I have watched Strictly since its inception . I also love reading the forum- to which I have never contributed. However I now feel that this forum has changed for the worse. Lots of contributors appear to have an axe to grind with the contestants. eg They hate people / quote tabloid press rubbish - Peter is a liar/ Jay and Aliona having an affair- even though she was just recently married/ Katie is too posh/ Kristina steals husbands- (even though the men were willing) . The reason I feel this has happened is that they are "refugees" from reality shows like the X factor and Celebrity Big brother. where you have to hate certain contestants. Cue the dreadful screaming and baying for young people to be eliminated from X Factor The tabloid press used to ignore Strictly. Now it is more popular than the X factor, they have to write something in their dreadful papers and so they start on the celebs. People read these and think it is true and and then regurgitate it on here. Everyone has favourites. I like Jeremy but understand that he will have to go soon, if better dancers are eliminated. The way this forum is moving is not good at all. Have your opinions but stop this hatred and vitriol

You'll never stop people posting what they want to post, so best either ignore the forum completely or be selective in which threads you read. There is some interesting and funny stuff on here too.

Unfortunately there is negatively on this forum, and I admit to having contributed to it myself on some occasions.

However, like Jennifer says, there are still many great threads out there.

The Ballroom and Latin questions thread and the Spoiler thread are two that seem to remain upbeat.

I don't think the forum's significantly worse than it has been in some of the more protracted FAN WARZ of seasons past, although I will admit that the massive influx of people who know Peter Andre's private life in terrifying detail from Showbiz is setting the tone a little. I really can't imagine why anyone thinks it's anything to do with Strictly (or for that matter why anyone other than the saddest of the sad should give a flying ****) how many magazine covers and which and when Peter's wife has been on.

I totally agree - judgements on the contestants' characters based on tabloid gossip or prejudices is a waste of everyone's time, and I suspect slightly bruises the souls of both the poster and the target. For example, how often do we read someone blasting a celeb's "fake smile" when they've messed up, when it would be more truthful and productive to recognise it as a brave smile?

I returned to the fold for this season having been a FM many years ago. That experience put me off because of the seriously unhinged people who would tap away at their keyboards with cloven hooves. There are a few annoying people ("haters" anyone?) but overall I think the Moderators have made this a much pleasanter place to be with particularly violent (and I don't use that word lightly) FMs being sent off on their merry way.

I'm with you, but then I've never had a problem with being negative about the show as I am a paid up member of the spotty arsed jellus hatah club (NAT thread). But most of my posts are tongue-in-cheek and I don't in fact, hate anyone. Why would i, I don't know them? But I do love the show and enjoy debating it with others.

What I do find tiresome is sweeping generalisation posts that tell everyone else how to behave on the board. Or the dismissal of groups of posters (all Peter's supporters feel one way, or all Jay's supporters feel another) I try to only ever talk about how I feel, I have no right to berate anyone else on the board or talk on anyone else's behalf. especially if you read some of my posts

The forum this year is really tame imo. So far.
2013 was one of the worst I could remember. I even took a break in the middle of the series because it was too much; never had that many people on the Ignore list as at that time. As we came close to the finals, it got even worse so no this year is really, really tame imo.
Who knows ? Maybe it was because it was the year of the Woman which increased the bitchiness around these parts.

Glad I wasn't in the forum at the time!

I wasn't a fan of Natalie and Susanna and had my share of criticisms towards them but some of the attacks towards them were pretty horrible ( to the point that I actually felt sorry for them ) . Sophie got off relatively unscathed imo. I will never forget someone calling Abbey Clancy " brain dead " . I was fuming .

I don't think the tone of the forum has really changed - I remember some really horrible things being written about Emma Bunton, Kelly Brook and Lisa Snowdon in particular. I do agree though that the tabloids increased interest in Strictly and making up ridiculous stories about the contestants has given posters more ammunition to start threads etc. if they don't like someone.

