Rebuilding Brookmans,com

I’ve been working solidly each night for the past few weeks installing and adapting a new CMS for the Brookmans Park Newsletter.

For those who don’t know, a CMS is a content management system, which is a piece of software that should help speed up the creation and updating of the pages on the site.

Currently, that work is done by hand with each page coded in a fairly lengthy, manual process.

If it works, it will make it possible for any registered member of the Brookmans Park Newsletter Forum to write articles directly to the site. Those articles will then be checked off and published

It’s another move towards trying to build a site that is made up entirely of content created for the community by the community.

The CMS I am testing is called Joomla. It’s a free, open-source CMS and is fairly intuitive to use. The big issue is whether we can merge it with the current SMF forum so that there is one log in for both the CMS and the forum. It looks as though we will have to upgrade the forum before we can do that.

The new CMS offers many functions for streamlining the way content is created and displayed. We already have many of these elements, but the CMS will make them easier to update, edit and add. They include …

• An events calendar with a front page display of the future events
• A classified adverts section with images
• Weather for the area on a one day – five day map
• Maps of the area
• Business directory – (local businesses)
• Community directory – (local organisations)

The Forum's Future

At the end of this post is a comment box where people can add their views about the spamming incident. Anyone can comment, but in an effort to prevent further abuse, the comments will only be published after being approved, so I am afraid there will be some delay before they go live.

The Forum's Future

In the early hours of Saturday 9 September, someone registered for the Brookmans Park Newsletter Forum with the user name of Colin Farrell.

Whether or not that was the person’s real name is not known to us.

The new user then proceeded to sent instant messages containing adult, pornographic material to all 670 forum members. Half a dozen forum posts containing obscene images were also created.

We took the indecent images down as soon as one of our moderators spotted them, but, unfortunately, once the messages were sent out, there was no way we could retrieve them.

As a result, many innocent forum members were exposed to adult images and links.

The Brookmans Park Newsletter can only apologies, unreservedly, for this incident.

We have since closed the forum and have been replying to the dozens of complaints that have been pouring in since the incident.

I have to say that once I explained the circumstances to those who complained, their follow up response was one of full support and backing. Such is the richness of the community that has built up around the Brookmans Park Newsletter Forum over the years.

Two forum members have asked for their profile to be deleted from the database, and this has been done. They both know they are free to join again at any time. Communicating with them over this issue has been a warm and refreshing experience.

The Brookmans Park Newsletter is non profit-making community venture supported by volunteers.

It is not pre-moderated but is post-moderated by a great group of local volunteer moderators who help keep an eye on the site. We also use reactive moderation (where we take action having been alerted by a users who has expressed concern about, or been offended by, something that appears on the forum).

Our volunteer moderators come from a variety of backgrounds. They do not work shifts and we share the load based on the philosophy of ‘keeping an eye on things’. However, because we are not online around the clock we are probably an easier target for spammers - particularly in the early hours of the morning.

Having said that, this was our first such attack in the eight years since the site has been running a community forum/notice board feature.

In fact, such has been the strength of this online community that we have never had to ban a member, edits have been minimal (usually typos) and the spirit has been wonderful, open, engaging and honest.

So, what do we do now? I have introduced two new security measures.

1) New members have to be checked after they register before they can post. This is perhaps more a delaying strategy rather than an absolute safety guarantee - but it could delay the opportunist who logs on late at night with dubious motives.

2) I have turned off the instant message option for forum members who have made fewer than 50 posts. The majority of the regulars have posted more than that, and so they will still be able to instant message their forum contacts.

The remaining issue is this.

Do we take a risk, having introduced a number of safety measures (including those mentioned above and some stronger blocks not mentioned here for obvious security reasons), or do we leave it closed.

If we open it again, there is probably a good chance that spammers will find a way round the security measures and the incident could be repeated. If we leave it closed, they have won and we have lost a valuable online community resource.

Perhaps there is a half-way position?

Perhaps we start again, delete the existing forum and invite people to register afresh on the understanding that with all online communications there is a possibility of it being abused?

The downside is that the archive of local debate including more than 10,000 posts on 870 topics will be lost.

I have bumped into several forum members over the past 24-hours and all said we must not give in and that the forum should continue, but they are just a few of the 670 registered members.

Any thoughts would be welcomed. Anyone can add their comments.

David

We have blog-off

We have blog-off Tuesday 1st August 21.00 (a bit late with this posting sorry Dave) all I need is words now.

I am now the proud owner of a newborn blog. This isn't special in itself, as I believe a community the size of Western Europe has already beaten me to this activity, and has written on topics as obscure and bizarre as sparrow porn, reusable bullets and Ron Atkinson's next career move.

