The Forum is an email discussion list originally set up by Greenbelt to act as a focus group of sorts when the festival was in the throes of moving from its Greenfield site in Deene to Cheltenham back in the late 1990s. This was a critical and intense period in the Festival's history.
Over the years, The Forum has established a strong communal identity, providing support and encouragement to those who use it regularly. It has been allowed to loose its moorings from the main Festival administration and today, although fundamentally in existence because of Greenbelt and in support of Greenbelt, the Forum has grown into being a standalone group in its own right – comprising longstanding and committed Greenbelters in the main, but eager to welcome in new members to its discussion at the same time. The Forum is a relatively small group numbering just over 200, half of whom are active posters to the list.
Lightly moderated, The Forum allows for anything and everything to be aired and debated – from theological wrangling over penal substitution to Royal Weddings and Jerry Springer the Opera! It has a particularly robust mode of exchange based on mutual respect and familiarity – both the members with each other and with the netiquette of email discussion lists more generally. Those interested in joining should be aware of this, and take care to read and understand the local customs described in the FAQ before contributing.
Email discussion lists bring tens – if not hundreds – of emails into your inbox each day. This doesn't suit everybody, and you need to be prepared for it! There is a "digest" mode available which reduces the load to fewer (but larger) messages per day, which some people prefer.
Greenbelt management and staff do read the Forum and occasionally contribute. However, the views expressed by members of the Forum are personal, and do not represent any official view or policy of Greenbelt Festivals. Similarly, the Forum should not be seen as an official way of providing feedback about the Festival. Other two-way mechanisms for keeping in touch (both online and offline) are provided for this purpose, including, of course, direct contact to the office, which is welcomed at any time.