A modest proposal for boards.ie

Melange

I love the idea of After Hours; a forum in which all the threads/conversations which would have no other home in any of the other specific fora belong. It does have one major downside, though: the reality of AH that I've observed so far is that the contributions of a respectable number of decent and intelligent posters are drowned out by the idiocy and juvenility of the AH horde.

What I propose is that an alternative AH forum is set up - an AH in which topics of all kind can be rationally, intelligently and thoughtfully discussed, and in which the typical rubbish of "yore ma", "Irish women are pigs" and "I hate dem Brits" is not tolerated. It'd make sense to do this, IMHO, because I'm kinda tired of looking at the thread list on AH, thinking "ooh, this looks interesting!", only to find that the discussion is of a playground level. I'd be up for keeping the original AH as it is: after all, there ought to be a home for what I've just given out about.

Thoughts? I'm sure I'll get pilloried for this, but it was worth trying.

Random

Such a forum exists. Nobody goes there. Humanities I believe it be called.

AlmightyCushion

Do you want me to move this to the forums forum? That is the place for suggesting new forums.

Sharpshooter

Feedback is your friend.
No.
AC is right.
*slaps wrist.

Latchy

Glad somebody mentioned it and I for one agree with OP 100 %.Banter and piss taking is one thing but you somtimes feel posters have other motives for starting ' some' type threads .

johnnyskeleton

Random wrote: »

Such a forum exists. Nobody goes there. Humanities I believe it be called.

The only threads that do go there are the ones that are too bad for PI! Everyone wants a new forum, no one wants to make the existing fora work.

sub-x

AH is a brilliant forum,all the other forums I have to try hard not to be myself as most people would not appreciate it,here I can be myself without be judged(much)

useful_contacts

Sharpshooter wrote: »

Feedback is your friend.
No.
AC is right.
*slaps wrist.

Ya baby harder:eek:

oh no wait you said wrist..... never mind:(

javaboy

Melange wrote: »

the typical rubbish of "yore ma", "Irish women are pigs" and "I hate dem Brits" is not tolerated.

For the record, none of those remarks are generally tolerated here.

As for the rest of it, yeah sounds good but the forums for more mature discussion of most topics already exist. People are just reluctant to use them because of the traffic AH gets and also perhaps because they like the lighter posts interspersed with the more serious ones.

I agree with the OP. Maybe a trial run of a "before hours" forum or something like that. Just After hours, but without the "I'll try to say something funny so people will thank my post" attitude.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Deleted User wrote: »

but without the "I'll try to say something funny so people will thank my post" attitude.

Yeah, I hate those people.

Sharpshooter

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

The only threads that do go there are the ones that are too bad for PI! Everyone wants a new forum, no one wants to make the existing fora work.

I got the feeling that the OP likes the topics that are brought up in AHs but would like a forum that he/she can post seriously about them.
Did I read that wrong?

minxie

Sharpshooter wrote: »

I got the feeling that the OP likes the topics that are brought up in AHs but would like a forum that he/she can post seriously about them.
Did I read that wrong?

Quite correct

My name is URL

How about a 'Middle Ground' forum, where serious subjects that don't fit in any other forum can be discussed in a more mature way than the lovely AH method of semi-trolling... (only reason I come here tbh, for now)

Would be win imo

Latchy

Originally Posted by Sharpshooter
I got the feeling that the OP likes the topics that are brought up in AHs but would like a forum that he/she can post seriously about them.
Did I read that wrong?

Thtat's what I thought to .

Melange

Sharpshooter wrote: »

I got the feeling that the OP likes the topics that are brought up in AHs but would like a forum that he/she can post seriously about them.
Did I read that wrong?

Nope, you read that exactly right.

K-9

javaboy wrote: »

For the record, none of those remarks are generally tolerated here.

As for the rest of it, yeah sounds good but the forums for more mature discussion of most topics already exist. People are just reluctant to use them because of the traffic AH gets and also perhaps because they like the lighter posts interspersed with the more serious ones.

QFT.

There are existing forums for most threads that are posted here.

El Siglo

It's a decent idea alright, AH is great for a bit of banter it is one of those forums that you can have a laugh on, and it is good to have some serious stuff on it mixed with the funny stuff every so often, but it would be good if there was a forum set up so that AH doesn't get too serious as some other forums have, I won't name anything particular but you can use your discretion and common sense on that one.

orestes

That forum exists on boards already.

Actually, a couple of hundred of them do.

Melange

Deleted User wrote: »

I agree with the OP. Maybe a trial run of a "before hours" forum or something like that. Just After hours, but without the "I'll try to say something funny so people will thank my post" attitude.

