Mark

Could you give us a proper a description of your scooter lilolil, it'll help people recognise it as there's lots of scooters out there.

My mum had a similar call and the person on the other end told her to call the bank on the number on the back of her card straight away. What happens is that they don't hang up (this is on a landline) and so mum dialled and they pretended to pick up and be the bank, and then asked for security details. Eagled eared mum realised it was the same person and hung up.

Hi Remember the key thing is to provide something that is useful and fun to the local area. - Start small, get some hosting and a domain name with someone like Heart Internet and install forum software. - Set up the sections of the site, this one had five to start with but that changed with the times. - Be strict but fair, you've set it up, so you set the rules (borrow the ones from here if you want). - Be prepared for the Admin team to make mistakes, apologise and make u-turns. - Most people are fantastic and you'll get a great community (which will then be referred to as "the clique" by others). - Some people will push you to the edge but move on, the community will help you deal with them if you've been fair. - Find some awesome moderators, we have great ones on here and they help the place stay great. - Have a few low budget promotions, we printed 1,500 postcards and had them delivered locally. - You will get people from outside the areas trying it on e.g."why can't I advertise my Brixton builders", be strict but fair. - User's confidentiality is very important, only give details if requested to by the authorities. - Have fun, it's hard work but worth it. - Don't expect local businesses to ever thank you for what you've done. - It's not a news site, they're full of bad news. It's the equivalent of chatting to your neighbour over the fence. - There will be times when it will become a bad tempered whinge-fest, and people don't like returning to places that are always bad tempered. - Listen to suggestions about the forum but don't act on all of them. If it feels right then do it, if you?re not sure, think about it for a while or ask a few forumites you trust. I'm sure I'll add some more thoughts as I think of them but remember it has to be useful and fun. Good luck Mark Added: For better usability amend titles so people know what the discussion thread is about before they click its link.

That sums it up, but I'll try and add a bit more detail when I have time. I'll tell you though it's the people who make it what it is. Why do you think it works and is enjoyable?

Hi Sorry that's my fault, I've been a bit tied up with various things recently. I'll endeavour to get back to you shortly. Mark

Added 2nd December: It's off! How refreshing to have my top lip back and what's more the awareness of men's health issues has a whopping ?3,478 to help it along. Thanks you to everyone who's donated and it's still not too late for everyone who hasn't...http://mobro.co/markfresh. Added 1st December: It comes off tonight, in a special My Moustache's Coming off Party.. Added 30th November: I rubbed my 'tache earlier and a bit of breakfast fell out of it, I have to admit I'm looking forward to shaving it off tomorrow. Thank you for your donations so far, there's still a few days left if you haven't donated. Added 26th November: We've raised ?2,663 so far which is fantastic! I'm having to shampoo and condition the moustache to avoid the itch but only another 6 days to go of a ginger top lip. If you haven't donated yet now's the time and thank you to everyone who's donated so far. Added 18th November: Lordy! I'm at ?2,493! Good going everyone. I managed to tell my family about the moustache and they're fine with it, such a weight off my shoulders. Added 11th November: I've just hit the ?1,679 mark and I'm I'm now 29th which is effing brilliant! . As this runs for the whole of November I'm going to leave this message up for a few more days, then put it back up for the last week when I'll be sending out an email reminder to everyone as well. Please don't forget to donate http://mobro.co/markfresh. Added 7th November: Just hit the ?1,0000 mark, we're well on our way! Out of the 299,346 registrations on Movember I'm 53rd so far and hoping to get much higher. A big thanks to everyone who's donated and also respect to the businesses listed at the bottom of this page. ----- Hi I?m Mark and I set up the forum. In the six years since I started it I?ve only ever actively asked for donations for the forum once or twice and that was to get the forum back up and running when it was having server issues. Anyway I?m now going to ask you for a donation for using the forum but before you go away and read another thread about clowns in Waitrose please hear me out. I?m aiming to raise ?1,826 for a good cause and most of that will come from donations from the users of the forum, including businesses who benefit from the forum. Now the forum has 36,660 users, and 27,603 of you have actually posted a message. I like to think that?s 27,603 of you who have found the forum useful and if each one of you gave a pound then wowzers, but not all of you will donate because some are tight, but I?m hoping the rest of you will very kindly donate ?5 or ?10. I?m also hoping businesses will donate at least ?50. If you've used a builder, plumber or electrician etc via the forum please tell them to show some appreciation for the free advertising they get and donate ?50 or more to a good cause and not to be so stingy. Now what is that good cause I hear you ask, it?s Movember which proudly supports prostate and testicular cancer initiatives and raising money to raise awareness for men?s health issues with facts like 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK. I for one am very fond of my prostate and also my manly testicles and you should be of yours (if you're a man), so how to keep them healthy and happy is something every man needs to be aware of. In order to help raise the money I?m growing a moustache. It?s something I?m coming to terms with and I've discovered there is a stigma attached to it, so much so I haven't even told my family yet but I have to see them this weekend I can?t keep it a secret any longer. Wish me luck. So please dig deep and show your appreciation for using the forum in the form of money, a donation to my Movember page http://mobro.co/markfresh (and don?t forget to tick the GiftAid box) Your donations are really appreciated and if it would really help me think that people do appreciate the forum. Mark Please donate here: http://mobro.co/markfresh Ps If you?re a business and donate ?50 or more please PM me and I will list you on here so people can see how good you are. Cool businesses who are supporting me: RDA Architects Ltd Chener Books JT Enterprises Removals Lorenzo Photography Green and Teggin Architects Nicholas Driving Academy SE22 ESPH Physio SE22 Piano School Jim Cox Flooring Harvey & Wheeler Glazer Delmar Shot by the Sheriff Photography SNUB Dulwich Bridges Removals Al's Handyman - 07921 436738 ed, Northcross Rd J Kidd London (Building and Electrical) - 07729 701466 Nerris carpenter 07875046753 Micon Construction Suzanne James Catering Coman & Co. Accountants All-Round Renovation Barry Road Barbers J A Powers Plumbing and Heating

