As you know, this site is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who fit in responding to submissions, comments, occasionally, to hilarious effect, spam and other correspondence. It takes some effort to keep LDV on the go.
At the moment, I am having to take a lot of time away from the site. My husband is still seriously ill in hospital and the next couple of weeks are going to be intense, particularly when he is moved from a hospital five minutes down the road to one an hour away. Before anyone says it for me, I know that’s not that far. Back in the 80s, my Dad had surgery in Aberdeen when we lived in Wick and my Mum just got to see him at the weekends. The travelling time, however, will impact on the time I have to work on the site.
That effectively means that if you email me on a day I’m editing the site after midday, I’m not going to get to it till the next day.
The rest of the team have been fantastic in covering for me over the past month and I so appreciate their help. If it hadn’t been for them, the site would have been very sparse. Inevitably, though, there are going to be greater delays. Similarly, comments may take longer to be moderated. That’s inevitable and at this time, there is not a lot we can do about it.
So, readers, we ask you to bear with us during this time. The reason for this post is that on enough occasions for it to be a problem, people have emailed us in high dudgeon after not getting a response after a very short space of time. We have been accused of all sorts of illiberal censorship when in fact we just haven’t got round to dealing with whatever it was yet for what I hope are understandable reasons.
These emails have upset me, possibly more than they should, but then maybe that’s understandable too. I really don’t want to see the hard-working LDV team subjected to that sort of thing.
Most comments appear on the site straight away. However, your comment may end up in our moderation queue for a number of reasons. You may be one of the few who are on pre-moderation for substantially breaking our comments policy in the past. You may be commenting for the first time or with a different email address, in which case a human will always check your comment to make sure it’s not spam or abusive. If it is approved, subsequent comments will appear straight away. We usually clear the queue many times a day but there will be times when there will be delays.
We also have an automated system that weeds out comments that contain words that we know, from weary experience, can mean that it’s just a load of abuse. Those comments are put in a queue so a human moderator can check them.
If you have sent us a submission, the chances are that it will be dealt with within 24 hours because we like to have things to put on the site. However, that may not always be possible, so please don’t email us unless there is a particular reason for urgency. And when you do email us, please don’t assume that we have some massive conspiracy against you and accuse us of being illiberal and the like. We don’t have time in our busy lives to have conspiracies against anyone and nor do we have the inclination. The real reason we haven’t got round to dealing with your query is much simpler. Real life is intervening.
So, dear readers, we ask for patience on your part. We will do what we always do, our very best.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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29 Comments
You and the team are doing a fantastic job and I for one thank you and them for LDV, the great rendezvous for Liberals and liberals alike (and also, occasionally, for others!). With best wishes for your husband’s recovery.
I know how stressful such times can be….My best wishes to you both…
Best wishes indeed.
And as for the complainers and conspiracy types: it says a lot more about them than it does about you guys.
Thank you for all your work and very best wishes to you and your husband. Don’t stress about the small stuff (like politics!)
You and the team of volunteers do a fantastic job Caron.
The fact that you’re keeping at it at all in your current circumstances is a marvel.
The intemperate ingrates can jog on, frankly.
This is a good opportunity for me to say thanks for all the hard work the LDV Team put in. I actually think this site is better run than the Labour equivalent (Labour List) even though they have full-time , paid staff. We all appreciate your work but we forget to say so, too often.
Caron.
I wish your husband a speedy and full recovery.
Best of luck to your husband, yourself and your family again. Yes, everyone here needs to be as supportive and understanding as possible.
Best wishes, my prayers are with you.
You’re doing a fantastic job and quite rightly prioritising what really matters. I hope the senders of those emails at least have the grace to feel guilty now.
Thanks very much, Caron – an hour away is a long way for any family to bear easily – our family has in the past suffered this, as I am sure many others here have. May I wish your husband a good and speedy recovery as possible.
Best wishes to you both and everyone in your support network…
I admit it, normally I don’t have time to check out LDV until the round-up the next morning but find that very useful. So belatedly I’m offering my thanks to you and the rest of the LDV team for all you do, and wishing you and your husband all the very best.
All the very best for the next few weeks. What is so out of the ordinary to you is routine to those cardiac surgeons, I am sure it will all be fine.
And I think LD Voice is brilliant by the way
Best wishes to you and your family, and I hope the readership will have compassion and a proper sense of priorities.
An hour away may not seem much but when you have to spend two hours travelling every day just to see your partner in their time of need it’s an enormous burden. May the good wishes and support of the LDV community lighten your load, be it ever so slightly.
Caron, best wishes to you both. Personally, as a relatively new member of the Liberal Democrats, this site has been so useful to me in getting up to speed with what is going on in the Party. The daily email is one of my favourite emails of the day. Thank you for everything you do. Is there anything that anybody can do to help#? (eg any areas where more volunteers would help?)
Caron, Your first priority is your husband and family. LDV is excellent and you do a sterling job. Hope things get better for your husband. You will be in my prayers.
You give an excellent account of how things work at LDV which is very professional and with which I fully approve.
Best wishes for a fast and full recovery for your husband.
Thinking of you and your family, Caron, and wishing your husband a full and rapid recovery. Thank you for all the hard work you put in, to make Lib Dem voice such a brilliant website
Regards and respect to Caron , her husband , the LDV team , and reprimand to those absurd in thinking they are being ignored or who are being petulant ,when it has been made clear from all on here to all on here, what has been happening for some time, and the site is coping admirably, much appreciated , thankfully , by most of us !
Do we take this wonderful site for granted? Thank you for all your commitments to it.
My best wishes and prayers for your husband’s full recovery and for your peace of mind.
@ Caron,
This is an exceptional site for those who are interested and wish to understand the different political perspectives that individuals hold about a given subject. Sometimes they strength one’s existing beliefs and sometimes they lead to change.
I hope that all ends well for your family. No matter how committed we are to voluntary roles that we believe help change lives for the better, it is the love and support of and for our families that make this effort manageable and successful. They must always come first.
Caron, you do a grand job as do your colleagues.
Just adding to this list of admirers and well wishers. I couldn’t do what you do, Caron, and this site is testament to your hard work and sensitive but clear control of what could easily degenerate into just squabbling.
It’s the coolest site in town!
Now is the time to think of yourself, you have earned it. Our overheated opinions will still be here when you get back!
You, your husband and family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Wishing you and your family well. Don’t worry about LDV, your family comes first.
Thanks to everyone for all the kind wishes. This week is pretty scary, but we are looking forward to it all being a very bad memory.
Best wishes to you and yours Caron. I know what you’re going through, as I’ve been through two lengthy hospital stays at Ruth’s bedside since 2005. Mick and Ruth
Caron
Let me add rather belated good wishes to you and your family at this time. I hope things get better.
I also wish to add my appreciation to you and the LDV team for the good work you do here. I used to co-moderate a conference for a group of about 50 students, which could produce surprises and needs for urgent action, so I can imagine that LDV multiplies this a lot. Some users see things from an individual point of view, with little appreciation of the invisible work needed to keep things running smoothly.
Hope your husband has a speedy recovery.