haribo

But this is my question - what action has really been taken? Marking these "bullies" as trolls in theory wouldn't alter their posting habits would it? And to be honest, when I joined this site, I didn't even realise that there was a "trolls" group, even though Sibley was on it. I had assumed he had chosen his own avatar. So I can't really see how it helps new users to make an informed decision. Was andykn part of the bullying group? If not, why was he marked as troll as well?

Here's a question - Are the only people labeled as trolls all bulls or netiher? What's the point marking someone as a troll anyway? Whilst Sibley has always been a wind-up merchant, I feel that his posts got more and more trollish AFTER he was labeled as a troll. If all that happens is that the trolls now just make more and more trollish posts, then what's the point of it in the first place?

I've had quite a nice day today - so here goes! The beer: Living in Hampshire I've sampled some excellent beer over the years. The beer festivals are fantastic! The food: I love the extreme variety, from dirt cheap builder's caff greasy fry-ups to cheap and yummy curries to Michelin starred restaurants. The queueing: Having spent a small amount of time in Spain and Italy, it's so nice to queue without having eyes in the side and back of your head, looking around for the sly tosser who's attempting to barge past you. The sense of fair play: If you bump into someone - they apologise Music: Our music is envied the world over. From rock to indie to dance to cheesy pop, our bands, singers, DJs and clubs are world renown. The climate: Yeah it rains a lot, but it's great when you have the summer. It's so nice to fly back into the UK and see acres of green beneath you. Tea: Nuff said The women: Although British women aren't the best lookers - especially compared to some of those in Europe, they are the most friendly, down to earth likeable women I know. The NHS: There's a lot wrong with it, but the "everyday people" - doctors, nurses etc. are fantastic

I'm not sure what's the point of offering that low to be honest: 32 Daver Court sold for £143,000 on 21/08/2000, so offering 30K off the 2000 price is just wasting everyone's time

I have NO idea what you're wittering on about now

I'm a member on MSE as well as HPC (is that enough TLAs? ) I think, in fairness, the majority of the sub-sections of the MSE boards are fine, and allow for reasoned debate without the 'Earth mothers' shouting everyone down who isn't preaching peace and love. The mortgage, house buying and motoring boards are fine (the only other sections I've ever visited), but the DFW section is a very odd one to me. I think the problem is, it started off a bit like a Weight Watchers meeting or something, where someone would be 5K in debt with a couple of credit cards, and it was shown that with a little bit of fine tuning, money could be made available to clear the cards in the space of 12 - 18 months. This was good, as it showed that people were accepting their responsibilities, not trying to dodge, and had realised the trouble that CC debt could cause. The problem, now that the economy has tanked, is that people are now turning up on the board with 35K of credit card debt, plus a 15K secured loan and trying to get the same advice. The problem obviously is that with debt that huge, professional help is required, not "you go girl - you can clear off those debts by 2024". But anyone who offers this contradictory viewpoint is smothered (almost literally!) by the "YummyMummyOfTwelve" types who stick together in a big clique and won't have anyone criticising one of their own. Also, there has been the emergence of the amateur lawyers who just scream "CCA Request! CCA Request!" even though that may not be helpful - plus sometimes blatantly wrong advice given out by the free debt charities. Watching the odd bitch fight is entertaining though!

