Big end or small end?

[Scally]

It appears that we carers are far too delicate and needy to be allowed to debate issues such as the EU referendum without net-nanny, so I will open a new, no-holds barred topic that will not frighten our poor, over-sensitive moderators:
Which end do you open your boiled egg: Big or little?
Mine's the little end, by the way.
I have nothing but loathing for big-enders.

[MumWhoCares]

This is rude, Scally, and I personally am fed up with the very small number of people on this forum who think it's perfectly okay to say what they like without any care about whether other people are offended by it. The mods do a very difficult and time consuming job and they do it so that everyone who cares has a safe place to speak, give and receive advice and vent about their caring situation. Carers come from all sorts of backgrounds and situations; many have healthcare problems themselves and are coping in dire situations that leave them endlessly stressed out and worn down and other people's 'jokes', discussions and thoughtless comments can mean the difference between someone having a place they can come to when they need to and someone feeling that there is literally nowhere they can go.

There are plenty of forums on the internet that allow people to talk about whatever they like in whichever tone they choose. People who wish to debate the referendum can do so in many other places; people who wish to discuss caring have far fewer options. The moderators work very hard and do a very good job and don't deserve to be described as poor and over sensitive. How rude of you.

[Pet66]

No 1 mum. T totally agree with your post. I am very sensitive by my own admission. Some say it can be an asset. The forum truly is a lifesaver for me. I would really miss the support if I felt that I couldn't look to my forum friends because of concerns about negative remarks made to anyone. I can see the mods and administrators have a difficult job of keeping posts on an even keel. Firm advice can be good along with empathy. Unnecessary comments are a different matter.

[rosemary]

It appears that we carers are far too delicate and needy to be allowed to debate issues such as the EU referendum without net-nanny, so I will open a new, no-holds barred topic that will not frighten our poor, over-sensitive moderators:
Which end do you open your boiled egg: Big or little?
Mine's the little end, by the way.
I have nothing but loathing for big-enders.

Okay Rob I will take the bait so to speak ......

so I will open a new, no-holds barred topic

- such a topic does not exist on a forum where rules and regulations are in place. You have had enough suspensions/warnings yourself to know that is the case

that will not frighten our poor, over-sensitive moderators

- I almost spat my drink out reading that. As someone with backside the size of a rhino, skin as tough too, being over sensitive could never describe me
You know only too well it is all about providing an environment online where new members, and old, feel comfortable enough posting about their good/bad times and everything in between.

Which end do you open your boiled egg: Big or little?

Let me be the one to pass you a BIG wooden spoon to eat your egg with

If little enders and big enders met in the middle, it would be mutually beneficial to all.

All the above 'fun' to one side Rob, it suddenly dawned on me that you are the longest member of this forum, and all set ups before it. Most on here wont know that it was input from yourself and a few others that actually pushed CarersUK to provide this space for us to use.

We have witnessed so many changes, so many faces been and gone. Some due to their caring role finishing, others have died themselves. Yet underneath it all the foundations of the forum and what it stands for remains.
Members support one another through thick and thin. Time and time again they go that extra mile when their own life may not be so easy.

So, no matter what 'faults' you think the forum may have, for me the positive aspects far outweigh them.

[Penny]

You're still sulking about the EU referendum result then Scally? Just let it go FGS!!!

The moderators asked us all to move on and most of us did although a few didn't so the thread was closed.

All this negative stuff will do you no good you know!

[Elaine]

Hi Scally
I've always thought of you as, clever, knowledgeable, on the ball, generous with advice concerning how to play the CA system (if a little allowably smug about your nifty footwork), and passionate about your own caring role. It's unlike you to throw rocks into the machinery when other people might be hit.
Has something upset you or gone extra wrong in your life? If It's just that EU thread, I didn't join in so I'm not even very aware of what was /was not said.
However if there's something else. Can we help at all? Even if it's just to sympathise?
If you really want to know, I'm a little ender BUT is it chop off the top or just peel?
Elaine

[Eun]

Neither as i am allergic to eggs! Something else I passed on to son along with DMD and Type 2 Diabetes!

Eun

[Scally]

Apart from Mother Theresa, who has had me sussed since the year dot; most of you miss the point, which is that message boards like this thrive on controversy, and die when they are over-moderated by those of delicate sensibilities.
Sure, we will always lose a few people brought up drinking from fine bone china so much that they cannot handle even the slightest twitch of a Maggie Smith eyebrow, but for every one who leaves in a huff, another two join because they can see that all opinions are welcome.

PS: Elaine: I don't peel: I regard addressing the egg as a way of letting off steam, and hack it cleanly with the sharpest blade I can find ... to me that is a form of therapy, and a damned sight more therapeutic than Indian head massage, lol

PSS: The only point of having boundaries is so that they can be tested.

[SheWolf]

Which end do you open your boiled egg: Big or little?

Let me be the one to pass you a BIG wooden spoon to eat your egg with

Loving your work Rosemary!
Seriously though, I wasn't pleased when my new topic thread about terrorism got deleted before anyone even had chance to read it, yet alone reply. It was construed as being some sort of attempt to resurrect THAT other thread that shall remain nameless, but I genuinely had no interest in doing that.

I'm unsure why people can't just stay off threads they find too controversial. Also, I think it's possible to disagree with each other about politics etc but still be able to show support for each other. That said, the moderators deserve respect for doing a tricky job.

[jenny lucas]

Quite apart from the issue of whether a forum for carers is a suitable location for discussion of 'political' topics (and, as I've said before, one of my arguments in favour is that by and large everyone here is very polite, compared to 'outside' forums - though that doesn't address the basic question of whether this forum is or is not a suitable venue for political discussion!)......to my mind the inherent difficulty is that it is very tricky, if not impossible, for the moderators to be themselves completely impartial in their judgements, because of their own (perfectly understandable) political views. So, even with the best will in the world, and the most careful and patient moderation, I suspect that the tendency would be for all political discussions to become 'skewed' in one direction or another. The more controversial the topic the more likely for that skew! And that inherent tendency to skew may well go even further up the moderation ladder, into CUK itself, which makes the whole problem even more intractable. (Not to mention the ultimate question of what constitutes 'skew' in the first place!!!!!)

In sum, I make no bones that I'd enjoy political debate that is mutually polite and courteous, but I saw what happened to the last one, so I'm not sure it's wise to try again!

And, from the moderators' point of view, I suspect they have quite enough to do on all the other threads, and as members themselves, and as carers themselves, without having to make judgement calls on a thread that is itself inherently controversial.

Finally, I think even the forum members differ quite widely as to what each of us considers 'acceptable' by way of 'polite debate', and that difference would, itself, contribute to tension and grief I suspect!

PS - FWIW I'm a Little Ender. Seems more balanced, to my mind, to have the big end below the little end, with a lower centre of gravity, and less to cut off, plus easier to scoop out the last of the egg from a rounder base than a narrower base. I cut, not crack, as I don't like having to pick off the tiddly bits of shell before I can get stuck in!

PPS - as well as BE/LE, what about the even more controversial subject of soft vs hardboiled (and anything in between!)??

PPS - I wonder by the way whether the BE/LE preference assorts according to gender at all? I say this because I think it was the ancient Greeks who compared the male physique to a BE-up egg, and the female one to a LE-up physique. Men have broad shoulders and narrow hips, and women have narrow shoulders and broad hips. So by that token it would be fascinating if men were Big Enders re eggs, and women were Little Enders!!!!??? (As both a female, and a Little Ender, I feel that is ample proof of my hypothesis!!!! )