22 replies to this topic

[Simon]

Hi Simon
Can you place a plug for us under Travel > Holiday Help please
SIA once again refusing me to make a suggestion and mention our place as well
Simon

[gazrobsuk]

Simon,

I assume you meant on the SIA (crap) site. I've placed an entry under holiday help as suggested but it says it'll be placed shortly so here's hoping anyhow I've tried.

[Simon]

Cheers, lets hope they allow it!

[Gary Anderson]

Onion

Spinal Injuries Association

[kanga2433]

and a much poorer place for discussion than this forum.

[Simon]

The Spinal Injury Ass forum(s) are awful. All posts are moderated BEFORE they go up, often it can take 24hrs plus for your post to appear IF THEY ALLOW IT!
I still post there regularly but despite this, whenever someone asks about links to suitable holiday villa destinations for w/chair users they ban my post. If I was just posting to phish for clients I could understand their stance but having posted over 200 times on there with 2 attempts to answer a holiday inquiry post banned, its seriously p@*@ed me off. They say I should advertise with them (on the website) rather than just in the Forward mag.
Yet last Feb issue of Forward had free full page plugs for the individuals or companies writing about holidays abroad, this seems like double standards to me. When none of the SIA forum policy has been agreed by members of the forum or SIA membership as a whole either, I am

[kanga2433]

LoraB, on Apr 7 2006, 04:04 PM, said:

the SIA (crap) site.

Sorry ,I just have to disagree...it's not THAT GOOD!!..........(Tee Hee)

Lora, are you a member of the SIA? I am and I have complained about the forum on a number of occasions including a summision to the commitee that runs it. I think repeatedly hitting my head with a hammer might have produced the same results. However, if more people complain, and it's our subscriptions, maybe they will start to look up.

Meanwhile, I am quite happy posting here and getting good advice too.

[Simon]

I received an email this morning from Nick Youens the SIA ICT administrator ie the gu who oversees the forums.

Saying he was sad I feel the way I do and reinterating the SIA's point of view, I would publish the email but the disclaimer at the bottom says its confidential.

Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks the way I do, as witnessed here.

I outlined the situation to my wife the other week - her comment was 'well its not a forum is it!'.

Simon

[russ1]

SIA forum is a joke - it's badly presented and even worse run. I don't even go there at all these days. They claim they're restricted by lack of money but the ease of setting up a decent forum using any one of the available options just makes their stance a joke. They're intent on reinventing the wheel and can't accept that it's not square and the axle doesn't go in the centre. The whoe thing is nothing short of a joke but any post critisising it doesn't make it through censorship (moderation - who're they trying to kid)

[bubbleandsqueak]

well i've never been to the site but from what you guys say i don't thank i will ever go there.

[Simon]

LoraB
They don't in their defense block posts about sponsors etc.
My gripe apart from how generally poor the whole forum set up is, is that as a regular poster they don't allow me to respond to a question in my/our related area ie holidays abroad by making a plug for our own place. I could post saying the 'villa down the road is great for chairs' but not 'why not try us out'.
It seems to treat the forum users as fools, if all I did on here was post plugs all the time no one would pay me any attention and Simon in Admin would probably remove the posts quite rightly.
The sia's reasoning is they get loads of automated attempts each day to post company promotions which they want to block and feel the only way to do this is block all promotional postings unless they refer the user to a new sponsored link page.
The saddest thing of all is we couldn't have this discussion on the sia forum, I've tried, my post was never put up!

[Lucky]

I'm glad I found this link....SIA really is a poor site and is sooo slow. When I do get bored enough to post there, I very rarely get a response.
Plus, when I posted asking if anyone else found the site slow, SIA never even allowed it !
What a load of

[kanga2433]

From what you all have been saying, the SIA sucks. in fact, I am not really sure what it does that's useful. How about we try and start a petition of members to demand a ballot on how the forum is run?

What annoys me is that they get very few posts compared with this board and yet on this board we don't seem to have problems with inappropriate posts; well the odd one, but no worth talking about.

[Simon]

Kanga
My sentiments exactly. There is no freedom of speech on there, forums are generally policed by its users obviously a moderator has overall say but often they are swayed to remove posts by the users who object to an inappropriate post.
I just don't get the idea that everything is censored before going live. Still don't get why it takes so long either.
Its clearly not just me, maybe Nick Jouen who obviously surfs this place should take note, he would also be free to give the SIA's point of view here too if he wished.
Simon

[kanga2433]

Well, Simon, I would think it quite a good idea of Youens gave the SIA point of view; at least we could discuss it. Does he really look at these forums? It would be interesting to know.

However, it doesn't alter much, though, as it seems to be a group of the board of SIA that insist on the rules and it would thus be more useful if one of them posted here.

Meanwhile, we ought to be saying a big thank you to Simon Roulstone for allowing us on a forum, like this which is so free. Obviosuly people here value this and it is great to see that it says a safe place to discuss; something that is all down to Simon and his work.

[gazrobsuk]

Yup,

I agree, well done Simon

kanga2433, on Apr 11 2006, 04:08 PM, said:

Well, Simon, I would think it quite a good idea of Youens gave the SIA point of view; at least we could discuss it. Does he really look at these forums? It would be interesting to know.

However, it doesn't alter much, though, as it seems to be a group of the board of SIA that insist on the rules and it would thus be more useful if one of them posted here.

Meanwhile, we ought to be saying a big thank you to Simon Roulstone for allowing us on a forum, like this which is so free. Obviosuly people here value this and it is great to see that it says a safe place to discuss; something that is all down to Simon and his work.

[Simon]

Too true, thanks Simon.
Yes, Nick Youens revealed he reads this forum to me, he referred to me as 'posting on other sites' regarding my issues with the SIA boards in his last email to me last week.
The only site I've talked about this is here.
Its sad this discussion couldn't take place on the SIA forum, rather than in another location, probs with their board should be discussed there - openly.

[kanga2433]

Ok, that explains how Youens knows about this board. Yes, I bet we couldn't discuss these problems on the SIA board but that's how they like it, no controversy and not the slightest chance of anyone being upset!

Let's hope he finally decides to post here spo we can have a discussion.