This is where I've come to in the debate with The Shambles. I thank you all for not killing my spirit as I started into the water. I appreciate the civility with which this debate was taken by everyone including Roger. My only hope is that some of you watching me splash about amongst the jellys got a bit of a chuckle out of my effort. I would be disappointed if I didn't get at least one, I told ya so.

Frank you seemed to miss the main point of your story. Unless the point of posting it was just to play publicly to the crowd?

I feel the futile fight with jellyfish and tides was less your 'debate' with me. For you overlook that my whole point is first a reaction to a futile attempt at the control of others. Our anonymous volunteer fellow posters are set up to protect us from your jellyfish.

My reaction accepts the reality - that any attempt to control aspects that are beyond control and by using methods that have no hope of working - not only futile - they are often counter-productive. They can also be open to abuse if others continue to support these measures - largely because they may be told by those who make the attempt - that these futile attempts at control are well-intentioned.

There is no doubt that attempts to clear your beach of jellyfish was both well-intentoned and futile. Other beach users may initially support these good intentions and humour them. But if the attempt involved our volunteers imposing restrictions on where and when others could swim and placing miles of line and netting along the beach - that swimmers could get caught-up in and drowned - they may consider the attempt to be well-intentioned but too counter-productive to continue supporting.

So it is with our forum. All of the imposed editing is only a reactive measure. It can only delete or alter what has already been posted. A bit like clearing your beach of a few already dead jellyfish (and at the same time restricting and clearing the beach of incocent bathers) when there are thousands of live jellyfish just bobbing about offshore and waiting for the next tide?

On our forum, the only real control is over what you choose to open - to post - or choose not to. Anything else - no matter how well-intentioned - is really futile and risks being counter-productive and open to abuse.

Or if you like - accepting that the times and tides that you choose to visit your beach is the best way you can be free of jellyfish. Rather than encouraging other bathers in futile attempts to tangle you up with netting or running about with buckets or having restrictions on when and how you can visit - being imposed upon you.

Those volunteers on the beach may have decided long-ago that their attempts to control the jellyfish were futile - However, some of them may may just enjoy continuing to exert their control upon their fellow bathers?

After a time - some may even think they have aright to sting some of their fellow bathers themselves - instead of waitng for the jellyfish to do it........