Is linear conversation on forums outdated? Is the upvote on Reddit a better system?

I love Boards.ie and I love Reddit.com both are brilliant sites and are a wealth of knowledge and discussions.

I however am still not sure whether I prefer the kind of linear flat conversation flow of boards or the upvotes that Reddit uses. On one hand with the upvote system you are able to weed out the good posts and get the good posts pretty quick, on the other hand actual conversation seems to flow a bit better with the Boards system. I did take a long time to get used to Reddits format, where as on Boards which was my the first proper internet site I used to frequent was easy to just click and go so to speak.

So what I was wondering which kind of layout of the conversation do people prefer?

kneemos

Reddit is torture.It has merits,but torturous to read.

LadyFenghuang

Not on Reddit personally, not just the layout system also I just personally don't like reddit. Any forum I have ever been on has been laid out similar to boards.ie.

I don't like the upvote system at all. You end up being dictated to.

smash

Upvoting tells you what to read. Boards lets you browse freely.

jimmii

I would use reddit more but just can't stand the format and as mentioned you end up just being told what the herd thinks and those without more outlying views fall away.

LadyFenghuang

jimmii wrote: »

I would use reddit more but just can't stand the format and as mentioned you end up just being told what the herd thinks and those without more outlying views fall away.

In fairness the last poster here bumbs the thread. The herd works it's magic here too. Just watch them.

smash

smash wrote: »

Upvoting tells you what to read. Boards lets you browse freely.

That is true but generally the stuff you read at the top tends to be of good quality. I have no investment in Reddit. I think Boards has some brilliant points to it and Reddit has some things that Boards just doesn't have. Reddit seems to be growing massively in popularity so must be doing something right.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

That is true but generally the stuff you read at the top tends to be of good quality. I have no investment in Reddit. I think Boards has some brilliant points to it and Reddit has some things that Boards just doesn't have. Reddit seems to be growing massively in popularity so must be doing something right.

Reddit needs terrible people to survive. There seem to be a lot of them on this earth unfortunately. I try to avoid it at all costs.

LadyFenghuang

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

Reddit needs terrible people to survive. There seem to be a lot of them on this earth unfortunately. I try to avoid it at all costs.

Reddit is a massive community made up of smaller sub communities which each community can have thousands of members, you can't really tar them all with the one brush. There is good people on Boards and Reddit don't be mean to Reddit :P

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Reddit is a massive community made up of smaller sub communities which each community can have thousands of members, you can't really tar them all with the one brush. There is good people on Boards and Reddit don't be mean to Reddit :P

THEY ARE THE ENEMY!

:pac:

No sorry just personally don't like reddit. It nothing but personal preference. Sure there must be nice people...sure there are even some nice people on boards :-O

LadyFenghuang

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

THEY ARE THE ENEMY!

:pac:

No sorry just personally don't like reddit. It nothing but personal preference. Sure there must be nice people...sure there are even some nice people on boards :-O

I actually think the majority of boards are nice people its why I come here :cool:

I was just wondering about the upvote system because it does get rid of the need for mods and stuff. What the majority of users like goes to the top and people who are "acting the dick" goes to the bottom. Kind of similar to the way after hours has a 'dont be a dick' rule but on Reddit they automatically get voted down (most of the time).

smash

Deleted User wrote: »

Reddit is a massive community made up of smaller sub communities which each community can have thousands of members, you can't really tar them all with the one brush. There is good people on Boards and Reddit don't be mean to Reddit :P

Still though, reddit's UI is awful. It gives me a headache.

smash

smash wrote: »

Still though, reddit's UI is awful. It gives me a headache.

Yeah the interface isn't the best. Boards layout is really easy to read but surely the upvote could be done but done in a way that doesn't give people headaches?

gerrybbadd

Reddit is brutal. They down vote you over there, with no rhyme or reason to it.

Boards isn't thought very highly of over there either. I'm not very fond of Reddit it has to be said

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

I actually think the majority of boards are nice people its why I come here :cool:

I was just wondering about the upvote system because it does get rid of the need for mods and stuff. What the majority of users like goes to the top and people who are "acting the dick" goes to the bottom. Kind of similar to the way after hours has a 'dont be a dick' rule but on Reddit they automatically get voted down (most of the time).

They are really I know I am just joking. Personally I don't like the up-vote system as it makes threads and conversations difficult to read. It just becomes gibberish. You don't even know how to put the best comment into context. And even though its at the top it can make no sense because it's a response to many other comments that you have yet to read.

MrWalsh

Im not a fan of the linear layout of boards.ie

I prefer when you can follow through branches of replies within a thread. Ive seen it on other forums although for the life of me I cant remember the name of any. It saves skimming for someones response to a response.

I dont hang around the comments of reddit too much, its a bit too much of a free for all for my taste.

smash

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah the interface isn't the best. Boards layout is really easy to read but surely the upvote could be done but done in a way that doesn't give people headaches?

I'm of the opinion that an upvote system would ruin the flow of the site. You want to see what's new then you see what's new. But with an upvote system you just see the most popular.

