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

Post by **cnosni** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 11:04 am

jdbythesea wrote: franco wrote: Hi everyone. I stopped posting on here ages ago. Why? Well i'm sorry but i honestly believe that all topics of interest have been explored and discussed to oblivion. Reflect back if you will to Secret.Leeds imperial period around 4/5 years ago. Its all there in its splendid,quirky,varied glory in the archives. Compare then with now, sadly there is no comparison. Today's site is a tired, dying, insipid shadow of what it used to be albeit one filled with great memories of a mighty past. Its no-ones fault. We've just exhausted interesting, Leeds based things to talk about, I apologise to the moderators and loyal site contributors who obviously love and cherish this site. You probably find my comments hurtful even insulting. However this is simply my opinion. Thank you.l Frankly, Franco I doubt whether most SL-ers are that concerned one way or the other about your current views about the site. Most of us get something from SL and, of course, you are entitled to your opinion along with the rest of us. However, methinks you protest (and apologise) a little too much. To be fair this thread has evolved into good debate, a debate that i asked lurkers to join in with.Franco has done exactly that, and whether we agree or not i think open discussion should be encouraged at a time where SL could well be on a slippery slope.I think that if we are not concerened with someones quite valid points with regards the current situation on SL then we run the risk of doing exactly what many lurkers think when they visit the site, which is that they feel they will be somehow rounded on or perhaps even spoken down to.I agree totally with what Franco says with regards to the current state of affairs and how 4- 5 years ago we were riding the crest of a heady wave of input and how now its pretty stale.We need to look at the fact that we probably have exhausted a lot of subjects, and as Kango says, there are only so many times we can take a picture of a grate.The site needs to be more user friendly whilst at the same time still be easy and accessible to those who (like myself) are not all that clued up on the digital whizz bangery.New members need to be attracted and encouraged to engage. If, as been suggested, the formality of the site is someting that puts people off.Im probably as much responsible for this formailty as anyone. Its a formality that i suppose grew from the fact that at one time this was a council sponsored project and that as such not somewhere where one such act in manner that occurs on social media sites.However there was a time when there was a huge amount of great laughs and mutual joking along with the serious business of mutual research and debate, which is another feature which is sadly lacking.We also had some nasty spats on the site, which will have put some people off, never to return, including some valued contributors and moderators.Thats in the past, we need to look forward and i would ask those who perhaps bemoan the past glories of SL to look forward and engage in how we can carry on, but with perhaps a broader.lighter and more tolerant aspect running along with the core ethos of what teh site has become.Oh and Tilly, long may you tell us about the old days. Do not for one minute think no one is interested.Its exactly the points Kango and Phil have been making about personal memories going alongside the "Bricks and Mortar".

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

tilly wrote: Phill_dvsn wrote: kango wrote: Evolve or perish as it were. I think there is much merit in that philosophy we need to attract not only newer members but younger ones also to tell the stories of their secret Leeds.As it stands I think the more "formal" ethos at present could be off putting to them.I'm sure that Duncan is aware of this, and of the other points raised, and will launch the new site with this in mind. It's the living on past glories thing I think. Remembering the hit songs you had in the late 60's, the goals you scored in the championship season. Those days are long since gone and they aren't coming back. Relying on how things were isn't the saviour really. You either realise this in good time, or you don't. One is survival, the other is game over. Hi Phil The point you make about relying on things from the past is this not the reason that we have Secret Leeds.I know i post about Hunslet a lot but the point is its an Hunslet that is no longer there a lot of the members on this site would be half my age. That being the case they would have no idea what Leeds was like in the past unless told by someone who had lived at that time.Please dont think that i thought you were pointing a finger at me its just that i can only post about the things that appertain to me. Hi TillyI'd just like to point out that's not the kind of the 'past' I meant.I meant it's no good thinking how busy and vibrant a website S.L was in the past, the one thing that counts is it isn't now. And it won't ever be like it was unless something changes. Decline happens all the time, pub's, cinemas, and websites....They decline, and often close.Either these places hope for better times, or they are realistic and make changes to once again achieve happy times. Living on past glories like the good old days of S.L won't work in this case.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 1:01 pm

Your "digital whizz bangery" made me cnosni. It sounds like it could be a great Bonfire Night firework.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 1:49 pm

I've always thought of SL being about the built environment and social history, not personal reminiscences which often need filtering to put them in context. Collecting personal memories and mining them for information is a skill in itself. SL has given me a valued understanding of how Leeds has developed and changed over the years. It will continue changing and it's important that we challenge decisions being made now leaves a Leeds that is better. I'm not for saving old for old's sake but am against change for change's sake. All beyond the remit of the website itself but a valuable resource itself. We may have run out of manholes and public toilets to talk about but there will be another generation discovering them for the first time. Having that info available and in an accessible, searchable format is important.

kango · Post by **kango** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 3:57 pm