I agree with others that this year is certainly no worse than other recent seasons.

But even if it was, it's not up to any of us to try to instruct others how to post. If you don't like the overall tone of this place then you always have the option to stay out; and if it's a few specific posts you find objectionable you could ask the Mods. to remove them, but it will be their decision, not yours.

In addition there is the Ignore facility, if it is one or two individual posters that bother you.

I agree with all of this. The tone of the forum hasn't changed especially, as far as I can see, but the media manipulation/prevalence of social media wasn't as big a factor in earlier series so ammunition/sources of 'facts' were far more limited compared to now.

"Have your opinions, but stop this hatred and vitriol"

If only! I imagine there are many people who are put off even posting because of the above. At times, I have felt stalked almost, especially by one particular poster, for comments I've made about Peter Andre.

I only joined the forum recently, in the hope of learning about dance in general, and Strictly in particular. Because of all the vitriol sadly this hasn't really happened, although I could write a book about some of the dancers private lives.

I'll tell you what's never changed here - the laughable spectacle of some individuals looking down their noses at people who enjoy a bit of TXF (not guilty) or BB (guilty).

You watch BB?









Sorry, couldn't resist

I first joined these boards to chat about Big Brother - and back then, those boards were really vicious. As in, you could post something entirely reasonable and someone might jump in and verbally savage you. People would get banned now for behaving in a way that seemed to be pretty par for the course back then.

I think some big BB board shut, a year or so later, or started heavily moderating/deleting posts, and there was a huge exodus to these boards, and things got much milder here as a result. Over the years, it just became more so! It's maybe got a little more negative on the Strictly boards this year, but it's still all hearts, flowers & rainbows compared to how the forums used to be!

I agree. I don't think it is worse this year than in recent years. But I agree that having a controversial figure has brought in a new contingent that are only here to grind an axe.

The Dancing on Ice (RIP) forum was always a fun place to be for me, except the year when Coleen Nolan took part and the forum filled up with people who violently supported her and took issue with anyone who made the slightest criticism of her. They all disappeared the next year.

I think the forums change from year to year depending on who's in the programme. There are lots of really light hearted threads to enjoy here and I think the mods do a good job of keeping a lid on outright nastiness and negativity.

I mainly use the spoiler thread, and there's some fabulous folk that use that, we have even text each other the results if one of us is abroad or doesn't have access to t'internet on a Saturday night. We do get the occasional bad apple, but I genuinely think they post on there to get a reaction, because it's such a nice thread. We can disagree on there without it turning into a public stoning, there's respect. I've learned to ignore the trolls (tho it's taken me a while to learn that )

However, when I venture into other threads, I'm surprised how volatile and nasty some posters can be....there's one at the moment that's really annoyed and saddened me. Opinion is one thing, casting aspersions is quite the other. I'm a middle aged woman and I don't post to gain favour or anger, I just like SCD and want to read and discuss with like minded folk.

It seems this year, there's more WUMs, antagonists and general ill feeling. I know there's an ignore option, and I've used it, but always as a last resort. Sometimes I feel like a rabbit caught in the headlights, even if I haven't contributed to the thread in question.

I think this is key. I respect posters who try to represent their own views and not speak for others, and who recognise that other posters are individuals too. I might not agree with a single word you say of course but.......

Is the tone of the forum poor? Well I would say that the problem I have is not so much that I feel intimidated or offended. More that sometimes I just don't get it. I just don't understand why some things are seen to be so intolerable.

I do miss Dancing on Ice

Applauds this post. The REALLY daft thing is that those who lambast Peter the most (to paraphrase one poster "He's a cryer - FACT) are the very ones who are making him wealthy by buying all those trash mags in which he appears.

Well, Brucie's gone of course, and the NAT thread has morphed into an unfunny appreciation thread with added bile, but other than that, not much change at all as far as I can see.

Phooey.

It's been chocolate and kittens on here since Karen Hardy stopped competing.