For anyone who is unaware, 'blog' is short for 'web log', deriving from the latest fashion where you take the last letter of the first word, and combine it with the first three letters of the next word to create the abbreviation. Hopefully, expressions like 'wrist watch' can be spared the same treatment.

But there is a special kind of powerful thrill of being able to write whatever and add whatever to the www. I doubt I will be more useful or entertaining than anyone else, but I will wait and see.
I frankly haven't a clue what I will write about right now.

As I sit here at my PC, on this hot evening, my sole inspiration is the sound of some local youths laughing hysterically on the street outside.

They are not riding their bikes, or playing Top Trumps - indeed, I believe they're filling the fuel tank of an abandoned moped with fizzy pop. That is playtime in AL9, and it sounds like a hoot.

I blame the absence of the World Cup. Were this sporting spectacle still on, they would be safely indoors, watching a festival of violence, cheating, thespian exceesses, big hair and step-overs.

If I see the same lads tomorrow, I might encourage them to start a blog themselves.

Not for the last time, I am running out of things to say, and will sign off for the evening. It's nice to be here.

Smoking litter

We have all, probably, become accustomed to seeing some smokers drop litter on the street when they stub out their cigarettes, but now a man has been taken to task for flicking ash from his car.

A step too far? If it stops other smokers littering - perhaps not?

Driver fuming over cigarette fine

A £75 fine has been given to a Dorset man for "dripping his cigarette" out of a car window.

Alan Joyce of Lower Parkstone, Poole, has said by "dripping" Poole Council must mean flicking his cigarette ash.

The retired 68-year-old said: "I am really annoyed - to me that is not worth being branded a litter bug."

Councillor Don Collier, who said he was unable to comment on individual cases, said: "The people of Poole won't tolerate littering."

Mr Joyce, a former carpenter, was served a fixed penalty notice which states he must pay the fine within 14 days or face court action.

It states that on 25 July a council officer had reason to believe Mr Joyce was "dripping his cigarette" from his car while driving along Sandbanks Road, Poole.

'Instant Justice'

According to the Guardian, police are pressing ministers for radical new powers to dispense 'instant justice', including the immediate exclusion of "yobs" from town centres at night, and bans on street gang members associating with each other.

The Guardian claims that senior officers say the powers would be the "modern equivalent of a clip round the ear from the local bobby" and would ensure the introduction of neighbourhood policing across England and Wales has "bite" and meets public expectations.

It's claimed the measures would include...

• Powers for police officers to tackle "town centre yobs" by immediately excluding an offender from the town centre at night "for an appropriate period" when they are issued with an informal warning or a fixed-penalty fine.

• Powers to tackle disorder by giving the neighbourhood constable, who understands the local context, the right to issue a three-month ban on gangs who cause repeat disorder on estates from associating with each other in public or frequenting a particular location. The ban could include a requirement to clear up local damage. Breaching the order would lead to an immediate court appearance with a possible fine, parenting order or Asbo.

• Powers to tackle "the yob driver": those repeatedly stopped in an unregistered car with no insurance, no driving licence or MOT, could face immediate seizure of the car which would be crushed. An instant interim driving ban would be imposed pending a court appearance.

• Tackling knife crime by enabling "reasonable suspicion" for stop and search to be based on previous convictions.

BBC News Online is also reporting this story.

Note: The use of the word 'yob' is a direct quote from the newspaper. Also, free subscription usually required to access the Guardian online.

First silverware sorted

As Liverpool lifted the Community Shield at the Millennium Stadium after stuffing Chelski 2-1, the beaten blues commiserate.

Lampard: Come on JT, get a grip, stop crying, it's only a game and the gaffer, Maureen, has given us loads of excuses.

Terry: I know, but it's still hard being a losing captain.

Lampard: Yea, and just think, you'll get to do it twice as much now.

Too old at 50?

The TUC says many over 50s have been dumped out of work and on the employment scrap heap, scraping by on benefits or small work pensions.

It's calling on firms to 'stop discriminating' and to retrain and recruit older staff, saying that the size of the potential workforce aged between 50 and 69 will rise by 17% over the next decade.

But can over 50s be retrained or are younger workers a better bet?

The CBI's Director of human resources policy, Susan Anderson, is quoted by the BBC as saying...

"Evidence suggests that older people do find it hard to find a job and this is mainly because they have lower skills levels, particularly in regard to the literacy and numeracy requirements of the modern workplace.

"However employers are very aware of the benefits and advantages which older people offer, especially their attitude to work and their customer service skills, so where possible they will do all they can to hire and retain them."

