Future of boards.ie lack of young blood

Tom Mann Centuria

Don Kiddick wrote: »

"*** Not real rugby ***

:P

beauf

Some forums the moderate posters are completely swamped by very fanatical posters, who are allowed to post all sorts of crud, without sanction. Its a bit odd. I've avoided some forums because of that. I never understood how inconsistent across forums that is.

skinny90

Think some promotion of beginner forums should be brought in with separate rules to avoid situations where regulars are just not helpful....forums like photography would be ideal to try this out. From experience asking questions about advice for cameras and accessories for entry level devices and cropped lens cameras felt like I was insulting members for their expertise

Ubbquittious

I went into the a certain forum recently and it just has a couple of regulars who are qualified tradesmen with an anti-"DIY Warrior" agenda and a heavy handed mod who started deleting my posts when I took the piss out of the way certain jobs require a member of a closed shop trader's guild by law.

Id say some of the regulars in there are just hoping they'll get a few jobs through posting and fearmongering.

One time I also had someone fearmongering that changing the timing belt in my car was especially not a DIY job on this model car but I didnt take any notice and changed the thing anyway without much bother. Then you have all these fecking clowns who pull out all sort of excerpts from the statute books lest you make any progress with anything. Im thinking these guys just really want you to give them the job or are really lazy themselves and can't stand to see someone else getting something done.

Hotblack Desiato

beauf wrote: »

There is a post count snobbery on forums. People often will ignore a low count poster.

Thats true in real life though the new guy syndrome.

It's no wonder when you look at the amount of complete and utter scutter posted by serial re-reggers.

They inevitably get stomped on and then, just as inevitably, come back...

Ubbquittious

skinny90 wrote: »

Think some promotion of beginner forums should be brought in with separate rules to avoid situations where regulars are just not helpful....forums like photography would be ideal to try this out. From experience asking questions about advice for cameras and accessories for entry level devices and cropped lens cameras felt like I was insulting members for their expertise

I used to post in a photography forum on a Canadian site and there was a regular clique who would take the piss out of every newbs' posts and one of the regulars could post a blurry picture of some cats pawprints and the regs would be all over it. Twas almost a competition for them to come up with the most putrid criticism of anything a newb would post

Hotblack Desiato

I don't get the outcry over having to request access to Politics Cafe. Soccer is the same (and for pretty much the same reasons) and it's not a problem there. When they relaxed the rules during World Cup / Euros it went to shit with trolling and low post count re-reggers.

Muahahaha

beauf wrote: »

There is a post count snobbery on forums. People often will ignore a low count poster.

Thats true in real life though the new guy syndrome.

There is definitely something in this. Personally most of the time Im not bothered with peoples post counts. But what does grind my gears is when a brand new reg comes into a forum asking a question that has been done to death. A simple search would have sufficed to get their answer. Plus it is the equivalent of rocking up and taking from a community before you yourself have even contributed. IIRC politics.ie dont allow new regs to start threads until they have 40 or 50 posts to their name. I think its a good rule as it means trolls and re-regs are cut off and it means regular posters are no longer going :rolleyes: at the same question being asked for the 100th time.

skinny90

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I used to post in a photography forum on a Canadian site and there was a regular clique who would take the piss out of every newbs' posts and one of the regulars could post a blurry picture of some cats pawprints and the regs would be all over it. Twas almost a competition for them to come up with the most putrid criticism of anything a newb would post

In my case, maybe 3/20 responses were helpful. The issue is the photography forum is populated by guys and gals who are passionate in what they do and for some it, may be their full time profession. So I get the feedback received but I have to start somewhere. I too need to realise that it’s an expensive investment to go full frame so I need to be fully convinced to invest. But for the likes of myself who has an interest in this and would like to develope slowly into the higher end of equipment where do I start on boards.ie? Maybe having a sub forum might cater towards my needs.

This would be adaptable for other forums too

Noveight

Muahahaha wrote: »

Plus it is the equivalent of rocking up and taking from a community before you yourself have even contributed.

