Boards is becoming a Ghost Town

Edward Hopper

gainfuluses wrote: »

Guess so.

I like the colour changes anyway.

One eyed Jack

Edward Hopper wrote: »

I dunno, click again?

Anyone else think of this advertisement?

I have no idea how my brain does that :pac:

Mr E

If someone with a low post count replies to this thread, there is a 99% chance it's a rereg. You'd be better off not replying because his/her/its posts will probably be deleted.

Bongalongherb

My lovely 'Don't worry be happy' video was deleted. Ah well, it wasn't a place in feedback for music videos.

Anyway folks... Don't worry be happy, it's all good, have a great evening in the lesser heat sun.

Time to pick some fresh strawberries.

muffler

BMMachine wrote: »

heres an interesting one. On the page for Gearbest, there are three posts criticising boards' decision and policy - heavily thanks. Interesting to note that out of all the 'thanks' there was only one mod who thanked any of the posts.
close ranks, know where your bread is buttered. This is just another example I believe of mod culture and how self contained it is. I'm sure I'll be told how there is nothing in that but everything stacks up. If they want to change the perceived image, like Dav said, then they have to make actual changes and destroy this moderating culture which is rife on the site

Im glad someone noticed me around these parts and got the recognisaton I deserved

I'll gladly thank ANY post where I agree with the sentiments expressed therein.

Beasty

I'll thank posts I agree with

I'll thank posts that I may not necessarily fully agree with but believe they are constructive/informative

I'll thank posts that provide information I have asked for or find useful myself

I'll thank posts that I may not find informative myself but where I feel someone has put some effort into providing information that may be useful to others

I'll thank posts pledging any amount to SSF or indeed other charitable causes

Indeed there are many reasons I may thank posts

Of course I cannot thank posts I have not even seen, which is probably around 99% or more of posts on the site

What I cannot understand is the obsession of some on this site in trying to read the minds of posters who may, or indeed may not, have thanked a particular post

Really, who cares, unless you simply want to use such info to stir things up?

BMMachine

tbh I didn't intend to cause this

I should have been a bit clearer. What I was trying to point out was a cultural ideal within the structure of the site. I realise I worded it very poorly though so sorry about that. I wasn't trying to be picky, just more pointing out what I have seen as a general ideal to how people post and be seen.

Second Toughest in_the Freshers

Everybody's looking for a meaning
Everybody's doing their own thing
And nobody's solving the problem
Ain't nobody helping each other

Second Toughest in_the Freshers wrote: »

sometimes I feel theres hope for the Dispute Resolution forum, and that I wouldn't be afraid to avail of it, should the need arise.

and then sometimes...

huh, and sometimes I wonder.

Black Swan

One solution that we ALL can do today to reverse what has been claimed here about "Boards is becoming a Ghost Town." Pick a forum you like, open a thread with an interesting title, then follow it, and continue to post in it to keep it going. I'll do it today. Will you?

As the old cliché expression goes: "You are either a part of the problem, or part of the solution!"

droidman123

Black Swan wrote: »

One solution that we ALL can do today to reverse what has been claimed here about "Boards is becoming a Ghost Town." Pick a forum you like, open a thread with an interesting title, then follow it, and continue to post in it to keep it going. I'll do it today. Will you?

As the old cliché expression goes: "You are either a part of the problem, or part of the solution!"

An even better solution might be to actually address the problems of the site put forward on this forum

Gavlor

Black Swan wrote: »

One solution that we ALL can do today to reverse what has been claimed here about "Boards is becoming a Ghost Town." Pick a forum you like, open a thread with an interesting title, then follow it, and continue to post in it to keep it going. I'll do it today. Will you?

As the old cliché expression goes: "You are either a part of the problem, or part of the solution!"

I'd end up talking to myself, just like back in play-school!

K-9

droidman123 wrote: »

An even better solution might be to actually address the problems of the site put forward on this forum

Things are getting discussed but will take time.

gandalf

Black Swan wrote: »

One solution that we ALL can do today to reverse what has been claimed here about "Boards is becoming a Ghost Town." Pick a forum you like, open a thread with an interesting title, then follow it, and continue to post in it to keep it going. I'll do it today. Will you?

As the old cliché expression goes: "You are either a part of the problem, or part of the solution!"

