Can't access Sex and Sexuality Forum

Deadwing

weemcd wrote:

viva la resistance!

solidarity, brother

CivilServant

This is a thorougly evil move. Threads that were "freely" available to view on after hours are now being moved to a subscribers only thread. Excuse my french but wtf?! I don't want to learn how to do "stuff" rather read the sex related stories and opinions of fellow boarders.

So using Slydice as an example, the logical thing to do would be to move it to a private forum and have access on a supply basis. Thereby users not wanting to read that type of content would be spared. Why on earth could you not do the same with sex/sexuality forum? Hmm? *arms folded*

The Sweeper

Because nobody would have agreed to mod it if it were a free for all forum for everyone who was a registered user with boards.ie. The next step from that would be to make it an invites forum, and then the people who weren't invited would have protested. This way keeps the main forums family-friendly and gives people the option of having access to that forum if they really want it.

CivilServant

Nobody would of agreed to mod a sex/sexuality forum? It's a lot more interesting topic than some other ones out there. I disagree the next step would be invite only. A permission only would make sense, ask and ye shall receive.

Unfortuanately I'm going to have to stand up for the section in the piechart called "people who want to read the sex forums and don't want to pay to do so". Thing is people were talking about these issues long before someone decided, hey we should charge people to read this kind of stuff.

flogen

I don't think people would disagree to mod the forum on the basis of its topic, but instead the hassle that an open forum with such a topic would bring.
The subscription system, while not perfect, means that the forum is open to far less abuse than a public or even private forum.

I also think that some people are missing the point of subscriptions, they are not charging you for anything, you are donating. Are you going to complain that you don't have access to the Subscribers forum too? They probably talk about all types of rude stuff in there I'll bet!! Think of access to the Sex forum, the Subcribers forum and the chance to have your own avatar as a thank you from boards for your generous gift.

Oh, and another thing, the content of the sex forum so far has been much more adult than anything that would ever survive on AH. I've seen tamer versions on it before, but the content on the sex board is not anything that you would have read on a public forum last week.

oscarBravo

CivilServant wrote:

Unfortuanately I'm going to have to stand up for the section in the piechart called "people who want to read the sex forums and don't want to pay to do so".

So go set up a free sex forum.

BEAT

flogen wrote:

Think of access to the Sex forum, the Subcribers forum and the chance to have your own avatar as a thank you from boards for your generous gift.

I'd agree with Flog there 100%,
you already have access to the rest of the site free of charge and the people who run this place dont get paid to do so...be grateful for what you have and stop your complaining...if it means that much to you to read some comments on Sex then donate $13 for 3 months to see if its worth it to you to spend the $50 for the year.
Its nothing I'd pay to read personally(and dont have to since I'm a mod), I donated simply because I appreciate the site and the work the people behind the scenes do.

seamus

CivilServant wrote:

This is a thorougly evil move. Threads that were "freely" available to view on after hours are now being moved to a subscribers only thread. Excuse my french but wtf?! I don't want to learn how to do "stuff" rather read the sex related stories and opinions of fellow boarders.

Actually, they're being locked, not moved </pedantic>

Fobia

seamus wrote:

Actually, they're being locked, not moved </pedantic>

You didn't open the <pedantic> tag first.



Now that's being pedantic

CivilServant

Well I understand what you are guys are saying but that doesn't changed the fact that someone people, myself included are going to voice their opinion and want you guys to listen.

There hasn't been any counter argument to my initial post. Ie. why ask people to pay for a forum when it was free before. Yes, the nature of the content will be different now, because people feel free to post specifically about sex. Which is normally the case when you open a new forum for an previously homeless topic. I don't think that level of posting would change if it were permissions only versus pay subscription. At the end of the day more people support boards, and that's good but don't force the people who want access that to forum to pay subscription too.

The last few posts have been from moderators ... interesting

Trojan

Fobia banned from Feedback.

Now that's being evil

Trojan

CivilServant wrote:

There hasn't been any counter argument to my initial post. Ie. why ask people to pay for a forum when it was free before.

There was no counter to this argument because it is not a valid argument. "It" was not free before - it was a barely tolerated borderline subject which was frequently interpretted in different ways by different moderators, and which was subject to much debate.

The fact that you're debating it now shows the boards spirit is alive and well. And you're still wrong

flogen

CivilServant wrote:

but don't force the people who want access that to forum to pay subscription too.

