Limerick Forum Feedback Thread 2016

Clareman

All,

The other moderators and I have been discussing some of the feedback on the forum in regards to our handling of the moderation of the forum, we have tried to be as fair as possible but unfortunately no everyone seems to feel that we are being fair, with that in mind we would like to open up this thread to feedback on how the forum is being ran.

Now, in the past feedback forums have started off brilliantly but descend into a complete disaster, with this in mind we need to put some rules in place to try to make things as constructive as possible:

• The overarching rules of Boards.ie take precedence over all local rules
• This is the Limerick Regional Forum only
• Do not bring up specific examples of where things were handled "wrong"
• Only 1 post per user - use the edit or delete function if you want to amend your feedback.

We will leave the thread open for 2 weeks and then will close it and go through the feedback and look to implement whatever changes are suggested.

Please remember that the mods here are just users with extra buttons, we are here to facilitate discussion while ensuring the standards of boards.ie are followed.

Regards,
The Limerick Regional Mods

Red King

I haven't had any particular problems. The forum is a LOT better moderated than what it was a while back under different mods.

I think people can discuss some of the negative things that we are all familiar with a lot easier now. A few years back this was utterly impossible here.

So fair play on that front.

One suggestion I do have is in regards to the sticky threads. Moreso the "Things to do in Limerick" thread and the "Useful Threads/Local Limerick Websites" thread - they are way out of date with loads of broken links or irrelevant and out of date info.

It would be nice to see them cleaned up/updated with the first post changed to reflect that it is 2016, not 2006.

I know this would take a lot of time but I think it would benefit the forum.

dunworth1

I don't have any issues with the modding I believe that ye are doing a decent enough job maybe a little bit too lax at some points but otherwise fine

Keep up the good work

Insect Overlord

I still find it weird that two of the three mods pretty much never post in any of the Midwest forums, and that they only post as mods here when they have to. The "absentee landlord" character was never a popular one in this country, I suppose. The one mod who actually knew the forum well (and who used to get the social tone of the place) disappeared and only got demodded after a year and a half.

The issue of deleting posts recently is one that should be looked at as well. Sometimes "off topic" posts can be split to a new thread, or moved to the Random Waffle thread (which was kind of why that idea was started in the first place, years ago). Case by case there though, rather than a blanket policy. Sometimes stuff just has to be deleted.

Also, I think this place isn't the same since some of the old regulars stopped posting. Life gets in the way, I guess, so there's no way feedback will bring all of those characters back, but it's still somewhat relevant. There used to be regular indoor soccer, table quizzes, photographs, all sorts here. That community spirit seems to have dwindled as people moved on and stopped posting. That's probably more down to the continued rise of Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, etc, though.

sioda

Yup no issues here tbh. Pity the place had gone a bit quiet.

leakyboots

Bit more of a sense of humour maybe - someone answers a post with a joke, as happens all over boards, and some of the time you get a slight tap on the wrist from a mod saying you're not being helpful

panda100

Great idea for a thread and well done to the mods for inviting feedback.

As Sioda said, the Limerick forum has gone very quiet over the last couple of years and I do think that is as a result of some modding decisions. There was a time on here, until very recently, that it appeared the only discussions allowed were about Limerick businesses opening, closing and whats the best place to get doughnuts/coffee/food related threads.

I think closing down the 'junkies of Limerick' thread was a perfect example of this. A user, quite legitimately, started a thread on the amount of visible drug users in the city. It's a significant issue in Limerick but mods closed the thread as in their opinion it wasn't deemed a regional issue. I think this is the problem sometimes with moderation on this forum. They don't allow for discussion of wider social issues. While these types of issues do affect every city, they affect every cities in different ways and are worthy of scrutiny here.

Another recent example, is the removal of posts and discussion regarding polish shops in the city centre. While that user was a bit trollish, it is an important discussion to have particularly in a Limerick context where we have a very high concentration of migrants living in a very small urban area. This is bound to cause issues and these concerns should be allowed to be raised here.

I think that the deletion of these types of posts and threads on deeper social issues in limerick deters people from posting on here. So what we are left with is people posting about very superficial things like whose the best cleaner, car service advice etc.

Also, I think the Limerick FC thread should be moved to the sports forum.

zulutango

Firstly, thanks to the mods for giving their time and energies to this. It is a difficult task and some of us lose the head from time to time and it's their job to keep on top of that.

I would echo the calls above for a slightly lighter touch to moderation. Quite often threads can go off topic but the discussion can be excellent, and overall that enhances the quality of the forum, and is good for Limerick too. I think the forum is an important place for Limerick people to chat and sometimes vent about what goes on in the city, and it's therefore a very valuable and important resource. If the moderation is too zealous it can drive people away, and that's not what anybody wants.

Sometimes the tone of moderation comes across as very school teacher-ish. We're all grown adults here, so there isn't really any need for that, and it can rub people up the wrong way. Deletion of posts, especially lengthy and well thought-out ones (even if they are off topic) should be seen as a last resort in my opinion. Is it naive to suggest that the discussion can be brought back on track without recourse to this?

It's also probably a good idea that no person is a mod for too long. It isn't good for them or for the forum, I think. How mods are selected could be looked at too perhaps.

mitresize5

zulutango wrote: »

Firstly, thanks to the mods for giving their time and energies to this. It is a difficult task and some of us lose the head from time to time and it's their job to keep on top of that.

