General Chat

Is it possible that one day we will come on here and find the first page nothing but Death notices. How sad will that be.

No not at all, it is a courtesy to sticky a thread when a member has passed away, and i don't know exactly how long the threads stay there but i personally think about 3-4 months is sufficient for everyone to post their condolences.

It is just very sad that we have lost so many members in recent months..this is not always the case..

I agree that it is very sad to have lost so many especially as I was just begiining to appreciate their input and wit.

Phyll well yes I agree that it would be very sad to see a whole page of condolence threads. I sincerely hope we never will. Eventually those that are there will be taken down although never forgotten. We have lost too many in recent months I agree, but it is lovely that we all have somewhere to post our thoughts about our much loved and missed friends.

It is always sad when anybody dies but I do agree that there are times when it appears that the general chat board is starting to fill up somewhat.

Four months is more than ample for people to pay their genuine respects publicly after which time it would be justifiable to let the thread slip down the boards - unless people wish to continue adding to it of course, and then it would remain at the top.

There is no need to sticky a thread ad infinitum if people continue to post on it as it will always then be near the top of the board.

It had been suggested that maybe it would be more appropriate to have an obituaries/condolences board but I don't know what became of that excellent idea.

this topic of how long obituary notices should remain was broached some weeks ago .............

Most people who posted agreed that there had seemed to be a limit in the past, and that it was a good idea

But the thread then turned very nasty, from those who objected to the idea that there should be a time limit on how long a thread should be stickied.

Errol is quite correct ............ there is no need to sticky a thread for long periods as it will remain near the top of the page anyway as long as someone posts on it.

I wouldn't want to see a separate thread as it would feel macabre to look especially to see if anyone had died that day

However I do think the threads can be unstickied after a while, once everyone who wishes to has added their thoughts, but that takes time. I will ask or Elaine's thread to be unstickied after three months, if it is still there and not being added to.

I just hope we won't lose any more friends from these boards for a lomg time. A lot of it is due to the fact that several of us are over 60! We will all have to try hard to stay well and watch out for one another.

Lizxx

the obituary threads are left up till people stop adding
their is no limit on grieving
and is not wallowing its about loving and caring about people
whether they are here or not

Gr will decide when threads are un stickied :-D

I think it is a lovely touch GR stickying threads,

i also think unless you're the original poster its up to gr to remove them,

we have lost a lot of valued members lately,

there is somtimes many threads on page 1 that dont interest me, i simply skip to page 2, i dont see the problem,

I don't think Phyll meant to insinuate there was a current problem. She was just hoping that it wouldn't happen. Well that is how I read it anyway.

Exactly, AnninGlos

I don't want to see that happen. So will you all take care & keep as well as possible for many a long time.

Just my opinion but I think all stickied threads, for whatever reason, shouldn't stay stickied for longer than a couple of months.

GR have a history of leaving their own stickied threads at the top for far too long.

I asked GR to unstick my thread a couple of months after a GR friend died because everyone had had chance to read the sad news and to post their respects. It's still around somewhere and if someone wanted to remember her they could bring it back to the top easily enough.

If all memorial threads had been left as stickies the whole front page would already be full of such threads, sadly.

I've just come back from holiday where there was very poor reception and found it difficult to scroll down GR's front page on my phone. So I could only see the stickied posts for most of the time. I can't be the only person to have this problem.

Head Stones in cemeteries, for example, are an accepted method of recording & remembering the deceased buried there. That was the early form of a 'sticky' I suppose.

It would be unthinkable to put forward a suggestion for their removal - although the process has been carried out occasionally of clearing very ancient graveyards where no connected family exists, to make way for housing development. I know of one such instance.

'Rest In Peace' - indeed?

A lot of my Lowestoft ancestors' graves are under a road now. The headstones that could be saved were preserved, however, and stand at the side of the churchyard.

To add insult to injury 5xgt grandfather Robert donated the land to the church for "a burying ground".

"It had been suggested that maybe it would be more appropriate to have an obituaries/condolences board but I don't know what became of that excellent idea."

Errol has restated the b obvious. It is not a great idea for in mem. never forget etc etc to remain on the gen. board for months and even years. On a dedicated board they would always be there and new members would be able to see how inspiring / funny / helpful / witty our sadly lost members have been.

It's sad that the deceased members have no opportunity to give their opinion on the matter.

Nobody has suggested that threads are removed, merely not stickied for months on end.

A dedicated board (just like the obits page in a newspaper) would be ideal because people could choose whether to "dip in" or not.

Again, if people wish to remember others, then simply add to the thread and it will soon move back up to the top of the board - a pretty good indication in my book of how much people love and care for others.

The Suggestions board should be used to propose a Memorial board. It is unlikely that GR staff will see ideas on the General Chat board especially ones that are made in the middle of a thread.

My thoughts on this.

Fair enough have a sticky on the board they posted on most, after a preset time it gets unstuck. At which time it could be moved to a dedicated board if requested.

Either way the thread remains unless deleted my the OP or by GR so if in future anybody wishes to post can do so.

Kense - it wasn't a proposal by me but an agreement with a proposal put forward by other members.

PatrickM - I think that is the general consensus of opinion.