How is that solving anything?

"Oh if everyone started a thread everything will work out again" what next tap your heels together and say "There is no place like home, there is no place like home".

The issues on this site will not be fixed like that. TBH this thread has given a wealth of information on the issues with Boards.ie and some of the fixes to those issues. I don't believe there will be any notice taken of this information by those who can enact change.

Part of me believes that at this stage boards is like a racehorse that has got injured in the big race and someone needs to contact the vet to put her out of her misery.

_Tombstone_

droidman123 wrote: »

An even better solution might be to actually address the problems of the site put forward on this forum

+1

Why bother supporting a site that can't be arsed to even reply...I'd question whether "they" even read this thread.

ibarelycare

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

+1

Why bother supporting a site that can't be arsed to even reply...I'd question whether "they" even read this thread.

I think they are. Any time anyone questions why Dav isn't replying, he posts to defend himself

I know they say they're discussing things but I'm sure there are a lot of questions people have asked that don't need weeks of behind-the-scenes discussion before being answered. It's being dealt with very badly IMO and shows a lack of respect towards the users. A bit of transparent engagement from the management is badly needed.

LuckyLloyd

The discussion board is a dying medium and a non runner in terms of a for profit model. The site WILL fail from a business perspective. I am hoping that some sort of graceful exit will be possible though the architecture built up might make that impossible. The boards.ie of 2025 might have the traffic of 2005 - certainly a core of uses like me will always like this format.

There's a lot of kicking and squealing and unsavoury stuff like Gearbest to come before the powers that be understand and accept this though. Ho hum.

Gordon

gandalf wrote: »

Part of me believes that at this stage boards is like a racehorse that has got injured in the big race and someone needs to contact the vet to put her out of her misery.

Is that a reference to killing the site? If so, why are you here if you don't think it should survive?

Lovely Bloke

Gordon wrote: »

Is that a reference to killing the site? If so, why are you here if you don't think it should survive?

an attempt (albeit seemingly falling on the ears of a person with his fingers firmly stuck into them shouting lalalalalalla nothappening everything is fine lalalalalalala) to get someone, anyone, to acknowledge that the direction the site/management/office/owners have gone, since pretty much Boards was targetted for "commercial development" has, at almost every turn, been a step away from the community ethos, the ethos that actually made this site look like a site that could be developed in such a way.

Gordon

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

an attempt (albeit seemingly falling on the ears of a person with his fingers firmly stuck into them shouting lalalalalalla nothappening everything is fine lalalalalalala) to get someone, anyone, to acknowledge that the direction the site/management/office/owners have gone, since pretty much Boards was targetted for "commercial development" has, at almost every turn, been a step away from the community ethos, the ethos that actually made this site look like a site that could be developed in such a way.

No, that's not how I read his analogy. Maybe he can explain.

Edward Hopper

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

The discussion board is a dying medium and a non runner in terms of a for profit model. The site WILL fail from a business perspective. I am hoping that some sort of graceful exit will be possible though the architecture built up might make that impossible. The boards.ie of 2025 might have the traffic of 2005 - certainly a core of uses like me will always like this format.

I agree pretty much but are reddit making money now, they weren't a couple of years ago afaik. Twitter still loses money, ten years on, so is the discussion board model any worse off than the so called success stories? If they can't get it right I'd worry anyone can. (faceache aside)

Lots of sites struggle to monetise discussion because people just don't like it. Boards have just done a really terrible job of promoting change. It's the like it or lump it attitude, and with so many other choices out there people aren't happy, I don't blame them.

gandalf

Gordon wrote: »

Is that a reference to killing the site? If so, why are you here if you don't think it should survive?

Gordon if the management aren't listening to those that create the content and are willing to enter into commercial arrangements that eat away at the integrity and impartiality of the site then they are effectively killing it anyway. Except it's a death of a thousand cuts instead of a quick decisive one.

I come here out of habit. I no longer create any meaningful content. The forums I loved like Politics have been gutted by bad management and are only a shadow of what they were. At this stage I am a user, I use boards for information and a light bit of interaction. From my perspective the site is only a shadow of what it was and the direction that management are taking it in is continuing and accelerating that downward spiral. I don't appear to be alone in this assessment either.

