Cyber bullying

[Meg 50]

I went alone ( well not exactly alone I took a large glass of Red with me for courage ) as this wouldn't be my husbands sort of thing, the organiser was at the door and did a meet and greet and also introductions to others, strangely enough she knew me without any introduction ..maybe the glass in my hand gave it away

we went to a CN dinner dance and arrived after dark. the organiser was outside the hotel and recognised me from across the car park! We'd never seen each other before and I wasn't the last to arrive!

[haveabeer]

Any type of bullying is not acceptable, on any format i have seen cyber bullying first hand and its horrid
i did stop it by simply blocking them.
Parents need to make sure they understand what there children are doing, we check regularly on our grandchildrens web history

We had a meet and great on our very first cruise and we met a very special couple who we have now cruised six time with and have booked
again next year they are half our age but we just get on so well

[Andrea S]

MO, I think that would be more welcoming for first timers but whoever decides to organise a meet is already giving up their own time and I would imagine that to be quite stressful.

I then saw DQ's response and realised that it can be done and could be fun.

DQ, That was good thinking taking along your own support. I presume you were very ladylike and hid the bottle in your handbag.

[Delboy]

Cyber bullying takes on several different guises.

There is the open cyber bullying where posts are made in open social media for all to see and whilst it is virtually impossible to prevent such behaviour any site with active moderation can do a "damage limitation" exercise on it. The major problem in this area though is about definition - just what constitutes cyber bullying? What one person will consider bullying another may not, but in any event it always has to be looked at in the context in which it is written.

Another form of cyber bullying can be found in situations where the contact is done in private - either through a private chat line, personal messaging or email. In amongst this I would include Internet Grooming - which is potentially more dangerous as people cannot see what is going on. Situations I would not be happy with are those where someone suddenly starts sending messages to another person where they are bemoaning the fact that they have been victimised. This type of message will generally start to get more frequent and seeking to get the other person to take their side and making out that everyone else is in the wrong and only they can see the truth. This does not only happen with youngsters it also happens with adults - particularly those who may be unfamiliar with how to handle such matters on the Internet. Believe me these people are very convincing.

David

I totally agree, especially in regards to people bemoaning the fact they have been victimised, when in reality they are often the perpetrator .

Also where posters condemn other posters for their behaviour, often in a language that is far more outrageous than those they condemn. At the same time openly bullying admin for not agreeing with them or taking the action they demand.

As for meets I have been to a number, on board, privately, ships visits and lunches, and met many members of a number of cruise forums, some more than once. A lot of them recognise me, through my Avatar which normally contains my photo, although on this forum I thought I would have a change, and by my forum name which I use on all forums, accept for the original P&O forum and Facebook where you use your full name, not a pseudonym.

As a result many of those I have met have become friends, some who have invited myself and my wife to their homes, including one couple who's home we have stayed at, who we met on our first cruise, when I arranged an on board meet , and between 20/30 people turned up.
I also have posters I would call cyber friends who I have never met, although they are friends with and met posters I have. So I know they are genuine and who they say they are, have also seen their photo's, even although they may not have one in their avatar.

[Kendhni]

I have probably met about 30-40 people from the P&O board and other web sites. If someone has gone to the bother of organising a 'meet' I will generally do my best to turn up ... although I did turn up to the wrong place on one cruise (or maybe they moved it before I got there)

I have attended meets on cruise ships, and in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, The Republic of Ireland and even one in California where I happened to be on holiday at the time .. not all cruise related but other sites I participate in. In one in particular someone expected there to be fireworks between me and another poster, but when we were introduced we shook hands and then spent rest of the night propping up the bar chatting away (some people complained that they had only come along to see the fireworks)

The bottom line is that the vast majority of people are friendly and most issues (cyber bullying aside) are related to not reading properly, failing to understand or, one of the most common, reading stuff into a post that is not there ... all of that is actually understandable since we lose all of the visual side of communication that we normally utilise to understand (facial expression, hand gestures, voice intonation etc.).

[GillD46]

I, or rather we, have attended many meets - both on board and here in the UK at pubs, restaurants and in our home and other people's homes. We have made friends, many of whom we consider really good friends and see regularly, some less often simply because of geography, but we still keep in touch.

If someone has organised something on board, we will usually go along and sometimes see others again, sometimes not.

[wolfie]

I had attended a few meets before I organised one; I admit to having some strange looks when I put the sign on the table and it was just me and him as we arrived early.

At dinner on the first night we were on a table for 6, chatted away with no mention of the meet and 2 of our dining companions turned up at the meet; small world.

[Jean W]

Andrea S - Ladylike yes, but not hidden

DQ - It was definitely a memorable afternoon When's the next one?

It certainly was a good meet and there's another Lady on here who attended and she too has become an exceptional friend. It can happen

[Dancing Queen]

Yes I know the lady you mean, she's lovely.

Actually I thought everyone was really nice but you just click with some more than others

[Meg 50]

Yes I know the lady you mean, she's lovely.

Actually I thought everyone was really nice but you just click with some more than others

indeed - it's amazing how you can see someone for the first time at a meet and point at each other and fall about laughing immediately - friends for life!