Joining the Owners' Board

[John]

Unless you are registered and have been made a member of the Owners' Group you won't be able to see the Owners' Board.

If you are an owner at Limefitt and would like to join the Owners' Board please register here first and then send me a message with your details including your name and lodge number. If I don't know you I may make some checks. I will then make sure that you get access.

Any questions?

1. Is the forum some sort of exclusive club?

No anyone can join the forum. I watch out for e-mail addresses that are obvious spammers and check IP addresses before admitting members but apart from that everyone is welcome, owners, visitors or anybody else who may be interested.

2. But making us register makes the Owners Group exclusive doesn't it?

Not really. We encourage any and all owners to join us here. Every now and then if you join and do not access the forum for 6 months you may be asked to confirm membership and if you don't your account may get deleted. If that happens and you want to rejoin just do so. I'm afraid that having an approval process is also the only way to stop the forum being deluged with adverts for body part augmentation and special offers from the officials of 3rd world nations. It is a very common process and not something I dreamt up to make myself feel important.

3. Why do I have to ask you in order to join the Owners Group - are you some kind of megalomaniac?

Not everything that is discussed there is suitable for public consumption for a variety of reasons. It is in the nature of this kind of forum that negative issues get discussed and the Owners Area has been created to facilitate this by providing a private area. And no, I do not think I am Napoleon. I'm just somebody who thought it would be a good idea to provide a proper means of communication between owners and did so. If anyone else would like to volunteer to  spend their evening and weekends running it step forward right now!

4. The Owners Group is just somewhere for disaffected owners to whinge isn't it

No it allows that, but that is not its primary purpose. You can also suggest meeting up or find other owners who might want to go walking or join you in a photography course etc. You might post links to interesting articles about the area, or point out some event that is taking place. It can be whatever you want to make of it. Mostly it helps us get to know each other a little better, which I hope is a good thing.

5. What is its primary purpose then?

It is designed to provide a simple means for owners to communicate with each other on an equal footing on any subject and at any time.

6. But you have a private agenda don't you?

No more than anyone else does I hope. When I arrived at Limefitt I was frustrated that there was no simple and effective means of communicating with other owners or visitors so I started this forum. I have as  much (or as little) right to express my opinions there as anyone else (and frequently do so).

7. But you censor posts and control the discussion don't you?

Every forum has some element of moderation for legal reasons if nothing else. So far not one post has been modified or deleted  (apart from being moved when it is in the wrong topic). If you joined and posted something potentially libellous then the post would be put in a holding area and you would be contacted to provide supporting evidence. If you posted something pornographic or illegal, your account would be deleted. If you harassed another member or expressed insulting or bigoted opinions your account might get suspended to give you time to reflect. Apart from that any discussion is welcome. Diversity of opinion is what makes it work. If we all said the same thing it would be a rather boring and pointless exercise.

8. Why do you claim to represent me - I never elected you and I don't agree with most of what you say?

I don't claim that and neither does the forum or any of its members.

There is no Residents Committee or Association at Limefitt (and the then Chief Executive of SLP told me in 2007 that they would not engage with one even if one were formed), so there is, in fact, no body or individual that can claim to represent you.

The owners forum does not yet even have a majority of owners as members. Even if/when it does no member will represent any of them and nor should claim to do so unless some sort of open election were held. Self-evidently nobody can claim to represent you without being elected in some way. That's how democracy works isn't it?

It might happen that the owners group as a body, or a part thereof, makes representations to SLP management from time to time. In that case the most that can be said is that "a group of owners think...". Nobody should or would make any further claim to owner support than that.

For clarity, the owners who take part in the Limefitt forum do not have any sort of monopoly on the right of owners to express themselves to SLP, and the forum does not make any claim to represent anybody who has not joined it.


I hope this clears up any questions you may have about the forum but do feel free to ask if you have any others that I have not covered!