That's often the case on the Leaving Certificate forum. Seems like people register, have their question answered and then see nothing else worth hanging around for.

King George VI

Muahahaha wrote: »

Plus it is the equivalent of rocking up and taking from a community before you yourself have even contributed.

What's wrong with that? For the sake of the argument I've done a good search for my answer on Google and Boards is too difficult to navigate (Maybe I'm old and can't understand Boards search - which I have seen plenty on here), why should I have to spend ages get to know a community or answer some questions for a while myself before I can get an answer, when someone with the knowledge can just answer the question but refuses to because of post count snobbery?

Hotblack Desiato

Does anyone know what the story is with all those private forums?

I'm sure most boards users don't know they even exist. I only know some of them exist because once in a while I see a mod with a weird forum under their name, click on it and get 'access denied'. On the touch site you can't even see who mods what in the first place.

There seems to be no way of finding out what these are about or why they even exist (as opposed to a public forum.) I could PM a mod for access, but why would I when I don't know what it's even about? Talk about cliquey.

skinny90

There is a request forum for access on those forums.

King George VI

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Does anyone know what the story is with all those private forums?

I'm sure most boards users don't know they even exist. I only know some of them exist because once in a while I see a mod with a weird forum under their name, click on it and get 'access denied'. On the touch site you can't even see who mods what in the first place.

There seems to be no way of finding out what these are about or even for. I could PM a mod for access, but why would I when I don't know what it's even about? Talk about cliquey.

They're private for a reason. A group of friends most likely that got hold of a private forum where they wish to post among friends. I see nothing wrong with that.

Hotblack Desiato

skinny90 wrote: »

There is a request forum for access on those forums.

Where? And again, why would I request access to something about which I know nothing? Why are they private?

King George VI wrote: »

They're private for a reason. A group of friends most likely that got hold of a private forum where they wish to post among friends. I see nothing wrong with that.

In other words, a circle jerk.

Ubbquittious

skinny90 wrote: »

In my case, maybe 3/20 responses were helpful. The issue is the photography forum is populated by guys and gals who are passionate in what they do and for some it, may be their full time profession. So I get the feedback received but I have to start somewhere. I too need to realise that it’s an expensive investment to go full frame so I need to be fully convinced to invest. But for the likes of myself who has an interest in this and would like to develope slowly into the higher end of equipment where do I start on boards.ie? Maybe having a sub forum might cater towards my needs.

This would be adaptable for other forums too

I dont know about the photography forum here but I think that kind of over compartmentalisation might be part of thr ptoblem that drives noobs away and makes the site hard to follow.

It's only certain forums that are badly affected by clique formation and usually the mod has to play along with it to a certain extent for it to really become a problem

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

skinny90

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I dont know about the photography forum here but I think that kind of over compartmentalisation might be part of thr ptoblem that drives noobs away and makes the site hard to follow.

It's only certain forums that are badly affected by clique formation and usually the mod has to play along with it to a certain extent for it to really become a problem

It wouldn’t be a dig directly at that forum but it would be a personal example of where I have experienced it. It would also be an example you can have the beginner sub forum structure so if members wish to offer advice they’d do so by having to click into the sub forum rather than have everything laid out in the main forum.

skinny90

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Where? And again, why would I request access to something about which I know nothing? Why are they private?



In other words, a circle jerk.

Using the mobile site on my iPhone I searched “request”

I got found this straight away

https://touch.boards.ie/forum/451

King George VI

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Not entirely true. Two members I know of a private forum were banned by a mod of that private forum who modded a popular forum on boards, rightly so btw they deserved a ban. Despite them being very very good friends. And in my experience those private forums (fora?) members tend not to interact outside of the forum. Not sure why, I originally thought they'd act cliquey but in my experiences on that matter they don't. Not saying it's a blanket "no that never happens", just I've never seen it.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Where? And again, why would I request access to something about which I know nothing? Why are they private?