My name is URL wrote: »

How about a 'Middle Ground' forum, where serious subjects that don't fit in any other forum can be discussed in a more mature way than the lovely AH method of semi-trolling... (only reason I come here tbh, for now)

Would be win imo

Yep, that's exactly what I'm proposing. The problem with the argument that forums already exist for the different topics you'd see on AH is that it misses the point that AH is like a grand meeting place for anything and everything - which is arguably its greatest strength. What I'd like to see is an intelligent and mature version of that.

K-9

El Siglo wrote: »

It's a decent idea alright, AH is great for a bit of banter it is one of those forums that you can have a laugh on, and it is good to have some serious stuff on it mixed with the funny stuff every so often, but it would be good if there was a forum set up so that AH doesn't get too serious as some other forums have, I won't name anything particular but you can use your discretion and common sense on that one.

Then who decides the line between, AH the take the piss forum, the half serious forum and the dedicated serious forum?

Seriously?

Latchy

As somebody mentioned and has being mentioned many times before ,it only takes on post to f---k up a good thread and that thread doesn't even have to be a serious topic one .But if one see's another spewing ( for want of definition ) ' shyte' just for the sake of it , then it's like a pile up and some intresting posts get lost in the mess .But that I suppose it is the culture of AH and it's the mods jobs to decide what is and isn't acceptable .

orestes

Melange wrote: »

Yep, that's exactly what I'm proposing. The problem with the argument that forums already exist for the different topics you'd see on AH is that it misses the point that AH is like a grand meeting place for anything and everything - which is arguably its greatest strength. What I'd like to see is an intelligent and mature version of that.

A catch all forum for every subject would just result in dilution and people jumping from topic to topic and giving their opinion on stuff that they aren't really informed upon or aren't interested enough in to take seroiusly, so it would end up being diluted in half-baked opinions and piss-taking until it got to the point where everything is considered fair game for a bit of a laugh and nothing is taken really seriously. Sound familiar?

You could say AH is either the end result of that process or just skipped the nastiness and went straight to the end result.

abouttobebanned

AH is a medium for people to try and be funny and get as many thanks as possible by taking the piss out of others. They especially love to be the first in to berate a thread starter. love it when it back fires on them and the next few posters agree with the op

28064212

I'm curious, where are all these "interesting" topics on AH that don't fit in anywhere else? The only ones that are remotely serious from the front page are about Church abuse and the US vs North Korea, both of which would go in other forums

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

K-9 wrote: »

Then who decides the line between, AH the take the piss forum, the half serious forum and the dedicated serious forum?

Seriously?

I don't think it would be that difficult to differentiate between the two tbh.

Having another forum where people are obliged to take topics seriously is a good idea. The same criteria could be applied to the new forum which is in place in AH, "A place that holds posts that do not belong to any other specific forum".

Great idea OP, I am definately in support of this idea.

easyeason3

Melange wrote: »

I love the idea of After Hours; a forum in which all the threads/conversations which would have no other home in any of the other specific fora belong. It does have one major downside, though: the reality of AH that I've observed so far is that the contributions of a respectable number of decent and intelligent posters are drowned out by the idiocy and juvenility of the AH horde.

What I propose is that an alternative AH forum is set up - an AH in which topics of all kind can be rationally, intelligently and thoughtfully discussed, and in which the typical rubbish of "yore ma", "Irish women are pigs" and "I hate dem Brits" is not tolerated. It'd make sense to do this, IMHO, because I'm kinda tired of looking at the thread list on AH, thinking "ooh, this looks interesting!", only to find that the discussion is of a playground level. I'd be up for keeping the original AH as it is: after all, there ought to be a home for what I've just given out about.

Thoughts? I'm sure I'll get pilloried for this, but it was worth trying.

Hey OP...YORE MA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My uptake on AH is that you post a thread questioning something & you get good, bad, ridiculous & damn funny replies which will make you tear your hair out, realise other people think like you, freaks walk among us & laugh so hard you think you may have p!ssed a little but not enough to make a visible stain.
Some people take it too seriously, others take it too lightly.
That my friend is life.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

liah

To be honest, if you just made a sub-forum of AH where the topic headlines could be duped and all the "punny" folk could go and get the puns out of the way and keep them out of the main thread, you'd have a perfect system.

Actually, just remove the puns from AH and already it'd be 80% better. Make a damn pun forum ffs! :pac:

DirkVoodoo

Yeah I don't understand this.

I mean I do 90% of my posting on the cycling forum, I know a lot of the folk there so the banter is all nice and friendly and they talk pretty much about cycling. Someone suggested a while back that they split the forum into a "racing" forum for the serious cyclists in lycra and a "commuter" forum for people who just plod along the bike to get to work. Obviously it didn't take.

What I like about after hours is that it is a pretty balanced mix. You have some pretty interesting threads/posts and then obviously the "yore ma!" variety. filtering the two would remove a lot of what makes after hours so appealing: that people can speak their minds.

Why can't you just ignore the posts you don't like, have a laugh at the genuinely funny ones and reply to the ones that you think are pretty intelligent/serious? If you are as intelligent and mature as you claim, you should be able to filter out the idiocy with ease, instead of looking to create a new forum.

On a side note, it sounds like "intelligent and mature" is just another way of saying that you want a forum that is heavily moderated and probably devoid of free speech. Back to cycling, what I like about the forum is that nearly everybody there talks the way they do when you meet them in real life, there is no beating of the PC drum.

4zn76tysfajdxp

liah wrote: »

Actually, just remove the puns from AH and already it'd be 80% better.

I thought you were cool liah.

K-9

Clyde Scruffy Sportscast wrote: »

I don't think it would be that difficult to differentiate between the two tbh.

Having another forum where people are obliged to take topics seriously is a good idea. The same criteria could be applied to the new forum which is in place in AH, "A place that holds posts that do not belong to any other specific forum".

Great idea OP, I am definately in support of this idea.

Grand. Take a few threads from the first page, take out the take the piss posts and we'd have it?

Why not just ignore them and engage with the serious posters on a particular thread?

javaboy

liah wrote: »

Actually, just remove the puns from AH and already it'd be 80% better.

That would mean 4/5 infractions per thread.

Melange

easyeason3 wrote: »

Hey OP...YORE MA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My uptake on AH is that you post a thread questioning something & you get good, bad, ridiculous & damn funny replies which will make you tear your hair out, realise other people think like you, freaks walk among us & laugh so hard you think you may have p!ssed a little but not enough to make a visible stain.
Some people take it too seriously, others take it too lightly.
That my friend is life.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

You're absolutely right in that AH can be an absolute hoot sometimes. It's an irreplaceable part of boards and I'd never want it to disappear. Sounds like you're perfectly content with AH as it stands, and that's fine, but you'd have to admit that there's no harm in a serious version coexisting alongside it.

DirkVoodoo

Melange wrote: »

You're absolutely right in that AH can be an absolute hoot sometimes. It's an irreplaceable part of boards and I'd never want it to disappear, but you have to admit it'd be great to have a serious version coexisting alongside it. A bit of choice never hurt anyone!

Could you maybe provide some examples of serious discussions you would like to partake in? Just to see if any fora already exist already for them, where you would already have an established and informed audience.

Gummy Panda

STOP TRYING TO CHANGE AH!

There is serious forums for serious topics. Yore ma was funny too until every other poster tried to use it for thanks. Its still funny if used in moderation. Infact I might start a campaign to take it back, like porch monkey.

/remdmbers good aul days of Dudess, Julep and Karoma (who hated us all)

easyeason3

Melange wrote: »

You're absolutely right in that AH can be an absolute hoot sometimes. It's an irreplaceable part of boards and I'd never want it to disappear, but you have to admit it'd be great to have a serious version coexisting alongside it. A bit of choice never hurt anyone!

But you get the best of everthing in AH.

Serious discussion, humour, insights into who is disturbed etc.

It's character building to post in AH.

javaboy

easyeason3 wrote: »

Hey OP...YORE MA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:mad:

Gummy Panda wrote: »

Yore ma was funny too until every other poster tried to use it for thanks. Its still funny if used in moderation.

No it isn't. It's been killed. Whatever funny it once had is long dead.

Infact I might start a campaign to take it back, like porch monkey.

That campaign would meet a swift and merciless end.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

K-9 wrote: »

Grand. Take a few threads from the first page, take out the take the piss posts and we'd have it?

Why not just ignore them and engage with the serious posters on a particular thread?

Sometimes it is impossible with the amount of idiots making seriously retarded comments, I am not one to ignore, I rather engage :P

Gummy Panda wrote: »

STOP TRYING TO CHANGE AH!

There is serious forums for serious topics. Yore ma was funny too until every other poster tried to use it for thanks. Its still funny if used in moderation. Infact I might start a campaign to take it back, like porch monkey.

/remdmbers good aul days of Dudess, Julep and Karoma (who hated us all)

It's not funny at all... maybe to an 8 year old it might be somewhat funny...

