The slow death of forums *see OP for Admin warning and update 28/02/18*

o1s1n

backspin. wrote: »

The more people have experience of 'discussions' on online forums the more they realise how futile they are. Nobody every changes their position so it becomes parallel echo chambers. Its ends up one side agreeing with their own sides posts and the other side doing likewise. With nobody budging from their original position.

I remember back about 2009 / 2010 reading some of the public v private debates. A poster would make an assertion and then someone else with completely dismantle it with cast iron facts and figures. A few days later you would see the original poster back spouting the same old tripe that had been thoroughly debunked a few days before. They hadn't changed their position at all despite the facts being presented.

Not all forums are debating forums. You don't get much of that at all in close knit hobby forums. (Which is all I really post in here nowadays)

Maggie Marie

Mods on some forums have killed them with their I’m right and you’re wrong attitude.

The Highwayman

TheAnalyst_ wrote: »

I find it incredible that when web traffic is consistently increasing along with participation rates that forums like boards are suffering huge falls in visitors.


CSO
Households with access to the internet
% of households
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
72 78 81 82 82 85 87 89

We've seen a 44% fall in posts on boards since 2011. It looks to be a terminal decline at this stage so I suppose we can enjoy the next few years before it gets shut down for good. Or is it possible that something can be done to turn it around?

boards total posts per year
2017 3,123,577
2016 3,348,994
2015 4,048,985
2014 4,748,112
2013 4,935,597
2012 5,308,684
2011 5,618,076
2010 5,330,972
2009 4,610,143

Perhaps the advent of SJW bull**** on this site. No wrong think is tolerated and it's no wonder this site is dead. I used to cone on every day knows it's a few times a month.

backspin.

Another thing that may have been mentioned already is more and more people are using their phones to browse the internet rather than laptops and desktops. Its much slower to type on phones imo. I'm on the laptop at the min but when i'm on my phone i post less on boards. I still read it though.

AllForIt

Maggie Marie wrote: »

Mods on some forums have killed them with their I’m right and you’re wrong attitude.

That's nonsense. Mods don't interject in the discussion or argument, they weed out trolls, infarct bad behaviour and keep the discussion civil. If it wasn't for them discussion forums would be a waste of time for anyone who genuinely wants to engage in them.

paleoperson

ROAAAR wrote: »

I imagine forums will go much the same way as chat rooms in the near future.

I highly doubt that since forums make sense, they are an ideal way to communicate certain things. Chat rooms never really had that. They were more something to do when you had 56k and were bored. With the like of twitter now you don't really need that. Forums aren't going away.

I think it's worth mentioning also how ridiculous the OP is. Just because something has declined the past few years doesn't mean it's "in terminal decline" and it's just about reach critical point where it all collapses and it's a "slow death". Just because you notice a pattern doesn't mean it will continue that way. To the contrary it looks like it's stabilizing with only a small difference between 2016 and 2017.

JackTaylorFan

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

There are too many things you can't say on forums like Boards. You just can't discuss certain things and are supposed to agree with whatever the current status quo or you'll be banned. If someone starts a thread about, say, transsexuals there's no point in even replying unless you want to talk about how great transsexualism is. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but what's the point in a discussion forum with threads where you're supposed to agree with everyone else rather than actually have a discussion? And there's no telling what will be a no go area of discussion next.

If I sign in here and see the front page is full of threads on transsexualism and abortion I usually sign back out again because there's just no point in replying to any of them.

Right... Sounds like you've got a hard on for that particular subject, to be honest

Posters in After hours aren't really known for treating that subject with any respect. It's usually just bigots ranting.

prinzeugen

Looking back at the PMs I have got for cards/Bans etc and its no wonder the site is dead.

PMs and posts I have reported and nothing was done about. But me?

Standard reply from politics.. "This means you are posting in an intentionally provocative fashion in order to gain a reaction from other members. This is disruptive and causes stress to other members.
We don't want that here"

Sorry are we not here for discussion? Debate is not allowed however.

In other words, dont upset the snowflake mods with different opinions. I brought this up many times and got a 3 month ban.

The prison forum was a good example of the utter contempt that some mods and admins have for the users.

