Discussion not allowed?

Sean@boards.ie

in http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055592143 I probably didn'y make myself clear.

Are the general users of boards not allowed to discuss matters?

Note:

"It's not something we liked/wanted to do, but really the people to blame are the people who abused the facility they've been given."

"We"?

The "Facility they have been given"

That is the forum they made. "They" are the forum. It would just be some vbcode without them.

So I will ask again and not being about POKER, why can people not provide feedback, thoughts and feelings anymore without the threads being locked and other "people" talking about it elsewhere?"

Do the general user or people have no wise words to provide anymore?

hotspur

I am very disappointed in Dev's decision and attitude to this. Whatever the outcome may be his decision is incredibly unethical in so many ways. To wish to effectively destroy a whole genuine community with one push of an autocratic button renders his proclaimed vision for boards an hypocrisy. To feel that his being slightly miffed naturally outweighs the utility of an entire community in importance is unethical in the worst kind of abuse of power. And punishing an entire community for the behaviour of a very small number is the height of unethical behaviour.

For someone who likes to ask of others 'would they act like that in real life' imagine if somebody acted like he is acting in a real life environment. It's an e-pogrom. He should be ashamed of himself. And I don't agree with Kayroo's grovelling post. You don't react to such unreasonable and unethical actions with obsequious apologies in the hope of receiving clemency from an autocrat. I would much rather he argued the case properly, Dev is not an idiot or ordinarily unreasonable, he is quite capable of responding appropriately to such an arguing of the case.

None of which is to say that Dev doesn't have the right to do what he has done, it's his site, he can do whatever he wishes to, nobody is arguing otherwise. But that doesn't make whatever he wishes to do ethically right or congruent with his avowed vision for the site. We all accept we have no rights irrespective of how frustrating that may be for something many of us have invested a lot of time and energy into and value.

There is obviously more to this than the latest issue as could be gleaned from the poker mods practically begging us not to draw any attention to ourselves outside of our forum. This latest thing is of such monumental insignificance that it looks more like an excuse to do this than anything else. I mean is it even possible to troll a thread counting to 1 million? It is untenable to think that the value of that thread and the supposed detriment of a few people having fun (only one person thedini was genuinely out of line and he is of such a sort I thought he was DBC) outweighs the value of the BBV community to its many many members.

This is not censorship. When we are told we cannot discuss MCD, we don't, cannot post torrents, we don't, cannot liable or threaten legal action, we don't, and we are remarkably civil to each other for such a large community. This is a destruction of an entire online community for reasons which have not been made apparent. Is it a power issue?

For anyone who doesn't appreciate the nature of that thread, it is effectively a community forum of its own where poker players who have known each other online and in real life chat about anything and everything. We go to that thread to ask for help about any issue rather than trying to find solutions ourselves online, somebody always knows the answer or will help us find it. We have a lot of fun and good discussion. Picture it as an amalgamation of many of the other available fora on boards but with the average IQ being about 15 points higher (we poker players are smarter than the average bear!).

We discuss politics but most of us would never dream of going into the politics forum, likewise with soccer but most if us avoid that forum, computers etc etc etc. I suspect that there might be antipathy to the very nature of that from up above because it is almost like a replacement boards all in one thread. A very great many of us get dismayed by the idiocy that goes on in many other fora on boards, and we eschew them for that reason. Is this a problem? Is the strength of our community a problem?

The fact that no discussion has even been countenanced on the matter and any such threads locked serves further to highlight just how much of an effort seems to be going on to disenfranchise that community. Why?

Dev said "Well, done, given that and the other abuse that BBV has thrown up before, its been binned and you can go back to talking about poker only." Apart from the rather unacceptable command as to what an entire community may talk about in general among themselves, Dev seems to be somehow viewing the whole BBV community as a single entity with congruent behaviour. This is surely absurd. Since when were individuals not judged according to their own actions?

I put it forward that the poker BBV community as a whole is one of the most easily moderated, mutually beneficial, strongest of communities, has the least number of infractions, posts reported, and bannings (with the exception of one notorious multiaccounting troll) of any comparably sized forum on boards. I put it forward that our behaviour is by and large exemplary relative to the yahoos you get on many of the other fora. And I put it forward that removing the BBV thread and effectively killing the community is in no way warranted by supposed abuses attributed to its members.

Also to any admins sean@boards.ie does not represent the BBV community. I am not saying that I do in any way, but we don't even know this guy, in case he has an ulterior motive in creating these threads.

oleras

Nice post hotspur, as you said, i use the BBV for a chat and to catch up, if BOARDS INC can rip it from boards INTERNET just like that i honestly want no more to do with this site.

I did not troll some thread but yet i am punished as a poster on the poker thread, i know there is a thread in help desk about it but if we posters are all punished because of few, bad form fair and simple.

Ban the people that broke the rules, easy. Enforce whatever sanctions that you can, but Dev, to completely take away the bbv thread, tres unfair..

Kinetic^

The poker mods and admin are discussing it. Have some patience.

YULETIRED

Kinetic^ wrote: »

The poker mods and admin are discussing it. Have some patience.

but but Dev sez it's over.

His metaphor that he is removing the platform from the bully so he can't harass the bespectacled kid in the playgtound is basically admitting that he can't control the so called bullys with basic moderating, so the playground is being closed, aaah Teacher.
Each forum has its moderators , reported posts need to be addressed within that forum, what gone wrong with this mechanism Tom?

It's quite ironic that in this very forum is where I see most of the bullying on this site, most of it unchecked by the lord protector.
Now ship the white smoke and restore the thread, I've found a pic of a scorching hot chick i want to share with the lads. :eek:


My post is probably not helping but me drinks too much and I hate when the specky kid strikes back.

not checking me spellins either :P

ocallagh

Closing that thread in that fashion was insulting and a little frightening at the same time. The community that has built up on the poker forum should be given some respect. You'll have nothing to mod if you keep this attitude up.

I understand most mods/admins won't have the time to read the BBV in it's entirity and I'm sure Tom rarely ventured in there so maybe you have the wrong idea on what goes on in there. A couple of posts over the years from moderators about how the poker forum is very lightly modded and how we have the run of it over on 416 spring to mind right now. I was always of the opinion that because our community meet up in person more often than others that was the reason we kind of kept in check. We modded ourselves because we had a real life reputation to keep up and in turn the mods were very leniant. Very few flame wars erupt, people respect each other and when something gets out of hand it's generally dealt with very quickly. The BBV works like this, aside from that idiot DBC there are a ridiculously low % of arguments/flame wars in that thread compared to anywhere else. Yes some people took it too far but why do what you did? Why not issue some site bans or warnings?

BuffyBot

Have some patience.

QFT. Honestly, people.

DeVore

I didnt say the thread was going away permanently but its gas that you see no hypocrisy in being outraged that your 4000+ thread is sacrosanct while theirs is fair game "cos der a bunch o retards".

All the high faluting words you want to throw at it doesnt excuse that kind of bullying.

You want to be treated fairly? with respect? then pay it to other communities you arent part of.

DeV.