The rugby forum has gone to pot...

Nemesis

The saddest thing I've noticed on the Rugby forum is this notion (from a few,not all thank god) that you cant be a Leinster fan and a Munster/Connaught/Ulster fan.

Is there a 4 province jersey in the shops?

Its a bit like been a Liverpool fan and you cheer when Man Utd lose a game.(Which I do but sadly not often enough :rolleyes:)

But thats Soccer and its tribalism.
Some posters on the forum seem to want this in Rugby.

Rugby the sport should always be greater than what team or player you support.

Please don't make people apply to join the forum..it took me about 9 years to post on the soccer forum because I was too lazy to go ask for permission ( I know it wasnt restricted all those 9 years..but I had not much to say )

copacetic

Personally I don't see much of an issue with the forum, or it's moderation.
This thread proves it imo, a lot of the posters appear to believe other people should be moderated more strictly and cracked down on. Everyone else is a troll or doesn't discuss things properly. Most of the posters on this thread would have been infracted and/or banned if a zero tolerance approach to trolling and back seat modding was taken. Presumably people don't actually want it like that.

Jello

I agree there are several problems that need to be sorted out. I tend not to post in the larger threads because of the amount of bickering and annoying comments there are.

The current mods are excellent and I have no problems with them. Maybe one or two more is needed though.

However in saying that, I think at the moment the forum is experiencing a larger amount of traffic than usual, due to the Lions tour, and also Leinster's win and the Grand Slam. This has all led to a much greater interest in the sport throughout the country and hence in the Rugby forum. However I have a feeling that in a few weeks things may be back to normal, as discussion will return back to the Magners League, Heineken Cup pool games and the Autumn Internationals, which probably won't draw as much people to the forum, and may not cause as much arguing and bickering. I could be wrong though, but hopefully not.

themont85

There is way to much jumping the gun at people for even the slightest criticism of a player(ie O'Gara.)

One thing that is annoying is that sometimes people won't elaborate over an opinion. I did make a mistake in hindsight a week ago when a infrequent user gave an opinion which tbh I found laughable and he didn't elaborate on it at all. I was pretty damning of it and he flew of the handle way to quickly and was ridiculousely abusive(started a thread in AH basically to abuse me). I should have reported his post but tried to get him to edit it but he didn't and when I signed back in he had destroyed the thread with abuse

There is plenty of great debate on it and great to see posters from all over posting there not just Ireland.

Thge 50 posts is interesting, one thing is that newer users and even older ones is not searching for older threads. No disrespect but the 'O'Gara is finished'/Sexton is the future threads are made every couple of days and usually end with ardent ROG supporters or haters or people posting that Sexton is a child which gets either locked or destroyed with petty crap. I usually don't bother opening said threads anymore.

Chucky the tree

One of the things that tilts me about the forum is the stupid pro Irish bias towards everything, and everything non irish is a slated as much as possible. Obviously this is an Irish forum but jesus, can people not take off the green shades once in awhile?

thomond2006

Chucky the tree wrote: »

One of the things that tilts me about the forum is the stupid pro Irish bias towards everything, and everything non irish is a slated as much as possible. Obviously this is an Irish forum but jesus, can people not take off the green shades once in awhile?

That's a natural thing and to be honest I don't think that being Irish is the root of the problem.

It's being pro ROG/anti ROG, in the past being pro BOD/anti BOD....provinces etc.

Chucky the tree

thomond2006 wrote: »

That's a natural thing and to be honest I don't think that being Irish is the root of the problem.

It's being pro ROG/anti ROG, in the past being pro BOD/anti BOD....provinces etc.

It is the root of the problem I think, some people just can't have a neutral view. There biased for Ireland first, then biased for Munster/Leinster.

thomond2006

Chucky the tree wrote: »

It is the root of the problem I think, some people just can't have a neutral view. There biased for Ireland first, then biased for Munster/Leinster.

Yeah, you're right probably.

Any suggestions for DeVore on how to improve the forum.

I think the objective to rid the forum of posters like RugbyFanatic who do not accept other people not agreeing with them. It's so stupid, it's funny.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055594838

anonymous_joe

I'd suggest having spent a fair bit of time in the rugby forum - the mods are great, but there's just a torrent of stuff for them to deal with. They're not omnipresent. ^^

dreamer_ire

I too have noticed a decline in the rugby forum since the HC. The mods do a good job but I think there could be more of them to deal with the increased volume... by way of example I reported the post that themont85 mentioned and no action was taken. I don't believe this was due to a lack of 'interest' on the mods part, far from it, but rather the absolute deluge of posts needing to be dealt with.

So my suggestions are
1. Mods get a pat on the back
2. Rugby forum to have a few more mods... Tim Robbins for me is one of the most neutral on the forum
3. Limited the number of posts any user can add to a thread (maybe 5/6)- hopefully it should stop the bickering that goes over and back. Anyone should be able to make their point in 5/6 posts.

