ZZR1400 wrote:In an earlier post on this topic I asked 2 questions, one of which was the same question but asked in a different way to the original poster, and all the responses since then have been measured and respectful giving individual’s views on the questions posed.
However, on my settings I had ticked “allow members to email me” and I received 2 cowardly emails from the same individual, neither of which were pleasant. The first was rude because in their view I’d had the audacity to criticise their mate Reg Local and this was followed by a further note of a slightly threatening nature.
As this was my 1st post on the forum, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I naturally assumed that this isn’t normal behaviour. I’m sure the individual doesn’t “know me from Adam”, and for all they know I could be a vulnerable person who’d get upset and anxious from their malicious emails.
In these enlightened times I’d expect people to act in a responsible manner and with respect to other posters, even if they didn’t agree with the views expressed.
And for the record for this individual, all I did was pose 2 questions, the 1st of which was similar to the original poster’s question without giving my views one way or the other. I wonder if the original poster also received any malevolent emails??
Your original post was worded well and raised valid points...
I am disappointed that any member should contact another by email in a manner which is as you describe (and if anyone receives emails of that nature based on forum activity, I am happy to be involved - just send me a PM) - I would hope that the member concerned perhaps might revisit whether that was the correct email to send...
The purpose of this forum is to support each other in our desire to improve as drivers - yes, there will be areas where we disagree and that is a part of the fun of discussion and debate, however disagreement can be done well (v.doing it badly) - and certainly there is an expectation that underlying all will be politeness and good humour.
We also need to be very aware that this forum is open to anyone - it will contain members of IAM / RoSPA / other organisations who have an interest in advanced driving - but it is not exclusive to them and anyone can sign up - the only check we do is to look at IP / emails / etc. to reduce the risk of spammers joining. That means that members on here could have many different agendas - and so what we discuss here must be considered to be a public discussion.
Advanced driving is a good concept and aim - improving our driving can be fun and increase safety - however, it does bring up discussions where there may be a number of different views - speed is an obvious one - current legislation is easy to pick holes in - 100mph on a dry day in a good car with an excellent driver at the wheel is likely to be safer than 70mph in the wet with a learner behind the wheel of a poorly maintained hatchback - but the law is still black and white. While this forum is open to discussion of many aspects of driving - including the debate and philosophy around legalities / etc. ultimately the law is the law - so in a public space, there are some discussions which are sensible and others which are perhaps best reserved for elsewhere - equally, a video by Reg Local if it implies a disregard for the law is a choice he has made and it is valid to debate how sensible it might be to make such a public statement...
so I would hope that your experience hasn't damaged your feelings about this forum - we can't control emails which occur outside this board - but if we are made aware of members who have used the contact details shared on here for emails which are not friendly then we will be asking those members to a) reconsider b) find another platform for their activity... I run this forum at my own cost in money and time - I have very low patience with anyone who abuses it...
regards
Alasdair
(Forum owner)