UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Some of you may have noticed that over the last week or so, there have been a few threads that have not come close to our usual standards of friendliness.

These threads have included arguments about contact lenses being the cause of KC and of conspiracy theories alleging that 9/11 did not take place as was reported.

Although the contact lens thread was indeed relevant and interesting, the thread became acidic, and personal comments were being bandied about.

Although the "conspiracy theory" thread was on the chit-chat forum, it was clearly a very emotive and political subject . Rule 1 of the board T&Cs is that policical or religious topics are not acceptable. Despite this, we allowed the thread to continue for a while, until it first became clearly upsetting for some, and then once again personal insults were launched, some of them verging on homophobic.

None of the posts were removed from either thread until things got vindictive and personal.

There is no censorship of the facts. Apolitical posts creating friendly conversation and debate are welcome to remain.

I'd like to point out that the opinion of the committee (as well as comments from some of our members) is that none of the personal name-calling behaviour or political posting is acceptable here. Such "flame wars" may be commonplace on other forums, but they are not being run for the same reason as ours.

The whole point of this forum is to be a friendly and supportive group. We have a wonderful history of welcoming newcomers and supporting them in their hour of need. It's generally the newcomers who get the most from the forum, and the vast majority of those simply "lurk", and don't post. Any "newbie" who comes across a "fight" will run for the hills, and we won't have had the opportunity to help them.

To date, we have had to contact a number of people and ask them to desist. Unfortunately, we have had to deny posting privileges to two people for a period of one month because of repeated behaviour.

I hope that this is the end of the recent troubles, and that we can go back to being the friendly, welcoming place that we once were.

Hi John

Thank you.
That cannot have been a nice post to have to write and I am sorry that we have let ourselves down to the point that it became necessary.

I think much of what was written was a combination of fustration, passion and humour - but you are right, it is how it reads, especially to new people, that we have to concern ourselves with. It is not about agreeing, but about how we disagree.

I look forward to putting this behind us and returning to our usually friendly, supportive, moaning and argumentative selves.

Brigid

Hi Brigid,

Thanks for that post - it was very well put. It's always good to know that we have the support of the community.

I hope that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

John,

You are that beacon of sanity which we all need from time to time.

Thankyou for all you do.

Lesley.

John Smith wrote:I hope that normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

Me too.

What I have always found so wonderful about this forum is how the members respect each other's points of view. To be able to agree to disagree with grace is something to be cherished and protected.

Thank you John, and everyone else who has a hand in running the forum, for taking the measures to keep the forum on track.

Hi John, I echo what has been said before although I am not sure you are "that beacon of sanity" (definitely only joking).

I think we must all remember we are on the same side and our main aim is to provide help and support and when necessary receive it as well.

I think that other people's views should be treated with respect even if we don't agree with them. We must be a little less dogmatic and accept we could actually be wrong.

Emails and postings on forums can often sound a lot harsher than intended so perhaps we should check the content very carefully before posting to ensure no unintentional offence is caused.

Thank you everyone and I mean those who have given John, Myself and the Comittee their suport.

The actions taken and the post John has made here meant we had to make some tough decisions and we were concerned about the views of the general KC community.

Once again, THANK YOU ALL.

Can I add my thanks for everyone's support on this. It's fortunately very rare that posts become personal in the way they have recently. It's so important that this forum continues to give support and understanding to all with KC and their families. But that's only possible if we all show respect to one another. So let's get back to what this forum has always done so well - welcoming, sharing experiences and tips on how to cope, discussing options in a balanced way and being a friendly place to visit.
Anne

John, thanks for providing a forum which serves to help most of us. To the others who seem to delight in tossing a hammer into the beehive let me suggest what my father used to tell me and my brother, "If you want to fight, join the Marines, otherwise, settle down".

cheers, Piper

I was away for a few days and then the 911 thread was gone. It was starting to get a bit that way then but I hope that my comments were not offensive. They were certainly not intended to be. If they were then I apologise.
Looking back; it was an ill-advised subject with plenty of scope to stray into political / religious areas.
Thanks for putting us straight.