A thorny issue: Lonely Planet's travel forum closed due to 'uncomfortable themes'

A thorny issue: Lonely Planet's travel forum closed due to 'uncomfortable themes'

A popular travel forum operated by BBC-owned Lonely Planet has been 'temporarily' closed due to users reportedly discussing 'uncomfortable themes'.
The Thorn Tree travel forum was suspended on Saturday evening after it 'discovered instances of inappropriate language and themes'. 
BBC Worldwide spokesman Philip Fleming told TravelMail 'offensive swear words' and 'bad language' had been detected, forcing them to 'reassess' how they carried out the moderation of their user comments.

Resource: Lonelyplanet.com's audience are mainly young, falling between the ages of 18 and 34

A message on the website reads simply: 'Dear Thorn Tree user, we're sorry to let you know we've found it necessary to temporarily close the Thorn Tree section of Lonelyplanet.com as it has come to our attention that a number of posts do not conform to the standards of the Lonely Planet website.
'As soon as we have completed the necessary editorial and technical updates we will let you know but in the meantime we are very grateful for your understanding and patience.'
Mr Fleming explained to TravelMail: 'Lonely Planetreactivelymoderates any content posted on Thorn Tree 24 hours a day and any posts breaking our guidelines are removed immediately.
'Moderation is carried out via a mix of moderation of new messages, keyword alerts, and response to reporting by users.'
It is understood that the suspension of the site relates to a post from the last 12 months and one dating back to 2007.

Posting: Users visiting the Thorn Tree forum within Lonelyplanet.com were greeted by this page

Mr Fleming added:'We're trying to determine how such inappropriate language and themes came to be posted. Until we are confident that all rogue posts can be identified and appropriate action taken, we feel we have no option but to temporarily close the site as a precautionary measure.'
Reports suggest the site will be shut for 'at least' a week but users could be given an update 'in the next few days.'
According to its advertising information pages, Lonelyplanet.com receives more than 12 million unique visitors each month.
Reputedly the web's oldest travel forum, Thorn Tree apparently has some two million Facebook fans and subscribers, and is popular with younger travellers.
The commercial arm of the corporation, BBC Worldwide paid a total of £130.2 million in two deals to acquire Lonely Planet, in 2007 and 2011.
The brand - which has sold more than 100 million guide books - was started in 1973 by founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler.