Open letter to Mr D. Hucker, Secretary, Leamington Football Club
16 December 2001
Dear Mr Hucker, Yours sincerely, *North Bank Banter never received an acknowledgement of or a reply to this letter.
We read with interest your comments in last week’s match programme about the comments and language used on our site, particularly the ‘Forum’ section.
Recognising that some people may think that our site is in some way ‘official’ or ‘endorsed’ by the club, and not wanting the club to be reflected in a bad light, we have set about putting in place measures to emphasise our postion.
The first page now carries a more prominent disclaimer at the head of the page, reiterating that we are in no way ‘official’. Entry onto the North Bank Banter Forum is now via a ‘staller’ page, recommending that viewers of that particular section be over 16 years of age. We have further put in place a filter, in an attempt to root out bad language - although you can appreciate that this may not be foolproof. Every effort is made to monitor the posts, and any post infringing FA Rules or bringing the club into disrepute will be removed as soon as is practicable. To date, we believe we have done this successfully.
Our site is entirely run by fans for the benefit of the fans. Whilst we understand that some of the banter between rival supporters is not to your personal taste, we consider it an integral part of the football supporter's life. We reserve the right to freedom of speech by our users as long as what is said is not inflammatory or contrary to the aforementioned rules.
We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you in greater detail and at greater length on this issue at the home match on 26 December to discuss any further problems you foresee. Furthermore, in the interests of harmony and good relations, we would appreciate it if you would direct any comments to the Webmasters before going public and showing divisions between the club and its hard-core supporters. This letter will be open for public viewing on 27 December 2001.
We hope that you can see that we are trying to be as accommodating as we can to your comments.
Tim & Simesy