Closed Accounts

MugMugs

TeddyTedson wrote: »

In that the reality of death makes you realise just how grateful you are to be alive?

Considering any of the deaths were suicides, it's a matter of perspective.

TeddyTedson

Antares wrote: »

Considering any of the deaths were suicides, it's a matter of perspective.

I think people need to logically accept there is no after life or any of that nonsense, just the same way as on boards there is no way of reactivating your account. Dead is dead.
Every day waking up in the morning it's like a ticking down clock counting out your time.
I think I used to fear death, but not so much any more.
A nice way to think of it is, imagine that feeling of finally falling asleep after a long tiring day. The thought of knowing you'll never have to wake up again is quite peaceful.

4zn76tysfajdxp

TeddyTedson wrote: »

I think people need to logically accept there is no after life or any of that nonsense, just the same way as on boards there is no way of reactivating your account. Dead is dead.
Every day waking up in the morning it's like a ticking down clock counting out your time.
I think I used to fear death, but not so much any more.
A nice way to think of it is, imagine that feeling of finally falling asleep after a long tiring day. The thought of knowing you'll never have to wake up again is quite peaceful.

How profound.

TeddyTedson

Kolton Modern Extinguisher wrote: »

How profound.

At least you didn't use this little guy :rolleyes:

The Big Red Button

With Facebook and other social networking sites, you have the option to temporarily deactivate your account, without closing it fully.

Much better option, in my opinion.

AhInFairness

I closed my account in March after over 10 years on this site.

I opened a new account as I'm planning to learn how to drive soon and thought the motors section would prove useful. I've since gotten sucked into other parts of boards again but intend to change that.

I closed my account for numerous reasons:

- Disillusionment with the site as a whole.
- Certain users getting away with crap behaviour because they've been here a long time and/or know high profile users. (Oh but there are no cliques on boards. No sir.)
- Sick of people with legitimate complaints against mods being dismissed as "fight tha power" muppets no matter what the circumstances. (And before anyone even starts, I've never been banned and I in fact used to mod a number of forums on this site before stepping down voluntarily.)

All in all, the site has gone downhill in the last 10 years and users are generally treated pretty poorly. A site that wants to be as big as boards seems to want to be needs to rid itself of the cliquey bullshít that is really evident to those that are outside it.

My 2c

Edit: I've also no doubt that someone will check to see what my old account was on the back of this post.

Wibbs

AhInFairness wrote: »

All in all, the site has gone downhill in the last 10 years and users are generally treated pretty poorly. A site that wants to be as big as boards seems to want to be needs to rid itself of the cliquey bullshít that is really evident to those that are outside it.

I dunno A, I'd reckon it's become a lot less cliquey than it used to be. Partially by design and partially by dint of the fact it's gotten so much bigger. When I first joined I found it way more cliquey and "small town" than today. Yes there are still pockets of it where you might find that still running, but like I say I feel it's a lot less than before.

As for users getting shafted? Mods have much less leeway than when I first became one. When you were a mod here you probably remember those days(dunno how far back you go on that score so maybe not..) Indeed some are irritated about things like the DRP. In the past mods could ban people a lot easier with feck all questions being raised than today. To be fair very few did, though a couple went a bit "rogue" before they were called on it. Look at the feedback forum. A current post reminds me of when this place was chock full of "longcats" etc. Funny certainly, but genuine feedback was often lost in the noise. Feedback was pretty much your lot if you wanted to ask questions, now you have a more controlled feedback and help desk and dispute resolution. There's a lot more signal to noise going on today and more likely a genuine signal will get through and be heard.

If you had written your post 4 years ago you'd have me agreeing with a fair bit of it, but not so much today.

My 2 cents anyway.

AhInFairness

The fact that it happens less today than it did 4 or 5 years ago isn't the same as it not happening at all. Thats not really good enough Wibbs.

Maybe after seeing it go on for 10 years, seeing the type of posters made mod/CMod/Smod/Admin and knowing that there is always going to be that element of "If you're not in with the in crowd you don't get to have an opinion" means I just can't be arsed with it anymore.

I closed my account because I don't want to be associated with it anymore.

dr.bollocko

AhInFairness wrote: »

The fact that it happens less today than it did 4 or 5 years ago isn't the same as it not happening at all. Thats not really good enough Wibbs.

Maybe after seeing it go on for 10 years, seeing the type of posters made mod/CMod/Smod/Admin and knowing that there is always going to be that element of "If you're not in with the in crowd you don't get to have an opinion" means I just can't be arsed with it anymore.

I closed my account because I don't want to be associated with it anymore.

What would you think would be alternatives or counter measures? I kinda get where you're coming from but I'm not 100% on what specifically you're describing as negative behaviour.

AhInFairness

dr.bollocko wrote: »

What would you think would be alternatives or counter measures? I kinda get where you're coming from but I'm not 100% on what specifically you're describing as negative behaviour.

