presence and find your expertise invaluable. I would also agree with what someone else has said: I often read posts but find I have nothing useful to say and so don't say it. I may even have read the ones you say you have posted without a response, but if I have nothing to say that does not mean that I didn't find your post interesting or useful.