I would echo the calls above for a slightly lighter touch to moderation. Quite often threads can go off topic but the discussion can be excellent, and overall that enhances the quality of the forum, and is good for Limerick too. I think the forum is an important place for Limerick people to chat and sometimes vent about what goes on in the city, and it's therefore a very valuable and important resource. If the moderation is too zealous it can drive people away, and that's not what anybody wants.

Sometimes the tone of moderation comes across as very school teacher-ish. We're all grown adults here, so there isn't really any need for that, and it can rub people up the wrong way. Deletion of posts, especially lengthy and well thought-out ones (even if they are off topic) should be seen as a last resort in my opinion. Is it naive to suggest that the discussion can be brought back on track without recourse to this?

It's also probably a good idea that no person is a mod for too long. It isn't good for them or for the forum, I think. How mods are selected could be looked at too perhaps.

agree 100% with the above

HanaleiJ5N

Sorry panda100, I like you as a poster and that was a good post by yourself where you made some good points but I strongly disagree with one small suggestion you made.

Please under no circumstances move the Limerick FC thread to the sports (soccer) forum, it's doing no harm here. If it descends into the entrenched tribal pettiness and back and forth trolling that goes hand and hand with soccer then by all means move it. But until then please leave it here, I mean, how much moderator intervention has that thread even required in it's time here anyway? It's not causing problems.

sioda

I'm no soccer fan but still read the Limerick FC thread please don't move it

Berty

I'm not bothered by anything in this forum, don't read the stickies but I don't read the stickies in any forum.

panda100

HanaleiJ5N wrote:

Please under no circumstances move the Limerick FC thread to the sports (soccer) forum, it's doing no harm here. If it descends into the entrenched tribal pettiness and back and forth trolling that goes hand and hand with soccer then by all means move it. But until then please leave it here, I mean, how much moderator intervention has that thread even required in it's time here anyway? It's not causing problems.

I only suggested it as it doesn't make sense to me why it is here. There is a thread for Limerick GAA discussion on the GAA forum I presume it would be similar on the soccer forum. I guess I only said it because it takes up space on the forum and we are left with the same four or five recurring threads. I can understand though why people wouldn't want it moved. It doesn't bother me too much and was only a suggestion.

Swiper the fox

It's seems unusual that the mods do not post outside of mod warnings, I assume this was because none of the regular visitors wanted to do it? I feel for you Clareman because you are left to take up the flak and probably don't post as often as you would like, we've had a couple of minor run ins but you've been a gent. I would like to suggest the red card is put up though when a poster is banned, it is transparent then to all and we're not left wondering (unless we are the one to have been banned :pac:)
I wonder is anybody willing to put themselves forward as a mod now, it is important that the mod of a regional forum is familiar in some way with the area, he can correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Yop is?
Posts should only be deleted if they are defamatory and have potential to put the site at risk, I know I'm a broken record on this but it is terribly annoying when you've put time and thought into a post only to see it deleted.

highlydebased

I agree that a mod that is a regular in the forum is a better idea than one who only comes to do the needful

Red King

Well we've had mods from the area before and well...the forum is better now so I'll leave it at that.

Insect Overlord

Red King wrote: »

Well we've had mods from the area before and well...the forum is better now so I'll leave it at that.

You stay classy, Red.

panda100

Red King wrote: »

Well we've had mods from the area before and well...the forum is better now so I'll leave it at that.

With no disrespect to the current mods I wholeheartedly disagree with this. I think the Limerick forum was much more active and vibrant when the mods were active users of the forum.

Red King

An File wrote: »

You stay classy, Red.

I just didn't agree with their style of moderating. Lots of good discussion was shut down and stifled because the anti-negativity brigade shouted down anyone that dared raise some of the more pressing issues that didn't exactly paint Limerick in an "everything is awesome" light. The mods didn't handle it well.

I don't hold it against them as posters. I just think they made the wrong call.

And one mod going back years ago ran the place like Ming the Merciless, you couldn't look sideways without setting him off.

I just prefer the more laid back style that we have right now. It is up to the posters to make the forum what it is, if it is quieter then perhaps that is to do with the generally outdated format of boards. Twitter and Facebook are where it's at these days.

Clareman

Gentle reminder on this thread, just a week to go

Clareman

Thanks everyone for your feedback, we'll look into it and get back to ye in due course, on initial review there aren't many actions for us to take but we'll go through it anyway.

zulutango

Clareman wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your feedback, we'll look into it and get back to ye in due course, on initial review there aren't many actions for us to take but we'll go through it anyway.

Very good. Maybe write up the review here and we can comment on it and suggest amendments/edits.

Clareman

Hi folks,

First of all thanks a million to you all for taking the time to give feedback, sorry for the delay in getting back to the thread but dealing with Burritos War and Syria kind of took up a bit of time.


Mods being active in the forum
This is nightmare of a balance to get right, if a mod is too active they are accused of slanting discussion in favour of their own agenda, but we will request the CMods look for new mods to add to the team.
Please note, if the current mods aren't active sometimes it's because they action reported posts only, we try to be more reactionary rather than active.

Sticky Threads
These are out of date and too many of them, we will unsticky the Useful and Things to do threads and start new ones for 2016 which people can either add from the old threads or add new information, they should stay near the top organically, we can look to sticky them if needed.

Limerick FC Thread
We see no point in not having this here, same as having a GAA or other sport threads, yes there is a Soccer forum but it's nice to have a local slant.