Why is OLO such a blokey format? How can women feel less threatened making comment? Is it time for gentrafying comment?

DD,

The women we have had on in the past have been sanctimonious Lefties who've packed it in because there were 'too many Right wingers on OLO (men, of course) who wouldn't pander to their hysteria. They have all been like the infamous 'doctors' wives' of political lore. And, we certainly don't want the likes of the vile Cheryl (foul mouthing us on the Tauber/Channel 7 business). Women can come be here, but given that they have commandeered just about everything masculine, I'm happy for them to stay away. If you are looking for lurve, there are abundant sites for that.

diver dan,

I don’t think there’s anything particularly blokey about the actual format of the site, but the place certainly seems to have become more of an old, conservative, boys’ club compared to what it was about 10 years ago. Twelve years ago, Graham Young did an article on OLO’s readership statistics (http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=3901). I’d be fascinated to see what the difference is now.

I think, to some degree, a level of subtle bullying has occurred to bring OLO to where it is now (I’m male and even I’ve been told twice before that I wasn’t welcome here (or at least it was hinted at very strongly) and that I should find a forum more suited to me). Perhaps this occurs because it is mostly retirees here, and today’s retirees come from a generation where women bloody-well knew their place, dammit! ttbn’s comment suggests this may be the case.

I don’t know if there’s anything Graham could do about the imbalance. He says he only posts articles as they come to him (provided they’re up to standard, of course) and I believe him. I‘m not even sure if there is an imbalance in the overall political persuasion of the articles posted, though. Any imbalance I might perceive could just be a confirmation bias on my behalf.

Dear Diver Dan,

Just to set the record straight for you. There are quite
a few females on this Forum, - Cossomby, Big Nana, myself,
just to name a few. And I'm sure that most male posters
will agree that we hold our own in discussions.

As for the
reasons why others have left?

Well I doubt very much if
females like Poirot and others, left because they were
intimidated by some bloke. My guess would be that they simply
got bored by how far the bar had sunk in the level of the
discussions and they did not see the point in wasting their
time here any further. Also we should note that many left after
quite a few years on the Forum - and perhaps they moved on
to more interesting pastures, so to speak, because nothing new
was happening here - it was the same old, same old,
predictable stuff.

Speaking for myself - I'm still here because I enjoy robust
discussions and men like - SteeleRedux, AJ Philips, Toni Lavis,
Banjo Patterson, O Sung Wu, Paul (our resident Greens supporter),
Joe (Loudmouth), even conservative - Shadow Minister, make for
posts that are worth reading, and of course - Cossomby, and
Big Nana, and CHERFUL, to name a few more. I apologise if I've
left anyone out - but I feel that I can learn something from
everyone who posts here. And I do enjoy it. Yes, it can be
frustrating at times when the issues are emotive and things
get deep and personal. And yes, insults do tend to fly and are
upsetting - but - they usually come from a small minority on
this Forum - and these kind of people are very common to online
posting sites on the web because they can hide behind their
anonymity. The good posters far outweigh these guys and make
posting here quite enjoyable (and interesting and educational).

I've been here for over a decade, and I don't intend on going
away any time soon.

Good on yer, Foxy. xxx

Dear Is Mise,

Thanks.

And a big hug!