Well I guess that's just the problem; I don't think there are any alternatives due to the way this site progressed. It's expanded massively but a lot of the same people, and therefore the same attitudes, are still there.

It is what it is. As I've seen suggested numerous times over the years.."If you don't like it you can leave."

*shrug*

Wibbs

AhInFairness wrote: »

The fact that it happens less today than it did 4 or 5 years ago isn't the same as it not happening at all. Thats not really good enough Wibbs.

Maybe A, but there's defo a big improvement. From pretty much zero recourse, hoping people aren't being dicks just because they get some "authority", to actual mechanisms to ask questions. Again in fairness there were only a few examples of that in the past. 9 times outa 10 people were cool. Still there was room for improvement and IMHO we all got more on that score.

Maybe after seeing it go on for 10 years, seeing the type of posters made mod/CMod/Smod/Admin and knowing that there is always going to be that element of "If you're not in with the in crowd you don't get to have an opinion" means I just can't be arsed with it anymore.

You will always have the human factor involved in any large group A. People will naturally gravitate towards and favour those they agree with and feel they have commonalities with and reckon they can trust. Human nature and all that. So yes you will sometimes wonder "how come X or Y got chosen over A or B" when it's fairly obvious X/Y are known/play the game etc. Even that has changed for the better, again because of the size of the place and the commercial aspect too. People are just as likely to be chosen now(above and beyond availability, interest and ability) because they'll not cause trouble or rock too many boats. Plus because it's sooo big and there are sooo many people involved you quite simply couldn't pick people on the basis of they're in your "clique". You'd run out fierce fast.

Put it another way A, it seems you were asked to mod and it doesn't sound like you were part of the clique you speak of

Bear in mind A this is coming from someone who along with others didn't exactly win too many friends in some places by challenging how it was previously done and in many ways I was part of the "gang" at the time.

It is what it is. As I've seen suggested numerous times over the years.."If you don't like it you can leave."

I think another part of the human factor is we all can become jaded, or just outgrow the place, even if just in our current "incarnation". People like yourself, many who were big contributors to various forums and the site who think feck it I'm putting down the laptop and doing something else, or maybe get a pain in the neck from the group label on them, close their account and maybe return afresh to get away from that and enjoy the place for what it is. Which I think is healthier in some ways than those who plod on just as jaded for the sake of it. Personally I'e gotten pissed off at times with the place and some in it, but for some reason I never got jaded with it. No idea why. I think maybe because I do feel the place does a helluva lot of good on more than a few levels, so feel it's worth sticking around.

I'd also add one more thing. Funny it was something said by someone back during some blow up or other, someone who I'd defo not see eye to eye on most subjects(and vice versa). Most people, the vast majority of people on here don't actually care. I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean most people are happy posting away, never causing hassle, having a bit of craic, getting some info, having minds changed or not etc and don't notice the behind the scenes stuff at all. I reckon if Boards sold out to Facebook in the morning and the place went down the loo, most would probably stay so long as it wasn't really obvious they were treated like advertising labrats. Hell, look at how many are signed up to FB/youtube as it is.

I think one of the things that can happen longtermers, especially mods etc is overstating our importance in the great scheme of things and sometimes seeing the rest of the folks on here as potential "trouble". I look at it the other way. Many many thousands of posts per day/week across many hundreds of forums, by many thousands of people and you know what? Maybe tens barely a hundred if that of people who cause hassle. Even within that group it's only a teeeeeny tiiiiny few who end up banned/sitebanned. TBH this site has increased my good feelings towards people, not the other way around. That's another reason why maybe I don't get jaded.

I know I know, fcuking wibbs wall of text again.:rolleyes::o:o:)

AhInFairness

Wibbs, with all due respect, you're entitled to your opinion of the site just as I'm entitled to mine.

You're happy with how things are and I'm not. This is why I closed my account. This thread is about people, including long term posters, closing their accounts. Some people have suggested that the long termers are closing them due to a spur of the moment decision, perhaps while drunk or in anger.

To me, taking that view is ignoring the fact that people may have real issues with the site. People do become jaded.

Yes, I was asked to mod without being in any clique but that was because the forum in question was crying out for someone, I was extremely active and an existing mod suggested I be asked. After that, I was asked to mod other forums that would have been better going to someone else. It seemed to me it was easier to ask someone who was an existing mod. I saw it with plenty of others too. On one forum that I used to mod I saw an admin at the time make a troublesome poster the mod "for the laugh". Anyone who questioned the decision was told to butt out.

Now, perhaps all is rosy in modland and none of that goes on anymore, that's fine. It doesn't change how I feel about the site as a whole. I'm not trying to have an argument about it, I'm simply giving an insight as to why I personally, as a long-term poster, decided to close my account.

