Ringing Forums

So which of these should I use to be sure that I can keep abreast of national & regional ringing topics? I'm afraid that from what I read in the press, both Whatsapp and rather more so, Instagram are badly tainted with inappropriate and pornographic material and I have no wish to become involved with either. Now that my 'Nigerian cousins' have stopped pestering me with details of the wealth allegedly awaiting me, I find emails quicker, safer and simpler to use. — Peter Sotheran

I think what @Jason Carter means is that communication via WhatsApp (less so Insta) is what a lot, I'd even go as far as saying the majority, of people use for casual group communication in the UK (40.23 million users in 2021 apparently). Although the fact that groups reveal all participant info makes it impractical for large group use (even if a group is Admin broadcast only, you still see everyone in it). Pornography is only an issue if you know someone that sends it to you!

In my limited (14 months of ringing) I think the current demographic of ringers certainly leads towards a majority of ringers who are happy with their achievements, happy to ring on a Sunday and on the odd other occasion but aren't interested in what is going on in the larger organisations (district/guild/Central Council etc). I'd probably have to travel around a bit to find someone else that isn't on one of the local association committees and who reads the blogs and posts on the Central Council website, let alone visits here. Maybe some areas are different, or maybe everyone keeps their cards close to their chests, but for the last couple of months every tower I've been at the discussion has been if you've had your booster for Covid yet and if the appointment was the same time as the flu jab - I've not heard anyone discussing the new portable-ring or if DMO is the way ahead!

For me, as a 40 something, Facebook and the CCCBR weekly email drop are where I get most of my ringing info. I've only ever purchased 1 copy of The Ringing World (the Queen's death edition, to see our ringing in it, only to find out after buying it that an hour of Call Changes wasn't worthy of the grade due to the (understandable) workload for the publishers.

If it helps I get my info:

• Tower Level: WhatsApp (2 discussions of a few messages a week, per tower maybe) and occasional e-mail from TC
• District Level: e-mailed newsletter every 3 months
• Association Level: Facebook, website for events or any resources
• CCCBR: Simon's blog, other news on the website sent in the email, just joined here
• Reference: Bellboard and Dove online
• Other: Bellringers group on FB, Bellringers Learners (quiet) on FB, I set up an Instagram account and admire and like other people's bells and towers but don't really get much more than that out of it, YouTube for ART and other videos about specific subjects

We have to move forward as technology progresses Peter, whilst at the same time maintaining older technology for as long as it is reasonably practicable. I would say email is in danger, as is facebook, and we need to start moving forward into WhatsApp and Instagram... — Jason Carter

I wouldn't write off email just yet. It is the key to the internet, so everyone has at least one. And it has an appealing universality - you can get in touch with anyone no matter their email domain. WhatsApp and Instagram do not work in quite the same way. Facebook on the other hand is on its last legs. Ask most young ringers whether they have it or not, and most will say they got it just for ringing matters.

So which of these should I use to be sure that I can keep abreast of national & regional ringing topics? I'm afraid that from what I read in the press, both Whatsapp and rather more so, Instagram are badly tainted with inappropriate and pornographic material and I have no wish to become involved with either. Now that my 'Nigerian cousins' have stopped pestering me with details of the wealth allegedly awaiting me, I find emails quicker, safer and simpler to use. — Peter Sotheran

WhatsApp is effectively souped-up text messaging, enabling you to send media and be members of groups. I have used WhatsApp for more than a decade now, and I have yet to receive a single spam message and certainly no porn! If you aren't up for WhatsApp, that's fine but it will mean you are increasingly out of the loop. People are less willing to use emails for quick-fire conversations (as opposed to correspondence) than in the old days, and WhatsApp groups are very useful for bands/groups of officers. You use Facebook which has far more suspect content than Instagram and WhatsApp! If you can access Facebook, you can access Instagram without difficulty.