Cardiarms wrote: I've always thought of SL being about the built environment and social history, not personal reminiscences which often need filtering to put them in context. Collecting personal memories and mining them for information is a skill in itself. SL has given me a valued understanding of how Leeds has developed and changed over the years. It will continue changing and it's important that we challenge decisions being made now leaves a Leeds that is better. I'm not for saving old for old's sake but am against change for changes sake. All beyond the remit of the website itself but a valuable resource itself. We may have run out of manholes and public toilets to talk about but there will be another generation discovering them for the first time. Having that info available and in an accessible, searchable format is important. Hi Cardi.I don't think anyone is advocating a forum full of personal reminiscences, as I stated in an earlier post the forum becomes purely a "talking shop" if that happens and besides if the reminiscence is about the subject at hand then it is self filtering by definition, but if you separate the human experience from the bricks and mortar then the forum will become no more than an adjunct to the many other sources of information about Leeds i.e. libraries old map collections etc. All in a format equally accessible as this forum is, to a new generation. Also this new generation are more inclined towards social media sites, the gravitation towards secret Leeds facebook would seem to confirm this so something has to change to generate that new growth on this site.I am willing to bet also that the facebook site has more female contributors than here as the present ethos I suspect may intimidate some Whilst this site can be regarded as a valuable resource a vast amount of its input has come from other well established and equally accessible resources. Leodis has provided a large swathe of the photographic elements used here and the maps and directories often quoted I suspect in some cases are not from the forum contributors own personal collection but from another web based resource equally accessible to all so not really secret is it?My own personal view as stated earlier is that the human experience has to play a part in the story of the built environment and social history otherwise all we have is sterile fact reporting.An example of this would be the some of the railway literature I have collected over the years. most recalling not just the infrastructure of the companies concerned but also the stories of the men and women who toiled in that environment their life experience which is just as important as the groundwork I feel. I also have a few books by O S Nock which are little more than learn by rote details of various loco configurations, hardly page turners!My final point being, If the forum stays the way I suspect some would like it to stay, then it will become the literary equivalent of "southern steam" by O S Nock. a dusty old tome with little interest to the new more socially aware generation we are trying to attract and show an interest in Leeds.At the end of the day the resource is only of any use if we learn something from it more tangible than the sand and cement that created it. I have seen maps and photographs on this site of,for example,the district of Hunslet , Hunslet that I never knew existed all thanks to the contributors valuable time and effort in researching the subject, but it is Tilly's reminiscences of having lived through that time that brought life and understanding to the maps and pictures. Equally as important I feel as the the initial subject.These are my own thoughts on the matter perhaps others may wish to express their views so I'll end there.Regards.Kango

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 4:00 pm

Why do I get the chill feeling of being scolded by certain contributors to the site at the moment. To me the site is a one size fits all - something for everyone. I enjoy reading it everyday. if a story doesn't suit, just like reading a newspaper, another one will. One man's meat is another man's poison.

kango · Post by **kango** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 4:15 pm

Johnny39 wrote: Why do I get the chill feeling of being scolded by certain contributors to the site at the moment. To me the site is a one size fits all - something for everyone. I enjoy reading it everyday. if a story doesn't suit, just like reading a newspaper, another one will. One man's meat is another man's poison. Hi Johnny39.You scolded? Never! Always enjoyed your postsYou are quite right if you don't like something look elsewhere I totally agree. All I'm advocating is a slight change in style to the forum to encourage more users, young old and more female for a balanced forum, in no would I ever look down on any contribution. Regards.Kango.

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 4:48 pm

kango wrote: Johnny39 wrote: Why do I get the chill feeling of being scolded by certain contributors to the site at the moment. To me the site is a one size fits all - something for everyone. I enjoy reading it everyday. if a story doesn't suit, just like reading a newspaper, another one will. One man's meat is another man's poison. Hi Johnny39.You scolded? Never! Always enjoyed your postsYou are quite right if you don't like something look elsewhere I totally agree. All I'm advocating is a slight change in style to the forum to encourage more users, young old and more female for a balanced forum, in no would I ever look down on any contribution. Regards.Kango. I take no offence Kango but I think, rightly or wrongly. that S.L. is what used to be known and probably still is, as an acquired taste. That's not to say if changes were made to it I would not go along with them. S.L. forever and God Bless all who subscribe to her!

kango · Post by **kango** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 5:11 pm

Johnny39 wrote: kango wrote: Johnny39 wrote: Why do I get the chill feeling of being scolded by certain contributors to the site at the moment. To me the site is a one size fits all - something for everyone. I enjoy reading it everyday. if a story doesn't suit, just like reading a newspaper, another one will. One man's meat is another man's poison. Hi Johnny39.You scolded? Never! Always enjoyed your postsYou are quite right if you don't like something look elsewhere I totally agree. All I'm advocating is a slight change in style to the forum to encourage more users, young old and more female for a balanced forum, in no would I ever look down on any contribution. Regards.Kango. I take no offence Kango but I think, rightly or wrongly. that S.L. is what used to be known and probably still is, as an acquired taste. That's not to say if changes were made to it I would not go along with them. S.L. forever and God Bless all who subscribe to her!

Concise and to the point Johnny and as valid as any point of view.But an acquired taste may possibly become an expensive taste enjoyed by the few and this site needs to pay its way, and without a revenue stream from advertisements and more members to view those ads , said advertisers may say bye bye in which case the site could theoretically fold leaving us with nothing to taste at all.

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Tue 17 Jun, 2014 5:27 pm

kango wrote: Johnny39 wrote: kango wrote: Johnny39 wrote: Why do I get the chill feeling of being scolded by certain contributors to the site at the moment. To me the site is a one size fits all - something for everyone. I enjoy reading it everyday. if a story doesn't suit, just like reading a newspaper, another one will. One man's meat is another man's poison. Hi Johnny39.You scolded? Never! Always enjoyed your postsYou are quite right if you don't like something look elsewhere I totally agree. All I'm advocating is a slight change in style to the forum to encourage more users, young old and more female for a balanced forum, in no would I ever look down on any contribution. Regards.Kango. I take no offence Kango but I think, rightly or wrongly. that S.L. is what used to be known and probably still is, as an acquired taste. That's not to say if changes were made to it I would not go along with them. S.L. forever and God Bless all who subscribe to her!

Concise and to the point Johnny and as valid as any point of view.But an acquired taste may possibly become an expensive taste enjoyed by the few and this site needs to pay its way, and without a revenue stream from advertisements and more members to view those ads , said advertisers may say bye bye in which case the site could theoretically fold leaving us with nothing to taste at all. Point taken Kangol. My problem is, I don't know how these these things (sites) work.