Changes to UK Free TV
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV The purpose of the site is to provide independent (from the broadcasters, infrastructure companies and Digital UK) information about the choice people can make to watch free to air television services in the UK.
Having many years of technical, managerial and communications experience - and particularly after seeing at first hand the failure of ONdigital to communicate the technical difficulties - I thought the would be plenty of people who would need straightforward technical digital TV assistance.
When the site launched the only form of "feedback" was a personal email service, but on 7 October 2005, I introduced a direct commenting service. This has on the whole been very successful and popular - over 88,000 comments have been posted since then.
Many people have assisted people from all over the UK and around the world, and these contributions have made the site a lively and helpful place.
However, 28,500 of these posting are mine, and it is taking an increasingly large amount of my time.
In addition, the number of occasions where personal attacks are being launched on me and my professional knowledge, or I have to deal with uninformed and incorrect answers being given to people has increased.
The main upshot of this is that I spend very little time doing the "top line" site tasks, such as writing articles, upgrading the database information, adding in new sections such as the radio transmitter and YouView pages and so forth.
Whilst I appreciate that visitors can reasonably think that "in a democracy we are free to discuss pros, cons and preferences", this site is not a democracy, UK Free TV is my project.
Therefore I am proposing that:
1. Certain sections pages will be closed to further comments. I really do not have the time to spend going round and round in the same loop discussing same things, such as with the tedious digital radio haters. Such discussions add nothing to helping out people with their reception issues and will be moved to a holding page or deleted if they are insulting.
2. Some sections will be pre-moderated. Comments will not appear until I approve them.
3. Off-topic comments will be deleted or moved. For example, questions posted about Freeview reception in Jersey posted on the Winter Hill page. I will normally move them to the general purpose Feedback page.
4. I will then will have the time to improve the resolution and accuracy of the transmitter coverage pages, upgrade the radio transmitters section and provide information about the upcoming local TV, IPTV and YouView.
I will instigate these changes shortly.
Bold indicates changes made from feedback.
steve: I don't mind people occasionally mentioning an opinion, it is when people go on at great length using pseudoscience and don't really wish to have a discussion, every single time you post "oh there's a new DAB transmitter...".
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7:16 PM
Hi Brianist,
I would agree with others that we are all very grateful for your site which does give alot of information and help to others. I suspect you consider me as a "Digital Radio hater" but actually it is not true. I even bought my wife a digital radio for Christmas although she uses it with upnp, internet or usb stick and not DAB. I am how ever totally opposed to the enormouse amounts of money being spent on DAB just to service 15% of radio listening.
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Mark Aberfan Aerials: Yes, a great thumbs up to that.
To be clear, I'm not saying I do not wish people to disagree or argue, or point out errors and mistakes.
There just needs to be a little more focus on helping, to ensure the site continues to be useful for the 99% of people who use it and never post at all.
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Trevor Harris: That is almost verging into the territory that I am trying to avoid.
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9:52 PM
Brian, these postings may well be the best response you have ever received! We all very much appreciate all your input and expertise. We all wish only to benefit from, and contribute to, your incomparable website. Evidently, there must be boundaries which you must delineate. Your suggestion of a fringe discussion page demonstrates your insightful overview of priority interests.
The suggestion of an index was intended as exclusively constructive. Along the leftpage margin of every page an index of FAQ-derived
support key-lines would enable anyone accessing your ukfree website to swiftly
find the guidance sought. This would lessen the burden to respond to many a repetative enquiry, as now addressed individually.(As an adept, I am reasonably well able to seek out detailed pointers to relevant links, however I feel that a leftpage margin index would be very helpful to many enquirers.) The basic structures you have built up over years are solid. User-oriented index linking could but enhance this so as to "outflank" lesser online offerings.
With every good wish,
Michael
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10:41 PM
Briantist: Please keep up the good work! By the way..... my Gran used to say "Don't worry - behind every cloud there is a silver lining!"
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11:11 PM
Brian: Thanks' so much for a great job! as you know I've only recently found this site.
Can I be checky and ask? Mark Aberfan Aerials
is it possible to connect an aerial that points to a digital Freeview transmiter and connect an analog receiving aerial to the same coax?
Thank you again Brian
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Hi Alan,
Yes it can be done with diplexer / filter but im not sure why you would want to unless you live between two regions where one had switched over & one that had not. Dont fotget switchover ends next year & then there will be no more analogue so it may not be worth the expense.
Mark Aberfan Aerials
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11:32 PM
Mark, if you and other active professionals pick up queries such as this, Brian could concentrate more on the essentials which make this site so valuable to so many. Maybe there could be provision for a group including such as you who could take this on? Brian, what do you think?
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5:47 AM
Hi Brian, just a note to say how much I appreciate your site. Thanks for all your hard work on this extremely useful resource.
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