GOK WAN: Live Webchat - Friday 11 October, 1.45-2.45pm

[RachelMumsnet]

We'll still be sweeping up the biscuit crumbs left from the Jennifer Saunders webchat as we prepare for the return of Gok Wan to Mumsnet Towers on Friday 11 October at 1.45pm. Since his last visit in Summer 2010, Gok has produced 2 cookery books and his latest, Gok's Wok is published this week.

Gok shares many of his family's traditional recipes but gives them a modern twist as he teaches us how to cook, simple, fast meals with flavour and a splash of Gok originality. Chapters cover all occasions from lunches to dinner parties and include curries, stir-fries, noodles, salads, soups and desserts.

Join Gok on Friday at 1.45pm or post a question to him in advance to this thead and you'll be entered into a draw to win a SIGNED copy of Gok's Wok.

We have also teamed up with Gok and Sainsbury's to host a live cookalong on Google+. On Wednesday 16 October at 7pm Gok will be making two super-delicious dishes from his new book and he'd love you to join him in cooking them. Find out more here.

Am that Justine! used my "mean girls" comment. I can't see this thread actually achieving anything anyway apart from perhaps celebs asking to vet the questions beforehand. The snide in jokes and "banter" will continue as long as some posters think they rule the roost

"Am that Justine! used my "mean girls" comment"

Oh Pinup. Don't let your head swell over that.

Sorry marmalade-too late! I am bursting with pride. Don't be too that you got your knuckles rapped will you?

oh dear

wouldn't they make you a prefect at school, pinup?

Nah hully-I was a bit mean at school-grown up a bit since then though.

I was a prefect, Hulls. Brutal I was.

I agree with quite a lot of the sentiment behind your post Turnip, except that I don't think that the webchat guidelines do undermine posters' ability to hold guests to account, by asking questions that articulate severe criticism which the guest has to either address or seem unable to address. In fact, it gets harder to do that when people mess around on the thread. Nothing about the guidelines rules out profound criticism. If the guest chooses not to answer, then s/he gives the impression of not having an answer, and your criticism stands successfully for all to read. So an unanswered question still achieves its point.

The only thing I don't really like about webchats is that their commercial significance isn't more explicitly indicated. I'd prefer it if every thread that was either directly paid for amounted to an exchange of favours/freebies, etc in order to plug a product was in a highly segregated zone, with "ADVERT" on it. But, other than that, I think that the guidelines do manage to meet the joint objectives of commercial promotion and genuine interrogation.

(Should be an "or" before "amounted")

This thread is going to turn into a bantering/derailing thread isn't it.

Anyway, Justine is on the next webchat. I'm looking forward to that one.

Wasn't Mean Girls a famous film?

I didn't get my knuckles rapped, did I?! I didn't have any questions deleted, nor was I rude. Scroll up and check for yourself. :)

I don't entirely disagree with you about the messing around, ButThere, but Justine's post seems to be going further than that.

I'm just a bit worried about what she seems to be saying we won't be able to do.
Midwife described her body as a multitude of sins. Several of us chipped in it 'No it's not!'
Technically that was a derail, it was an ignoring of the guest, and it broke the question-plus-follow-up rule.
But it seems to be really important that we are still allowed to respond to each other in that way. If we had all been sitting on our hands for fear of a suspension we wouldn't have the opportunity to challenge that even though it was a perfect example of the problems with the 'you're beautiful as long as you wear shape-controlling underwear' ideology.

I've done you a present, Hully

I think also - sorry to bang on - part of how it works is this. If we are supposed to be polite and treat them like guests in our house, you would presumably ban/delete a poster for posting 5 negative posts. But you wouldn't do the same to a poster who wrote 5 positive posts. So you are inevitably going to end up with a skewed picture where Mumsnet seems to support the guest.
Hence my argument that a Mumsnet webchat is going to look like a stamp of approval in a way it doesn't when we have a freer rein to post.

I would absolutely be sarky to someone in my house.

My friends would think something was up if I wasn't.

Yes, I don't think "guest in your house" is the best analogy. Especially not when the guest is selling something. "Guest at your rl speaker-meeting" is a better model. But I think the webchat guidelines do actually cover that model.

Marmalade - but would you limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question?

Yes, guest at a RL speaker meeting is much better. Although then the room would be making huffing noises or involuntary gasps of shock or disbelief if the speaker said something outrageous, whereas if we're not allowed to respond beyond our question-and-follow-up that element of communication is lost.

The thing is, the one question rule... I can understand it and will adhere to it if the webchat looks to be really popular and lots of questions being asked but up until about an hour before GW coming on there were about 2 questions. I thought I'd ask another one because I didn't want him to think no-one was arsed about his chat. HONEST.

Yes, the one question rule isn't a bad one.
I'm more concerned about us then not being allowed to natter amongst ourselves a bit once we've asked our question and been ignored/fobbed off.
We don't have to be make up limericks, but I'd like to be allowed to huff and puff a bit at being called dolls or whatever!

Asking difficult and pertinent questions-absolutely should always be allowed. Derailing the thread with snide comments,mockery and injokes is not going discourage mn to not police webchats is it?

There seems to be quite a lot of discretion in how mn police the webchats. As long as things are broadly on track they don't come down on every surplus question or sidechat, so I think a good dose of self-moderation does allow posters a greater freedom to slide in the odd huff.