The timing just before Christmas festivities is not the ideal time to have this discussion but needs must. We all have noticed the dearth of articles above the line on this blog. Yet discussion is very much alive below the line and the monthly discussion board sees an average of 300o posts, many of which are informative and and have valuable insight. That HP has a very loyal commentariat (even if our numbers are small) is not in doubt. However since comments are erased after a set period, the blog does appear dead and there is no record of topical discussion above the line.
The readership admirably stepped in to help when the usual atl writers disappeared a few years ago. Then when they reappeared earlier this year, there was some dismay that there was not sufficient appreciation of the readers’ contribution. Admin compromised with the monthly discussion thread. While we may complain that the atl writers have done a houdini once again, we must not forget that there is an admin who keeps this blog going and very kindly hosts us. There is a monthly cost of several hundred pounds that keeps this blog afloat.
We have all become too addicted to the monthly discussion board and while it is a riveting space, it is killing HP. Since the monthly discussion is such a long thread, some of us with worse sight than others have difficulty keeping up. Others have contacted me, urging me to ask admin to kill the monthly stickie. I promised to have a discussion with the regulars to get their feedback instead of making a unilateral decision. We need to have more articles above the line. I will do my part by putting up a weekly atl but I really need help from you. The UK, as with the world, is going through a turbulent phase. We may not have any political power but what stops us from leaving behind a record of our thoughts, fears, advice to the next generation, revisiting our youthful hopes and aspirations? Even if all we have to contribute is a litany of anger and despair, it needs to be written above the line.
I personally feel the monthly discussion thread need not be discarded as long as we have enough atls and we respect the effort of the writers and comment under these threads, spreading the discussion into more manageable chunks for others to read. What do you think?
