John Redwood's Diary
Incisive and topical campaigns and commentary on today's issues and tomorrow's problems. Promoted by John Redwood 152 Grosvenor Road SW1V 3JL
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Too many long posts again
November 25, 2022 36 Comments
I am deleting more of these without reading them.
November 25, 2022 36 Comments
36 Comments
agricola November 25, 2022
Then you are not worth the effort of putting thought to paper. You no doubt feel you can pile paragraph upon paragraph upon us, but when it comes to reading well constructed thought, particularly when it is necessary to tell your party where it has lost the plot, it is all too much. Our final word will come late 2024 or sooner, your choice.
R.Grange November 25, 2022
No, Agricola, I’m with Sir John on this one. Brevity is fine. It doesn’t take long to lay out how his party in office has wrecked the country. See a plethora of short but effective comments here over the last two months.
MWB November 25, 2022
+1
Bloke November 25, 2022
The diary belongs to the Author with authority to include or exclude.
If you seek parity for your own entries try it with your own diary.
Richard1 November 25, 2022
Perhaps you could start your own blog?
Donna November 26, 2022
It’s his blog, so we play by his rules.
He invites comments on his blog: not an essay.
When making your comment it can be useful to include a link to a legitimate site but there are a lot of dubious sites out there so I understand his caution in allowing them.
Cheshire Girl November 25, 2022
I couldn’t help but notice a few days ago in the early morning, there were 10 posts on one subject. . Six of them were from the same person. I wonder which bit of your previous message, did they not understand.
Just saying….
Christine November 25, 2022
Maybe Sir John is that person. What better way of getting your real feelings in print without alerting your party bosses.
Is Sir John really Lifelogic?
Elaine November 25, 2022
John your emails are not too long at all they are very informative and give people like myself some comfort in the knowledge there is still at least one real Conservative in the Party. Thank you for all you say and do to promote real Conservative values.
Mickey Taking November 25, 2022
the lengthy responses are his problem, feel grateful he shares his thoughts and views with us -you don’t have to agree.
Peter2 November 25, 2022
Well said Elaine.
Totally agree.
glen cullen November 25, 2022
Hear Hear – SirJ is the only MP out of 650 MPs that provides this service (blog /diary) and I applaud him for it
Mark B November 26, 2022
+1
APL November 26, 2022
glen cullen: “SirJ is the only MP out of 650 MPs that provides this service”
But they all, without exception, claim the communication allowance.
Reply Which I do not claim
APL November 26, 2022
JR: “Which I do not claim”
Good.
I’ll modify my assertion; ‘But they all, with one exception, claim the communication allowance.”
Cuibono November 25, 2022
Why not stop comments for a while?
Or just publish a certain number a day…20…30 or so?
This whole shebang is very stressful for everyone!
Please don’t stop the blog…it is the only thing that has got me through since the dreadful days of May.
Hat man November 26, 2022
It would be perfectly simple for our host to announce a limit of say 150 or 200 words on a comment. Then anyone writing more than that knows that it’s not going to be published.
If that’s our host he really wants, that’s what he will do. If it doesn’t happen, commenters will be left unclear about what counts as a ‘long’ post.
Iain Gill November 25, 2022
John,
You’re the only MP making anything like sense at the moment, its not surprising people are keen to tell you stuff. It’s a sign of success of this site.
Cheers
jerry November 25, 2022
Sir John, could you advise us on an acceptable maximum character/word count (above the comment box), what is to long?!… Don’t know if your blogs software or plugin can display a character/word count, even provide a hard input limit perhaps, might be worth checking. It might also be worth considering up/down vote tick-boxes, if available, after all even those +1 type comment has a cost on your time.
Berkshire Alan November 25, 2022
Your site, your rules, but perhaps it would be helpful if you could outline what you mean by too long, either in lineage or number of words.
That, or have an automatic cut off once the required length has been reached, then we can perhaps edit ourselves accordingly.
You are perhaps getting longer posts because your initial post covers some very wide subject matter, which often requires a detailed response, to make sense of your traders thoughts.
Mark B November 26, 2022
Perhaps our kind host can ask the person(s) who help him with this site if they could create a ‘character limit’. I know from other places this is what they do.
Nottingham Lad Himself November 25, 2022
Too many headlines beginning “Too Many…”
Mark B November 25, 2022
Good evening.
Sir John, here are some tips.
1) reduce each contributor to one or two post(s) per day.
2) only allow posts that are on topic.
3) delete posts that are from people clearly here to cause trouble. If you notice, some posters are what the internet regards as ‘flamers’. People who deliberately provoke others. I never reply to such people but I understand those that do. I have noticed that, if these flamers were moderated you would have fewer posts to read and delete.
It is your site and I appreciate the time and money that YOU spend on it. I also appreciate that you have both a professional life and a family life. So please consider these suggestions.
Thank you.
jerry November 25, 2022
@Mark B; You seem to be telling our host that he needs to decide what he wants his site to be, a place to debate issues -with brevity, or for it to become nothing more than the fan-site you appear to want, at that point he might as well save himself even more time, by turning off comments, the sites server stats will be as, if not more, informative. Be careful of what you wish for, you might just end up silencing yourself too!
Christine November 26, 2022
Allowing posts off topic informs Sir John of issues he might not be aware of and gives him subjects for future posts which he often picks up and runs with. I always think he gets a lot of information from some of the excellent posts on here. We are his eyes and ears and provide a weathervane for what the general public is thinking.
Dave Andrews November 25, 2022
Please everyone just confine yourselves to saying something useful that John could bring into the House of Commons.
His time is precious.
No Longer Anonymous November 25, 2022
No names, no links, no effing and jeffing … no problem.
Surely a quick scan is all that’s needed for that.
Thanks for your good work here anyway, Sir John.
Mark B November 26, 2022
+1
But even then some of us still get moderated.
Narrow Shoulders November 25, 2022
That is a shame as some of the longer posts are informed and informative.
It seems to me that your biggest issue is repeated off topic postings and references to opinions in the Telegraph.
I do not mind not being published but I do not like the thought that my efforts do not get considered Sir John.
Still your blog.. your rules
Mark B November 26, 2022
I am of a similar vein. I do not mind being kept in moderation if it is too long or has links. What I do mind is seeing other people post multiple times usually not on the topic of the day.
Agreed . Keep responses short and relevant . Too many are allowed .
Ralph Corderoy November 26, 2022
Please also delete off-topic comments. If you write about HS2 then I don’t want to see comments about the NHS. I may be reading the comments because HS2 is of interest and I hope to see debate on the topic and take part. Off-topic comments dilute the signal by adding noise and that HS2 debate may then never occur. Please ‘be bold’, as Wikipedia advises, and delete.
Mickey Taking November 26, 2022
But I don’t want to read about Bonds day in day out….or the dozens of spending cuts possible if only this dreadful government DID SOMETHING – but they refuse.
XY November 26, 2022
How long is long?
If you don’t set a technical hard limit in the software, then I suggest you provide an indication of what you consider to be the limit. People can copy/paste it into a text editor such as Word (or start in Word and copy/paste it here) to get a word count.
But if we don’t know what you consider the limit to be, then it’s hardly surprising that people sometimes exceed it, often varying based on how deep the topic is and their level of knowledge.
Also – some short posts can be a waste of space as much as long and interesting ones. For example, a discussion on IR35 that’s space-limited is pointless – the subject is complex, perhaps intentionally so in Treasury terms.
A suggestion – post on the blog only those posts that seem to add to the debate. There are too many long and pointless arguments between posters (often involving short posts!), so you can just post a “discussion ends, not helpful” reply.
Julian Flood November 27, 2022
Never rude, never (hardly ever) irrelevant. Never published. Is it something I said?
November 25, 2022
Then you are not worth the effort of putting thought to paper. You no doubt feel you can pile paragraph upon paragraph upon us, but when it comes to reading well constructed thought, particularly when it is necessary to tell your party where it has lost the plot, it is all too much. Our final word will come late 2024 or sooner, your choice.
November 25, 2022
No, Agricola, I’m with Sir John on this one. Brevity is fine. It doesn’t take long to lay out how his party in office has wrecked the country. See a plethora of short but effective comments here over the last two months.
November 25, 2022
+1
November 25, 2022
The diary belongs to the Author with authority to include or exclude.
If you seek parity for your own entries try it with your own diary.
November 25, 2022
Perhaps you could start your own blog?
November 26, 2022
It’s his blog, so we play by his rules.
He invites comments on his blog: not an essay.
When making your comment it can be useful to include a link to a legitimate site but there are a lot of dubious sites out there so I understand his caution in allowing them.
November 25, 2022
I couldn’t help but notice a few days ago in the early morning, there were 10 posts on one subject. . Six of them were from the same person. I wonder which bit of your previous message, did they not understand.
Just saying….
November 25, 2022
Maybe Sir John is that person. What better way of getting your real feelings in print without alerting your party bosses.
Is Sir John really Lifelogic?
November 25, 2022
John your emails are not too long at all they are very informative and give people like myself some comfort in the knowledge there is still at least one real Conservative in the Party. Thank you for all you say and do to promote real Conservative values.
November 25, 2022
the lengthy responses are his problem, feel grateful he shares his thoughts and views with us -you don’t have to agree.
November 25, 2022
Well said Elaine.
Totally agree.
November 25, 2022
Hear Hear – SirJ is the only MP out of 650 MPs that provides this service (blog /diary) and I applaud him for it
November 26, 2022
+1
November 26, 2022
glen cullen: “SirJ is the only MP out of 650 MPs that provides this service”
But they all, without exception, claim the communication allowance.
Reply Which I do not claim
November 26, 2022
JR: “Which I do not claim”
Good.
I’ll modify my assertion; ‘But they all, with one exception, claim the communication allowance.”
