ETYM a forum or a very exclusive club ?

When the hardest fighters for the lowcarb cause, in recent times were banned from diabetes.co.uk, the guys set up a forum of their own. Great I thought, we need a set of pipe wielding, blow torch holding set of lowcarbers, setting up a much needed lowcarb forum in the UK. Not only that they invited me, a lowcarb member of the Hezbollah to join them. Let’s get at it I thought, lets kick some lowcarb anti butt ! how wrong could I be. From the start it was doomed to failure. After kicking butt at diabetes.co.uk, and taking on every lowcarb anti that posted, they pushed a diet to newbie’s along the lines of DUK and the NHS. Sid Bonkers must have turned in his crypt. Who would have believed, Sid’s portion control, low GI diet would be the order of the day. Check this out from the advice thread for the newly diagnosed.

“On the starchy foods that are left in your regime, try brown basmati rice, and brown or tri-colour pasta, instead of white. A couple of baby new potatoes boiled are far better than old potatoes, be they boiled, mashed or in their jackets. The bread that is most recommended is Burgen Soya and linseed bread, but some of us manage ok with wholegrain brown as well.”

How many of the forum owners, and well controlled members are eating brown rice, brown pasta, new potatoes, and any kind of bread other than flax/linseed ? answer one, Grazer ! All the very well controlled i.e low fives and fours would not touch this sort of food with a ten foot pole. When I pointed this out, a feeling of Déjà Vu came over me. I was back at the forum of flog, diabetes.co.uk, fighting for my life.  Had these staunch lowcarb warriors taken a bribe from big pharma and junk food ? had they gone batshit ? Who can tell, but what have they achieved in the last nine months.

Well, they have alienated many of the first to join lowcarb members, many with years of great diabetes control under their belts. They have followed the worst aspects of the forum of flog, with post deletion, thread locking etc, they fought so hard against at the flog. They have become a cakes and commiserations club. But, they have done worse. The excruciatingly boring and mainstay of the forum in recent times, the members blogs, cannot be seen by a visitor, trust me that’s a bonus. But after my recent comment here, re. the members list, and how most have left, many have never posted and pages of clearly spoof members etc. What was their mind blowing response ? Make the members list unavailable to visitors. The question I find myself asking is, how long before no-one can see anything ? Now, that’s what I call a one hell of an exclusive club. Remember the big forum ethos at the start, was total transparency and honesty for the members, it seemed to good to be true, and by golly it was. For the first time in their lives, some of the owners had a little bit of authority and power, jeez did it go to their heads.

Eddie

 Being conscientious sorts, they decided to do things by the book.

PS. I see the General Discussions section, seems to be members only job now, oh dear.