Any news on when the new Secret Leeds website is to come active.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 9:56 am

I'm confused (easily done I know!) but I wonder if in order to participate or just even view the new Secret Leeds will I need to be a member of Facebook, as that's the impression I'm getting.

uncle mick · Post by **uncle mick** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 10:00 am

Leodian wrote: I'm confused (easily done I know!) but I wonder if in order to participate or just even view the new Secret Leeds will I need to be a member of Facebook, as that's the impression I'm getting. Yes Leo you would have to be a member of Facebook, but like this site you wouldn't have to give your real name. You could join with any name

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 11:03 am

uncle mick wrote: Leodian wrote: I'm confused (easily done I know!) but I wonder if in order to participate or just even view the new Secret Leeds will I need to be a member of Facebook, as that's the impression I'm getting. Yes Leo you would have to be a member of Facebook, but like this site you wouldn't have to give your real name. You could join with any name Thanks for that clarification Mick, which is appreciated. As I have no intention of joining Facebook nor other social network sites (nor any image hosting websites) then sadly it will be goodbye from me when the present SL site ends.

Post by **cnosni** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 11:27 am

Leodian wrote: uncle mick wrote: Leodian wrote: I'm confused (easily done I know!) but I wonder if in order to participate or just even view the new Secret Leeds will I need to be a member of Facebook, as that's the impression I'm getting. Yes Leo you would have to be a member of Facebook, but like this site you wouldn't have to give your real name. You could join with any name Thanks for that clarification Mick, which is appreciated. As I have no intention of joining Facebook nor other social network sites (nor any image hosting websites) then sadly it will be goodbye from me when the present SL site ends. Leo what Phil is suggesting and what some members aspire to is a more dynamic Secret Leeds site, not a transfer to or amalgamation with the Facebook page SL2As i mentioned before there are 3 types of those people who are interested in what appears on SL and SL2 on Facebook.I go on both as it happens but there are those on both sites who will not visit the other.The success of the FB site is that its format is familiar to FB users. Groups such as SL2 on FB are "suggested" to FB members by the site itself.However as it is a social media site and its members have a network of friends with whom they have interaction usually on a daily basis.As a result, with overlapping networks of friends,people are telling each other about SL2 and these people, if interested, ask to join or are put forward by an existing member, thats why the membership has grown massively.It is a different platform altogether to this site, FB is geared to create a huge spiders web of peopel at whom advertising etc can be targeted at for commercial gain, thats one of the drawbacks of FB.The way to be a memeber AND try to not be part of that spiders web is to use a pseudonym and put NO personal details on there.The question is why the FB users/ members dont appear to visit this site?I was hoping that we could get some first hand feedback from Lurkers to see what they think.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 12:17 pm

Hi Leo.Just to emphasise again any new format like I suggest would have nothing at all to do with facebook. You need never even mention the word never mind be a member of it It was only a suggestion to use some of f.b's format as an additional feature of Secret Leeds should you wish to do so. I suspect that you and most other members, once they had got used to it would actually spend more time looking at it than the threads page. cnosni wrote: The question is why the FB users/ members dont appear to visit this site? My thoughts on the matter are Chris that this site just isn't user friendly, for the fact you have to know something, or appear to know something before you post. This is not so on f.b. People are more than happy to chat about the old days, reminisce, and tell stories about places. They don't get the same sort of chance on S.L as it is today. Yes it does happen, but by and large it's very small scale. For one... people are afraid they are 'going off topic'' If they chat about Old Joe the milkman and the other kind of local stories. It's so easy for people to post an interesting photo of Leeds on facebook, this isn't so on S.L. There has to be a reason why you've posted the photo to a thread. There has to be some historical value, interesting story, or other quirky tale before you can make a thread. People have to go to some effort to add some kind of story, explanation, and document any new thread before they start one. The result - I can't be bothered with all that. I'll stick to facebook, It's non of that hassle.For instance no one can post the photo above to a thread titled.....................................................''Old Milk cart - Stoney Rock Lane''Hi everyone, I found this great photo and thought I'd share it. I'm sorry I don't have any kind of history or info about it. I just liked the photo. .....................................................You can't do that on S.L, but people are more than happy to do it on easy street no constraints Facebook. All the great old tales are there, little snippets of fascinating info. And new threads can emerge from peoples comments on these random local photos. People are discussing where old schools and streets were on that photo. That would make a brilliant thread of it's own with people posting maps and archive photos e.t.c. The S.L forum is old fashioned and boring in that respect. The format it uses isn't enough to rejuvenate the site as it is at present.

Post by **chameleon** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 12:25 pm

Well put cnosni, I've been quietly (lurking???) watching this discussion and see a growing, though I'm sure quite unintentional confusion developing, perhaps in part because not all readers are entirely comfortable with the differing options today's technology brings to us all, and this site in its present format is NOT the easiest to manipulate to make it do what you wantI am on facebook but also I uncomfortable with the intrusion and privacy issues it can bring, often unseen by many users, for that reason it is restricted solely to family and family friends as contacts which seems to work fairly well - I do not even include work colleagues or even good friends from their!Over time, there has been a trend to use this site more and more for what comes down to personal messages and things not really in line with the original ethos of Secret Leeds, and people have been asked to take such conversations to a more appropriate site - facebook clearly provides a perfect medium for this purpose and for that I feel it is an ideal adjuvant - not an alternative - and people who feel comfortable with it will use it for that purpose, both options have a place.It is inevitable that items will be posted in one place which may be better suited, or at least also appropriate to the other, but if that wasn't with facebook, I'm sure that somewhere else would appear. I suppose we could say that an ideal distinction would be for this site to continue as more an investigative area (sometimes these days I do wonder if we have almost exhausted the meatier topics which would account for some threads not taking off), with facebook accommodating the lighter topics or more general discussion which people wish to engage in, but there will always be an overlap - that's the way life works after, if we all thought and worked in the same way, things would be rather boring.Perhaps not put in the best terms but that is my synopsis from what I read of people's feelings, whether it is liked or not there is a place for both.

Post by **cnosni** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 12:27 pm

So its not just a matter of a re-jig, but acompletely new ethos/ spirit thats needed?

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 12:36 pm

cnosni wrote: So its not just a matter of a re-jig, but acompletely new ethos/ spirit thats needed? I would say so. Change or slowly ebb away.The rise and popularity of other local social groups to the detriment of this one speaks for itself.

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 1:02 pm

For the record, I contribute to a number of "area specific" Facebook sites devoted to places in Leeds I have lived in. As natter/old friends forums I find them preferable to a general "all Leeds" Facebook sites. For deeper and more serious study of local history SL suits me just fine as it is, and I would hate to see its ethos changed to any great degree. If it fades, I will go along with it for as long as the occasional post shows up, - I have reached the age when I can accept fading with it! Those who want something different are quite at liberty to create their own personal ideal site elsewhere.

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Mon 16 Jun, 2014 1:08 pm

jim wrote: Those who want something different are quite at liberty to create their own personal ideal site elsewhere. It's not personally for my benefit Jim. I'm more than happy and well catered for using my other website outlets already. I'm only offering a suggestion how to kick start the forum back to life. Without a new look and revamp I know the forums fortunes, and will continue to watch the dwindling traffic and user input with some sadness