Post by Dave on Jul 3, 2009 19:36:57 GMT
The start of the week saw two threads dominate the forum and stir up some very strong feelings. The Jackson thread in the Torquay United Room was at the start really a sort of football question, but a few replies later saw the thread go off into a did he or didn’t he do it direction.
There were two posts made on it that I would like to give my views on, the first one asked if this was a football forum. Well yes it is, but unless we make up some rumours, claim we know Buckles targets, there really has not been a lot to talk about as far as football is concerned.
Instead we have had many interesting threads running and they have helped to keep the forum active and hopefully have given us the members at least something to read and make comments on.
There was also a request that the Jackson thread be moved to another board and I can fully understand why that was asked. It has never been my wish to ever moderate anything unless I had no choice; it has also been a policy of the TFF to never lock or move a thread if it went off topic.
Many threads have ended up better near the end than when they started as other interesting things have been posted, I will never concern myself to much about the direction a thread goes as long as it gets good posts added to it and members are enjoying adding their views.
Its hard to know at times what is the best way to do things on the forum, but one thing I do know is people really don’t like moderation and that really is why I try to avoid it, what ever way things are done it will not suit or please everyone, but I’m more than happy to have posts made about things a member may not like, it will never be a case you must only PM any dislikes you may have.
The second thread was one I made a while ago, it really was only meant to be about the traveller I see with his horse and real gypsy style caravan, as for me there was a real sense of yesteryear and something close to being romantic if you know what I mean.
“A traveller who is a joy to see” sadly that really is not the case for the travellers who are now In Paignton, I have taken the time this week to speak to so many of my customers, most are in the tool hire or plant hire business and they have had many dealings with travellers. At Toolfix we have had then turn up in a van offering second hand power tools for sale, we are not in that market, but it was clear to see many were the property of some hire company or other.
Within the last hour the police have visited all the homes here, giving out letters with fresh warnings and phone numbers to contact in case of any problems, also a reassurance that patrols here have been increased, well at least they know and understand not only the residents concerns, but also the risks.
I took the time to read the whole thread again and feel nothing was said or written that was in my view bad or a personal attack on anyone, just a thread that had strong views on it and it never even came close to any battles I have had with Merse and we have had many and moved on and still had respect for each other.
I think by my own actions it was clear I was very disappointed by Jims actions, he has sung the praise of this forum from day one and I believed we were good friends, you can only put your hand out and say sorry, I did that but it seems it was not welcome and that is a shame.
Still Jim would always receive a warm welcome if he decided to come back and I hope one day he does.
Well Romford sure treated us to some great ground threads again this week and many thanks Kev for putting them up, seems we have a growing band of members who like photography and I’m sure we have many more treats install, I thought Kev was going to win this week for a while but a person who is very new to forum posting piped him at the post.
So what can I say about this weeks winner? Well I can tell you he really is a very nice man and one who has a big heart, he has such a lovely family and together they are so very proud of one of the members in the family.
A very brave and special boy who has had so much to deal with for one so young, I bumped into him mum in Newton on Wednesday and told her I really believe her son was the reason my club got promoted, because he was such an inspiration to all our players.
Yes I think you may have guessed this weeks winner by now, not only an I’m so pleased to now call him a dear friend, I’m so pleased and honoured to know Lewis and an really looking forward to seeing him at the TFF matchday carvery.
This week’s winner is graystar007 well done Grahame
A few posts made by graystar007
Following the tragic death of Michael Jackson, I watched the footage of his visit to Exeter a few years ago, and it got me wondering about how he would have been received if he had had a suitable connection in the Torquay area, and had made a similar visit to Torquay United. There is no doubt that this was a very talented guy both musically and in his choreography and the world will be a sadder place for his early demise. Some people may not agree with that sentiment and undeniably there will be many who will point to his at times foolish actions regarding sleepovers etc; but surely no-one can deny that he has left us a wealth of music and dance that will live on for generations and inspire people in the future who see his performances.
I for one was a big fan and although he didnt achieve very much in recent years and was significantly in debt; (which rather begs the question why he didnt use his money more wisely and spend it on more deserving activities) I cant help being a little sad at the news that he has gone. What do you all think? I expect a very mixed bag of responses but surely we all think he deserves some respect for his lifetime in music and the influence he brought to all our lives!
