I sometimes worry that on Bushdrums joking takes over an genuin topic & takes it way off course for a while.

I am possibly the most guilty of this.

Is everyone happy with this?

I know on some forums where it is totally frowned upon but then these sites there tends to be big ego's involved & a lot of debates turn into personal attacks on each other.

Moderators are not only having to remove spam but also remove posts from members as they try to keep the peace.

For me I'd rather a bit of jossing & joking, just as long as the topic, opinions, questions & answers are not lost in the "Fun?".

I'd be interested to read your views on this?

Kipper: I have absolutely no problem with it AS LONG AS people know you are joking.

My father, of Scot's descent, always joked with people sometimes with a straight face,.
Oft times people didn't know he was joking and we would have to remind him to smile
when he was pulling someone's leg.

I am new to the forums but enjoy the camaraderie and relationships. There is nothing wrong with gifting smiles and a little laughter. Keep it going!

Some of the topics talked about are so depressing that if we don't have a laugh every now and then we would all be on medication. I am serious person and work with serious issues everyday and joking helps ease the stress of it all. There are some people who can't take a joke and get upset but i don't think that is a problem on this website. I learn most about what is going on in africa from this website. You all keep us updated about all the major problems going on and I can see that everyone is very concerned about wildlife and trying to do all you can to protect it. I enjoy the site and that everyone gets along good. Keep up the good work.

I am lucky as I have met Kipper who is a person I enjoyed spending time with and even before we met - I knew when things were serious on bushdrums and when we could have a laugh and joke.

I am perhaps as bad if not worse than Kipper for having a joke and digging in. Life cannot always be serious and I enjoy getting onto our website at the end of the day when I have cleared my office down and seeing what you have all written, reading serious news and also able to comment and joke with all of you in different ways.

At times things get a little over board but that is usually when Simba (when ever he decided to leave the beach and switch is PC on) and I jump in to try and calm things down - however over the past year or so that has not been done.
We had 1 idiot some time back which Kipper sent on his bike who got quite offensive.

Let the jokes flying in Kipper!

I have to admit JUST WRITING without all the mimik which is involved in a personal conversation it's not always easy as there are so many things you can express face to face without even talking.

So limited to writing took/has been taking me some time to get used to.
I also tend to power out facts without anything else. That also has caused some probs - here and elsewhere in the net. But in the end we are all grown-ups and of course should be able to evaluate rightly - not always tending to take it personally or as offence.

In the meantime I got (somehow) used to it.....but still try to cope.

So - for you: Just keep joking ........and put a "honest" in advance if not joking. Or maybe we all should agree on some abbriviations for honest/joke