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The Jury’s out

It’s now been a couple of weeks since The Rant was removed, and personally I don’t know that doing away with it was necessarily a good idea. At the time of its creation I thought the idea a stroke of genius it kept the main forum clean and topics not directly related to life in Boquete/Chiriqui/Panama went to The Rant. Recently I have seen more than one discussion posted on the main forum that would have gone to The Rant using the guise of a local event to promote a discussion that didn’t belong. Okay the discussion was closed but do we want the way of the future to be the way of the past?

I understand that some contributors to The Rant were getting out of hand but we all have the option of looking or not clicking on the tab; replying to the discussion or staying out of it. I don’t understand the issue of copy right infringement; wouldn’t the preventive action be as simple as removing the link option and making the field text only? And isn’t the main forum also at risk for the same issue?

I’m not defending The Rant contributors who prompted this action, I’m questioning whether the action of removing The Rant was the right step to re-establishing Boquetening as the premier site it once was.    

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Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies

  • As the initiator of this discussion I feel it is my duty to close it now that the thread seems to be headed down the path of inflammable subject matter that doesn’t belong in the main forum and was a reason why The Rant was created in the first place.  

  • Don,,, on your shotgun story, Im sorry to inform you that all the info is approximately 80% correct such as medical exams psych and use or knowledge of shotguns, I know this guy your speaking of. I have purchased three guns and registered him the Tramite. My guns including the shotgun have been in the govt for approximately 4 yrs. there is no gun permits being issued to anyone except the elite who have the financial ability to bribe an official. Once Varela is out of office perhaps then permits will be broke loose.

  • I totally agree with removal.  I also agree with censorship of people who post items like last week with a title "Another home invasion and murder....."  It wasn't in Boquete for goodness sakes.  Post it on a David site.  It also wasn't verified whatsoever as an random invasion.  No wonder home sales have evaporated and people can't rent their home when several years ago it was difficult to find one.  I'll bet these posters don't own homes here.  I would never move here if i saw all the crazies posting all this negative garbage.  I would assume that Boquete is full of murderous thugs and that the gringos here were all raging idiots.

  • Rant or no Rant what’s happening in the Forum and with the site in general? Over the past month I have counted no more than a handful of discussions posted that promoted deep, varied and numerous contributions. There are many valuable tidbits of information but the intent would have served its purpose just as well on a bulletin board as in a forum, do we want a forum or do we want a bulletin board? I have seen comments to discussions that advise the poster to check out another local site or Facebook page. I have seen discussions basically shut down, not discussion closed but a long time resident or self-proclaimed knowledge base responded with a tone to silence further input. How many Dutch, French, German backpackers post discussions on the site? When they Google Boquete and Boquetening comes up they no doubt quickly get the idea that the site is for expat residents over 55 with likeminded ideologies and smells mustier than their great grandparent’s living room. Where’s the life, where’s the sense of humor? A contributor from some time back who’s name I can’t recall infused humor and reaction into the forum but she (I think it was a female) stopped contributing, probably because her talents were appreciated more on another of the many sites that have cropped up over the past few years. As for the faction that seems paranoid to put names to faces, why not create a stall at the next Tuesday market where every expat is required to pick up a name tag which they must wear at all times so we can all profile each other based on what we have seen the person write or what others have to say about them. Whenever I sign in I make a point of looking at how many are online, and over recent times the number is generally single digits with Oscar and Rod quite often being two of them. When you factor in those that forgot to sign off the actual number is very low compared to the Ning of a few years ago when 20, 30, 40 were riveted to the site and contributing to the forum at any one time.

    Ultimately what I’m saying is we as members might not like what The Rant evolved into but the solution always seems to be to close doors with The Rant just being the latest to be shut out. “Variety is the spice of life” as the saying goes, and if the emphasis of site management and membership continues with the philosophy of moving people on rather than enticing people in it might not be tab or discussion closed but site closed!      

    • "Donald",

      The Rant is gone. Get over it. It was a black eye to Ning and Boquete. Have you noticed none of the handful of anonymous trolls that used it are coming to your defense? The trolls don't use their real name because they have big mouths and no guts.

      The Rant didn't evolve, it devolved into a hate tab to post nasty personal insults and stupid hate-filled memes. Ning is an incredible resource, not just a forum.  There are 19 other tabs you can click on, depending on what you are looking for.

      Once again, thank you JLM.

      • Richard, I’m a frequent visitor but infrequent contributor on this site. Generally when I contribute it is with the aim of making the wheels go turn in reader’s heads, prompting thought and possibly another way of looking at things, I’m not here holding up an applause card expecting accolades. If you have an objection to sparking curiosity and infusing life I will take it that my form of input is not wanted and I will stay away.  

  • I TOTALLY AGREE THAT ABOLISHING THE RANT WAS A GOOD IDEA. FIRST TIME VIEWERS TO THE NING SITE WOULD THINK THAT ALL WE DO HERE IS ARGUE POLITICS AND VERBAL ATTACKS ON EACH OTHER.  R.I.P. RANT!!!

     

  • I was SO pleased to see the rant removed. There was nothing positive in it. It painted a bad part of the picture of what Boquete is and this website is about. There are infinite other sites on the web for the trolls to do their thing. 

    Thank you Ning for your decision. The rant was a stain on Boquete. The jury is NOT out. There were a handful of regular "contributors" (mostly anonymous) to the rant and all it's hate speech. Such as who is "Donald"? No last name to intouduce yourself to the community? So we can get to know you?

     I have not doubt the rant is gone for good. Get nasty on the forum, you are booted from Ning with no warning. Bravo!

  • Most people are reading Ning to get better information about life in Boquete.  The Rant rarely contributed to that and there are plenty of other sites with a primary objective for political discussions.

    Ning's best days were when there were heated discussions about living here.  It got ugly sometimes, but it did offer great insight into the differing viewpoints the expat community has about this place.  We've all seen other forums that are so tightly moderated or completely dominated by a few individuals that finding ground truth becomes nigh impossible.

    I think the new owners are on the right track.

This reply was deleted.

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