Edited to add: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056701246

This is an absolutely perfect example of the kind of shíte I'm talking about. Instead of answering the questions or asking the poster what happened in that particular instance it's a dismissive, arrogant, ignorant post making the poster out to be some sort of muppet. Now maybe the poster in question is a tool and is a troublemaker but its the automatic assumption and the posts like that that really do nothing to help things. F*cking ridiculous carry on.

tbh

i think in the last few years, and this could just be me, the influence of mods has been diluted to almost zero as the amount of mods and amount of admins grows. As there are more admins and more paid staff, there is far less feedback sought from the mods, again imo, on the general running and direction of the site. I think this is also a result of the dilution of the mod forum into numerous <cat>-mod forums, which means theres less exchamge of views and cross-pollination of ideas. I share your views, to an extent, on the way the hierarchy is selected, I dont have a problem with any individual admin i hasten to add, and i totally understand that youre only going to trust the keys of the kingdom to people who think and act like you, but to be honest i think the fact that its reasonably easy to predict who the next candidates to be adminned are isnt healthy for the growth and evolution of the site. The fact that the site is almost exactly the same as it was five years ago isnt a good thing, imo i stress again, this isnt a pop at any of the admins personally, and i dont claim to be representing a widely held pov, just my own opinion, fw thats w. i also accept that i would have been a champion of the status quo in previous threads.

Wibbs

AhInFairness wrote: »

Wibbs, with all due respect, you're entitled to your opinion of the site just as I'm entitled to mine.

Oh defo A. I didn't mean to suggest otherwise and apologies if I came across as dismissive of the point you're making.

You're happy with how things are and I'm not.

Me? Happy with the status quo? Do ya know me at all? Trust me I would echo some of your concerns, but I'm just saying there's been a lot of improvements and I prefer to rally to the good changes, even if I sometimes baulk at some of the dodgy stuff that may be left from the past.

This is why I closed my account. This thread is about people, including long term posters, closing their accounts. Some people have suggested that the long termers are closing them due to a spur of the moment decision, perhaps while drunk or in anger.

To me, taking that view is ignoring the fact that people may have real issues with the site. People do become jaded.

Oh I agree A and agreed and expanded on the theme in my last post as to why I think that may happen. I certainly wouldn't plug into the meme of "it was a spur/drunken moment". That's too pat an answer applied to so many.

It seemed to me it was easier to ask someone who was an existing mod.

Again on he basis of human nature. Much easier and often a better bet that makes sense to give any nod to an existing known quantity. I'm not saying that's always a good plan, but it's well understandable. TBH I've done it myself.

I saw it with plenty of others too. On one forum that I used to mod I saw an admin at the time make a troublesome poster the mod "for the laugh". Anyone who questioned the decision was told to butt out.

That may have happened in the past, but I can pretty much guarantee that wouldn't happen now. A shítload of folks would cry foul over something like that from an admin. I can think of at least four or five admins who would make up the chorus of WTF. The folks in the office would make up the orchestra.

Now, perhaps all is rosy in modland and none of that goes on anymore, that's fine. It doesn't change how I feel about the site as a whole. I'm not trying to have an argument about it, I'm simply giving an insight as to why I personally, as a long-term poster, decided to close my account.

And FWIW point well taken A

This is an absolutely perfect example of the kind of shíte I'm talking about. Instead of answering the questions or asking the poster what happened in that particular instance it's a dismissive, arrogant, ignorant post making the poster out to be some sort of muppet. Now maybe the poster in question is a tool and is a troublemaker but its the automatic assumption and the posts like that that really do nothing to help things. F*cking ridiculous carry on.

I'm with you there. I would say one of the biggest "issues" with Boards.ie and I dunno why, but one of it;s biggest issues is it's "Mod" meme. IMHO there's waaaay too much talk, consideration, damn near obsession, nay near worship of the notion of mods/cmods/admins/whatever on the site. Way too much. This is not helpful when it does come up. Luckily the vast majority give the big one in the right amount. IE feck all unless they have to deal with it. Maybe it's an "Irish thing"? That we as a culture both suspect authority and at the same time clamour for it. It's long fascinated me hereabouts. For me my emboldened username only means I'm tasked with moderating debate. That's it, no more. I'm a caretaker, a janitor that hopefully clears out the noise to help the signal get through. End fcuking of. IMHO again if you think that having the title means more than that and you start to get a touch of the them and us vibe you need to get out more. Frankly shíte like that really pisses me off and I'm a lot harder on myself and other mods than I am on the 99% of folks that make up the communities here. I'm not alone in that either BTW IMHO the majority of the mods think the same and that includes folks who oft correctly label me a knobend. , it;s only a relatively small amount who plug into the "I is a mod now, give me my banhammer" ballsology. Luckily they have less say than they did again IMHO.