And the most difficult is somehow to get posters to realise that while we all have our opinions none of us are speaking from a basis of fact (laws thread the exception). I may think X player is rubbish and may be able to point to numerous examples of poor play but even that it will still be coloured by any bias I may have and I don't know it all.... there will be many matches I won't have seen.

Eoin

Again, I think we should give Ruggie a chance to say what he thinks needs changing rather than nominating each other for mod.

K-9

Really if people would learn to ignore the obviously flame baiting posts, everybody would benefit. Often it takes a few threads of wasting your time debating these things, that get you to the realisation:

"this is pointless and I'm as stupid as them!"

You get the same perennial posts on GAA: Ulster, Dublin football etc. The more seasoned posters tend to avoid them and let the others at it!

Trojan

Hi folks,

I'm glad to see so many who care about the Rugby forum on here. I'm an avid contributor myself, but as any mods will know, I try to report posts and remain strictly neutral as much as possible.

I have very strong feelings for Connacht (I played for them several times) and Leinster (I'm originally from here and lived here for 20+ years). So I really don't like to jump into provincial arguments unless it's absolutely necessary.

As probably the closest Admin to this situation, personally, I'd like to see folks 1) being more mature and 2)less intolerant. More thoughts tomorrow when I have a full keyboard at my disposal.

Trojan.

thomond2006

Thanks Trojan.

Amabokke

It's kinda funny when a lot of the posters here are indeed rugby players and can dish out tackling as well as take it on the pitch, however on a forum some people get very emotional. This is rugby and surely it should be discussed in a decent but tough way.

I agree with this poster:

One thing that is annoying is that sometimes people won't elaborate over an opinion. I did make a mistake in hindsight a week ago when a infrequent user gave an opinion which tbh I found laughable and he didn't elaborate on it at all.

That gets on my tits. Why make a point if you can't explain it properly. Google and Wikipedia is to your disposal.

I don't agree with the less intolerent Trojan and to give you an example. See some of the posts and you'll find when someone says something about their province or a player alot of other players will jump on the bandwagon and say the same but fail to explain it properly. Why should they explain it? Example:

1) Ronan O'Gara lost us the 2nd Lions test.

or

2) Ronan O'Gara lost us the 2nd Lions test because his tackle effort on Fourie was poor and his tackle in the air on Du Preez was unaccetable.

You decide which one of the two you'd rather want to read. Seems to be a lot of postings like the 1) with no proper explanation.

Spud83

I don't post in the rugby forum but I do stick my head in now and again. The main reasons I don't post is that A) I don't have a great knowledge on the game, and fear I would get eaten alive by some posters in there, and a lot of the threads seem to go down the same path. I can't back this up with evidence its just an impression I have gotten.

One thing I think though is that Rugby is a growing sport in this country, the success of our provincial teams in the HC, and the Grand Slam have really turned peoples head towards rugby. I think the forum could start seeing a lot more traffic in furture. I'm not sure if any of the admins can compare the traffic volumes there this year compared to last (I know Lions tour would make it a busier summer anyway).

Not sure if the access system would really help, maybe the rugby mods could discuss the pro and cons of it with the soccer mods and the admins and reach a decision.

I would suggest more mods though and this is based on a simple comparision with other sports and forums I may pop my head into.

Soccer- 7 mods listed
MMA -> 4 mods listed
Pro Wrestling -> 4 mods listed
Rugby - 3 Mods listed. It does seem a little low for what seems to be a fairly busy forum, that I think will only get busier. Its the same number as Golf for gods sake. Now Golf may be a busy forum but I doubt it has the same tribalism, passion or whatever of Rugby.

Also I would suggest an Off-Topic thread. When people get to know each other a bit they are less likely to consider them idiots in normal threads.

All the posters themselves have to start taking some responsability. If they want a better forum help make it one by following the appropriate actions when dealing with stupid threads, or abusive/trolling/flaming posters, instead of arguing with them.

Tim Robbins

The more intelligent posters should be helping the mods. For example, when someone writes a silly attack on a player without backing it up with any rugby knowledge the regular posters should challenge the poster. With this sort of culture the mods work would be a lot easier.

However, sometimes experienced posters who obviously have a knowledge of the game get attacked purely because they articulate particular criticisms even though the criticism is substantiated with rugby knowledge.

I think this has happened a few times to Jackass for example and I don't think that's fair.

If we want to stop muppets posting we could easily arrange a little quiz about the game and if someone doesn't score a certain mark in this they are not allowed to certain parts of the forum.

Then in this part of the forum, we should be allowed to be more flexibile in our criticisms. I find it annoying that I dedicate a large part of my life back to the grass roots of the sport and I am not allowed to be critical (or others are not allowed be critical) of the certain things or I (or others) have to walk on egg shells.