So, according to Susan Anderson, older people have lower skill levels - not much encouragment there then.

Hand luggage ban

The BBC says police have disrupted a major terrorist polot to blow up planes in mid-flight.

As a result, security is being increased at all UK airports.

According to the BBC, it means that passengers on all flights will not be allowed to take any hand luggage on to any flights in the UK.

Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - will be allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags.

Click here for more.

Slowing down to 20mph

Aberdeen has set a 20mph speed limit on 100 city centre streets.

The city council says it will boost pedestrian safety, some business leaders say it will damage trade.

More on BBC News Online.

Safe Speed says ...

• If someone is hit by a car at 40 mph they are 90% likely to be killed.
• If someone is hit by a car at 30 mph they are 50% likely to be killed.
• If someone is hit by a car at 20 mph they are 10% likely to be killed.

Holiday flights a sin

According to the Sunday Times, the Bishop of London has declared it sinful for people to contribute to climate change by flying on holiday, driving a large car, or failing to use energy-saving measures in the home.

The paper says the bishop wants vicars to preach more green sermons and warn congregations that it is now a moral obligation for Christians to lead eco-friendly lifestyles.

“Making selfish choices such as flying on holiday or buying a large car are a symptom of sin. Sin is not just a restricted list of moral mistakes. It is living a life turned in on itself where people ignore the consequences of their actions.”

The Times says the Church of England is preparing to publish Treasures on Earth, a booklet on environmental matters to be sent to every diocese for distribution.

According to the Times, the booklet will say that scientific research supporting predictions that the earth faces serious climate change is “overwhelming”.

It will also detail practical ways for Christians to cut their carbon emissions, at church and at home, including trying to walk or cycle to communion.

Online stranger danger

The following is the text from a news release sent to the Brookmans Park Newsletter by Hertfordshire Constabulary. It's a little outside our area, but it I felt it worth pointing out so that parents and guardians are alerted to the dangers of youngsters contacting strangers over the Internet.

July 20, 2006
HAVE YOU SEEN HANNAH?
By Susie ODea

POLICE are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of a St Albans girl who has been missing since yesterday afternoon (Wednesday July 19).

15-year-old Hannah Rodrigues was last seen at a bus stop in London Road, St Albans. She is then believed to have travelled to Regent Street in London, where it is understood she planned to meet a man she had earlier had contact with over the internet.

She contacted a friend yesterday evening to confirm that she was “alright”, but has not been heard from since that time.

Hannah is described as a white female, approximately 5’4” tall, of medium build, with mousey brown shoulder length hair. She was last seen wearing a black mini ‘ra-ra’ style skirt and a black top with silver detailing.

Detective Sergeant Gerard Ellis, investigating the case, said: “We are very concerned for Hannah’s safety, particularly since she is now with someone she has never met and who is not known to her friends or family.

“If you have any idea as to Hannah’s whereabouts, or any information which may help us trace her, please contact police urgently on 0845 33 00 222.

“We have a photo of the man we believe Hannah met in London. If you are this person, then we need to speak with you as soon as possible to confirm Hannah's welfare.

"If anyone else can identify this person, please contact police urgently, as we require his assistance with our enquiries. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence."

Internet censorship

The BBC is reporting that UK users of Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google are being urged by Amnesty International to email the companies to change the way they operate in China.

The firms have aided or colluded with internet censorship in the country, the human rights watchdog says.

It is asking the internet giants to reveal which words they have banned from blogs in China or filtered out of web searches.

The technology firms say they are helping develop more freedom in China.

But Amnesty says they are helping to reinforce censorship by the Chinese government.

Click here for more from BBC News Online. The Brookmans Park Newsletter removed Google AdSense from the site earlier this year because of the censorship issue in China. There is a discusson about this on the site's forum. Click here to read it.

Click here for the Amnesty news release.

You can send your comments to Yahoo! by using their online feedback form. Click here to access it.

You can find media contact addresses for Google at the right hand side of the media page. Click here to access it.

It's harder to find contact details for Microsoft, so you might be best going to the Gates Foundation page and sending a note to one of the links there. Click here to access that page.

36C in the shade

How to survive the heat.

BBC News Online says the heatwave has resulted in health warnings for the elderly and vulnerable.

The Times says the gritters will be out to cover the roads to stop them melting.

How are you surviving the heat?

Imagine there's no Lennon

According to the BBC, a church school in Devon has withdrawn John Lennon's 'Imagine' from an end-of-term show after teachers ruled that its lyrics were anti religious.

Pupils at St Leonards Primary in Exeter, Devon, had spent weeks rehearsing the song.

