DeVore for the Dail...

Sleepy

I've thought about this a few times before and I'm curious as to what other boards.ie users think. Has boards reached that critical mass where it could actually influence an election? Were DeVore to stand in a Dublin constituency would there be enough of us here to actually help get him elected (assuming he'd pick up a few votes from the local community through regular canvassing as well).

Are we there yet? If not, how much longer do you think it'll be before the internet starts to have an impact on real world politics?

bonkey

Sleepy wrote:

Has boards reached that critical mass where it could actually influence an election?

Maybe, but I doubt it.

Were DeVore to stand in a Dublin constituency would there be enough of us here to actually help get him elected (assuming he'd pick up a few votes from the local community through regular canvassing as well).

Again, I doubt it. I doubt you'd get the majorioty of boards users to back any candidate, regardless of who it was.

If not, how much longer do you think it'll be before the internet starts to have an impact on real world politics?

Once people stop thinking of it as "the internet" and start thinking of it as just another communication media.

EWheelChair

I wouldn't vote for him.. but i can't speak for anyone else.

tba

And Im not registered!

Raskolnikov

Sleepy wrote:

Were DeVore to stand in a Dublin constituency would there be enough of us here to actually help get him elected

You could say the exact same thing about Aine from sligozone.net, moreso given the fact that her site is concentrated on the one catchment area.

Are we there yet? If not, how much longer do you think it'll be before the internet starts to have an impact on real world politics?

The internet and blogging in particular has already had a big (and growing impact) on politics in the USA.

edanto

He probably wouldn't get elected just as 'DeV', but if he had the time and the inclination to get involved with a party that complemented his own ideas, he'd sure as hell have a good headstart.

What gets someone elected? As well as the things they stand for, it's also the publicity around them and their image. Number one is up to him. For publicity, I'm sure that lots of boardsies would help out and as for his image, we'll he's an affable guy.

So, short answer, yes he could, but would he want to?

Diogenes

I think the obvious thing would be, "what are his policies?" "What is he standing for?"

Earthhorse

Would he stand on a platform of creating a "benign dictatorship"?

If so, he's got my vote.

damien

So you think we should give Devore or No. 1s or No. 2s? Fair enough. I do think a grassroots political campaign could leverage boards.ie for sure but it takes way more than that to get elected. It would be a very clever way of generating publicity though.

Crucifix

If he was in my constituency, I would definitely consider voting for him.

Hobbes

Vote for Amp... A Vote for Amp is a vote for more owls*.


* This political message has been brought to you by the Amps for Owls foundation a subsidery of TCN.

flogen

damien.m wrote:

So you think we should give Devore or No. 1s or No. 2s? Fair enough. I do think a grassroots political campaign could leverage boards.ie for sure but it takes way more than that to get elected. It would be a very clever way of generating publicity though.

Publicity, certainly... I doubt he would be elected though but you never know, he could come out with some pretty radical (by which I mean rational) policies!

Keeping in mind that while boards.ie has quite a big membership 1) it's spread across Ireland and the rest of the world, 2) many are not of voting age/registered and 3) how many would actually vote for DeV because he's DeV?

Independents only have a chance if they pick important issues from their area too so that rules out any online-focused policies.

अधिनायक

I wouldn't vote for him.

He has a little virtual society running here and the model he chooses for its operation is dictatorship via trusted generals. Nice.

The automatic pant-shitting in the face of any corporate complaint makes him look more spineless than RTE. Even Joe Duffy can do consumer complaints phone-ins ffs.

Finally pretending that boards.ie is a community rather than a pension plan is cynical.

Hobbes

Clearly someone who needs more owls.

I wouldn't vote for him, he banned my mate.

Villain

He couldn't be any worse than whats currently in the Dail, could he?

Hobbes

अधिनाय&#2325 wrote:

Finally pretending that boards.ie is a community rather than a pension plan is cynical.

Thought I'd comment on this part. While afair boards.ie makes money, it is no where near money that would help you retire. He does have a day job you know.

WhiteWashMan

i suspect most people would miss the tom murphy name while looking for the devore tick box.

besides, ecksor is the real power behind boards.ie.

but really, it would depend if his politics were aligned with my own. i dont think personal relationship should dictate who runs a country (unless you happen to be in america and your brother-in-law is running the counting system)

seamus

I'm guessing that although Tom would like to change the world, he doesn't strike me as having a desire to join the Dáil. He strikes me as the kind of guy who'd prefer to make large changes through other (peaceful, obviously) actions.

Although I'd happily trust the guy to make reasonable & objective decisions, and I'd consider him close to incorruptible, I'd still need to see his plans & policies. Making plans for a community website of which you are an owner is one thing, making plans which affect the whole country are another.

milltown

Eh, hasn't he and his minnions said on many, many occasions that boards is not a democracy. He is a dictator. How the hell would that qualify him to run for political office in a democracy (admittedly a very bad one).