And some other mods and admins resort to personal insults when you question them.

That is why I dont care if this thing dies. Joined in 2007 originally and registered because of a stalker.

Don't log in half the time as there is very little worth posting on now.

prinzeugen

AllForIt wrote: »

That's nonsense. Mods don't interject in the discussion or argument, they weed out trolls, infarct bad behaviour and keep the discussion civil. If it wasn't for them discussion forums would be a waste of time for anyone who genuinely wants to engage in them.

Really?

Stoner

Patww79 wrote:

This post has been deleted.

TBH I'd an issue with a fellow mod.

It was sorted but it took 2 years.
I think there are mods that look for the position to control the subject.

In the trades forums you get very competitive mods, looking for business. When suggesting new mods I aim for reasonably informed but not "in the same game " people

I think it's important that a mod should not have a commercial interest the forum they mod as it strangles the forums.

_Dara_

backspin. wrote: »

The more people have experience of 'discussions' on online forums the more they realise how futile they are. Nobody every changes their position so it becomes parallel echo chambers. Its ends up one side agreeing with their own sides posts and the other side doing likewise. With nobody budging from their original position.

Good point.

I may be wrong here but the people I see on these types of threads complaining about only certain viewpoints being allowed seem to be alluding to the only acceptable opinion being left-wing opinion. I can't agree because I have to be honest, I've gained most of my understanding of right-wing viewpoints and mindsets from After Hours here on boards.ie. There is no shortage of regular forum members who are politically right-wing and, by and large, they are given plenty of space to get their views across. For example, there would be many right-wing posters on abortion-related threads. Those thread are allowed to run and run and there are all kinds of opposing views proffered. And that's only right. But I have little time for people who then come along and say that their views are being suppressed. When a right-wing (or any wing) poster is banned, it's because they're quite obviously being a jackass and not because of their political persuasion.

AllForIt wrote: »

That's nonsense. Mods don't interject in the discussion or argument, they weed out trolls, infarct bad behaviour and keep the discussion civil. If it wasn't for them discussion forums would be a waste of time for anyone who genuinely wants to engage in them.

I totally agree. It's always obvious to me why someone is banned and it rarely has to do with their politics. But it's easier to blame that than accept that their behaviour was unacceptable.

Maggie Marie

Stoner wrote: »

TBH I'd an issue with a fellow mod.

It was sorted but it took 2 years.
I think there are mods that look for the position to control the subject.

In the trades forums you get very competitive mods, looking for business. When suggesting new mods I aim for reasonably informed but not "in the same game " people

I think it's important that a mod should not have a commercial interest the forum they mod as it strangles the forums.

Yourself and 2011 are typical I’m right and you’re wrong mods. Won’t stop till you claim yer right or delete posts and ban posters.

ShotgunRider

I love Boards. I love that I can come here to a thread and that the Moderators keep threads on topic. I hate having to go through a thread where people are arguing back and forth and have gone way off topic. Sometimes, I don't understand why a topic has been shut down or why some things can't be discussed but for the most part, I think the Mods do a good job.

I hope this site is here for a long time to come. I keep it open in my browser all day every day.. I have seen great kindness on here from some people towards others.

All in all its a great site.

Necro

prinzeugen wrote: »

Looking back at the PMs I have got for cards/Bans etc and its no wonder the site is dead.

PMs and posts I have reported and nothing was done about. But me?

Standard reply from politics.. "This means you are posting in an intentionally provocative fashion in order to gain a reaction from other members. This is disruptive and causes stress to other members.
We don't want that here"

Sorry are we not here for discussion? Debate is not allowed however.

In other words, dont upset the snowflake mods with different opinions. I brought this up many times and got a 3 month ban.

The prison forum was a good example of the utter contempt that some mods and admins have for the users.

And some other mods and admins resort to personal insults when you question them.

That is why I dont care if this thing dies. Joined in 2007 originally and registered because of a stalker.

Don't log in half the time as there is very little worth posting on now.

One question. Why do you get so het up about someone on an online forum with an opposing view to you? So what if they're talking nonsense.

Especially regarding politics. Most of it is nonsense anyways.

Not trying to tell you your business anything, but stopping responding to these people would be a good start.

I have one infraction on Boards, long since expired, for calling someone a troll (against Boards rules). I accepted it, learned from it and moved on.
I don't get why others don't do the same?

AllForIt

backspin. wrote: »

The more people have experience of 'discussions' on online forums the more they realise how futile they are. Nobody every changes their position so it becomes parallel echo chambers. Its ends up one side agreeing with their own sides posts and the other side doing likewise. With nobody budging from their original position.

.

In my personal experience this isn't true at all. First of all they are quite educational if nothing else. No one will ever admit they have changed their point of view but they will have learned something if that only means they are aware of an opposing argument they never heard before. And isn't that the point of discussion...that counter arguments are made that forces each side to consider differing points of view.

MadDog76

dudara wrote: »

We have re-regs who register with abusive names, racist names and downright nasty names. We will never engage with those.

We have re-regs who try to blackmail Boards users, threaten them with exposure, or exposure to their employers. We will not engage with those. We need to protect our regular users.

We have re-regs who register to share racist or other bigoted views. We will not engage with those. Boards is not the platform for their views.

Any one who has been banned has Prison open to them to appeal, to work with mods and Admins. Anyone who engages openly with us will be listened to.

Oh, wait ......... I think you might have been serious. :eek:

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

_Dara_ wrote: »

Good point.

I may be wrong here but the people I see on these types of threads complaining about only certain viewpoints being allowed seem to be alluding to the only acceptable opinion being left-wing opinion. I can't agree because I have to be honest, I've gained most of my understanding of right-wing viewpoints and mindsets from After Hours here on boards.ie. There is no shortage of regular forum members who are politically right-wing and, by and large, they are given plenty of space to get their views across. For example, there would be many right-wing posters on abortion-related threads. Those thread are allowed to run and run and there are all kinds of opposing views proffered. And that's only right. But I have little time for people who then come along and say that their views are being suppressed. When a right-wing (or any wing) poster is banned, it's because they're quite obviously being a jackass and not because of their political persuasion.
.

I couldn't agree more with this. There are lots of right-wing posters here who have given me a greater appreciation for their points of view.

Also, people here regularly criticize the left. They are not silenced or reprimanded at all.

MadDog76

Beasty wrote: »

And it's posts like this that drag threads off topic due to what appears to be a personal distaste perhaps down to someone not thinking the site is run like it used to be when it counted it's annual posts in the hundreds of thousands

But don't let me get in the way of a good whinge gandalf

And it's attitudes/posts like this from Admins/Mods that Posters are sick & tired of ............ time to take your fingers out of your ears and listen up.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer

To be honest, there are plenty of places on the internet with light moderation where people can call each other cucks and fascists to their heart's delight. I don't think boards needs to be one of them.

Necro

MadDog76 wrote: »

And it's attitudes/posts like this from Admins/Mods that Posters are sick & tired of ............ time to take your fingers out of your ears and listen up.

Listen up and do what? All I see is 'this isn't right' or 'the mods are too overbearing' or 'the map's upside down'

Whine whine whine with no attempts to put forward alternatives. Snarky comments to admins and mods helps nothing.

JenovaProject

Necrominus wrote: »

Listen up and do what? All I see is 'this isn't right' or 'the mods are too overbearing' or 'the map's upside down'

Make it right.
Less overbearing mods.
Turn the map the right way round.

Boards sorted,send the cheque in the post thanks.

MadDog76

Tom Mann Centuria wrote: »

She is just a poster here, offering an opinion. I could say lumping every "mod" in together is everything that's wrong with certain peoples criticism of the site. I have no interaction with mods on this forum any more than you do, and I'm pretty sure looksee doesn't either.

Yet there's a significant amount of Mods interested enough in this particular thread to offer their "opinion" and Thanks the f*ck out of each others posts all of a sudden .......... maybe it's just coincidence though. :rolleyes:

Boards started to die with the advent of snowflake eejits that are out to be offended, alt-right snowflake posters that are out to be offensive, the likes of the MCD lawsuit and the attempted lawsuits that we never hear about (why let people say what they want when all it takes is one trigger happy c*nt to take them to court), and when it started to become a commercialised venture with the Talk To forums.

And then the community itself changed from people who wanted to talk sh*t and have craic, to people who had agendas like the aforementioned snowflake posters.

NollagShona

Is snowflake a pejorative term, that serves no purpose but to offend?

NollagShona

NollagShona wrote: »

Is snowflake a pejorative term, that serves no purpose but to offend?

Only if you go out of your way to be offended by it.

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

Only if you go out of your way to be offended by it.

No. The term snowflakes is used to imply the person is weak or fragile and quick to “melt”

Own your words - if you say something- stand by it, don’t abandon your position when challenged- if you can defend it, that is

NollagShona

NollagShona wrote: »

No. The term snowflakes is used to imply the person is weak or fragile and quick to “melt”

Own your words - if you say something- stand by it, don’t abandon your position when challenged- if you can defend it, that is

Not in the slightest. If you get offended by the term snowflake then you might just be one, my friend.

KKkitty

I am a bit drunk right now but take of this post what you will. There seems to be stricter guidelines as far as mods are concerned for a start. For a forum like boards to exist and thrive it's down to what the mods deem to be appropriate for every individual forum/subforum to allow individual posters to share what they want to share. Then again you can't blame the mods entirely. They have to abide by certain forum criteria too. Dare I say it it's down to the notion that speech is free nowadays. It's not and hasn't been for some time.

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

Not in the slightest. If you get offended by the term snowflake then you might just be one, my friend.

What is the purpose of labelling someone snowflake, but to demean them, guy?

Arghus

NollagShona wrote: »

What is the purpose of labelling someone snowflake, but to demean them, guy?

It's a form of virtue signalling for types who hate virtue signalling and who lack a grasp of irony.

NollagShona

NollagShona wrote: »

What is the purpose of labelling someone snowflake, but to demean them, guy?

Because I can, buddy.

ShotgunRider

A bit tipsy myself. All this talk of snowflakes has me befuddled. I tried to post a song but as a new user I can't. The song is by Eleanor McEvoy 'Snowflakes Fall',,,,,,It's a beautiful song sang by a beautiful Irish singer. Is the modern day version of a Snowflake supposed to be a Gobshoite??

JenovaProject

No wonder the place is dying when arseholes get away with this blatant sh1te

MadDog76

Necrominus wrote: »

Listen up and do what? All I see is 'this isn't right' or 'the mods are too overbearing' or 'the map's upside down'

Whine whine whine with no attempts to put forward alternatives. Snarky comments to admins and mods helps nothing.

And what do snarky comments from Admins/Mods achieve, in your opinion?

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

Because I can, buddy.

That’s part of the problem imho

People say something pejorative, then deny its actual meaning when challenged

NollagShona

NollagShona wrote: »

That’s part of the problem imho

People say something pejorative, then deny its actual meaning when challenged

You obviously also missed the point of my post; the alt-right trolls that call snowflake themselves are often as "snowflake" as the people they attempt to offend. Boards has seen a rise in this behaviour in the last two years or so.

Also I'm not denying the fact it's pejorative - it's a term used to get a rise. But how offensive you find it depends on how much you want to be offended, hence my saying "only if you find it offensive"

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

You obviously also missed the point of my post; the alt-right trolls that call snowflake themselves are often as "snowflake" as the people they attempt to offend. Boards has seen a rise in this behaviour in the last two years or so.

Also I'm not denying the fact it's pejorative - it's a term used to get a rise. But how offensive you find it depends on how much you want to be offended, hence my saying "only if you find it offensive"

So you now concede is is an offensive term. And using it is a reactionary tool

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

Not in the slightest. If you get offended by the term snowflake then you might just be one, my friend.

This is contradicted by your last statement.

NollagShona

NollagShona wrote: »

So you now concede is is an offensive term. And using it is a reactionary tool

You seem to think I was denying it wasn't offensive. If you read my post, you'll see that I was saying that I wasn't backing down in the slightest and that it is only offensive if you deem it as such.

But now this is becoming a conversation between two people instead of an open discussion, thus derailing the thread. If you wish to continue this, you can PM me

MadDog76

This is hilarious!!! boneyaresbogman is getting it in the ear from a snowflake for using the word snowflake!!!