In other words, a circle jerk.

Iirc, some are discussion forums where some posters are invited to post in when there is a problem with a topic/clique on the regular forum. There is a discussion held and issues are trashed out satisfactorily, hopefully, and access is removed again.

Again, I'm only going on what I've seen discussed elsewhere so I have no idea if the type of forum you're talking about exists.

droidman123

I would deter any youngster from accessing this website.theres only a handful of threads i look in on now.

Lorelli!

In some of the more specific forums, and say just for an example, in the Television forum, there are long going threads like Worst Adverts. I've seen people raise similar new threads in AH which were automatically closed and directed to the older thread in the Television forum.

New users do not want to scroll through old posts that are 5 plus years old which have probably already covered their topic or conversation piece. They want to post their thoughts in the present to have some interaction with other posters so a new thread is appropriate.

I have also thought this about some of the resurrected threads. Sometimes a very good thread idea is resurrected but closed immediately even though posters are actively engaging in it. I agree that the old thread and response posts should be closed off but if the idea of the old topic comes to light again, I think maybe, I don't know, but perhaps the initial op should be reopened as a new thread for the newer posters to give their opinion if that makes sense?

Junkyard Tom

Politics Cafe was murdered by confusing, chilling-effect, levels of over-modding which has pushed its natural user-type, like me, to the main Politics forum when there seems to a more even-handed approach?

Weird.

King George VI

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

Fair enough. I didn't doubt it happened I've just never seen it happen.

Although there's no real way to combat that. Private forums are gonna be private no matter what, and by that those posters and mods are gonna occasionally post in public forums. Only thing you can do as an admin is take away private forums, which might take way the reason those people come to this website.

NollagShona

There us a circle jerk mentality on many fora, long term posters get free reign to undermine new posters - report them nothing happens.

prinzeugen

Politics/Politics Cafe was killed by some bias mods and it is still apparent today. Perfect example of why Boards is dying.

One rule for some and another rule for others. There is also a little club that gang up on anyone with a different opinion and thank each other like little playground bullies backslapping each other.

Getting called "an uneducated idiot", reporting it, and nothing is done about it.

But you dare and post an opinion that does not suit the echo chamber? Carded and banned to the hilt with stupid reasons like "no name calling", trolling, being uncivil etc, yet the "club" can do it without penalty even after its been reported.

Any excuse to shut down a debate.

Young people are constantly being told to form their own opinions and Boards is the last place they would want to express them (unless they are left wing).

keith_sixteen

skinny90 wrote: »

Using the mobile site on my iPhone I searched “request”

I got found this straight away

https://touch.boards.ie/forum/451

Big difference between the soccer forum you've linked to vs. the type of thing the poster you were replying to was getting at.

Hotblack Desiato

skinny90 wrote: »

Using the mobile site on my iPhone I searched “request”

I got found this straight away

https://touch.boards.ie/forum/451

The Soccer forum. Anyone can view posts there without being a subscriber to it, posts there also show up in searches. Like PC it's a request-access forum, it is not a PRIVATE forum where only the anointed ones can view posts and they do not show up in searches.

Hotblack Desiato

prinzeugen wrote: »

There is also a little club that gang up on anyone with a different opinion and thank each other like little playground bullies backslapping each other.

You're better off not paying any attention to thanks.

Just as an example there is a certain poster who thanks every single post in the Soccer forum which is anti-Man Utd. This poster has never actually posted in the Soccer forum. That's beyond sad.

RabbleRouser2k

I do know users who are from all walks off life, and all ages, who use boards, but its become more of a jazz club in comparison to things like reddit or tumblr, and even they are dying. Twitter has become thought police inc. The number of people shutting down their twitter pages grows ever month. And others choose not to use it at all. Its hostility is disgusting, with many making threats towards individuals behind twitter blocks. But they are celebs so nothing happens.
Ditto Tumblr, the amount of self harm pages/ eating disorder pages that go unpoliced or ignored is disheartening. And the layout of that site is a mess. There is also open hostility on that site too.

Unfortunately, websites and forums die. Its the way of technology. I used to use a site dedicated to films, tv shows
, comics and games. I stopped frequenting it, and its forums, and a year or two,
later, saw a facebook post noting it was closing down. It became unsustainable to run.

Others I stopped using due to terrible moderating. They also died. Much of my forum browsing is via facebook now, as a long term anti social media user. And even then I was reluctant to use it.
Instagram is the home of photoshopped images, but as a self promotion tool...its lost.
Tech comes and goes sadly, as does its userbase.

pilly

I have only been actively posting here for a year or two but lately have gone off it because of certain posters consistently trolling but towing the line so finely that they're never banned.

We all know the ones I'm talking about, they're almost invariably multi quoters.

It just turns every thread into a joke that's too annoying to read even if you have the offender on ignore.

I've become convinced these people are employed by Boards to keep threads going.

Diob95

Twitter is the ultimate echo chamber and a waste of time if you want a proper debate with people who have different perspectives. Doesn't allow for the depth you can go into on a forum. You follow the people who you agree with and the people who would disagree with what you say will normally never even see what you post.

Facebook is unappealing for constant debate when friends & family can see what you post and know who you are.

I can't quite lay my finger on why I find Reddit unappealing, but it just is.

Most online activity for young people is posting pics of themselves, talking about themselves, sharing stuff with their friends. It's not geared towards endless chatter and debate, particular on a specific topic for a sustained period. In any event, anonymity seems less appealing to them than it might seem to people who are slightly older.

Places like boards will last, not because they will become hugely popular again, but because the dominant social media platforms of today don't aid themselves to bringing together the wide array of topics that places like this do, or to the in-depth discussions you can have on a place like this.

Don Kiddick

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

I don't get the outcry over having to request access to Politics Cafe. Soccer is the same (and for pretty much the same reasons) and it's not a problem there. When they relaxed the rules during World Cup / Euros it went to shit with trolling and low post count re-reggers.

Soccer is a mess, it's constant low level trolling on a good day, left it 5 years ago and never went back....oh the days of Utd v Liverpool... they were wonderful :rolleyes:

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Turtyturd

NollagShona wrote: »

There us a circle jerk mentality on many fora, long term posters get free reign to undermine new posters - report them nothing happens.

On the other side of that ‘new’ posters get to register account after account, post in exactly the same style and just close their account before anything happens.

Knowhaumsayin’?

NollagShona

Turtyturd wrote: »

On the other side of that ‘new’ posters get to register account after account, post in exactly the same style and just close their account before anything happens.

Knowhaumsayin’?

Or a poster banned when he wasn’t when he left. Failing acknowledged on both sides yet only one side suffer

If you want to make it personal I’ve no problem- I felt ganged up on. Posters allowed attack me when it was brought to mods attention we don’t see everything defende (by our friends) but a
Misplaced comma and I get jumped on

I’m done with SF I’ve seen less circle jerking im Gay saunas

asteroids over berlin

Boards is a shadow of itself, i was here from the 1st year - lost my moniker due to the hack a few years back. Some dreadful moderators about now - up there on their high horses.
It was a fun place to visit years back.
Alas, but the demographic has now changed and arguably the world has become "disturbed" from social media and the spawn of it's brain washing crap, very sad really. Boards will survive but i see it becoming a niche community, which will probably improve the content further down the line - let's be honest, the amount of rubbish posted here is farcical, tit for tat arguments everywhere!

NollagShona

Turtyturd wrote: »

On the other side of that ‘new’ posters get to register account after account, post in exactly the same style and just close their account before anything happens.

Knowhaumsayin’?