The Sex and Sexuality forum, like all fora here on boards.ie comes with certain pre-established conditions. One of the conditions that makes the Sex and Sexuality forum different from others is the condition that you need to be a sub or mod to access it. Now, how are you being forced to pay anything? I see it as being given an option. If you want to access the forum, you can, once you follow the conditions of that forum. No-one is stopping you except yourself (and perhaps your bank balance!).

Your argument about moving once free content to a sub-based system could be valid if it was true, as in an existing forum was made sub only. However, as pointed out no such forum existed before and any relative content hung onto various fora by the skin of its teeth at the best of times.

CivilServant

Ok let me try again

Content on the boards is generated by the users of boards.ie The boards exists because moderators are doing a great job cleaning up. Some content deemed inappropriate to younger viewers needs it's own seperate forum. Mods will not moderate this particular forum under normal rules and sees subscription as the only possible option.

I remember the soccer forums getting particularly rowdy, but that was sorted out with the permission and sponsorship thing. Same thing can't apply here?

CivilServant

flogen wrote:

One of the conditions that makes the Sex and Sexuality forum different from others is the condition that you need to be a sub or mod to access it.

I'm arguing about the conditions that it should be treated the same as other restricted forums/fora w/e eg slydice/soccer/and other forums I don't know about.

Nevyn

Simply no it can not.
There are ver good reason it was set up this way.
dont like it fine bitching about is not going to change it.

flogen

CivilServant wrote:

Ok let me try again

Content on the boards is generated by the users of boards.ie

Yes.

The boards exists because moderators are doing a great job cleaning up.

No. Boards exist because there is sufficient demand for them and because the admins are happy to have the relative topic discussed on their webspace.

Some content deemed inappropriate to younger viewers needs it's own seperate forum.

Well, not really. Content is given its own seperate forum when admins feel it would thrive better there or when it is cutting short other, equally valid discussions.

Mods will not moderate this particular forum under normal rules and sees subscription as the only possible option.

Define normal rules, please. From where I can see each fora has its own rules which apply to that specific place. While certain rules are considered general rules (no spamming etc.) there are no "normal rules" so to speak. From what I understand of the matter (going on what ecksor said) it was a discussion between admin(s) and Smod(s) which led to the current set up with the Sex forum. While I'm sure the admins and smods would have liked to have tried a Sex forum under a different set up they knew that it would be such a drain on time due to spam and muppetry, it would also leave boards.ie open to legal attacks. At the moment the subs system is the best way to ensure 99% of viewers are mature enough to digest the content rationally.

I remember the soccer forums getting particularly rowdy, but that was sorted out with the permission and sponsorship thing. Same thing can't apply here?

Not really, because 1) the soccer forum is still viewable by the public and 2) it means the admins cannot control the users quite as well. So I could sponsor a 12 year old to get into the forum and then we're back to legal attacks.
Basically with such adult-orientated content it is the admins necks on the line. They didn't need to create the forum at all, but they did. And they sure as hell don't need to be sued as a result of creating such a forum.

flogen

CivilServant wrote:

I'm arguing about the conditions that it should be treated the same as other restricted forums/fora w/e eg slydice/soccer/and other forums I don't know about.

Slydice is a different kettle of fish altogether. While pictures of women in their underwear is a little risqué, it's not illegal for people under 18 to see (to the best of my knowledge). In that respect the mods of slydice only have to moderate on the basis of content rather than the basis of members age. If it were a private forum what method would be used to check age? Their CP details? please. At least a subscriber is likely to be over 18 as they would probably have a credit card and paypal account. I've said it before, not perfect but the best there is at the moment.

CivilServant

flogen wrote:

Well, not really. Content is given its own seperate forum when admins feel it would thrive better there or when it is cutting short other, equally valid discussions.

Well actually yes, sex discussion was borderline inappriopriate in AH so it had to be moved somewhere.

Also Thaed I'm not bitching about it. I just want to hear what people without access think and have to say on the topic.

CivilServant

flogen wrote:

Not really, because 1) the soccer forum is still viewable by the public and 2) it means the admins cannot control the users quite as well. So I could sponsor a 12 year old to get into the forum and then we're back to legal attacks.
Basically with such adult-orientated content it is the admins necks on the line. They didn't need to create the forum at all, but they did. And they sure as hell don't need to be sued as a result of creating such a forum.

So make it non viewable by the public. Admins have total control over private forums. Also the whole idea of sponsors is to have peoples names on the line. So if anything goes wrong the sponsors share the blame etc.

flogen

admins have total control over every forum, but in order to control a public or private forum with is related to sex would probably mean ignoring many other problems, problems with are almost certainly more important.
The limitations set on the forum provides an instant pre-modded access list and does not require as much work as granting access on a case by case basis and hoping that the user is old enough and not a muppet. It is also the best way to ensure that those accessing the site are mature users.
As I already stated in relation to access requests, if I sponsor a child to access a forum which deals with sex and sexuality and that childs parents decides to sue boards.ie as a result, what are they going to do? Ban me? Will that make up for the law suit they face?

The Sweeper

Actually, it was discussed as an open access forum originally, and both The Corinthian and I, when jokingly suggested to mod it, were last seen running towards the horizon with our respective pants on fire.

The current restriction on the forum appears to be working well and if it generates revenue for this thing that keeps most of us occupied for hours at a time, is that really a bad thing?

It goes back to the basics here - this is not a democracy.

Though I've been considering laying claim to it as the People's Republic of Bourbon and making it a Majd dictatorship.

/me stabs flag through monitor.

seamus

Quick question CivilServant, sorry if it's been asked already, and I'm not getting at you, I'm genuinly curious;

Why should it be free?

WizZard

You're not paying for access to it. Access to it is just another one of the benefits (the main one being that warm, fuzzy feeling) of being a member.
AFAIK these benefits are to entice people to subscribe. Nobody is forcing you to subscribe, or even if you do, to read the S & [strike]M[/strike]S forum. If you do wish to read about it, there are plenty of forums on the net that deal with this subject (I'm reliably informed).

The Corinthian

Reading through this thread I fear for the future of the gene pool. Roughly distilled the objections seem to come down to the following argument:

“Waaaah! Boards should be free, I don’t want to pay for my titillation!”

The use of subscription as a means of controlling who enters is not unfair. While enforcing a certain age level the primary concern is actually enforcing a level of maturity. Someone who has a subscription is less likely to act the Muppet, simply because they have something to lose (their subscription). The same goes for mods.

Of course it’s not a perfect solution to the suitability issue, but it’s probably an adequate solution given both the ethical and practical requirements.

As for the Admins having a profit motive, so what? You think bandwidth, software licences or hardware is free? Most important, do you think it makes sense for the Admins to give up their free time to add functionality or maintain Boards - sometimes having to physically go into the server farm to reboot the machine - for free?

It’s like the suggestions you keep on getting from people who are looking for ‘Boards on WAP’ (as long as someone else develops and maintains it) or ‘Boards Web SMS’ (as long as someone else develops and maintains it and pays for the SMS).

Seriously, how dumb are you people? Is it that you’re still living at home and mummy and dad still protect you from the harsh reality of concepts such as rent, bills and other overheads? Or are you just mentally retarded? Seriously.

Ultimately, the Admins own Boards. It’s a limited company. They have to submit accounts every year. They have to pay for this. And they get to spend their free time keeping the server up and listening to a bunch of whining morons who believe it is their divine right to get everything for free. So if they want to charge for it they can.

And if you don't like it, we both know what you can do...

GrumPy

Not being able to access the new forum is stupid, theres nothing there that's any less suitable for younger people then in after hours or soc, they can access confused people in lesbian/gay/bisexual forum, that whould creep them out, well more then people in the new forum.

Shabadu

Irish GrumPy wrote:

Not being able to access the new forum is stupid, theres nothing there that's any less suitable for younger people then in after hours or soc, they can access confused people in lesbian/gay/bisexual forum, that whould creep them out, well more then people in the new forum.

Just out of curiousity, did you even read the previous post? Or any of the rest of this thread?

Firewalkwithme

The Corinthian wrote:

...Or are you just mentally retarded? Seriously.

That is an offensive and quite disgusting thing to say, particularly coming from a moderator. What makes you think you have the right to go around saying things like that? I hope you will consider apologising for that remark and perhaps editing or the post that contains it.

RE*AC*TOR

CivilServant wrote:

So make it non viewable by the public. Admins have total control over private forums. Also the whole idea of sponsors is to have peoples names on the line. So if anything goes wrong the sponsors share the blame etc.

Yes, but there's no financial benefit in that.

Boards.ie is a huge community at this stage - for a long time (to the best of my knowledge) very little if any money has been made on it. Its only fair that the admins can explore ways to generate a little more income - they have put in an awful lot of effort to get the community to this stage.

So chill - it doesn't really matter - pretend its not there - its hardly the most interesting thing in the world - you probably don't need the mental images of the largely nerdish community and their sexual escapades.

For example here's a pic from the last boards beers

ecksor

That is an offensive and quite disgusting thing to say, particularly coming from a moderator

At least you recognise that he's talking about you. I suppose you'll ignore the rest of his post.