Problem with AH is that it is sometimes hard to have a serious debate. We are not talking about bringing in the PC police and going mad with the ban hammer, but just having a forum for serious discussions. The mentality of AH is not good. You post something serious and no further than 4 or 5 posts you will have a "lol rofl why are you being serious in AH... lolz !!!11!one" which is simply retarded...

easyeason3

javaboy wrote: »

:mad:



No it isn't. It's been killed. Whatever funny it once had is long dead.



That campaign would meet a swift and merciless end.

You & your angry face ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only YORE MA comment I make & you shoot it down.
Well feck ya.

orestes

javaboy wrote: »

That would mean 4/5 infractions per thread.

Your optimism never ceases to surprise me jb

Gummy Panda

Clyde Scruffy Sportscast wrote: »

Sometimes it is impossible with the amount of idiots making seriously retarded comments, I am not one to ignore, I rather engage :P




It's not funny at all... maybe to an 8 year old it might be somewhat funny...

Problem with AH is that it is sometimes hard to have a serious debate. We are not talking about bringing in the PC police and going mad with the ban hammer, but just having a forum for serious discussions. The mentality of AH is not good. You post something serious and no further than 4 or 5 posts you will have a "lol rofl why are you being serious in AH... lolz !!!11!one" which is simply retarded...

i can understand complaints about low level trolling but AH isn't exactly suppose to be serious debate. its more like duscussion over a pint iirc.

Java, it was still funny. don't forget

/shakes Java frantically

javaboy

orestes wrote: »

Your optimism never ceases to surprise me jb

Well the pun wouldn't have worked with any other numbers you see. :cool:

orestes

javaboy wrote: »

Well the pun wouldn't have worked with any other numbers you see. :cool:

/bows to the master

DirkVoodoo

People keep saying "serious discussion" without really elaborating further. Do you want to talk about economics, films, songwriting, fashion and appearance, mustard...I honestly haven't clicked on half of these forums ever, boards is really getting big.

I know what you mean, there is a certain level of idiocy. That's where the quote button comes in handy. Why can't you carry on a discussion in a thread, just scroll past the bits you don't like. I don't get how a "LOL", "yore ma!" or whatever else people do somehow dirties a thread a results in you having to leave with a look of disgust.

4zn76tysfajdxp

javaboy wrote: »

Well the pun wouldn't have worked with any other numbers you see. :cool:

Oh, NOW I get it. Where's my dunce cap?

orestes

Amira Orange Stampede wrote: »

Oh, NOW I get it. Where's my dunce cap?

/hands it over

Gummy Panda

thats a nice cap frado :pac:

eVeNtInE

This post has been deleted.

4zn76tysfajdxp

eVeNtInE wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Here ya go.

DirkVoodoo

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

People keep saying "serious discussion" without really elaborating further. Do you want to talk about economics, films, songwriting, fashion and appearance, mustard...I honestly haven't clicked on half of these forums ever, boards is really getting big.

That's partly the issue really. If I ever venture into a music, video, films, etc. forum then chances are there is a specific question i will have or want to discuss. Other than that the only people who post in such forums will be people hugely into whatever their topic is.



After hours provides a series of completely different, random topics that you can enter and discuss. You don't have to go looking for something and there is actually a point in posting (for example, your average poster won't bother posting in the Computer "building and upgrading" forum because he doesn't know anything about it and in order to make a proper post there you must be relatively informed about the topic).



After hours is like a mix-n-match of all the forums, and you can discuss a wide array of different things without having to venture off into those forums to specifically look for something to discuss. It's similar to hitting 'refresh' on the main page and looking for a thread that takes your attention.


Sadly, every second post is either a pun, a 'yore ma' comment, or a failed attempt at wit in hope of getting thanks. Don't get me wrong, there are some funny posts in after hours, but there are a lot of irrelevant, unfunny, "give me thanks" posts, too.



For example:


http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055486920


Post 10 for example. The guy is clearly a gimmick-poster, but his reply to the thread is funny.

Post 7 on the other hand, is too drawn out to be funny, and doesn't really contribute to the discussion at all. (Not that I'm trying to attack "Moonbaby" or anything, but it's just an example).



Another good example is this thread, from post 45 onwards. A good thread, which has been ruined by people spamming it up with comments that have nothing to do with the thread and, to a vast majority of users, won't be seen as funny.

liah

Amira Orange Stampede wrote: »

I thought you were cool liah.

Sorry! I just hate going to threads about a child getting molested or something and people are going mad over puns. Otherwise I don't mind them, but.. some things should just not be punified! :pac: