Maintaining our Independence

[Peter Mitry]

In the difficult times we now find ourselves in forums such as Property Community are an invaluable tool allowing like minded individuals to share experiences and hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls from ill prepared projects and doubtful developers.

It is therefore very concerning when some members use the forum to air their personal grievances with others rather than directing them to the Developer concerned. In most cases direct contact with the Developer is the best way to get the answer to any areas of concern and does not alarm others who may be totally happy.

It is even more concerning when the Developers concerned take exception to the comments aired in public and ask for a thread to be removed.

This devalues the forum and will most certainly lose us members as it can no longer be an impartial forum.

Surely the answer to the problem is to use the warning system to stop defamatory or ill informed posts and to maintain the forums independence by offering a public apology to the aggrieved party and ensure the situation does not occur again.

I would appreciate comments on the principles involved here as it seems to me this could cause untold damage to the forum which I am sure that no members want to see. Please take a few minutes to air your views using the Poll below.

[queenie40something]

Yes I will start issuing warnings as Im getting fed up with it and Im sure admin is as well. If members cant adhere to the rules then Im afraid they will be asked to leave.
I also agree that they should contact the developers and not use this forum for a rant and rave in public. I had issues with mine and sent an email to the developers and directors to work together to get things solved and to make Sierra a success. They responded well and took on board my comments. All I had to do was post that I had sent an email and if anyone wants to see the contents I will forward it onto them.

I also get alot of backlash for deleting posts Peter.

I try to be on the fence and fair but members are really pushing the limits now and will be warned so be warned.

[Peter Mitry]

Originally Posted by queenie40something

Yes I will start issuing warnings as Im getting fed up with it and Im sure admin is as well. If members cant adhere to the rules then Im afraid they will be asked to leave.
I also agree that they should contact the developers and not use this forum for a rant and rave in public. I had issues with mine and sent an email to the developers and directors to work together to get things solved and to make Sierra a success. They responded well and took on board my comments. All I had to do was post that I had sent an email and if anyone wants to see the contents I will forward it onto them.

I also get alot of backlash for deleting posts Peter.

I try to be on the fence and fair but members are really pushing the limits now and will be warned so be warned.

Thank you Alison for your support on this. Bob is in a very difficult position, I do understand that, but I also believe that if we discipline our own members then we can avoid confrontation with Developers.

[lizzy2u]

i think its fair comment to say that people do get a bit out of hand at times but i read all the oasis threads and saw nothing that was i would have called a legal problem.just questions and facts between members but its gone? where is it why is it not back on here?.is the forum being dictated by the advertisers and developers. Yes abuse should not be tolerated but critisim of developers and agents that are not helping the client has the right to ask questions on a forum and hopfully get them resolved. Its the members that make this a commercial success for the owners of this forum so members whithin the rules should be allowed to say what they think

[anokayperson]

I too was surprised about certain posts being removed. There were many questions asked and debated - some heated. Many facts have been stated here on this forum about certain developments. But what is the point of a forum? Is it just to merely discuss the positive side of developments and glorify agents? As Lizzy2u stated, abuse must not be allowed but criticism should always be allowed. This forum has always managed to inject an unbiased stance, but regretably now, for whatever reason it has started to become like many other forums, whereby only the positive aspect of things are allowed to be quoted. Disappointed.

[CMChris]

The problem lies with Developers not answering or providing solutions to problems and 'vanishing' agents and when this happens the only recourse people (the buyers) have is to air their grievances on forums like this. If agents didn't swop from 1 developer to another without notifying their 'ex' clients of this and Developers keeping their clients updated with the current state of affairs then non of this would happen.

[dave2u]

thats right with over 500 units on oasis marina to sell as we told by peter then we can not upset people and tell the truth about any one that spends money on advertising can we .

[wanderlust]

Hi Peter
I have responded to your post in Red below, I do support most of what you say and would just like to add that I believe all developers are missing how integral TP can be to there business if utilised as a communications tool. Prospective buyers do read this Forum (I was one ) I wasnt too concerned over problems highlighted by members I was more concerned with how these were addressed by the developer.

Originally Posted by Peter Mitry

In the difficult times we now find ourselves in forums such as Property Community are an invaluable tool allowing like minded individuals to share experiences and hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls from ill prepared projects and doubtful developers.

It is therefore very concerning when some members use the forum to air their personal grievances with others rather than directing them to the Developer concerned. In most cases direct contact with the Developer is the best way to get the answer to any areas of concern and does not alarm others who may be totally happy.

RESPONSE IN RED
I think people use the forum to ask questions of others who may be at a different stage of the buying process, or have already bought etc, so they may be able to offer advice before contacting the developer with what may turn out to be a small problem the others have encountered and sorted.
Also there have been occassions where developers and agents have been contacted and the response from them has either not been clear or detail not sufficient , in some instances highlighting concerns on TP has got 'things moving'

It is even more concerning when the Developers concerned take exception to the comments aired in public and ask for a thread to be removed.

I can understand Developers being concerned about posts that they 'perceive' to be detrimental to their business. However wouldnt it be more productive and surely better PR if developers (they must read the Forum to be able to comment!) replied to the concerns raised using TP themselves. This would show to all those that have read the previous posts regarding concerns that they are client orientated and concerned about there buyers views and actively take steps to communicate using ANY method available, TP included.
I really dont understand the total removal of a thread! I can understand the possible need to remove certain posts if it is deemed that the content needs to be assessed in light of concerns raised by whoever but removing the whole thread I think raises more questions for me.


This devalues the forum and will most certainly lose us members as it can no longer be an impartial forum.

I am afraid that you are right about this Peter, I for one found this Forum invaluable when doing all my research prior to buying. The reason I joined was that members were supportive and you always got an honest reponse to your queries. Can this still be said?
Surely the answer to the problem is to use the warning system to stop defamatory or ill informed posts and to maintain the forums independence by offering a public apology to the aggrieved party and ensure the situation does not occur again.

How do we determine 'the aggrieved party' Is it the developer who thinks that posts have had a detrimental effect on them (of course if this did go as far as a legal case evidence would be needed that this was the case and not other factors such as credit crunch etc) Or is it the Forum member who has had their 'freedom of speach' curtailed.

I would appreciate comments on the principles involved here as it seems to me this could cause untold damage to the forum which I am sure that no members want to see. Please take a few minutes to air your views using the Poll below.

[Organics1]

It's been like this for a while now

As long as the post sings the praises of the development and or the Red Sea in general then all's well. However don't say anything negative as it will be removed or as we've seen the whole thread deleted.

Completely defeats the point of this or any other forum in my opinion