Amabokke

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Also I would suggest an Off-Topic thread. When people get to know each other a bit they are less likely to consider them idiots in normal threads.

That is an excellent idea. I was thinking about a Beginner's subforum but yours sound better and I like that.

Amabokke

Tim Robbins wrote: »

The more intelligent posters should be helping the mods. For example, when someone writes a silly attack on a player without backing it up with any rugby knowledge the regular posters should challenge the poster. With this sort of culture the mods work would be a lot easier.

However, sometimes experienced posters who obviously have a knowledge of the game get attacked purely because they articulate particular criticisms even though the criticism is substantiated with rugby knowledge.

I think this has happened a few times to Jackass for example and I don't think that's fair.

If we want to stop muppets posting we could easily arrange a little quiz about the game and if someone doesn't score a certain mark in this they are not allowed to certain parts of the forum.

Then in this part of the forum, we should be allowed to be more flexibile in our criticisms. I find it annoying that I dedicate a large part of my life back to the grass roots of the sport and I am not allowed to be critical (or others are not allowed be critical) of the certain things or I (or others) have to walk on egg shells.

Tim, your spot on and my exact centiment. Problem is when you back things up some posters would start mud slinging and everyone else jumps on that and it turns in tit for tat. Posters then keep repeating themselves over and over.

Oh, and I do like your quiz idea...

thomond2006

+1 to Tim's comment.

copacetic

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

Rugby - 3 Mods listed. It does seem a little low for what seems to be a fairly busy forum, that I think will only get busier. Its the same number as Golf for gods sake. Now Golf may be a busy forum but I doubt it has the same tribalism, passion or whatever of Rugby.

Actually thats probably not a fair comparison, Golf has 3 mods listed including Ruggie as cmod, but he doesn't actively mod Golf unless we request help. So Golf really has 2 mods, one of which was added relatively recently. Rugby has 3 active mods which seems like plenty except possibly at very busy times when someone is missing. As Ruggie is cmod too, there is no-one available as cover when someone is afk.

I don't really see it as a moderation issue myself, at busy times people seem to enjoy acting childish. It's actually incredible some of the comments above from some of the offenders who can't see the wood for the trees.

lol123456

There should be a zero tolerance policy on trolls like "Aidric" who persist in coming on to the forum to annoy other users.

From what I've read, he seems to really hate "thomond2006" and always criticizes his posts for no good reason. This sort of stuff should be gifted with a permanent ban in my opinion.

LuckyLloyd

LZ5by5 wrote: »

More mods perhaps?

Stick me in coach.

Assuming the current mods believe they require an extra pair of hands obv.

_blank_

I have started handing out infractions for Back Seat Modding.

Zero Tolerance.

Tim Robbins

thomond2006 wrote: »

+1 to Tim's comment.

Good to see people agreeing with a ref for a change :-)

Note: another thing I'd think would be interesting would be for people to give their own match reports of their own games for the Leinster leagues next season.

Xavi6

alanmurphy83 wrote: »

I don't post in the rugby forum but I do stick my head in now and again. The main reasons I don't post is that A) I don't have a great knowledge on the game, and fear I would get eaten alive by some posters in there, and a lot of the threads seem to go down the same path. I can't back this up with evidence its just an impression I have gotten.

+1 to that

I read the rugby forum daily but wouldn't post for the reasons outlined above. I really think it's a case of the users helping themselves rather than seeking more mods to sort things out.

Riskymove

I agree with a lot of what has been said here,

I do not think a sign-up system is required really as its not like people are being banned left, right and centre.

The problem imo has been mainly due to the worsening attitude to Munster v Leinster over the last year particularly with people (usually non regular users) starting very bitter or vicious threads leading to others getting involved on both sides.

I think this has lead to a situation where we nearly expect such things and perhaps have had our tempers shortened as a result and many of us (including me) have reacted badly to posts/threads that in the cold light of day are not as bad as we thought.

an example is my little spat with Amabokke yesterday

thomond2006

Sorry Des. :o:(:(

Will stop the BS

Aidric

lol123456 wrote: »

There should be a zero tolerance policy on trolls like "Aidric" who persist in coming on to the forum to annoy other users.

From what I've read, he seems to really hate "thomond2006" and always criticizes his posts for no good reason. This sort of stuff should be gifted with a permanent ban in my opinion.

Lol @ setting up an alias to have a pop.
The problem with his posts are that he spouts a banal one liner and then doesn't have the conviction to stand over his opinion or worse still ignores the oppurtunity to follow up or explain the post. I'm not the only one who thinks like this btw.

Eoin

If it's going to get personal in a thread talking about how to improve the forum, I don't hold much hope. That's not aimed at any one person BTW.