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's not quite that easy... To start it up, yes it is.

El Pibe sums up the technicalities nicely. I think the software Simple Machine Forum is quite nice http://www.simplemachines.org if Phorum's too technical and I'd recommend Heart Internet for hosting. Aside from the technical side you need to attract people, you'll need some some simple marketing cunning for that, and some balls of steel and assistance from a great administration team of moderators when it gets going. The main thing to make it work though is the users, sound local people enjoying it and finding it fun and useful and having a sense of ownership of it. You will get the odd nasty, bitter person who tries to spoil it and ruin the fun people are having so get rid of them asap. I hope that helps, please feel free to copy the format of this forum but please put a nice reference to it if you do. Good luck

Hello, I set up the forum, what's up? I try not to get involved in the day to day running of the forum but post you query on here and someone will answer it. Do not send it to me via PM.

I've now sent you details

Thst'll be my fault and apologies for that, I only get to respond to my EDF advertising emails once a week and the last couple of weeks I've missed the slots for various reasons (holiday and injury). I hope to respond this weekend.

As Huguenot said I wrote that 5 years ago when I thought the forum would be a small place for a few locals, not a site where 28,000 users have posted messages. We don't do favouritism to companies on the site, the main rule is that companies on here should be East Dulwich based and even then amount of grief we get for that is amazing, usually in the form of "I'm a builder in Essex with loads of clients in Dulwich, why can't I advertise for free?". Considering the case in hand it's become a personal issue and is no longer just a "non-recommendation" and we don't want that on the site, it makes it a nasty vindictive place which isn't what the forum's about. Generally there aren't that many bad recommendations on here, if a complaint is raised then Admin and the team look into it and act accordingly. Sometimes it means asking the message poster to put their name against it so they are identifiable and sometimes we may just have to take it down. We don't have a legal team on hand to advise, or the time to investigate each case so sometimes we do have to play it cautiously and remove negative posts about a company. If a company complains/threatens action because of a bad review then usually we remove both good and bad reviews about them. As we do try and have on only East Dulwich companies on here and a bad review can do a lot more damage than 10 good reviews and the forum's intention is not to cause issues with local companies, we want to help them.

photoshoplooter http://photoshoplooter.tumblr.com/ including classics such as... http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/8771467858/1/tumblr_lpr70kqUbo1r1qajl http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/8770410278/1/tumblr_lpr4qmUaI81r1qajl http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/8734528578/1/tumblr_lppvxfY3ZG1r1qajl

Dorothy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No one looks in the What's On section. Yes they do, I think if they had written "Goose Green Fair - this Sunday (8 May)" instead of "Festival Fair us back!" they'd get more interest.

I've decided I'm going to vote yes to Alternative Vote tomorrow: - I like the idea that a party has to have a majority to get into power. - I don't like the anti-AV side continually playing the marketeers weapon of choice, Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. It's not complicated and to say it's more complicated than driving a submarine is just daft. - I get the impression the first past the post system works best when there are just two main parties, there aren't two main parties any more. - I like the idea that if my first choice party doesn't get in then I have a say in the next party, ie "my second vote counts". I must add that Silverfox's comments have also swayed me away from the FPTP choice. Now where do I vote for this monthly oral sex holiday?

LadyLibra Wrote: > Now if I were to say what you said, as a black person - it is without a doubt, frowned upon. How do you know dully is not black? Why has the colour of the writer got anything to do with it? Why do you assume it will be frowned upon? Please stop trying to stir up a racial argument beyond the poster discussion. [edited once for clarity]

Is it possible to see a copy of the actual poster so that we can see all the words and pictures in context i.e. not just the Darwin & mob models photo?

Threads get lounged because they're irrelevant to the section they were posted in, are you saying Admin should put them elsewhere, or not move them, because you don't like some people in the Lounge Fuschia?

An EDF discussion:

Admin never makes it out from Forum Towers so I'm usually the face of the forum. The meet ups are unofficial get togethers that are organised by the users, not by the management so there's not always someone there from the forum team. Ask your people to drop me PM and we'll hook up.

What is this forum's F2F get-together that you speak?

A fountain of creativity here from the bread people:

*strolls in and places his smoking blunderbuss on wall and mutters something about pretend natives" "pours himself a G&T, nods at other G&T aficionados and reclines in a chaise longue and flicks through the latest issue of Jackie*

Just watched a bit if it, Dom searches the internet for the Binda Design about 14:30 minutes in and low and behold the EDF appears.

You can watch it here http://www.five.tv/shows/cowboy-builders/episodes/episode-5-243