Some Gurnites will remember, perhaps, an article from nearly two years ago when this observer had a big moan about Bord na Gaidhlig’s efforts to set up a social networking site for Gaelic speakers and learners. It was eventually reported that around 250K was to be spent on research and development. Well, an FOI request and response from earlier this year has appeared on the internet and details cost far in excess of that. It will be quite horrifying reading for some in the Gaelic community who would like to have seen this money spent elsewhere. The Bord were warned by members of the online Gaelic community of the dangers that their project faced. If they had consulted those already involved in similar voluntary initiatives (the like of Abair Thusa and Foram na Gaidhlig) before they got underway then, perhaps, this massive expense could have been avoided and the goodwill out there towards Gaelic harnessed to provide more online facilities that would not have cost the taxpayer anything.
Any students wishing to find out more or refresh their memories on this issue should read this article on forargyll.com and the accompanying 44 comments which detail most of the worries and even alarm in some quarters that were expressed at the time. To this observer mygaelic.com was a major mistake and it is time for the Board to admit this.
