Why the Silence?
Last post 28-01-2005 1:42 PM by tim alston. 35 replies.
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09/03/2004 11:51 AM
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- marym
- 08 Jul 2004
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18
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I'd like to know if anyone at the RHS reads the Bulletin Board. If so, then why does nobody at the RHS answer the questions raised?
Could be I'm shouting into the void here ... is there anybody there?
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04/09/2004 07:20 PM
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That's odd, the date is the wrong (American) way round for this message.
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06/09/2004 11:16 AM
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- marym
- 08 Jul 2004
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18
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Yes - I've noticed that happens with quite a few postings. Don't think it's happened to mine before, so I don't understand why. My computer's set up OK.
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06/09/2004 12:06 PM
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You're right. There never seemed to be much interest in this board from the RHS at the best of times but they seem to have given up now. Perhaps they are going to do away with it altogether!
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06/09/2004 03:25 PM
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- marym
- 08 Jul 2004
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18
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Anthemis: I think they probably will do away with the Board. It's really hard to find anyway. And, after all, the RHS aren't interested in feedback from members. They've proved that!
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06/09/2004 03:30 PM
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- Helen
- 19 Jul 2004
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6
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I don't think the RHS were envisaging the use that has been made of the bulletin board. I suspect they are not really prepared for any criticism and were just hoping for harmless discussions of the latest fashions in gardening.
They could still have this if they pulled their socks up a bit!
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07/09/2004 12:18 PM
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I reckon they intended to give us an opportunity to offer complimentary remarks about the shows and TV coverage! I don't think discussions about anything were originally on the agenda at all.
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07/09/2004 02:37 PM
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- admin
- 20 Nov 2003
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160
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The posts on the Bulletin Board have been drawn to the attention of the departments involved and we have posted responses as soon as they are available.
The Bulletin Board is intended to be a self-driven discussion area for those interested in the topics raised - it is not the best means of gaining an individual response from the RHS.
The correct channel for complaints and queries pertaining to the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2004 has already been indicated on the board and RHS Website [url=http:///hamptoncourt/2004/weather.asp]http://www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt/2004/weather.asp[/url].
The Bulletin Board was originally put in place as a forum for discussion generated by the RHS Science Exchange event in March. We decided to extend the trial of the board to incorporate genuine public feedback from the RHS Shows.
It is not our intention to delete or remove the board, as we feel that it provides a valuable opportunity for our Internet visitors to air their views. We aim to perfect the service and iron out any remaining glitches and service issues over the coming months.
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07/09/2004 04:57 PM
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- marym
- 08 Jul 2004
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18
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Admin: You really are just giving us the runaround ... refering us to the very announcement that we have been raising questions about. You may say this board is not the best means of getting a response from the RHS ... well WHAT IS? We have telephoned the RHS. We have written to the RHS. We have written to The Garden magazine. We have e-mailed the RHS. The RHS do not deign to offer any explanations, hence until the Special Meeting this is board offers our only hope for an answer from the powers that be.
We are not getting any response to the simple question: How do the RHS justify giving full refunds to those holders of full-day tickets who did not attend, but only £5 off next year's tickets for those who made the effort to turn up? We full-day ticket holders who did turn up on the 7th did so because we knew we would not get a refund. However, if we had just stayed at home the RHS would have given us refunds. The RHS are not just moving the goalposts, they are playing a completely different game.
So, Ms/Mr Admin: rather than just fobbing us off with a useless link, I suggest you use your position to get us some answers to the questions we're raising. Then you really would be offering your members a service.
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07/09/2004 08:46 PM
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I hope the Bulletin Boards don't go, they are a great way of receiving and giving information.
Unfortunately their doesn't seem to be much in the way of giving and receiving information with regards to planting matters. I appreciate Hampton Court sort of took over the bulletin boards but even so the RHS does not seem to encourage bulletin boards with regards to actual planting or gardening matters.
I appreciate it is a trial but how long does a trial last. Also when vitually every other web site has a bulletin board how much research into them needs to be done?
