Should This Forum Be Closed Down?

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

I read this week that the opening of Dreamland was jeopardised by the rumours about its opening which circulated earlier in the year.

Perhaps I'm responsible for part of this, since I posted a message about Dreamland opening when I first heard of it.

The only place I said this was on the SaveDreamland forum. Otherwise, nobody would ever have heard of it. So does the forum do more harm than good?

If we have news, we can't be expected to withhold it. The internet is all about the spreading of information. Should this forum be closed in order to protect the long-term future of Dreamland?

Any thoughts, anyone?


Vince

[AJ]

Vince

I get what you are saying totally and speaking as someone who runs a speedway related message board and forum it just wouldn't make any difference. I have had many calls from the Owner of the speedway team my site concerns with complaints of rumours and attacks on riders etc, but as I say to him at least on my site I can regulate what is said.

If we didn't have this forum then things would just get said on other sites, which there are a plenty of. At least on this forum Nick can edit and control the posts.

So don't feel all guilty coz it might have come from one of the other dozen other sites that regularly talk about the state of play at Dreamland.

[dave771]

Just wanted to say one thing about postings on the forum, there does seem to be a lot of postings regarding what people have heard and are not neccasarily true so sometimes is best to keep it quiet till officially confirmed, but as AJ has said if one of us doesnt mention something then somebody else probably will!

[porterm]

I believe what Dave said is very correct. Although we are supposed to now live within the "Freedom of Information Act" I think it is always prudent to try to prove, as far as possible, the validity of any announcements re Dreamland's future prospects before just posting stories or information that may later be proved to less than the whole truth. (Somehow I don't think we'll have to be shredding any former documentational evidence to support our views though!)

I do not believe that the closure of this forum would be appropriate owing to the previous stated viewpoints. As long as we try to conduct ourselves as professionally as possible I do not think that any comments posted here could get misconstrued by any other parties. However, I suppose the power of the internet has to be treated with some caution and respect.

Martin

[vince69619]

In my opinion, people will talk one way or the other about any subject.

The nation will discuss the politics of liberating a country (wether for or against) in electronic form through to verbally. Could anything stop the topic from being discussed? No.

Look at this from another angle also, last year I was considering starting a business making double glazed windows. My reasons for not progressing this were finance and participation issues. I could have been making thousands of pounds of profit each month. If the issues I mentioned were sorted, would I have stopped because someone was talking about my plans?

If the forum was closed, the conversations would just move somewhere else. The amount of potential positive results that can be acheived by this board is much more than the possible negatives.

In my opinion a businessman is going to do what he is going to do, wether others discuss the predicted results or not.

How many times has somebody written on the board "Mr Godden, Please don't close Dreamland" - has it made any difference? No. So why should Dreamland be left closed because someone writes 'Oh Great, Dreamland is to open this year.' - just words - until converted into actions, they don't make anything occur.

All just my opinion - if Nick wishes to edit this then feel free, all I am saying is 'what difference can written text make on it's own'.

Vince (in Reading).

[Nick]

I agree, Vince. I assume this discussion relates to the line in the Thanet Extra report which stated: "The news follows weeks of speculation and rumour that nearly caused the deal’s downfall." I know where that came from. Let's just say that it is not a person with the Campaign's best interests at heart.

Don't worry, I am not about to close this Forum because somebody allegedly said that rumours almost ended the deal - and I am fairly sure that the comment was aimed at this very website. Clearly the previous owner of Dreamland (and maybe the new owners) would rather this Campaign was closed, but we are here to stay until the fight is over.

We are here to save Dreamland and we are not going to be stopped by throwaway comments like those reported in the Thanet Extra. I am sure we are made of stronger stuff than that! I expect we are going to have a lot worse thrown at us in the future. Oh, yes. And we do have a few things up our own sleeves as well

Nick

[David Ellis]

I totally agree Nick...well said!

David.

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

Thanks for putting my mind at rest Nick, and for all your other work on our behalf.

It's wonderful news that Dreamland is opening, not just for one year but for two.......... I hope that TDC have finally woken up to the reality of life without Dreamland- last year was the quietest season I have ever known for Margate.

Anyway, we will see some of you this year, no doubt. Both Charlie and Sam are now over 1.20 metres tall so should be able to go on most rides this year- although the Scenic has always been our favourite attraction, and I'm sure it will continue to be.


Vince, Charlie and Sam