Seems that I might be the only one who judges him on his ability as a performer. I do have faith in the justice system which did exonerate him of the things he was accused of. No-one will ever know for sure of the exact truth and people will go on judging him based on the fact he was a very misguided individual in some of the ways he led his life. Dont get me wrong; I cant defend the stupidity of his actions in allowing young lads to sleepover but dont also forget that there are a lot of very greedy people out there and no-one can be totally certain that his foolishness could have permitted them to take advantage of his money. You do have to question the stupidity of parents who permit their sons to stay over at the home of a man several times their age. What on earth was the agenda there? We shall never know. For my part, I can only judge him on his musical ability and trust that the judicial system got it right! Others will undoubtedly disagree as they already have done in the responses so far.
I cant really agree with the comment that it brought ridicule on Exeter as it was really just a publicity stunt by Uri and his mates and received a fair amount of media and public acclaim. Perhaps it was a good job that Michael didnt expand his visit to other areas of Devon, as he might have received a very bad response.
Still this forum shows that free speech is all important and very democratic! I support that even though I dont always agree with every opinion.
Aussie, sorry mate, I didnt mean to include you as being one who didnt recognise his talent etc. The one thing that stood out in your reply was the way you didnt judge him so harshly as the others. You at least had the sense and decency to say ''if'' which whilst sitting on the fence a little at least shows that you havent definitively judged him!
For the record I dont personally believe that he did any of the things he was accused of by the parents of the boys! I honestly think that he was a caring person who tried rather too hard to live the childhood that he was deprived of by his father. Unfortunately the rather odd way he went about things and the circumstances of this re-kindling of childhood probably made him prey to the less scrupulous and more greedy in American society.
Dave has alluded to the fact that Michael was a wonderful loving father to his children according to their godfather.You cannot get a more telling and honest testimony than that!
No-one can also deny that he was still still immensely adored and supported the world over. The ticket sales for his forthcoming concerts were sold out almost immediately, and now many many fans have been deprived of seeing their idol in the flesh. Whilst I wouldnt myself have paid the obscene amounts demanded by the concert venue, agents and ticket organisers I still recognise the value of such a talented performer and why many fans would . According to his choreographer, he was only recently practising some of the routines for the upcoming shows and when he was ''in the zone'' he was very very reminiscent of his past.
Once again Aussie, sorry if It seemed that I didnt recognise your generosity regarding Michael Jackson. I give you all the credit you deserve for not ''slating'' him as badly as some have in recent years. Some of the jokes that have been flying around very recently have been an absolute disgrace and show an utter lack of respect for him which should make people feel very ashamed about themselves!
Getting back to the whole point of the thread in the first place, I for one would have been very pleased to see him at Torquay and I am sure that many other true fans and fellow human beings would have felt the same way! Rest in Peace Michael.
Stewart, responding to your second post, about why he felt the need to pay out a large sum of money to the family; yes it does look suspicious, but also consider this: if he was not guilty of what he had been accused then he was probably very shocked by the accusations and would have realised that he might have been facing a very lengthy and very public court case based upon accusations that may have been totally without foundation.
Also the fact that such a court hearing would not only have been very damaging and emotionally draining on him but also would have meant that the boy in question would have also had to go through the same ordeal. Perhaps that is why he paid out such a sum, to prevent such emotional difficulty for himself and the boy in question. I myself would have thought it would have been better to clear his name in court. But he had a different take on life and dealt with things his way, rightly or wrongly.
There will be many who will also agree that if there was some substance to the accusations that he should have had the guts to deal with what he had done of course! The second incidence may have been someone jumping on the bandwagon after seeing the huge sum being paid out the first time around. Thank goodness he had the sense to defend himself this time around and was proven to be innocent. Rest assured if there had been the slightest evidence to show him as a guilty man ( and the police and associated agencies quite literally took his neverland home apart trying to find this evidence), he would have been found guilty and would have served a rightful prison sentence. As it was, the sytem found no evidence and quite rightfully the court declared him to be innocent and we should respect this.
The bit where you say the boys described in graphic detail etc is an interesting one, as dont forget that if a pre-planned plot was in place then it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they could have been coached by their parents or guardians in what to say in order to add some credibility to their story. There was a lot of wealth around Michael which may have been a very attractive proposition for his accusers. You do have to ask yourself though why parents would allow their young children to sleep over at a much older males home. Also if there was some truth in what he had been accused of, surely you would want him to be locked up and no amount of money would or could ever compensate your family for what might have happened, so why on earth did the first family accept the large sum offered to them; surely they should have insisted on a full court hearing to bring justice.