JenovaProject

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You seem to think I was denying it wasn't offensive. If you read my post, you'll see that I was saying that I wasn't backing down in the slightest and that it is only offensive if you deem it as such.

But now this is becoming a conversation between two people instead of an open discussion, thus derailing the thread. If you wish to continue this, you can PM me

Afraid to be shown up in public.
Lol

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

You seem to think I was denying it wasn't offensive. If you read my post, you'll see that I was saying that I wasn't backing down in the slightest and that it is only offensive if you deem it as such.

But now this is becoming a conversation between two people instead of an open discussion, thus derailing the thread. If you wish to continue this, you can PM me

That’s some 180

NollagShona

MadDog76 wrote: »

This is hilarious!!! boneyaresbogman is getting it in the ear from a snowflake for using the word snowflake!!!

This snowflake will give you chilblains

Necro

MadDog76 wrote: »

And what do snarky comments from Admins/Mods achieve, in your opinion?

Your entire thread contribution has been snarky comments... so...

Pot calling kettle?

No attempt at answering the question posed then... what would you better?

Vronsky

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Boards started to die with the advent of snowflake eejits that are out to be offended, alt-right snowflake posters that are out to be offensive, the likes of the MCD lawsuit and the attempted lawsuits that we never hear about (why let people say what they want when all it takes is one trigger happy c*nt to take them to court), and when it started to become a commercialised venture with the Talk To forums.

And then the community itself changed from people who wanted to talk sh*t and have craic, to people who had agendas like the aforementioned snowflake posters.

If there is one term I hate it has to be "snowflake" - a catch all pejorative applied by baby boomers to a younger generation that they do not understand, nor do they face the same challenges that they do. Anyway it's not snowflakes, fascists, cucks or alt-whatever-you're-having that's causing the site to decline. It's an older userbase with less time to post and participate, and a site that is not set up in a way to appeal to younger people. That's the reality and the decline is terminal. The real question is how long the site has left and what will happen to the database when the site goes offline?

We can talk about relaxed moderation, but that liferaft has sailed, there is no saving this place - boards would need a total Reddit like overhaul to come back, but that won't happen because it would alienate the existing user base. That then leaves the site stuck between a cohort of existing users resistant to change and an inability to attract new users because it's format is outdated and hasn't changed. Trying to cater to both these groups is impossible (see exhibit A. The inept "responsive" site) as you can't have a fundamental change without having change.

The other measures like adjusting moderation policy are really only tinkering at the edges sand won't do anything to address the fundamental issues. In any case for every good initiative, you'll have another cack-handed measure, like the BS with the cafe that pisses more people off than the original issue that the new measure or policy was to solve.

JenovaProject

JenovaProject wrote: »

Afraid to be shown up in public.
Lol

Or maybe I've been on this site long enough to know that threads that become conversations between two posters on a topic unrelated to the thread at hand results in thread bans and mod warnings.

NollagShona

Deleted User wrote: »

Or maybe I've been on this site long enough to know that threads that become conversations between two posters on a topic unrelated to the thread at hand results in thread bans and mod warnings.

I call that dog whistling.

It’s very much part of the topic. You were called out on the topic.

Now your dog whistling for the mods to rescue you from the mire you caught yourself in

MadDog76

Necrominus wrote: »

Your entire thread contribution has been snarky comments... so...

Pot calling kettle?

No attempt at answering the question posed then... what would you better?

Return the Feedback Forum to an actual feedback forum for a start.

And face the fact that Board's reputation for over-zealous heavy-handed Moderation is based on reality ........ and commit to doing something about that fact would be another step in the right direction.

Get rid of the Prison Forum (it's a joke!) and concentrate on improving the DRP instead.

Necro

Ah lord, we now have a comparison to Reddit... a populist cesspit based on 'upvotes.' Yeah.. no thanks.

I'd sooner boil my head in oil than visit that nonsense.

JenovaProject

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Or maybe I've been on this site long enough to know that threads that become conversations between two posters on a topic unrelated to the thread at hand results in thread bans and mod warnings.

Yeah yeah I believe ya...thousands wouldn't.