Posters on AB

[Bazile]

Since discovering AB , an observation that I have made is that the vast majority of postings under ' news' have been from the usual 'suspects'

I am curious to know why that is - is it because :-

- People , despite the anonymity of the site , still feel intimidated to express their opinions ( there has certainly been some frank exchange of views - hasn' there ? )

- People just dont care about politics and current affairs

There is certainly a lot of postings from different posters on other topics

What do you think ?

[sp1814]

Bazile

Here's my theory...when you post a question to (say) Music, Films & TV etc...the questions can generally be answered with a single answer ("Who played Mr Peacock in 'Are You Being Served'?" for example).

However 'News' questions rarely have one answer...and opinions are often sought on the topic at hand.

That's how I see it anyway.

[Oneeyedvic]

As SP says - news is more about opinions and interpretations than facts.

I am posting less and less on the news section as you are totally correct - the same old suspects state something about Muslims being bad, the same old people state that yo can't tar all Muslims with the same brush, and the same old people blame the Labour Party and the same old people say it was worse under Tory rule etc etc etc.

[anotheoldgit]

Who do you mean ' usual suspects '?

What are they suspected of doing?

I know there are alot of people who are only interested in trivia, but that is their chioce, but please do not condem those amongst us who are also interested in what is going off in the real world, much more important than what is the latest storyline in a perticular TV soap.

[LazyGun]

People come to answerbank for different things.... I would imagine that you would find regular posters in all the main sections of AB, and they dont necessarily crossover into other sections.

There is a very active quizzes and puzzles section here for instance (which is why I originally came to AB) and you will see the same names cropping up time and time again with either questions or answers to various crossword puzzles. I dont see many of those names cropping up in here though. Why that might be I dont know... maybe they have other avenues within which to discuss news, maybe they are apathetic... who knows?

[Bazile]

Sighs heavilly ..

Now now anotheoldgit ..... calm down before you have a funny turn .
I used the word 'suspects' in it's figurative sense .. as most people would realise .

I am not criticising the regular posters , ( I too have a keen interest in current affairs ) but simply wondering why more posters dont contribute to the topic

........ from the usual ' posters '

there there - is that better ?

SP- good point .

[noxlumos]

Oneydvic is pretty much right. I'm a yogourt knitting leftie, hate Ian Paisely, not keen on seeing bad in people just because of where they were born, the colour of their skin, their sexuality, gender etc and everyone who posts in News knows it. So if I post a question I can guarantee (more or less) who'll answer and what they will say, so to be honest I can't be arsed.I think it's that way with a lot of people.

[shaneystar2]

I am one of the people you will hardly ever see in news but will see around the other topics especially Q&P. Just because I don't contribute to the news section doesn't make me apathetic or not interested in what is happening in the country and the world.
Most of the discussions in news seem to degenerate into personal rants about muslims ,the "yoof" of today,George Bush and the Labour government.So....I stay out of it,much as I see red sometimes by some of the bigoted views expressed here.
I prefer to keep my BP levels level ,answer crossword questions and do a bit of yogurt knitting.

[IggyB]

whilst i used to find the news section very interesting i too have become bored with the usual suspects - now if i feel i have something to add to the debate i simple give one answer and do not respond to all the other posts trying to rebuff me... i would suggest that the site would work better if others followed my lead and simply answered a question once without being draw into a long and boring discussion (generally revolving around not trusting those darn darkies or anyone that looks like a muslim)

[dyli795]

It's just that you've noticed that's all. Had you not , then you wouldn't of known! The reason why or what, I don't know.
Doesn't answer your question , I know, but is there an answer do you think, and , if so, what?

[Gromit]

I was making a similar point when I posted this a few weeks ago...

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/AB-Suggestions/ Question302426.html

I don't think the news section is as vibrant as it could/should be. I call it the Daily Mail ranters page and have largely given up on it.