Why are all threads on Larry Murphy getting closed?

gimme5minutes

Maybe someone can explain this to me. Whatever you make of it, this guy's release is the BIG story of the moment up and down the country. It is all over the papers, every single day. Everybody is talking about it. Yet I come on here to boards to read some discussions on it and all I find are threads closed all over the place. What is it with boards.ie and shutting down discussion these days? It is incredibly annoying seeing discussion so stifled and threads locked for any slight digression or if the moderator is 'not in the mood' for the thread.

Threads are seemingly closed on a whim these days but this is a particularly bad case as this is the major news story of the moment in Ireland. People are obviously keen to discuss it here as there have been lots of threads on it, but typically they are all closed.

Look at this -
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055931682&page=12&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055999708&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055979256
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055990106&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055789055&highlight=larry+murphy&page=6
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055999456&highlight=larry+murphy

This is a joke. Boards used to be a place you would come to read some interesting and topical discussions, nowadays its seems anything that is even slightly contentious is closed. The site has become completely watered down. The last time I logged in purposely to read a discussion was the evening of the Kildare vs Meath GAA match controversy, and guess what - The thread had been locked.

I know I'm gonna hear the usual crap about 'legal issues' etc...blah blah blah. There is not a chance in hell boards.ie could get in any legal trouble over anything said about larry murphy. It is basically impossible to defame the guy, the papers are calling him every name under the sun without any fear of getting sued. And anywhere he goes the papers will inform the public of the location as soon as they find it or are tipped off by members of the public. And members of the public will also be texting/calling everyone they know if they spot him so word will spread like wildfire whereever he goes.So what exactly is the problem? Why have boards shut down discussion on the big story of the moment in Ireland? Members of this site obviously want to discuss this subject so why is it now allowed?

Overheal

Its unfair to call it whimsical of the mods: if it were whimsical, one or two threads would be locked.

I assume it has to do with the Mod Warnings which all seem to relate to the same thing:

Any posts speculating on the whereabouts of this man will be removed on sight for legal reasons. Please report any such posts for us to act on. PM a moderator for clarification.

But you already know that.

I know I'm gonna hear the usual crap about 'legal issues' etc...blah blah blah.

Have you been in a courtroom or had papers mailed to you or forked out thousands in legal fees? It's not really bla bla bla. It's not worth dicking around with. Launch your own site, dick around and leave yourself open to litigation: it aint fun.

There is not a chance in hell boards.ie could get in any legal trouble over anything said about larry murphy.

I could think of many and varied ways this could happen actually. Priority one being to ensure boards does not become the familywatchdog.org for Larry Murphy. Either way you are unqualified to make that call: you can not say with any certainty that there is no chance in hell. Legal Experts may however; and I'd wager Boards.ie has brushed up on what it can and can't be held legally accountable for. If they made the call to protect themselves I doubt it was a hunch.

It is basically impossible to defame the guy, the papers are calling him every name under the sun without any fear of getting sued.

Thats a completely contradictory statement to make... but ok.

And anywhere he goes the papers will inform the public of the location as soon as they find it or are tipped off by members of the public. And members of the public will also be texting/calling everyone they know if they spot him so word will spread like wildfire whereever he goes.So what exactly is the problem?

Newspapers, unlike boards, have legal defenses - and legal budgets - to defend themselves against lawsuits. Boards.ie ltd does not. The site also has Far, Far more to Lose through possible litigation than it has to Gain from keeping threads open where people can tweet about their latest Larry sightings.

Other than that I shouldn't need to elaborate as to what the problem with all of this is.

Why have boards shut down discussion on the big story of the moment in Ireland? Members of this site obviously want to discuss this subject so why is it now allowed?

Discussion is one thing, but using the website as a tool to stalk someone has Never been permitted.

Black Swan

gimme5minutes wrote: »

Boards used to be a place you would come to read some interesting and topical discussions, nowadays its seems anything that is even slightly contentious is closed. The site has become completely watered down.

Disagree. There is a lot of diversity in terms of how much contention is tolerated across the hundreds of forums on boards. So wander about boards until you find one or more forums that meet your needs for contention. Shop around!

For example, the US Politics forum has gotten a bit challenging at times, especially during elections, and mods rarely intervene except if posters start attacking each other personally rather than attacking the political issue. Politicians and their political positions are frequently named and criticized without censure by mods. But you better have your facts supported (often with links), our your weak position may get shot full of holes by other posters.

seamus

gimme5minutes wrote: »

And anywhere he goes the papers will inform the public of the location as soon as they find it or are tipped off by members of the public. And members of the public will also be texting/calling everyone they know if they spot him so word will spread like wildfire whereever he goes.So what exactly is the problem?

Because boards is nothing like the newspapers or a text message.

The newspapers have time to fact check. They have people out there actually looking for the guy. So when they publish a possible location, they have a level of confidence about that information.

Boards doesn't.

Likewise, text messages are private. You can have no confidence that the information contained in the text message is accurate, however because its private, it's a not a big deal, nobody can get in trouble.

Boards would be the equivalent of a newspaper publishing every text message it receives about Larry Murphy. No accuracy, no fact checking and no social conscience, and all displayed right up there for everyone to see.

All it would take is one moron to say, "I hear that the Airport Hilton is giving Larry Murphy a free room", and boards.ie finds itself sued to high heaven.

I use the word "social conscience" in reference to the impact that speculation has on others. Last Thursday night, a house in Coolock had a gang of people standing outside on the street demanding that Larry Murphy be sent out to them, even though he wasn't in there. I presume that this mob gathered because of phone calls and texts. If the owner of the house and the Gardai had not managed to convince them to go away, there would have been injuries when the crowd tried to forcibly enter the house.

Think about that on boards' scale: Someone posts that Larry is in XYZ house in Coolock and loads of people are going down. Suddenly instead of a crowd of 20 people, you've a crowd of 100, which is a lot less predictable and a lot more likely to rush the house and possibly even result in the deaths of people.

Papers review their content before it goes out and boards.ie is a publication medium. So you cannot compare it to either newspapers or text messages.

DeVore

We have no problem with people discussing him or his crimes.... we have a social conscience though, as Seamus pointed out above. Whipping up vigilante mobs aint our thang!

DeV.

DeepBlue

gimme5minutes wrote: »

This is a joke. Boards used to be a place you would come to read some interesting and topical discussions, nowadays its seems anything that is even slightly contentious is closed. The site has become completely watered down. The last time I logged in purposely to read a discussion was the evening of the Kildare vs Meath GAA match controversy, and guess what - The thread had been locked.

The new logo is due to be rolled out soon.

:pac:

rovert

Evil vile rapist in thread closure fury!

Overheal

DeepBlue wrote: »

The new logo is due to be rolled out soon.

:pac:

As opposed to "Now ye're stalkin'"?

DeepBlue

Overheal wrote: »

As opposed to "Now ye're stalkin'"?

Afaik, Facebook have copyrighted "Now, ye're stalkin"

looksee

Not all of them closed, there is a thread in Humanities thats up to page 14. Maybe its just not a suitable thread for AH

humanji

gimme5minutes wrote: »

Look at this -
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055931682&page=12&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055999708&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055979256
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055990106&highlight=larry+murphy
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055789055&highlight=larry+murphy&page=6
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055999456&highlight=larry+murphy

Maybe you should actually read why those threads were closed. One of them is one I closed because it was a thread in Conspiracy Theories that was derailed into a Larry Murphy thread. Others were also in the wrong forums. And others still went into rambles about vigilatism and trying to track him down.

Are you really surprised they were closed? Read the Daily Mail if you want that.