Has the removal of anonymous posting taken away from the quality of the website. Please discuss. We have had far more registrations than we thought we would but the level of posting has reduced.

I'm not sure exactly why the level of contribution and dare I say debate has all but gone but I can still recall the fierce opposition to any post, and person, that even mildly offended the sensitivities of some. Those were the same some that asked for and got this new site and they too seem to have lost interest - so perhaps they have achieved their objective and we now have little more than a place to post notices. Personally I miss some of those ding-dongs but I doubt they will ever come back and now we'll never know what those daft bigoted people down the road think. Life can be so dull when the only people you meet think about things in exactly the same way that you do, even worse if the ones you don't meet know more than you do... Pity really but perhaps it's just another example of unintended consequences?

I suppose it becomes a self-perpetuating thing: there are fewer posts to react to, therefore one posts fewer replies, therefore there are fewer posts to react to. I don't think having to register is the problem, indeed I'm pleasantly surprised you've had more registrations that you expected. Maybe people just have fewer issues to share right now, or are preoccupied with central / Scottish / local government cuts. Things seem to be quiet on the planning front as well just now which is always a source of comment.

What to do about it is perhaps the question that needs to task the administrators and whilst I don't have any quick fix I suspect that when the day arrives that there is a 'good' post or even a controvesial one they need to react with some haste and perhaps send out a quick email that alerts people to it. Better still get some of their friends to start a few threads that we can take a bite out of.

This should have no effect on postings, it is so easy to get an Email address that people could ( and some have ) register twice, once using a pseudonym if so required.

Peter the reason there are no more debates or ding dongs is because of section 3 of the Terms and Conditions, Forum Use. It is far too restrictive and does not create an environment of free speech. It's free speech as long as the moderator or any other liberalist agree with it. I have only registered to make this point but will not be using the website. I also posted a comment months ago on the old website talking about how it was like an "old pair of slippers" in comparison to the new one and guess what, it wasn't posted. There was no profanity or rudeness just a general harmless comment but while other posts were submitted at this time mine wasn't. With that kind of interference there is absolutely no point in contributing. Enjoy your new site but it's not for me. Bring back the old one any day. I can’t be far off the mark as people have voted with their fingers and have moved on else where.

Chris (DB) - enjoy is hardly the word I'd use especially as I fundamentally agree with you.

Valid points. We also received email notification of new postings.Maybe un-PC but having been on the receiving end of racial abuse( and my sons, also), I prefer honest , opposing opinions, however ugly, to censorship which usually just drives problems underground . Know your enemy? There is something so un- British about censorship.