November 25, 2022
Why not stop comments for a while?
Or just publish a certain number a day…20…30 or so?
This whole shebang is very stressful for everyone!
Please don’t stop the blog…it is the only thing that has got me through since the dreadful days of May.
November 26, 2022
It would be perfectly simple for our host to announce a limit of say 150 or 200 words on a comment. Then anyone writing more than that knows that it’s not going to be published.
If that’s our host he really wants, that’s what he will do. If it doesn’t happen, commenters will be left unclear about what counts as a ‘long’ post.
November 25, 2022
John,
You’re the only MP making anything like sense at the moment, its not surprising people are keen to tell you stuff. It’s a sign of success of this site.
Cheers
November 25, 2022
Sir John, could you advise us on an acceptable maximum character/word count (above the comment box), what is to long?!… Don’t know if your blogs software or plugin can display a character/word count, even provide a hard input limit perhaps, might be worth checking. It might also be worth considering up/down vote tick-boxes, if available, after all even those +1 type comment has a cost on your time.
November 25, 2022
Your site, your rules, but perhaps it would be helpful if you could outline what you mean by too long, either in lineage or number of words.
That, or have an automatic cut off once the required length has been reached, then we can perhaps edit ourselves accordingly.
You are perhaps getting longer posts because your initial post covers some very wide subject matter, which often requires a detailed response, to make sense of your traders thoughts.
November 26, 2022
Perhaps our kind host can ask the person(s) who help him with this site if they could create a ‘character limit’. I know from other places this is what they do.
November 25, 2022
Too many headlines beginning “Too Many…”
November 25, 2022
Good evening.
Sir John, here are some tips.
1) reduce each contributor to one or two post(s) per day.
2) only allow posts that are on topic.
3) delete posts that are from people clearly here to cause trouble. If you notice, some posters are what the internet regards as ‘flamers’. People who deliberately provoke others. I never reply to such people but I understand those that do. I have noticed that, if these flamers were moderated you would have fewer posts to read and delete.
It is your site and I appreciate the time and money that YOU spend on it. I also appreciate that you have both a professional life and a family life. So please consider these suggestions.
Thank you.
November 25, 2022
@Mark B; You seem to be telling our host that he needs to decide what he wants his site to be, a place to debate issues -with brevity, or for it to become nothing more than the fan-site you appear to want, at that point he might as well save himself even more time, by turning off comments, the sites server stats will be as, if not more, informative. Be careful of what you wish for, you might just end up silencing yourself too!
November 26, 2022
Allowing posts off topic informs Sir John of issues he might not be aware of and gives him subjects for future posts which he often picks up and runs with. I always think he gets a lot of information from some of the excellent posts on here. We are his eyes and ears and provide a weathervane for what the general public is thinking.
November 25, 2022
Please everyone just confine yourselves to saying something useful that John could bring into the House of Commons.
His time is precious.
November 25, 2022
No names, no links, no effing and jeffing … no problem.
Surely a quick scan is all that’s needed for that.
Thanks for your good work here anyway, Sir John.
November 26, 2022
+1
But even then some of us still get moderated.
November 25, 2022
That is a shame as some of the longer posts are informed and informative.
It seems to me that your biggest issue is repeated off topic postings and references to opinions in the Telegraph.
I do not mind not being published but I do not like the thought that my efforts do not get considered Sir John.
Still your blog.. your rules
November 26, 2022
I am of a similar vein. I do not mind being kept in moderation if it is too long or has links. What I do mind is seeing other people post multiple times usually not on the topic of the day.
November 26, 2022
+1
November 25, 2022
Agreed . Keep responses short and relevant . Too many are allowed .
November 26, 2022
Please also delete off-topic comments. If you write about HS2 then I don’t want to see comments about the NHS. I may be reading the comments because HS2 is of interest and I hope to see debate on the topic and take part. Off-topic comments dilute the signal by adding noise and that HS2 debate may then never occur. Please ‘be bold’, as Wikipedia advises, and delete.
November 26, 2022
But I don’t want to read about Bonds day in day out….or the dozens of spending cuts possible if only this dreadful government DID SOMETHING – but they refuse.
November 26, 2022
How long is long?
If you don’t set a technical hard limit in the software, then I suggest you provide an indication of what you consider to be the limit. People can copy/paste it into a text editor such as Word (or start in Word and copy/paste it here) to get a word count.
But if we don’t know what you consider the limit to be, then it’s hardly surprising that people sometimes exceed it, often varying based on how deep the topic is and their level of knowledge.
Also – some short posts can be a waste of space as much as long and interesting ones. For example, a discussion on IR35 that’s space-limited is pointless – the subject is complex, perhaps intentionally so in Treasury terms.
A suggestion – post on the blog only those posts that seem to add to the debate. There are too many long and pointless arguments between posters (often involving short posts!), so you can just post a “discussion ends, not helpful” reply.
November 27, 2022
Never rude, never (hardly ever) irrelevant. Never published. Is it something I said?
JF