In article , Sacha
writes
I have every sympathy with those
who kill file

I understand their reasons for doing so and I sympathise with their
impatience with her methods but she, Puke, DID come here purporting to give
gardening advice. As a result of that, she should have been read and
watched when it became apparent that much of what she wrote was not good
advice at all. IMO, the group and all those asking advice of it, deserve
the vigilance of everyone posting here. A very few of us adhered to that
and as a result, we received a horrible amount of abuse and Judith was
subjected to a torrent of it.



Yes, I admitted I was one of those Sacha, I had killfiled three or four
of them.

However it wasn't JUST to ignore posters who felt that personally
attacking other newsgroup users was a substitute for lack of knowledge!

I felt that, and indeed still feel, that an audience and a reaction is
what they want, just like toddlers, or indeed puppies. Ignoring
behaviour designed to elicit a reaction, generally pays dividends.
Why waste time and energy on users who do not like to be corrected nor
like their mistakes to be public knowledge?

That was my reasoning, but I am very sad that after all this time, this
inaction on my part resulted in losing gardeners such as Judith who have
never given cause for offence nor been anything but amiable and keen to
share misfortune as well as success in their gardening.

It was not just Janet and you who ceased posting but probably many
others (including David) who also stopped contributing to the threads or
just visiting the group.

Many of those that left have forgotten more gardening knowledge than
many ever accumulate! We lost several people who could speak through
experience and practical hands-on gardening, not just ready to spout
reams of text gleaned from the odd book.
I know we still continue to see some of these calibre of gardeners (e.g.
Charlie) but we are poorer for losing those that went.

The people who insult and threaten obviously think that their methods
can reduce this group to a few who will not object to mistaken advice,
or even worse, point it out!

IMO, the lesson to be learned from this is that if you kill file over
zealously, you lose the thread - literally - and then, you lose the group.
If you're a member of a group, then I think it is up to you to make sure the
group remains healthy.


Personally I've always found Janet, Judith, David and you, to name but a
few, happy to share horticultural knowledge, keen to enthuse novices and
ready to show a friendly and encouraging face to fellow gardeners.

However Sacha PLEASE say there HAS to be room for those who want to
learn here, who want to feel their way in the group, but don't
necessarily have the appetite for head-on collisions with those dafter
elements of internet society, or don't feel confident enough to question
some of the more stupid advice that they read.

Believe me, readers soon get to know which posters are worth reading,
worth asking advice, or worth trusting with gardening knowledge!

Maybe it's the English in us, but that doesn't mean we don't regret
losing those that departed, though we still find it difficult to wade
in!
Perhaps the answer is to try and read everything if we have time, but
with 400 emails alone a day I admit to picking and choosing.

I will try harder

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk