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

Discodog

riffmongous wrote: »

No I'm saying a fresh thread with many people posting is going to be more likely to encourage people to post than a heading off topic, endless back and forth between a handful of posters

Stopping discussion isn't going to encourage it.

_Kaiser_

Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »

I have to say I think the moderation has been top notch the last 6 months or so. There was a period of about 5 years before that when the phrase nazi mod actually wasn't an exagerration, but things seem to have been rectified in recent times. Its great.

I'd have to agree.. there definitely seems to have been a bit of stepping back and relaxing a bit from the mods in AH anyway and there's a better vibe as a result.

I only really visit maybe a dozen forums here with any sort of frequency and dip in and out of others if something catches my attention on the homepage.

To be fair, of the ones I visit regularly, most are grand with the exception of 3 where the regulars dominate one and carry their chat/arguments from thread to thread and the moderation is pretty much non-existent, another is almost totally one-sided on the subject, and the third is similarly more like an annex of another forum because of the mods personal feelings on the subject.

Overall though I think things have improved of late

Del.Monte

Moderation in a couple of the forums I participate in is OTT and certain individuals can say what they like and others (me) get banned for the slightest thing. The result has been that many of the worthwhile posters are now perma banned or no longer bother posting.

Several times I have raised the issue of the appalling level of activity in many regional forums especially in NI and border counties but nobody cares. The Mods in the said counties seem oblivious/happy to preside over the situation. In other forums such as Sustainability & Environmental Issues one of the Mods killed the forum with his style of moderation and then sailed off into the sunset, retired as a Mod and no longer posts here. Anyway, I'm well past caring and my level of posting activity reflects this.

Sal Butamol

I got carded by a regional mod for describing a local businessman as an aggressive knob.

Was told to think before I post and blah blah blah.

Yet one look at threads elsewhere on boards and nobody would bat an eyelid at that.

Joke

andekwarhola

Threads like this are actually symptomatic of why boards has declined. We reached a tipping point ages ago where there are as many people complaining at tedious length about content (whether that is to expunge content they don't agree with or whinging about moderation) as people actually creating decent content.

There's actually more meta discussion than discussion, at times.

That led to various trends of over fussy curation of topics, either on the whim of admin and moderaters but also in trying to placate the loudest whingers.

So the people that did or might create such content have just left or retreated to private forums.

Boom_Bap

Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »

I have to say I think the moderation has been top notch the last 6 months or so. There was a period of about 5 years before that when the phrase nazi mod actually wasn't an exagerration, but things seem to have been rectified in recent times. Its great.

I think I stopped modding AH in Jan/Feb this year. I bet that has something to do with it. :pac:

fergus1001

opened a thread in after hours yesterday in relation to dublin football's sponsorship, good response coming to the thread then a mod comes in and says "more suited to GAA" now that's fine grand


but he locked the thread instead of moving it to the GAA forum immediately killing it !!

I'm done like ......

Boom_Bap

fergus1001 wrote: »

opened a thread in after hours yesterday in relation to dublin football's sponsorship, good response coming to the thread then a mod comes in and says "more suited to GAA" now that's fine grand


but he locked the thread instead of moving it to the GAA forum immediately killing it !!

I'm done like ......

Did you try PM'ing the mods by chance?

dudara

fergus1001 wrote: »

opened a thread in after hours yesterday in relation to dublin football's sponsorship, good response coming to the thread then a mod comes in and says "more suited to GAA" now that's fine grand


but he locked the thread instead of moving it to the GAA forum immediately killing it !!

I'm done like ......

Perhaps the site outage got in the way? Always worth dropping a PM to the mods to give them a little nudge

Discodog

dudara wrote: »

Perhaps the site outage got in the way? Always worth dropping a PM to the mods to give them a little nudge

A nudge for what ? To remind them that we were told that this wouldn't happen anymore ?

Pa8301

To be fair, that particular topic arises pretty often in the GAA forum so perhaps the OP should have checked there for a relevant open thread before starting a new one in AH.

Discodog

Pa8301 wrote: »

To be fair, that particular topic arises pretty often in the GAA forum so perhaps the OP should have checked there for a relevant open thread before starting a new one in AH.

Why does it have to be so clinical ? If people are responding then it's of interest. AH often attracts new & different comment as a lot of posters might not go near the GAA forum.

dudara

Discodog wrote: »

A nudge for what ? To remind them that we were told that this wouldn't happen anymore ?

In ideal world, everyone would do everything perfectly right, all the time, like robots. This isn’t the real world and things occasionally get forgotten. Plus there was also a big outage. A quick PM will usually move things on quick enough. Is that too much to ask?

Discodog

dudara wrote: »

In ideal world, everyone would do everything perfectly right, all the time, like robots. This isn’t the real world and things occasionally get forgotten. Plus there was also a big outage. A quick PM will usually move things on quick enough. Is that too much to ask?

The whole PM a Mod thing was well discussed. A lot of people won't put their head above the parapet especially if they are new - the exact people we need. They will just see another closed thread.

The easy way to remember would be to make it so that one Mod can't close a thread. Either a C Mod or two Mods have to do it.

Timberrrrrrrr

Pa8301 wrote: »

To be fair, that particular topic arises pretty often in the GAA forum so perhaps the OP should have checked there for a relevant open thread before starting a new one in AH.

I wouldn't post in the GAA forum if i was paid to, the AH thread was a good read.

Wibbs

I have one question regarding AH I particular. Why do mods not leave redirects as a rule when they move threads? From what I can see the vast majority of the time they don't. Hardly rocket science to see why doing it this way is counterproductive. The biggest forum on the site with the most traffic might get traffic elsewhere with redirects(that are appropriate). Plus when threads get moved a heads up to the destination forum would be good. Just report the post and it'll be seen.

Though it would be my humble that redirecting threads, nearly always into low traffic forums is pointless anyway. People rarely follow beyond their own forums. Doubly so in AH.

Also the notion that AH is the "fun forum for light reading" is woefully behind the times. It hasn't been that for donkeys and went that way organically, even with phases of over moderation at times. Let it be organic for god's sake. Redirecting threads kills discussion here and rarely creates it elsewhere. That might have worked ten years ago when people's inclination was to post in specific forums, but they don't work so much that way anymore. Clearly, as numbers may be down, but they're not that far down yet compared to ten years ago it's a handful of forums that get the lionshare of the traffic. So let them, encourage them.

Closing threads for any reason other than legal is beyond wrongheaded. If a discussion has a few eejits, do the job, get rid of them and leave the thread alone to die off, or not of its own accord.

RandomName2

Now some people may have taken issue with him for what could arguably called heavy handed modding, but it seems that Permabear is gone and all of his posts consigned to the recycle bin.

I've seen a couple of posters now who have all of their posts deleted. Some of Joe Swanson's useful advise in travel forums is gone forever.

It seems that deleting an account automatically does this, though I think Permabear decided to have all his posts deleted. Not sure why (since the posts can't be read now).

I know that Nodin decided to quit due to what he considered unfair reprimanding. I think I disagreed with literally every view he had, but I think it's a shame that he's gone (unless Odhinn is him, returned).

_Kaiser_

RandomName2 wrote: »

Now some people may have taken issue with him for what could arguably called heavy handed modding, but it seems that Permabear is gone and all of his posts consigned to the recycle bin.

I've seen a couple of posters now who have all of their posts deleted. Some of Joe Swanson's useful advise in travel forums is gone forever.

It seems that deleting an account automatically does this, though I think Permabear decided to have all his posts deleted. Not sure why (since the posts can't be read now).

I know that Nodin decided to quit due to what he considered unfair reprimanding. I think I disagreed with literally every view he had, but I think it's a shame that he's gone (unless Odhinn is him, returned).

I noticed that as well lately and assumed it was something to do with GDPR requests by those users.

fergus1001

Pa8301 wrote: »

To be fair, that particular topic arises pretty often in the GAA forum so perhaps the OP should have checked there for a relevant open thread before starting a new one in AH.

I put the thread in after hours specifically because I wanted a broad discussion on the topic not just the same few people in the GAA forum, plus you get more comical responses in AH


I have contacted the mod but it's to late the thread is now dead

Boom_Bap

fergus1001 wrote: »

I put the thread in after hours specifically because I wanted a broad discussion on the topic not just the same few people in the GAA forum, plus you get more comical responses in AH


I have contacted the mod but it's to late the thread is now dead

Looking at how the thread was closed, yeah, there could have been a bit more of an explanation.

But, from the forum rules

Do not post here to reach a larger audience.
Posting on After Hours to reach a larger audience is not allowed. If there is a more suitable forum for your thread, post it there.

fergus1001

Boom_Bap wrote:

But, from the forum rules

If that rule is to be used 90% of threads started in after hours should be moved to politics or similar, it's an unenforceable rule.

Wibbs

fergus1001 wrote: »

If that rule is to be used 90% of threads started in after hours should be moved to politics or similar, it's an unenforceable rule.

And a fundamentally silly one of the site is to survive, even grow. Boards should want a thread to garner the largest audience possible. If the three or four irregular posters in another forum don't have it in "their" forum, that's set against the hundreds of regulars in After Hours.

fergus1001

so at the end of the day I contacted the MOD nothing has been done to rectify the situation,is another mod going to step in and fix this ?

_Kaiser_

Wibbs wrote: »

And a fundamentally silly one of the site is to survive, even grow. Boards should want a thread to garner the largest audience possible. If the three or four irregular posters in another forum don't have it in "their" forum, that's set against the hundreds of regulars in After Hours.

IMO the user base isn't big enough anymore to support even half of the forums it currently has.

Mixed-messaging moderation and procedures don't help matters. AH is still the most popular forum and has (as you said above) grown naturally to encompass more than just the "fun" remit it once had. That was driven by the users themselves and should be respected by the mods. Anything else is about as relevant now as the occasional calls for the return of facekicker :rolleyes:

That said, whatever happened to the Current Affairs idea? It can't take THAT long to create a new forum here can it?

PlaneSpeeking

fergus1001 wrote: »

so at the end of the day I contacted the MOD nothing has been done to rectify the situation,is another mod going to step in and fix this ?

There are certain posters who constantly do not engage in debate but confront other users about nonsense and things they may have said months ago.

They are reported but nothing is done. Is there a next step to this? I'm not really the only one growing tired of seeing this surely ?

Franz Von Peppercorn

Moderation in all things, including moderation.

AH should protect the funny threads, and it shouldn’t become a dumping ground for all sorts of topics.

Discodog

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

IMO the user base isn't big enough anymore to support even half of the forums it currently has.

Mixed-messaging moderation and procedures don't help matters. AH is still the most popular forum and has (as you said above) grown naturally to encompass more than just the "fun" remit it once had. That was driven by the users themselves and should be respected by the mods. Anything else is about as relevant now as the occasional calls for the return of facekicker :rolleyes:

That said, whatever happened to the Current Affairs idea? It can't take THAT long to create a new forum here can it?

As I proposed it I am going to suggest that the problem may be with the Mods not wanting it & not being willing to moderate it. I base this on the fact that this was & still seems to be the major objection.

fergus1001

Discodog wrote:

As I proposed it I am going to suggest that the problem may be with the Mods not wanting it & not being willing to moderate it. I base this on the fact that this was & still seems to be the major objection.

I would put myself forward as a mod

Discodog

fergus1001 wrote: »

I would put myself forward as a mod

You aren't allowed - I think :pac:

The Gods have to chose you as worthy

I nominate Wibbs & Kaiser

Oh & Kersplatt

fergus1001

Discodog wrote:

The Gods have to chose you as worthy

Yes that's a big one to me, how do you become a mod, I've been here nearly 10 years at this stage and never seen like an interview or whatever

dudara

Discodog wrote: »

As I proposed it I am going to suggest that the problem may be with the Mods not wanting it & not being willing to moderate it. I base this on the fact that this was & still seems to be the major objection.

Forum request thread here. Looks like it stalled just under the limit required for consideration.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057860148

Discodog

dudara wrote: »

Forum request thread here. Looks like it stalled just under the limit required for consideration.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057860148

That may be a good thing as Boards might implement it as a dumping ground that AH users don't go to. To work the threads have to be visible on the AH page. Like a top & bottom half. One for fun & one for current affairs. Both under the AH banner so that the rules, posting styles etc don't change.

Discodog

dudara wrote: »

Forum request thread here. Looks like it stalled just under the limit required for consideration.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057860148

And this seems a crazy way to introduce new fora. 99.9% of Boards users don't even know that forum exists.

fergus1001

Discodog wrote:

And this seems a crazy way to introduce new fora. 99.9% of Boards users don't even know that forum exists.

I was thinking that , if you want to gauge the interest start a poll in the after hours forum

Beasty

To be clear the Current Affairs forum request thread was highlighted earlier in this thread. My recollection was that views expressed in this thread were generally split. I actually indicated I would be supportive, but TBH it never gained the momentum to justify a new forum

That does not mean the idea is dead, but we would need to see quite a bit more support for it before giving it a green light

fergus1001

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057900596/1/#post107764977

this is still not resolved unlock that thread or move it to GAA please

Boom_Bap

fergus1001 wrote: »

If that rule is to be used 90% of threads started in after hours should be moved to politics or similar, it's an unenforceable rule.

I personally think that most politics threads should be moved to the Politics Cafe.
There are some that are more widespread discussion which would merit a place in AH.

If I am looking for an informed discussion on something, I'd always first look in the specialist forum. I'd probably never wade into a GAA discussion in AH, let alone one as sensitive as being about Dublin because it just turns into a them v us style slanging match. It may reach a wider audience, but it's an audience that may have no interest and end up abusing the thread.

Am I right, no idea!

In your case, there are probably a few things that could have been done
1) Closed and redirect to GAA saying that this thread is already covering this subject
2) Move to GAA and advise to pay attention to the GAA charter leaving a redirect
3) Leave the thread and note that there is a discussion on this in the GAA charter also and drop a link to that thread.

A few of them would depend on the closing mod knowing the lay of the land in another forum and being able to guide to the right thread.

fergus1001

Boom_Bap wrote: »

In your case, there are probably a few things that could have been done
1) Closed and redirect to GAA saying that this thread is already covering this subject
2) Move to GAA and advise to pay attention to the GAA charter leaving a redirect
3) Leave the thread and note that there is a discussion on this in the GAA charter also and drop a link to that thread.

A few of them would depend on the closing mod knowing the lay of the land in another forum and being able to guide to the right thread.

1. why was points 1 through 3 not done
2. if your a mod on this site you should know how to moderate it correctly
3. Im not Mod bashing far from it i just wanted the thread moved or opened again instead of killing conversation, but because nothing has been done about the thread in the last 3 days its a dead hoarse despite the fact that i posted in here about the thread and PM'd the MOD in question to ask him to rectify it.
4. Mods here and the Mod involved clearly just buried their heads in the sand instead of taking action/replying to my PM which has annoyed me to no end

Edit: maby there is a slight hint of mod bashing but its not meant as a personal attack on any one individual just the general standard of moding boards

muffler

fergus1001 wrote: »

Im not Mod bashing far from it.................maby there is a slight hint of mod bashing

No such thing as half posting a letter - its one or the other

fergus1001

muffler wrote: »

No such thing as half posting a letter - its one or the other

I read back over the post and said yeah maby there is a lil bit lol

Discodog

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I personally think that most politics threads should be moved to the Politics Cafe.
There are some that are more widespread discussion which would merit a place in AH.

If I am looking for an informed discussion on something, I'd always first look in the specialist forum. I'd probably never wade into a GAA discussion in AH, let alone one as sensitive as being about Dublin because it just turns into a them v us style slanging match. It may reach a wider audience, but it's an audience that may have no interest and end up abusing the thread.

Am I right, no idea!

In your case, there are probably a few things that could have been done
1) Closed and redirect to GAA saying that this thread is already covering this subject
2) Move to GAA and advise to pay attention to the GAA charter leaving a redirect
3) Leave the thread and note that there is a discussion on this in the GAA charter also and drop a link to that thread.

A few of them would depend on the closing mod knowing the lay of the land in another forum and being able to guide to the right thread.

People don't see these topics as politics, even if they are. Put them in the Politics Cafe & immediately most can't post. It's where threads go to die. Most people don't want an in depth expert discussion that's subject to different rules.

A good example are animal welfare threads that are far better here than in the animal forum where most people will have the same opinion.

People post in AH because they want to discuss current issues but in a light hearted way.

pleas advice

I thought the idea was to change the Politics Cafe forum to Current Affairs, and move most of that kind of stuff out of After Hours,

Boom_Bap

Discodog wrote: »

People don't see these topics as politics, even if they are. Put them in the Politics Cafe & immediately most can't post. It's where threads go to die. Most people don't want an in depth expert discussion that's subject to different rules.

A good example are animal welfare threads that are far better here than in the animal forum where most people will have the same opinion.

People post in AH because they want to discuss current issues but in a light hearted way.

But people from Politics come into AH and want to have a non light hearted discussion which leads to turmoil in a thread when the 'yore ma' style answers surface. It's a 2 sided coin.

I'm not saying I have the right answers here, but from my experience that is where the arguments start in AH Political threads.

I definitely think valid threads should be allowed run, but not if they are in totally the wrong place.

TheValeyard

Haven't people been proclaiming the slow death of boards for years now?

Boom_Bap

Murray TheDemonic TalkingSkull wrote: »

Haven't people been proclaiming the slow death of boards for years now?

sure feels like this thread has been going for years :pac::pac:

I know what would help, a greater capacity for pm's, none of this "blaa blaa has exceeeded their pm allowance"

Boom_Bap

Deleted User wrote: »

I know what would help, a greater capacity for pm's, none of this "blaa blaa has exceeeded their pm allowance"

who's this blaa blaa you speak of, is it some sort of black sheep?

Boom_Bap

Boom_Bap wrote: »

who's this blaa blaa you speak of, is it some sort of black sheep?

No Baps. That would be "baa baa"

fergus1001

Deleted User wrote:

I know what would help, a greater capacity for pm's, none of this "blaa blaa has exceeeded their pm allowance"

you ok hun x x pm me

Boom_Bap

Deleted User wrote: »

No Baps. That would be "baa baa"

it could be a northern sheep