No-one can be absolutely certain about things but you do have to be open minded these days as there are many males living today who have been wrongfully accused of things that they didnt do and have had to fight tooth and nail to re-build their lives after someone has wreaked destruction on them with false accusations. Keep an open mind that is all I say.
There were two posts made on it that I would like to give my views on, the first one asked if this was a football forum. Well yes it is, but unless we make up some rumours, claim we know Buckles targets, there really has not been a lot to talk about as far as football is concerned.
Instead we have had many interesting threads running and they have helped to keep the forum active and hopefully have given us the members at least something to read and make comments on.
There was also a request that the Jackson thread be moved to another board and I can fully understand why that was asked. It has never been my wish to ever moderate anything unless I had no choice; it has also been a policy of the TFF to never lock or move a thread if it went off topic.
Many threads have ended up better near the end than when they started as other interesting things have been posted, I will never concern myself to much about the direction a thread goes as long as it gets good posts added to it and members are enjoying adding their views.
Its hard to know at times what is the best way to do things on the forum, but one thing I do know is people really don’t like moderation and that really is why I try to avoid it, what ever way things are done it will not suit or please everyone, but I’m more than happy to have posts made about things a member may not like, it will never be a case you must only PM any dislikes you may have.
The second thread was one I made a while ago, it really was only meant to be about the traveller I see with his horse and real gypsy style caravan, as for me there was a real sense of yesteryear and something close to being romantic if you know what I mean.
“A traveller who is a joy to see” sadly that really is not the case for the travellers who are now In Paignton, I have taken the time this week to speak to so many of my customers, most are in the tool hire or plant hire business and they have had many dealings with travellers. At Toolfix we have had then turn up in a van offering second hand power tools for sale, we are not in that market, but it was clear to see many were the property of some hire company or other.
Within the last hour the police have visited all the homes here, giving out letters with fresh warnings and phone numbers to contact in case of any problems, also a reassurance that patrols here have been increased, well at least they know and understand not only the residents concerns, but also the risks.
I took the time to read the whole thread again and feel nothing was said or written that was in my view bad or a personal attack on anyone, just a thread that had strong views on it and it never even came close to any battles I have had with Merse and we have had many and moved on and still had respect for each other.
I think by my own actions it was clear I was very disappointed by Jims actions, he has sung the praise of this forum from day one and I believed we were good friends, you can only put your hand out and say sorry, I did that but it seems it was not welcome and that is a shame.
Still Jim would always receive a warm welcome if he decided to come back and I hope one day he does.
Well Romford sure treated us to some great ground threads again this week and many thanks Kev for putting them up, seems we have a growing band of members who like photography and I’m sure we have many more treats install, I thought Kev was going to win this week for a while but a person who is very new to forum posting piped him at the post.
So what can I say about this weeks winner? Well I can tell you he really is a very nice man and one who has a big heart, he has such a lovely family and together they are so very proud of one of the members in the family.
A very brave and special boy who has had so much to deal with for one so young, I bumped into him mum in Newton on Wednesday and told her I really believe her son was the reason my club got promoted, because he was such an inspiration to all our players.
Yes I think you may have guessed this weeks winner by now, not only an I’m so pleased to now call him a dear friend, I’m so pleased and honoured to know Lewis and an really looking forward to seeing him at the TFF matchday carvery.
This week’s winner is graystar007 well done Grahame
A few posts made by graystar007
Following the tragic death of Michael Jackson, I watched the footage of his visit to Exeter a few years ago, and it got me wondering about how he would have been received if he had had a suitable connection in the Torquay area, and had made a similar visit to Torquay United. There is no doubt that this was a very talented guy both musically and in his choreography and the world will be a sadder place for his early demise. Some people may not agree with that sentiment and undeniably there will be many who will point to his at times foolish actions regarding sleepovers etc; but surely no-one can deny that he has left us a wealth of music and dance that will live on for generations and inspire people in the future who see his performances.
I for one was a big fan and although he didnt achieve very much in recent years and was significantly in debt; (which rather begs the question why he didnt use his money more wisely and spend it on more deserving activities) I cant help being a little sad at the news that he has gone. What do you all think? I expect a very mixed bag of responses but surely we all think he deserves some respect for his lifetime in music and the influence he brought to all our lives!
Seems that I might be the only one who judges him on his ability as a performer. I do have faith in the justice system which did exonerate him of the things he was accused of. No-one will ever know for sure of the exact truth and people will go on judging him based on the fact he was a very misguided individual in some of the ways he led his life. Dont get me wrong; I cant defend the stupidity of his actions in allowing young lads to sleepover but dont also forget that there are a lot of very greedy people out there and no-one can be totally certain that his foolishness could have permitted them to take advantage of his money. You do have to question the stupidity of parents who permit their sons to stay over at the home of a man several times their age. What on earth was the agenda there? We shall never know. For my part, I can only judge him on his musical ability and trust that the judicial system got it right! Others will undoubtedly disagree as they already have done in the responses so far.