Am I banned?

Gone West

I'd vote for him.

अधिनायक

Hobbes wrote:

Thought I'd comment on this part. While afair boards.ie makes money, it is no where near money that would help you retire. He does have a day job you know.

'pension plan' is Tom's phrase, not mine.

The plan presumably is to keep the base feature set free and grow the membership and brand to a level where addtional pay features may be added or just sell it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this but it would be a bit more honest to admit it than to keep crapping on about 'community'.

anyhow: vote for honest open people!

seamus

अधिनाय&#2325 wrote:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this but it would be a bit more honest to admit it than to keep crapping on about 'community'

Unfortunately with the search down it would be tough for you to check up on this, but the admins have been fairly honest (and even ovezealous) when it comes to telling the community about the plans for the future.
Tom has always said that:
1. Nothing which has previously been free (registration, PMs, etc) will ever be turned into a subscriber perk.
2. Subscribers do get and will get added perks, but that doesn't mean that all new features will be denied to new and non-subscribing members.
3. He would like to make enough money from it such that he would never have to work a normal job (or that running boards.ie would be his full-time job).
4. Boards.ie would never be sold.

So little if anything has been held back. Calling it a community and making money from it, are not mutually exclusive. That's a bit like saying that Concern isn't a charity because Irish people make money from it.

Although I'm not so sure about number four. Every man has his price. I very much doubt that it would be sold off to just anyone.

Beruthiel

Deleted User wrote:

I wouldn't vote for him, he banned my mate.

Which only goes to prove he can take positive, swift action when a problem occurs.

I'd vote for him if he had a good solution for dealing with knackers, our medical system and road traffic in Dublin.

Beruthiel

Beruthiel wrote:

Which only goes to prove he can take positive, swift action when a problem occurs.

I'd vote for him if he had a good solution for dealing with knackers, our medical system and road traffic in Dublin.

Or that he and his minions tend to overreact to rule breaking. I could forsee him ordering the execution of jaywalkers.

Diogenes

milltown wrote:

Eh, hasn't he and his minnions said on many, many occasions that boards is not a democracy. He is a dictator. How the hell would that qualify him to run for political office in a democracy (admittedly a very bad one).

Am I banned?

I think theres a world of difference between how you would manage a small private community or business and act as a democratic representive.

Look at military types, most would never dream of breaking with, or disagreeing with "the chain of command" but don't expect outside society to revolve on the same principles.

I mean you can behave differently towards something you own and build privately, and then behave a completely different towards stuff in public.

अधिनायक

seamus wrote:

4. Boards.ie would never be sold.

I doubt Tom will back this one up.

So little if anything has been held back. Calling it a community and making money from it, are not mutually exclusive. That's a bit like saying that Concern isn't a charity because Irish people make money from it.

The primary purpose of a charity is to help some disadvantaged group. If you met one of the directors of Concern and he told you they saw their charity as their pension plan, you might be disturbed. But boards is not a charity it is constitued as a private company which is legally obliged to maximise returns to its five shareholders. Any other activity by its directors would be illegal. As it stands, building a community must always be a means to an end for boards.ie Ltd.

that's enough giving out!

flogen

Beruthiel wrote:

Which only goes to prove he can take positive, swift action when a problem occurs.

I'd vote for him if he had a good solution for dealing with knackers, our medical system and road traffic in Dublin.

tbh I'd happily support a candidate who promises to ban real world muppets from their constituencies

Diogenes

This thread must be a massive ego post for the bloke.....

Earthhorse

अधिनाय&#2325 wrote:

But boards is not a charity it is constitued as a private company which is legally obliged to maximise returns to its five shareholders. Any other activity by its directors would be illegal.

No company is legally obliged to maximise returns to its shareholders. That's a ridiculous statement to make.

ecksor

Sleepy wrote:

I've thought about this a few times before and I'm curious as to what other boards.ie users think. Has boards reached that critical mass where it could actually influence an election?

I don't think so. Consensus isn't easy to find on any political issue on boards and therefore to think of it as a coherent lobby group doesn't seem practical. However, like any form of media then it would seem to make sense that there is the potential to influence opinion amongst users but I doubt we'd influence many on any issues that matter. After that, there is the practical issue of boards users being concentrated in a constituency. How many people does it take?

I jokingly blogged about this idea about 3 years ago I think.

अधिनाय&#2325 wrote:

The automatic pant-shitting in the face of any corporate complaint makes him look more spineless than RTE. Even Joe Duffy can do consumer complaints phone-ins ffs.

OT here but: That's the second post from you going on about how weak an admin is in the face of legal complaint. If you actually have any insight into the law in this area and therefore some suggestion as to the best course of action to take in such matters, then we'd love to hear it because we're looking for a solution.

Since I suspect that you're a reincarnated poster then I can't really take any claims of cowardice as being anything other than hypocritical until you actually admit who you are.