Re style I think you’ll find it was commented on my style was much “tamer” but still a ban without any sufficient reason

NollagShona

Then other posters follow you around like a bad smell dog whistling

TheAnalyst_

I actually feel a bit sad now thinking about this. I used to have so much fun online but not really in the last 5 years. There really is nothing to replace a forum when you get to know the characters.

weldoninhio

prinzeugen wrote: »

Politics/Politics Cafe was killed by some bias mods and it is still apparent today. Perfect example of why Boards is dying.

One rule for some and another rule for others. There is also a little club that gang up on anyone with a different opinion and thank each other like little playground bullies backslapping each other.

Getting called "an uneducated idiot", reporting it, and nothing is done about it.

But you dare and post an opinion that does not suit the echo chamber? Carded and banned to the hilt with stupid reasons like "no name calling", trolling, being uncivil etc, yet the "club" can do it without penalty even after its been reported.

Any excuse to shut down a debate.

Young people are constantly being told to form their own opinions and Boards is the last place they would want to express them (unless they are left wing).

Fully agree, lost count of how many threads were shut down in AH after the same clique came in and started talking nonsense and dragging thread off course. If normal everyday posters can see the pattern to what they are doing, surely experienced mods can see it too. But I think they just take the easy option, which is to close the thread and mute people with differing opinions.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

NollagShona

But there are threads/forums that I do enjoy. Ones with more of a “pull up a chair” community spirit about them - tv being one. Having a bad day? Jump onto Pointless thread at 5.15 and join in the booms!

Costadelrio

I'm 26 and I love Boards, but all the condescending talk of filters/avocado/emojis/coke has reminded me why I have stopped coming on as much.

gandalf

Tbh a lot of what is being said here was said in feedback threads before that forum got castrated, it was never heeded or listened to. I fully expect this thread to be shutdown. The mismanagement of this site in recent years has been spectacular. If anything it gives people a perfect example of a management alienating its existing userbase whilst driving away new users. Tbh I haven't seen the biased moderation that others have because I no longer spend that much time here. IMHO Boards died years ago its just a husk of its former self.

suicide_circus

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

- Similarly neutering Feedback. Again rather than deal with the issues and take on-board the huge numbers of genuinely constructive posts made by people, let's just ignore it by denying the platform in the first place


A far bigger issue is the shutting down of high-traffic/current-event threads because posts don't fit with the "agreed" narrative (eg: any thread on the migration issue)

The above two items are the biggest systematic issues facing boards. Dismantling the feedback forum speaks volumes. When we encounter an individual or an organisation in real life that does not want feedback, how do we view them? It aint good.

On the second issue. Clearly a certain ethos has been established. If you don't conform, they'd really rather you didn't post. Stick to the script folks.

On the whole I don't think moderate is THAT bad. It's a thankless job, other than the sweet endorphin hit when they card/ban someone. Yeeaaah that's the stuff.

Ubbquittious

gandalf wrote: »

Tbh a lot of what is being said here was said in feedback threads before that forum got castrated, it was never heeded or listened to. I fully expect this thread to be shutdown. The mismanagement of this site in recent years has been spectacular. If anything it gives people a perfect example of a management alienating its existing userbase whilst driving away new users. Tbh I haven't seen the biased moderation that others have because I no longer spend that much time here. IMHO Boards died years ago its just a husk of its former self.

They also have all these silly rules designed specifically to suppress dissent like not being allowed to talk about other forums, not being allowed to question a mod in public. If you have any gripe or issue with a forum they try to make it as hard as possible to do anything about it. Trying to brush the problem under the carpet is never a good long term strategy though and the place is suffering big time as a result now

gandalf

Ubbquittious wrote: »

They also have all these silly rules designed specifically to suppress dissent like not being allowed to talk about other forums, not being allowed to question a mod in public. If you have any gripe or issue with a forum they try to make it as hard as possible to do anything about it. Trying to brush the problem under the carpet is never a good long term strategy though and the place is suffering big time as a result now

Tbh I don't agree with that once there is somewhere to allow the community discuss their issues in an open and unmanaged fashion. Once they killed feedback that avenue was taken away.