I cant really agree with the comment that it brought ridicule on Exeter as it was really just a publicity stunt by Uri and his mates and received a fair amount of media and public acclaim. Perhaps it was a good job that Michael didnt expand his visit to other areas of Devon, as he might have received a very bad response.
Still this forum shows that free speech is all important and very democratic! I support that even though I dont always agree with every opinion.
Aussie, sorry mate, I didnt mean to include you as being one who didnt recognise his talent etc. The one thing that stood out in your reply was the way you didnt judge him so harshly as the others. You at least had the sense and decency to say ''if'' which whilst sitting on the fence a little at least shows that you havent definitively judged him!
For the record I dont personally believe that he did any of the things he was accused of by the parents of the boys! I honestly think that he was a caring person who tried rather too hard to live the childhood that he was deprived of by his father. Unfortunately the rather odd way he went about things and the circumstances of this re-kindling of childhood probably made him prey to the less scrupulous and more greedy in American society.
Dave has alluded to the fact that Michael was a wonderful loving father to his children according to their godfather.You cannot get a more telling and honest testimony than that!
No-one can also deny that he was still still immensely adored and supported the world over. The ticket sales for his forthcoming concerts were sold out almost immediately, and now many many fans have been deprived of seeing their idol in the flesh. Whilst I wouldnt myself have paid the obscene amounts demanded by the concert venue, agents and ticket organisers I still recognise the value of such a talented performer and why many fans would . According to his choreographer, he was only recently practising some of the routines for the upcoming shows and when he was ''in the zone'' he was very very reminiscent of his past.
Once again Aussie, sorry if It seemed that I didnt recognise your generosity regarding Michael Jackson. I give you all the credit you deserve for not ''slating'' him as badly as some have in recent years. Some of the jokes that have been flying around very recently have been an absolute disgrace and show an utter lack of respect for him which should make people feel very ashamed about themselves!
Getting back to the whole point of the thread in the first place, I for one would have been very pleased to see him at Torquay and I am sure that many other true fans and fellow human beings would have felt the same way! Rest in Peace Michael.
Stewart, responding to your second post, about why he felt the need to pay out a large sum of money to the family; yes it does look suspicious, but also consider this: if he was not guilty of what he had been accused then he was probably very shocked by the accusations and would have realised that he might have been facing a very lengthy and very public court case based upon accusations that may have been totally without foundation.
Also the fact that such a court hearing would not only have been very damaging and emotionally draining on him but also would have meant that the boy in question would have also had to go through the same ordeal. Perhaps that is why he paid out such a sum, to prevent such emotional difficulty for himself and the boy in question. I myself would have thought it would have been better to clear his name in court. But he had a different take on life and dealt with things his way, rightly or wrongly.
There will be many who will also agree that if there was some substance to the accusations that he should have had the guts to deal with what he had done of course! The second incidence may have been someone jumping on the bandwagon after seeing the huge sum being paid out the first time around. Thank goodness he had the sense to defend himself this time around and was proven to be innocent. Rest assured if there had been the slightest evidence to show him as a guilty man ( and the police and associated agencies quite literally took his neverland home apart trying to find this evidence), he would have been found guilty and would have served a rightful prison sentence. As it was, the sytem found no evidence and quite rightfully the court declared him to be innocent and we should respect this.
The bit where you say the boys described in graphic detail etc is an interesting one, as dont forget that if a pre-planned plot was in place then it is not beyond the realms of possibility that they could have been coached by their parents or guardians in what to say in order to add some credibility to their story. There was a lot of wealth around Michael which may have been a very attractive proposition for his accusers. You do have to ask yourself though why parents would allow their young children to sleep over at a much older males home. Also if there was some truth in what he had been accused of, surely you would want him to be locked up and no amount of money would or could ever compensate your family for what might have happened, so why on earth did the first family accept the large sum offered to them; surely they should have insisted on a full court hearing to bring justice.
No-one can be absolutely certain about things but you do have to be open minded these days as there are many males living today who have been wrongfully accused of things that they didnt do and have had to fight tooth and nail to re-build their lives after someone has wreaked destruction on them with false accusations. Keep an open mind that is all I say.