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I too, have declared my lack of interest in this forum, and made my goodbyes....it's actually quite difficult to keep it up, and I'll wager that some post or other will get your fingers to the keyboard again, and you'll end up returning  despite yourself!

Never say never again... We shall see you after your break 

TaTa ! Spros. Till next time, remember ''Veni, Vidi, Dormivi"

Sorry to see you go Sprostoni. Do hope you change your mind soon, as you have been another good source of info on here.

for all your help in the past Sprostoni.  Hopefully, you will be back.....

... Sprostoni and forum members too little here, sorry if I upset you, enjoy your break and then come back ...  :)

Yes its true..I look on this forum to see if there are useful bits of information for us living in Italy (full time), and to give any new info I have found, but there is always some clever clogs to shoot you down, not someone saying thanks for the tip! I wonder why I bother!

... the post on winter fuel allowance was a good one to post..  :)

At imes, we all wander why we bother....

I have a look in from time to time but moved elsewhere a long time ago...

It is not possible to make a conversation here because the response is too slow. SOME are judgemental of other persons and OTHERS only post to annoy. It is not helpful or friendly if you are not in the ruling class so new people don't come. The community is like a stagnant lake, it needs fresh water and new fish. I use other fora which are better and ��������.

This is, as you say Rickardo, a 'community' site.  Communities are a mixed bag of people and they all should try to get along, accepting we all have opinions....You cant get rid of the ones you just don't like and reel in a new lot.....Sprostoni has given good advice in the past and I for one will miss him.

if we leave here where do you suggest we go..anyone found a good forum....

I don't want to"get rid" of no one, I am sorry Sprostoni is left. New fish will not be attracted to a stagnant lake where can be eaten by the old fish who are still fighting a long dead war.

I reckon I learn one new thing a month on this forum, the latest being the existence of an itch zapper!  Not too bad a hit rate in my view

"I use other fora which are better and ��������". The first one on Rickardo's list - my.lifeinitaly - is hardly ��������, as most of the moderators live in the US. I dipped into one thread only to find the contributors praising America for making the world peaceful (yeah right) and that was enough for me. I've been on American forums (sic) - if you break a nail they start a prayer chain for you (only slightly joking). This forum, by contrast, has a more British nature to it which is a totally different feel to an American forum. Not necessarily better, just different. At the end of the day, a forum is what its contributors make it. This forum, like most others, has its juvenile section who think it's very big and very clever to rubbish other people, but if one of them brandishes its double-figure IQ at me I tend to simply ignore it. The most dangerous people are those who knock the forum itself - they are the ones who try to spread negativity - to what end, I wonder? Surely if you don't like a forum you just quietly disappear rather than trying to do damage by serenading your departure. I was surprised to find I am actually a member of mylifeinitaly but I clearly moved away a long time ago. Any guesses as to how many times Sprostoni has revisited in order to check how much impact they made by leaving? 

Yes, SIr TK, I agree with you, a forum is as good as its members are. We do have a small section of membership who do love to destroy for the pleasure of it. Vandals, I would call them. They used to infuriate me, but old age creeping is making me more tolerant. So most of the time I ignore them. I think that I would even praise them if they say or do something constructive... Perhaps, we should treat them like juveniles... As for Sprostoni, I think that she will be back....

I recommended a friend join here to ask some questions he had about building.  He said he applied over a month ago now and the automated response said 'you will hear from us within 1 day' and he's given up waiting.  Apparently his messages have been ignored too.  If noone is running this place, it will fizzle out since no-one new can actually join.

This Forum is full of very knowledgeable people who give advice freely on very valuable topics like Legal matters, real estate, heating, Health and taxation, for which I for one am eternally grateful; others can give advice based on personal experiences; which is the spirit of a good 'Community'. There are also quite a few patronising and judgmental types here as well, who seem to deride peoples point of view if it doesn't agree with theirs, which is not in the spirit of a good 'Community'. But just goes to show that it takes all sorts, but one should never try to stifle peoples opinions or viewpoints even if they are perceived as juvenile, silly or impertinent. The most damaging thing any community is elitism and making others feel unwelcome because they have a 'different' point of view.

1.  I think this is one of the best forums for information.  Most of the stuff is of no interest to me as I don't live or have a place in Italy (as yet anyway) but it is interesting to read.  The people who do give advice do it to the best of their ability to help others. 2.  Andy - When I tried to join years ago (under the old system)  I too had a problem and in the end I spoke with Peter ? the owner from Dorchester and we had a long chat - it was just a glitch, people on holiday etc but I waited and got there in the end.  Unfortunately the internet is not perfect as it is run by humans! 3.  I do wonder if people say they are leaving because they want attention. Do they want everyone to say 'Please don't leave, we will be lost without you' ?  I am not being rude to the OP but what is the point of the post if you are not happy then wander off in to the sunset.  Every now and again someone comes on this forum berating it and the people on it which I think is very insulting to the people who give their time and knowledge. 4.  I too have been on other italian forums and some do not have any posts for weeks or months but didn't see complaints about that!  Bear in mind that since 2008 the number of people moving or buying in Italy has plummeted so it follows that people requiring advice / or giving it has fallen too.  5. This forum is FREE - no-one is forced to join in but members freely give their time and the owners leave it to the members to enjoy it.  I say thank you Italy Mag as I have actually met some members and made good friends from it! Rant over - have a good day.