Why are the subject matters so limited?
Also can I as a user set up a topic if not why not?
Or do I have to go through the RHS to set up a topic, again if the answer is Yes, Why?
If the RHS wants the bulletin boards to succeed lets forget the trial and make them mainstream, keep them for members only, if you so wish, but allow us to set up our own topics and discuss, within certain boundaries, what we want. That way the RHS can pick up the views of the RHS Members on a variety of subjects instead of just Hampton Court.
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08/09/2004 09:44 AM
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- Helen
- 19 Jul 2004
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6
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A good start would be to have a link to the bulletin board from the Home Page of the website. That way, the board would get more traffic and you could actually do some real testing with a realistic number of visitors.
As the previous post suggested, the RHS could restrict access to their members if needed, but if the board is 'intended to be a self-driven discussion area for those interested in the topics raised' then I don't see why this is necessary.
I work in IT and have seen some fantastic boards where there is a two-way exchange of helpful information, and the odd gripe, between the organisation running the board and a huge number of members/contributors. See http://saloon.javaranch.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi for a great example.
By the way, Mr/Ms Admin, I'd like to point out that the views I have expressed on this board about the Hampton Court show have been 'genuine' and I'm not sure that I understand the implication you seem to be making with the statement: 'We decided to extend the trial of the board to incorporate genuine public feedback from the RHS Shows.'
Like 'marym', I have emailed and written to the RHS (following the instructions on the link you highlighted) and keep receiving the same fob off. Can you be surprised that this board has been used to try to generate a response when other channels have failed?
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08/09/2004 10:34 AM
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- admin
- 20 Nov 2003
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160
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Genuine was intended to mean 'real' and 'sincere' as in the all of the feedback that has been received - including your own. From following the posts on the board, I can assure you that we do appreciate that your posts are genuine. I apologise if anyone felt that I was suggesting otherwise. The use of the word was meant to indicate that the forum has been open to all who wanted to air their views whatever they are.
I would like to emphasise once again that we have drawn your views to the attention of the departments involved.
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08/09/2004 02:59 PM
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- Helen
- 19 Jul 2004
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6
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Thank you, Admin.
I really don't want to sound stroppy or difficult and I fully appreciate that the Hampton Court issue is not really your problem.
The thing is that it does appear to a number of us that an arbitrary, unfair decision has been made and no-one from the RHS wants to come forward to offer a fuller explanation. They just keep repeating the same statement that was so inexplicable in the first place.
This issue has been simmering away on the bulletin board for a couple of months now and it does give the impression that the RHS is not listening to its members when no response is made by the departments you are passing the comments to.
By the way, does everyone in the RHS have to pass comments back to you to add to the board, or could they access it themselves directly? This could promote greater interaction in all the forum topics and a greater exchange of ideas. You could always have a disclaimer that these were personal views and not neceesarily the views of the RHS as a whole.
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22/09/2004 06:53 PM
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Well it looks like the message boards have dried up and in my opinion that is because of a lack of interest in them by the RHS. Messages remain unanswered so one wonders why bother in the first place.
I thought my message of the 7th September 2004 might have invoked a reply from the RHS but they do not seem to be interested.
It looks like the forums are dead, because I can't find anyone that has submitted a message since 9th September.
Again my questions to the RHS are still as outlined on the 7th September any interest, any comment.
The Admin seem to have allowed themselves to be drawn into arguments over Hampton Court and ignored everything else.
Thanks
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28/09/2004 04:00 PM
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- marym
- 08 Jul 2004
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18
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Charles: The RHS's attitude to the Bulletin Board is just par for the course, I'm afraid. After all, they'd have to have some interest in gardening and the membership to want to contribute, but I fear all they're interested in is having a soft job for life. Their attitude seems very similar to that I came across some years ago in China: i.e. "Government work" ... sitting behind a desk all day, feeling important and doing as little as possible.
Regarding the Board: I did try to start a topic sometime ago, but it wasn't possible. I'll look up the answer I got then & try a cut & post.
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