But it was taken out of the running order after the head teacher and governors decided it was anti-Christian and unsuitable for the school.

The lyrics include: "Imagine there's no heaven... and no religion too."

Click here for more. Are the writings of Lennon a threat? Lyrics below.

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Overheated computers

www.Zdnet.co.uk has a handy 10-point check list about how to protect your computer during the hot spell.

Click here for more.

It's not just humans that are starting to suffer in the hot weather. Soaring temperatures are already creating an epidemic of frazzled hard drives, and more PCs are likely to fall victim to lightning strikes and flooding in the storms expected later this week.

Italian soccer bargains

Star players from Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina are up for grabs after the clubs were relegated for their part in the match-fixing scandal.

AC Milan remain in Serie A but begin the season with a 15-point penalty. Clearly, the clubs will find it hard to keep hold of their star players, so where will they end up?

BBC News Online speculates, but will the majority end up at Chelsea?

Terror warnings to be made public

The BBC says that from 1 August, details of current terrorist threat levels are to be published on the websites of the Home Office and MI5, click here for more on BBC News Online.

You might also want to bookmark the Home Office site and the site for MI5, and click on 'The Threat'.

Understanding hoodies

According to the BBC, the Conservative leader, David Cameron, is expected to call for greater understanding of teenage 'hoodies' (more on BBC News Online) saying that those who hide under hooded tops are trying to 'blend in' rather than appear threatening.

"We - the people in suits - often see hoodies as aggressive, the uniform of a rebel army of young gangsters, but hoodies are more defensive than offensive. They're a way to stay invisible in the street. In a dangerous environment the best thing to do is keep your head down, blend in."

The BBC quotes former Tory MP and newspaper columnist Michael Brown as saying that traditional Tory voters will see Mr Cameron's stance as political correctness gone a stage too far while the political correspondent Jo Coburn said: "David Cameron's new softer tone on crime and yobbish behaviour is the latest in a series of speeches designed to broaden the party's appeal."

More on BBC News Online.

Train overcrowding

Network Rail pleads for extra £7bn

Rail operator claims funding is vital to combat overcrowding - but fares could still rise again.

Juliette Jowit,
transport editor
The Observer
Sunday July 2, 2006


The Observer is reporting that Network Rail wants another £7bn to ease 'chronic overcrowding on services'.

At the same time, ministers are looking to trim £6bn from the railway's annual subsidy from the taxpayers this years.

Something has got to give.

The good new, according to the report, is the further out you live the more chance you have of getting a seat on your way to work, although getting home is a different matter.

Two Speed Internet

From the Observer

Internet users face congestion charge

Britain 'could be next' as US businesses seek pay-for-speed scheme

David Smith, technology correspondent
Sunday July 2, 2006
The Observer

Millions of people will be forced to pay a 'congestion charge' for sending email under plans being developed by American telephone companies to create a 'two-tier' internet...

...Industry experts say a 'two-tier internet' could see individuals and businesses charged a penny for each email they send, or asked to pay a premium for services such as online TV or an annual subscription for constant preferential treatment. This could leave less well-off users in the 'slow lane' of the information superhighway with an inferior service, as emails take longer to arrive and websites work more slowly.

And it's predicted the scheme could be heading this way.

Overcrowded trains or roads?

Train fares double in secret deal by ministers

By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

From the Times Online

The good news seems to be that First Capital Connect has had a rethink on the off peak fares from Brookmans Park and Welham Green.

A spokesman for First, which has rebranded the Thameslink franchise as First Capital Connect, said that it expected to reduce the number of passengers on trains between 4.30pm and 7pm by 13 per cent. First will announce today a partial retreat by reducing the number of stations affected from 37 to 27.

The previous rules on the use of cheap fares will be reintroduced at Cuffley, Bayford, Watton at Stone, Brookmans Park, Welham Green, Radlett, Hatfield, Hertford North, Welwyn Garden City and Potters Bar.

Royals 'cost the taxpayer £37.4m'

From BBC News

The Queen and the Royal Family cost the UK taxpayer £37.4m in the last financial year, her financial public accounts reveal.

The cost, equivalent to 62p per person in the UK, rose 4.2% over the previous year, accountants said."

Should the royal family continue to receive money from the taxpayer?

No superstores 'means prosperity'

BBC News Online is carrying a report today quoting the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Plunkett Foundation, which claims that shops, employment and the countryside in England all flourish if plans for superstores are refused.

The report focuses on Saxmundham in East Suffolk where planning permmission for an outside town superstore was refused in 1997.

The following is taken from the BBC report.

"The area's butchers, bakers, fish shops and greengrocers have since prospered, the report says. It says the evidence should inspire UK-wide action.