I suppose I care enough to continue posting here but one day I won't be bothered doing that either.

Gordon

gandalf wrote: »

Gordon if the management aren't listening to those that create the content and are willing to enter into commercial arrangements that eat away at the integrity and impartiality of the site then they are effectively killing it anyway. Except it's a death if a thousand cuts instead if a quick decisive one.

I come here out of habit. I no longer create any meaningful content. The forums I loved like Politics have been gutted by bad management and are only a shadow of what they were. At this stage I am a user, I use boards for information and a light bit of interaction. From my perspective the site is only a shadow of what it was and the direction that management are taking it in is continuing and accelerating that downward spiral. I don't appear to be alone in this assessment either.

I suppose I care enough to continue posting here but one day I won't be bothered doing that either.

But you think that boards _should_ be put down, like an injured racehorse. So your analogy about racehorses wasn't that boards should be cured, but boards should be killed. You have your reasons, but you think that boards should cease.

gandalf

Gordon wrote: »

But you think that boards _should_ be put down, like an injured racehorse. So your analogy about racehorses wasn't that boards should be cured, but boards should be killed. You have your reasons, but you think that boards should cease.

If the management are going to continue in the same vein absolutely. Unfortunately based on the interaction or should I say lack of any meaningful interaction it appears that they are continuing in the same vein without any change at all.

At this stage I would have expected the top level of management to come out and engage with the userbase to take the pressure off the community managers and to indicate that they have made mistakes and they do listen to their userbase. Instead we have more of the same sporadic sound bites.

So yes if the management from Boards HQ is more of the same then the investors should save their money and shut the place down.

Gordon

gandalf wrote: »

If the management are going to continue in the same vein absolutely. Unfortunately based on the interaction or should I say lack of any meaningful interaction it appears that they are continuing in the same vein without any change at all.

At this stage I would have expected the top level of management to come out and engage with the userbase to take the pressure off the community managers and to indicate that they have made mistakes and they do listen to their userbase. Instead we have more of the same sporadic sound bites.

So yes if the management from Boards HQ is more of the same then the investors should save their money and shut the place down.

OK so you are saying that if boards continues doing the things you perceive to be wrong - it should shut down. That's not what you said previously which was - boards should shut down now.

Lovely Bloke

There always seems to be this underlying "the people who are complaining are wrong" vibe from anyone higher than a CMod, most especially from the first generation or two of Admins. It's really disconcerting, either those people are being told information the rest of us are not, or they are so indoctrinated into the "Boards Good, People Not Like Boards Bad" thing that they don't just realise it.

smash

Gordon wrote: »

OK so you are saying that if boards continues doing the things you perceive to be wrong - it should shut down. That's not what you said previously which was - boards should shut down now.

I think what he's trying to say is that it's better to shut down and save face than keep going in a direction that's damaging to the site's reputation.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

The "higher ups" might do well to treat the users of the site with a bit more respect. The way some of them speak to users, well the regular poster would be banned for it. It seems it's a case of do as we say and not as we do.

Gordon

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

There always seems to be this underlying "the people who are complaining are wrong" vibe from anyone higher than a CMod, most especially from the first generation or two of Admins. It's really disconcerting, either those people are being told information the rest of us are not, or they are so indoctrinated into the "Boards Good, People Not Like Boards Bad" thing that they don't just realise it.

I don't get that vibe. Maybe you are directing your remark at me, as I fit the first generation or two of Admins, but I'm not sure because you are talking in general terms.

I'm not sure what constructive point you're trying to make, unless it's to attempt to stir up reactions. There will always be differing opinions on what the truth is, as people see things from different points of views, with different histories, and different levels of access. If you think that I perceive everything to be the way you state in your quote above - I disagree, there are varying levels of thought from the demographic you mention.

Gordon

smash wrote: »

I think what he's trying to say is that it's better to shut down and save face than keep going in a direction that's damaging to the site's reputation.

He initially said that boards should shut down now. The racehorse analogy stated this, but now his position is one that you mention.

smash

Gordon wrote: »

He initially said that boards should shut down now. The racehorse analogy stated this, but now his position is one that you mention.

That's the way I took it even from the racehorse analogy. That the site is crippled and there doesn't appear to be any possibility of a comeback.