+1 great post

I have to agree with KingBingo as well. I haven't joined this site for very long, but some of the finger-pointing, schadenfreude and downright nastiness to other people who are in trouble is frankly a massive turn-off. I admit I've had a chuckle at some MSE threads where people have relentlessly MEWed themselves into submission, but someone who has bought a flat when times were good and has fallen into difficulty is not the right kind of person to aim your flame baits at TBH. I look at my parents. They bought in 1976. My Dad was going to a mortgage advisor on almost a weekly basis in order to get a home. They spent the first few months eating their dinner on plastic trays on the stairs, because they couldn't afford any furniture. Eventually they got some hand-me-down stuff which helped them immensely. They bought for 11K, and the place is now worth around the 200K mark I think. They've never moved (or MEWed), and never intend to. They put pressure on me to buy a house since around 2006, but my girlfriend was just going to go back to uni, so it wasn't a good idea, and obviously we know what's happened since then. If my girlfriend had a steady job, we may well have bought. One thing that is markedly different for us now compared to my parents is the lack of jobs for life. My Mum is a nurse, and has worked at the same hospital for 27 years. My dad worked for London Underground for 26 years before retiring. Yeah, there was a recession in the 90s, but since they both had steady jobs and weren't moving anywhere, it wasn't an issue. So, from my parents point of view, you buy somewhere, struggle initially, work hard and things will be yours. I expect that's what this girl's parents told her. Unfortunately, times have changed and it hasn't worked. Thing is, if you're not as clued up/stubborn/educated/whatever as some on here, then it's easy to get swept up in the tidal wave. I don't think people in her position were stupid or sheep. Remember that, in 2006 most people were saying either property would continue to rise, or there would be a stagnation/correction but no fall. The sheep are the ones who bought into the "Guaranteed ROI of xxx% YoY BTL", not a single person buying a small flat.

It was just a ball-park figure pulled from my rear as if I was doing a shop from Tescos or somewhere similar. Naturally, wholesale would be much, much cheaper!

I'm not at all surprised by this to be honest. The ability of our nation to cook has really been eroded. I know of several families where neither the mother or father can cook a decent meal, so they and their kids either eat microwave meals, chicken nuggets and chips, or get takeaway food, such as Chinese, Maccy Ds or Pizza. Now, I'm not one of those people who starts ranting at the fast food outlets, 'cos I had a McDonald's on Sunday at it was lush - in that dirty kind of way. But I know that, for me, it's a one off. I used to work in Havant which is part of the scummiest part of Portsmouth. During a lunchtime when I was walking through the high-street, I would see the same faces sitting on benches stuffing McDonald's day after day after day. Now that's disgusting. Why the fast food places (pizza excepted) are on to a winner is that they price their stuff so it's enough to make them a healthy profit, but not enough for the customer to realise how much is disappearing from their wallet. £3.99 a day or whatever it is, is just below the "How much?!?!" threshold. Onto pizza - now that is just a rip off. I mean, what's in a basic pizza? Flour, water, oil, cheese and tomato. Probably a couple of quid for a large pizza base. Granted, a bit more for toppings, but that shows you how much Dominoes et al fleece you. You can often get half price pizzas etc. etc. with the right coupons but it's still a rip off. But if you're fat, lazy, can't be arsed to cook or walk to a shop, then you deserve the premium that you pay. I saw a quote yesterday from the chief exec at KFC, saying that with one of the KFC bucket deals, you could "feed a family of four for under a tenner". Hello? Home made stew? Home made Sunday roast? Home made pizzas? They would all easily be done for under a tenner, but the problem is you have to know how to cook. And if you can't, then you deserve to get fleeced.

Obviously a reasonable area. Check out the rampant HPI on the property a short walk away: 1 19/12/2006 £1,635,000 Det. F No Map 56, Burfield Road 2 05/10/2004 £630,000 Det. F No Map 56, Burfield Road 3 22/03/2002 £476,000 Det. F No Map 56, Burfield Road

Used cars will always shift - especially those that are low road tax. I expect that small diesel cars like a Polo/Ibiza/207 will hold their value very well in these times.

http://www.houseprices.co.uk/e.php?q=30+pa...7+9pe&n=100 Bought for £165K on 20/11/2008? That didn't last long?

The (alleged) prozzie should sue the LL for defamation of character I mean, she was wearing a cocktail dress, off her face and worked unusual hours? It could've been Kerry Katona. And she's not a prozzie. Oh wait...

It was well before its time, but there used to be a program called 'Spendaholics' that was hidden away on BBC3. It was pretty good. The average person who was on there was in their mid-twenties and in about 25K of unsecured debt. They had a psychologist and a financial advisor (I think) who would put them on a cold turkey budget of £naff all and try and get them to change their ways before their spending spiralled outta control. Since it was aired during the HPI and cheap credit days, it was probably billed as uncool. If they did a new series now, it would probably end up primetime on BBC1!