Benefits of rejecting the supermarket included small stores doing well, an increase in farm shops and markets, more firms adding choice and value and local stores helping to keep communities alive, the report said.

It also ensured local countryside was well managed and served the community.

In the area around Saxmundham, the number of food suppliers rose from 300, in 1997, to 370.

And the number of shops - 81 - had remained constant, bucking the national trend."

Shoppers 'want long Sunday hours'

Which camp do you fall into?

My Sunday My Choice
or
Keep Sunday Special?

This from BBC News Online.

More than half of consumers want shops to open for longer on Sundays, research suggests.

The findings come from a YouGov poll carried out for the My Sunday My Choice campaign, which wants the Sunday trading laws to be deregulated.

The government is currently reviewing the restrictions on trading, which let shops open for six hours on a Sunday.

A rival campaign called Keep Sunday Special says it wants to see the day return to a family day of rest."

In my view having choice is special.

Summer fete reporters wanted

This year we are inviting local residents to report on the various local school summer fetes and post their accounts here in the Brookmans Park Newsletter's new Weblog.

You can even include pictures, although please avoid images of children and also make sure you have obtained the permission of those you have photographed before you upload images.

If you want to write a report for the site, simply log on to the Brookmans Park Newsletter's discussion forum and send me a message asking to be registered for the Brookmans Park Newsletter Weblog.

For more information on the fetes, click here.

David

Lioness kills visitor at Kiev zoo

This story was posted in the Christians in Brookmans Park thread in the Brookmans Park Newsletter Forum but moved here to the Weblog.

From BBC News Online...

A lioness at Kiev's zoo has killed a man who climbed into her enclosure.

A Ukrainian of Azerbaijani origin lowered himself into the enclosure using a rope. He was quoted as saying God would save him.

One of four lions in the enclosure seized the 45-year-old by the throat, and he died at the scene."

If you want to comment you can add your views by clicking on the 'comment' link below.

David

The Da Vinci Code Debate

The Vicar of St Mary's C of E, North Mymms, Revd. Sally Davenport, has written about the Da Vinci Code in this month's parish magazine.

"We always have a choice – to withdraw or to engage with our culture, its values and ideas ..."

Revd Davenport continues...

"... None of us have the whole truth and there’s always more we can learn from each other – often provoked from the most surprising sources."

You can read the entire article by clicking here or add your comments below.

Crouch, top man for England

Well, who else is there?

Okay, he looks as though he is going to fall over everytime he approaches the ball, but he puts them away.

England 6-0 Jamaica

"A Peter Crouch hat-trick rounded off England's World Cup preparations in style with an easy win over Jamaica.

Frank Lampard swept England into an early lead, which was doubled by Jermaine Taylor's own goal.

Crouch scored England's third from a set-piece, before Michael Owen rounded keeper Donovan Ricketts to make it 4-0.

After tapping in the fifth from Jamie Carragher's cross, Crouch blazed a late penalty over the bar but completed his hat-trick from Owen's pass."

(yes, okay, I am a life-long Liverpool fan.)

Could Arsenal get thrown out of the Champions League?

A BBC Newsnight investigation raises a rather gloomy prospect for all Arsenal fans.

According to the BBC...

"Fifa has launched a probe into whether Arsenal have broken regulations which may leave the club exposed to possible expulsion from the Champions League.

"BBC Newsnight has learnt that a police probe in Belgium has concluded Arsenal made secret payments of £1m to Beveren.

"If Arsenal secretly controlled another club, especially one such as Beveren who they bought Emmanuel Eboue from, they could be in breach of FIFA rules and could be heavily fined or even thrown out of the Champions League."

More on FC Beveren from Wikipedia.

A weblog for Brookmans Park

Welcome to the Brookmans Park Community weblog, yet another way for local residents to express themselves.

The Brookmans Park Community Forum, is still the place for discussions about issues local to Brookmans Park and the parish of North Mymms, however the weblog offers the opportunity for discussions on wider issues, such as general current affairs, charitable campaigns, politics, religion, arts, culture, sport, in fact anything that interests locals, but might not be local.

Contributions made to the weblog might, occasionally, be considered for publication as a story or feature on the front page of the Brookmans Park Newsletter. You never know, it might get picked up by the local press or a specialist magazine. It’s happened before and it could happen again.

Authors can also upload pictures to illustrate their work. The weblog has a facility for browsing to pictures on your computer and publishing them as part of your post.

If you want to be registered so that you can start posting on this weblog, please message me through the Brookmans Park Newsletter Forum and I will register you with the same email address as you use on the forum.

David