"People are less willing to use emails for quick-fire conversations (as opposed to correspondence) than in the old days - Tristan"

Quick fire questions aren't part of my lifestyle. I don't plan to sit at my keyboard all day patiently waiting for an essential urgent question to turn up. I pick up text messages on my phone when I leave the house as there is no adequate signal hereabouts. When my bank says it is sending a 'second verification passcode', it's usually arrived by the time I have got out into the garden to stand in the 'sweet spot' to receive it.
I'm afraid a mobile phone is a non-essential in my life. I find the buttons too fiddly, don't really understand 80% of the functions and it regularly shoots off apparently to do something of its own volition! I have made/received 17 phone calls since January and received 30 or 40 text messages, mainly passcodes from my bank and Amazon. If it wasn't for the bank, I could quite happily do without the phone!
Please don't interpret this as a Luddite's view of new technology. I simply have very little real need for a mobile telephone. If I didn't want to dig a hole, I wouldn't buy a spade!

If it helps I get my info:

CCCBR: Simon's blog, other news on the website sent in the email, just joined here — Steve Pilfold

Steve you just made my day!

The key difference as I see it is that emails are delivered to my desk, as are notificaions from FB. I may have misunderstood but I believe that one has to go checking the other channels - Whats App and the like - to see if there are any messages. This is akin to having to call at the post office to see if there is any mail for me. That is not an improved service to my mind.

In a similar vein an organisation with which I serve as a trustee insists that emails are delivered by a secure service and I am expected to log into their MS365 workplace to see if there are any messages. There are about half a dozen per month yet I am expected to log in daily 'just in case'. This is not the way to communicate in the 21st century!

Call it fragmentation or call it multiverse, news/information is sought from different sources to service different needs.
My national news comes from a large screen in the corner of my living room and a small screen in my hand e.g.TV, online news/ magazine subscription and Twitter.
My local news comes from my screen in my living room, a smaller screen of my laptop and the smallest screen in my hand. TV, Local email groups joined e.g. My Neighborhood, FB, Twitter,
My interest groups, familial and friendship news comes from my laptop screen and smallest screen in my hand via email, FB, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube, tiktok.

It's no different in my 'belliverse'
National news comes from The Ringing Rag via email and sometimes paper, FB and Twitter.
Highlights and alerts to national info come from Chairman's Chatter, President's Blog via email, FB and Twitter.
Local news comes via Guild and District emails.
Personal info and news comes from WhatsApp, private massages on FB, texts and phonecalls.

Security is paramount ,of course, across all platforms (I have never had nasty stuff sent to me on anything) and maybe an explanation and 'how to' might help raise the engagement numbers.
All my platforms have audible alerts that I have silenced but I have the visual alerts on to not miss out on,say, one of Simon's entertaining missives...

If we don't have a sweeping array of comms avenues we don't have a maximum reach. Luckilly it doesn't take long to manipulate copy and post to most sites. The multiverse is not going away. Mutitasking has just expanded out into the information arena is all and if reticence is a natural state for some then so be it.

I guess I'm just saying that it's horses for courses and effort does gain success in areas open to communication efforts. If people, towers or Associations are adverse to joining in then maybe a reverse psychology can be applied I.E. fear of missing out... but some ringers are intractable and nothing will make them 'up the portcullis'
Is it really worth teeth knashing over these though?

The Editor was reluctant to see [Ringing Forums] promoted via the Ringing World because of the potential impact on the Letters page. ... — Simon Linford

There's a cartoon somewhere of William Rees-Mogg as editor of TheTimes in the 1980s bemoaning the impact of these new-fangled computers on his letters page. Surprisingly it has survived into the digital age ...

The RW has dipped the occasional hesitant-toe into the 21stCentury: online subscriptions, digital archive, Bellboard ...

... and there have been regular columns of highlights from the ringing-chatlists, and currently Hot On Bellboard prioritises online-likes for Performances into a printed article. Perhaps the rules hereabouts should allow the RW Editor to use our RF contributions on his letters-page(s), combining these two toe-dippings into a weekly most-interesting-letter (or five) ... ??

A J Barnfield 229 registered users as of now — Admin

Two years ago this forum had 229 registered users. Could we have an updated figure please?

311 as of today

Many thanks :smile: