Well I've been on bluemoon six years and it's great to be a part of it. But I was actually on a similar thing to do with my job (a support role in education) since 2012. You may know of the Times Educational Supplement newspaper/magazine, well there is also a website too, well obviously, these days! (www.tes.com)
A big part of that website was the TES community, now to call it a social network (as I did in the thread title) is pushing it a bit, but what else to call it? It was basically like bluemoon, but for teachers and other school staff.
It had all sorts of sections: primary, secondary, different subjects, SEN, supply, working abroad, pension discussion, advice for new teachers etc. etc. The most popular was called 'personal' which was basically like 'off topic' here.
On 23rd December last year, the TES community page wasn't available, just a message 'TES community is down for planned maintenance....'
It stayed that way over Xmas and the New Year. Obviously their I.T. people don't take holidays! I did send a couple of emails to customer services & they said the maintenance was taking longer than necessary, to make sure all aspects of the site met the requirements of 'technical compliance' (whatever that is). In the new year, I actually managed to reconnect with some of my virtual friends from 'TES', because an internet search revealed the issue was under discussion on 'mumsnet'. They too had received similar emails, when they made enquiries.
On 18th January the TES community was shut down. It had been running for twenty years. The closing message can be seen here: https://www.tes.com/community
It was never reopened after the 'down for planned maintenance' message, just before Christmas (an Xmas when many people were alone) therefore people couldn't swap contact details with their acquaintances from the forums.
In mumsnet, I learnt at least one member had immediately made a request under GDPR legislation to get access to the archive so they could secure their own posts. They were told it had all been erased on the 18th.
Now, legally, according to the terms & conditions, all the content was 'owned' by TES Global and the Ts & Cs also stated that they have the right to delete the content. However, to erase twenty years of advice, support, tips and discussion covering all aspects of UK education seems morally, if not legally, wrong. Especially when the TES organisation claims to be the leading education publication/website in the UK and I repeat - there was no warning, not even a weekend to allow access so people could exchange contacts or save favourite messages.
Thanks for reading and I'd love your thoughts.
P.S. There are some conspiracy theories flying around about this TES thing. As you can imagine, the opening for one day and then closing schools on the 5th January, would have been much discussed in the community! Was pressure brought to bear from _____________________ (insert your own ideas here) to prevent this from happening. Did potential criticism of the government and it's handling of the pandemic, especially relating to schooling, not 'fit well' with how the TES organisation wanted itself to be seen, online. Is that what is meant by 'technical compliance'?
A big part of that website was the TES community, now to call it a social network (as I did in the thread title) is pushing it a bit, but what else to call it? It was basically like bluemoon, but for teachers and other school staff.
It had all sorts of sections: primary, secondary, different subjects, SEN, supply, working abroad, pension discussion, advice for new teachers etc. etc. The most popular was called 'personal' which was basically like 'off topic' here.
On 23rd December last year, the TES community page wasn't available, just a message 'TES community is down for planned maintenance....'
It stayed that way over Xmas and the New Year. Obviously their I.T. people don't take holidays! I did send a couple of emails to customer services & they said the maintenance was taking longer than necessary, to make sure all aspects of the site met the requirements of 'technical compliance' (whatever that is). In the new year, I actually managed to reconnect with some of my virtual friends from 'TES', because an internet search revealed the issue was under discussion on 'mumsnet'. They too had received similar emails, when they made enquiries.
On 18th January the TES community was shut down. It had been running for twenty years. The closing message can be seen here: https://www.tes.com/community
It was never reopened after the 'down for planned maintenance' message, just before Christmas (an Xmas when many people were alone) therefore people couldn't swap contact details with their acquaintances from the forums.
In mumsnet, I learnt at least one member had immediately made a request under GDPR legislation to get access to the archive so they could secure their own posts. They were told it had all been erased on the 18th.
Now, legally, according to the terms & conditions, all the content was 'owned' by TES Global and the Ts & Cs also stated that they have the right to delete the content. However, to erase twenty years of advice, support, tips and discussion covering all aspects of UK education seems morally, if not legally, wrong. Especially when the TES organisation claims to be the leading education publication/website in the UK and I repeat - there was no warning, not even a weekend to allow access so people could exchange contacts or save favourite messages.
Thanks for reading and I'd love your thoughts.
P.S. There are some conspiracy theories flying around about this TES thing. As you can imagine, the opening for one day and then closing schools on the 5th January, would have been much discussed in the community! Was pressure brought to bear from _____________________ (insert your own ideas here) to prevent this from happening. Did potential criticism of the government and it's handling of the pandemic, especially relating to schooling, not 'fit well' with how the TES organisation wanted itself to be seen, online. Is that what is meant by 'technical compliance'?