Fillide, totally agree with that, Spros was a decent chapess and did not deserve bad treatment. You and I can probably give as good as we get or if not better, and I am happy to be classed as one of the 'Nasty Brigade'; we should start a Forum Group !!

Can I please join "The Nasty Brigade" ? I think I have already been placed with you by the "Forum Elite" who judged me on my first couple of posts and classified me according to their criteria. I do not know Sprostoni but I think if they have a feeling that something is not right which makes it for them to leave. They should express. We can learn. There is good information here but it is very slow and sometimes not helpful? This forum is only for British people. Only interested in their renovation or how to live British in Italy. I can find no reference to Berlusconi, guilty verdict. The people here are not really interested in Italy with all her beauty and her problems.  

Rickardo, on one level I think there is a lot of truth in what you're saying...............I joined this forum as it was mainly British as opposed to American (nothing against Americans as I'm on another forum where the majority are American) as some of the challenges we face due to the fact that we're part of the EU is different to those challenges that Americans/Canadians etc face.  So it's good to be able to share/support etc with people that understand and experience the same experiences. And yes I'm renovating (well will be when we get our permission through) and have a huge interest in that as renovating in Italy is very different from the UK which is my only experience to date and I've found others experiences/advice/horror stories invaluable. I'm not interested in living British in the slightest - I'm not really sure what that is.  We have friends in Liguria where our house is that are a mix of all nationalities - and I love learning about their cultures/traditions etc.  We purposefully chose this area as we didn't want to be surrounded by Brits - though bizarely enough our house is opposite the only permanent British couple in the town (we'll make the second permanent British couple)!!!!  For me though an ex-pat community is important whether on line/where we live as no man/woman is an island and it's good to talk!!!! I'll put my hand up and confess I'm not particularly interested in politics whether it's here in England/Italy.  In my experience there are good and bad politicians/corrupt and honest ones.  Berlusconi's guilty verdict to me was a suprise but given that he won't serve his sentence - no suprise -  so he might as well have been found not guilty.  He's corrupt and we all know that - can we do anything that will make a difference - no! So for me joining this forum is about sharing experiences/supporting each other/having some banter etc (just like I do with "real friends/acquaintances".  I love Italy - I think it's the most beautiful country in the world which is why I'll be making it my home - I also accept that there is another side to the country but that side I have little or no influence over - so I choose to focus my time on things I can influence rather than banging my head against a brick wall and getting frustrated with the "system".  And I take the same approach in the UK

Noone is ever going to make this forum be what they want it to be, with the possible exception of the "Nasty Brigade" who probably could put off everyone except their own kind if they chose to. So I don't see the point of complaining that there's not enough about �������� history, books, politics, culture (all of which I'd love to see more of but know isn't going to happen) A forum with that sort of content would have to be heavily moderated to stop it going off track, and (especially if politics or religion was the topic) to keep everyone on an even keel.  This old thing isn't moderated at all and is made up of a very disparate selection of people.  "It is what it is" - an annoying Americanism but pretty apt in this context

There was a very good talk in the Abbey at San Ruffino, earlier this year, about the Servigliano POW camp and of the local families who helped. I think you were in the UK at the time, but am sure you would have been interested, as know you have been researching it as well. There were quite a few English and ��������s there and it was a good night.

Sounds very interesting Badger....if there is a next time would you let us know please. We have �������� neighbours and friends who were involved in careing for escaping soldiers from the camp, and have done a tour of the remaining camp in Servigliano, and read some of the books written by ex-prisoners, fascinating stuff. It is such an important history of Marche during those years and should not be forgotten.

Actually I quite like this site. Although I do not post very often (don't really have much to offer), I have found it invaluable in gleaning information.  We have a villa between Piazza al serchio and Sillano. Have only had it two years and use it as a family holiday home, but we personally spend about six  months of the year there. I have got valuable information about taxes, heating and all sorts of things from you, and had a few laughs along the way.  Perhaps I should post a bit more about our experiences with renovating and lack of the �������� language!  

No problem, next time I hear of something going on there that may be interesting, will let you know. They had one about the Sibillini witch, but it was all in ��������, so could not follow it. Eros, at the cheese shop I have mentioned before, is quite involved in these presentations, as is Guissepe from the restaurant at San Ruffino.

Any input is always welcome.

Molinello do find the time and effort to contribute , if you can, as it gets a tad mundane with the Goodie Goodies Vs the Nasty Brigade. But feel free to be as irreverent as you like because that seems to be the only thing that stirs up any passion here.