GiftofGab

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Reddit is brutal. They down vote you over there, with no rhyme or reason to it.

Boards isn't thought very highly of over there either. I'm not very fond of Reddit it has to be said

Why does it have to be said?

Yeah the moderation on Boards does keep the conversations civil for the most part, it has to be said.

smash

gerrybbadd wrote: »

Boards isn't thought very highly of over there either.

A lot of people take to the anonymity of reddit to bad mouth boards users and mods. Initiating witch hunts and stuff... Petty and nasty if you ask me.

LadyFenghuang

GiftofGab wrote: »

Why does it have to be said?

Why did that have to be said or this? No reasons really. And now this comment goes off on a nice tangent. And it's entertaining or not. But maybe someone else will write something much more intelligent after us relating to this and others can read it in context. That is the beauty of the conversational style.

RedPandaDan

I do no like Reddits branching comments system, its way too messy for me.

I think, for moderation, Slashdot has the best system, where instead of upvoting or downvoting for agree/disagree, there are a number of tags you can assign to comments (insightful, informative, interesting, funny, offtopic).

Flat forum layouts are better for longer running discussions.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah the moderation on Boards does keep the conversations civil for the most part, it has to be said.

One of the best forums I was ever on was completely un-moderated. But they revealed your ip.

MrWalsh

smash wrote: »

A lot of people take to the anonymity of reddit to bad mouth boards users and mods. Initiating witch hunts and stuff... Petty and nasty if you ask me.

Sure we are anon here also?

More like mods do not allow discussion of certain subjects here, moderation being one of them so people vent elsewhere. A bit the same way AAM (ask about money) has been dissed here but yer man who runs it removes any negatives on his own site.

RedPandaDan

RedPandaDan wrote: »

I do no like Reddits branching comments system, its way too messy for me.

I think, for moderation, Slashdot has the best system, where instead of upvoting or downvoting for agree/disagree, there are a number of tags you can assign to comments (insightful, informative, interesting, funny, offtopic).

Flat forum layouts are better for longer running discussions.

Yes. I find boards better for more long meaningful reads but I find reddit better to get little bits of information quickly.

LadyFenghuang

I wonder if Boards was linked to FB and showed who you were would it be very very different. If you knew for certain who people were would it change the culture.

MrWalsh

MrWalsh wrote: »

Sure we are anon here also?

More like mods do not allow discussion of certain subjects here, moderation being one of them so people vent elsewhere. A bit the same way AAM (ask about money) has been dissed here but yer man who runs it removes any negatives on his own site.

Yeah there is somethings that some people do feel about Boards (cause no matter how great boards is it does have bad points) but can't be said here because you are on a private site and don't have full freedom of speech.

MrWalsh

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah there is somethings that some people do feel about Boards (cause no matter how great boards is it does have bad points) but can't be said here because you are on a private site and don't have full freedom of speech.

Personally I feel its handled badly in many cases here. A recent example was the Graham Dwyer case. Even after he was convicted we were not allowed to talk about it. Every other media outlet and Irish forum was discussing it but even when it was asked about here the questions were shut down. So Im still unaware of the reasoning behind it but it stands out in my memory as being handled badly.

No. God no.

This is a discussion (if I could add sound effects for more dramatic effect, I would) forum. I like Reddit and would browse there quite frequently, but if you're not involved in the first.. say.. twenty minutes of a topic, then it is nigh on impossible to get involved in any form of conversation. Added to the fact that the parent and child layout just is completely user unfriendly to use. That's what I like about Boards - it actually feels like you're talking to people, as opposed to just hurling random sh*te at a wall and seeing what sticks.

raah!

It's definitely unsuitable for any kind of argument; people will upvote what they agree with because they agree with it rather than the strength of the argument. It's one further way the filthey internet has democtritised truth and destroyed rationality, another means for the baying mob to oust opposition without having to address or think.

Upvoting might be suitable for pictures that people like, but for conversation it is most definitely a terrible idea.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah there is somethings that some people do feel about Boards (cause no matter how great boards is it does have bad points) but can't be said here because you are on a private site and don't have full freedom of speech.

I still wouldn't go near reddit. And that's a totally different issue to what you say originally. Not that it's not valid if you want to talk about it. It's nothing to do with the upvote system.

I know forums with no mods, they are not that much different.

Are you trying to get us to vacate boards.ie?

MrWalsh

MrWalsh wrote: »

Personally I feel its handled badly in many cases here. A recent example was the Graham Dwyer case. Even after he was convicted we were not allowed to talk about it. Every other media outlet and Irish forum was discussing it but even when it was asked about here the questions were shut down. So Im still unaware of the reasoning behind it but it stands out in my memory as being handled badly.

I agree with you. Boards does have a right to pick and choose though what chances they want to take with whats being discussed. I think its that sites like Reddit are international so they can say more stuff but Boards is Irish based so has to watch it a bit more.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

I agree with you. Boards does have a right to pick and choose though what chances they want to take with whats being discussed. I think its that sites like Reddit are international so they can say more stuff but Boards is Irish based so has to watch it a bit more.

I prefer it.

LadyFenghuang

Besides reddit though what forums would people suggest? Out of interest? It's nice to check out other places.

LadyFenghuang

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

I still wouldn't go near reddit. And that's a totally different issue to what you say originally. Not that it's not valid if you want to talk about it. It's nothing to do with the upvote system.

I know forums with no mods, they are not that much different.

Are you trying to get us to vacate boards.ie?

No I really like boards and I don't understand why any Irish person wouldn't use it, its great. No one is trying to get you to vacate boards. Its just the poster above talked about it and I responded.

edit: I also think Reddit is great, its just it serves a different function for me at least than boards.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

No I really like boards and I don't understand why any Irish person wouldn't use it, its great. No one is trying to get you to vacate boards. Its just the poster above talked about it and I responded.

What other forums do you like? Not reddit though.

Generally other forums tend to be topic specific.

o1s1n

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

I wonder if Boards was linked to FB and showed who you were would it be very very different. If you knew for certain who people were would it change the culture.

Seeing some of the crap people post on Facebook I don't think so :pac:

Does 'thanks' not have the a similar kind of effect?

smash

Does anyone know how the hell the 'Trending threads' is calculated on boards? given that there's no hashtag system and it doesn't seem to correspond with a particularly high level of replies or thanks.

o1s1n

o1s1n wrote: »

Seeing some of the crap people post on Facebook I don't think so :pac:

Does 'thanks' not have the a similar kind of effect?

I think thanks was a bit implementation by boards because it creates some people who seem to try and be witty purely for thanks which makes have a real conversation harder.

LadyFenghuang

smash wrote: »

Does anyone know how the hell the 'Trending threads' is calculated on boards? given that there's no hashtag system and it doesn't seem to correspond with a particularly high level of replies or thanks.

I've never even looked at those.

RedemptionZ

I think Reddit is more akin to a Facebook post where people comment on a post as opposed to replying to it. It has some advantages, if you ask a genuine question, the most helpful reply will probably have a lot of up votes so will be easy to find. But for a proper conversation it's inferior to the linear type.

RedemptionZ

RedemptionZ wrote: »

I think Reddit is more akin to a Facebook post where people comment on a post as opposed to replying to it. It has some advantages, if you ask a genuine question, the most helpful reply will probably have a lot of up votes so will be easy to find. But for a proper conversation it's inferior to the linear type.

Yeah I think you have a good point. The upvoting does also work to get rid of trolls as well.

smash

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

I've never even looked at those.

Either do I, because when I click on the tab it just gives a list of threads which appear to be very uninteresting.

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah I think you have a good point. The upvoting does also work to get rid of trolls as well.

Considering the stories of reddit trolls actually going into people real lives I don't think it does. Trolling on there is on another level. It's not something I would want to expose myself to. If anything I want a gentler forum to visit!

smash

smash wrote: »

Either do I, because when I click on the tab it just gives a list of threads which appear to be very uninteresting.

I use the trending now tab to look for interesting threads and it does work often I find.

LadyFenghuang

Any suggestions besides reddit I would interested to read. Not that i don't love boardsies you are are very nice bunch :P!

LadyFenghuang

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

Any suggestions besides reddit I would interested to read. Not that i don't love boardsies you are are very nice bunch :P!

Can't promote other sites on this site. To be honest Boards is all you need :pac:

There is so many forums here. Unless there is a specific type of forum that you want. Like if you were into a specific game like GTA for example that game would have its own specific forums site, or if you are into anything specific you will probably find a very big international community forum for it.

Boards is unique in a way in that it has so much variety on the one site, other sites have tried but this is one of the most popular.

So the question is Lady for me to give you a kinda recommendation I'd need to know what you are into?

gerrybbadd

GiftofGab wrote: »

Why does it have to be said?

Downvote for you GidtofGab:p

It simply has to be. Have you ever heard of a figure of speech?

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Can't promote other sites on this site. To be honest Boards is all you need :pac:

Ah damn I was just going to post two of my favs! One is actually specifically designed for thoughtful conversation it has some really cool people. The other is completely off the wall. I have read some of the weirdest posts ever!

LadyFenghuang

LadyFenghuang wrote: »

Ah damn I was just going to post two of my favs! One is actually specifically designed for thoughtful conversation it has some really cool people. The other is completely off the wall. I have read some of the weirdest posts ever!

Boards being honest is one of the best communities online. It's big enough to have variety but small enough so you can remember a lot of the users. I'm fairly sure we aren't allowed post links to other sites, even though I kind of did with reddit in the OP so I might have accidently broke the rules now that I think of it. The communities you are talking about sounds cool though

LadyFenghuang

Deleted User wrote: »

Boards being honest is one of the best communities online. It's big enough to have variety but small enough so you can remember a lot of the users.

True
The unintentionally creepy parts of the net should sometimes be left alone. It's safe here, here is ....safe....oh ..the things... I've seen! *shudders*