What does Boards mean to you?

4zn76tysfajdxp

I just noticed that it's been nine years and a month since I joined Boards. This made me consider what, exactly, Boards means to me.

It's a mixed bag. On one hand, I've made some great friends here and made some of the funniest posts ever seen on the site. Great stuff, really. Fantastic.

On the other hand, I've seen agitated neckbeards and sadistic punishment fetishists foam at the mouth for such crimes as paedophilia and being religious. Real journal.ie comments stuff that makes the heart of this poster sink.

So to me, it means it's a good place to interact with interesting people you may wanna meet but also a great place to clash with people you may never wanna bump into.

What about you? What does Boards.ie mean to you?

Birneybau

Timewasting.

Donkey Oaty

Might as well get it over with - Oh Vienna.

Donkey Oaty

Ashton Acidic Calf wrote: »

It's a mixed bag. On one hand, I've made some great friends here and made some of the funniest posts ever seen on the site. Great stuff, really. Fantastic.

Ha ha...missed that on the first reading!

the evasion_kid

These days I just laugh at most of it.

How to start an argument on boards :

1. Post a comment

2. Wait

Its a bit of a laugh and it can be educational and informative if you go out side AH.

toastedpickles

A great bunch of lads

kneemos

Nothing,since I came home early and caught Boards and Reddit in a compromising position.

L.Jenkins

Ashton Acidic Calf wrote: »

....What about you? What does Boards.ie mean to you?

Weekly allowance of coke and hookers. The joys of being a mod :P

Gannicus

Bend
Over
And
Receive
Doggy
Style

Dr. Mantis Toboggan

the evasion_kid wrote: »

These days I just laugh at most of it.

How to start an argument on boards :

1. Post a comment

2. Wait

But, but the government! The Israelis! I cant smoke funny fags! The dole! Travellers! Muslims! My tinfoil hat!!

_Kaiser_

It's a (generally) entertaining place to spend a couple of hours but honestly, I think its peak has been and gone as it's been supplanted by things like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and such - which is a shame as I've learned quite a lot from the threads on this site over the years.

I've never been to a Beers though and I wouldn't have any friends on it - either from Real Life or just here - but it's great that those things happen too, as long as it doesn't impact on the site itself (more on that in a minute).

Moderation is a tough job on a site like this, but it varies wildly though from an almost completely hands-off approach (which leads to "noobs" being belittled by the "regulars" for "stupid" posts as happens on one forum I use), or completely over-the-top because the local mods have "notions" about the standards of their patch of webspace.

But at the end of the day though it's just a forum on the Internet. Some people here take thing WAY too seriously at times and need to step back from the computer and go live a little.

JohnnyChimpo

It's a disgrace, Joe.

iDave

the evasion_kid wrote: »

These days I just laugh at most of it.

How to start an argument on boards :

1. Post a comment

2. Wait

Link?

5rtytry56

Consumer issues forum is an informative read. Some raw opinions given from both the OP and also the responders.

tnegun

Lost hours!!

jimgoose

Like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger or the rest of t'folk on the Luas will think you're half-simple.

Mint Sauce

I miss Bigins, Pete, and a few others whose names escape me right now.

MrWalsh

Not limited to boards.ie but the "interwebs" in general has allowed some very dark individuals to have an increasingly vocal anonymous voice over the past few years. It worries me that there are so many people with apparent unaddressed mental health issues out there, its not an impression I get in the general population outside of the internet. Some very worrying opinions, thoughts, need to troll, crave attention etc... Frightening stuff at time I must admit.

General bad manners seem to be magnified by the anonymity of the keyboard warrior also.

But message boards in general also tend to suffer from a painful "groupthink" and in the case of boards there are many examples, add to this the obvious moderation problems (even typing this I know will bring me to the attention of the mods while the wagons circle) and you get a kind of group exclusion if you dont hold the popular opinion.

Course the usual problems of "back up your assertion with proof sir, cited from peer reviewed journals" gets tedious too.

dodzy

I know this much:

1. A lot of very clever people around here only too willing to help others

2. Bargain Alerts has me in the f**king poor-house.

Son Of A Vidic

Mint Sauce wrote: »

I miss Bigins, Pete, and a few others whose names escape me right now.

We lost two of the best right there.:(

Macker2001

Just joined and came back from living abroad for years. Boards for the most part gives me such a laugh. You just can't beat irish humour it's the best!!

AndyBoBandy

For years it was a source of very useful information (and usually the 1st/2nd hit in a Google search)

Eventually joined, and only really became a 'user' in the last 6 months or so,

great source of humour when I'm bored, great source of debate on the serious issues, but a hell of a lot of inflated opinions of ones selves.

Aongus Von Bismarck

It's an anniversary of my own in my fraught, yet passionate, relationship with boards.ie. One year since I decided to become a member! It has been an interesting year. I've enjoyed the majority of it. There are a handful of truly informative posters, with another handful of truly funny posters.

What has become most apparent is that nasty and petty Irish jealousy and begrudgry is alive and well. To let anyone know you've worked hard, made sacrifices and did OK for yourself results in a barrage of abuse and scorn. This is especially true in AH, which can be a seething cesspit of anger and begrudgry at times.

Much of this misguided anger seems to come from young men with extreme anger issues. This could be from lack of opportunity, smoking too much weed, playing too many computer games, reading too much Marx, eating too much fast food. I don't really know. It does seem that they are the loudest and most prolific of the posters when it comes to emotive issues like religion and politics.

I digress. It's a grand site. I wouldn't pay for it and it's best to just chuckle and ignore the opinions of most of the posters. When taken in that spirit then it's mildly diverting.

realdanbreen

Anyone that posts a comment longer than 5 or 6 lines should be shot.

anncoates

Been here nearly 10 years on and off and I suppose the place has dismayed and enlivened in largely equal measures. I'm biased, but I thought it was at is best around 3 or 4 years ago but that's just personal preference as the mix of users at the time was personally pleasing to me and I don't mean it in an everything was better back them sense.

For all that though, I've met some excellent people here and overall, I think that the general quality of discourse - whether jokes, sarcasm, confessional/personal stuff or serious political and social issues - has, to me, been actually better than most traditional media.

anncoates

realdanbreen wrote: »

Anyone that posts a comment longer than 5 or 6 lines should be shot.

Try not to fashion a directive based on your own creative failings.

One eyed Jack

MrWalsh wrote: »

Not limited to boards.ie but the "interwebs" in general has allowed some very dark individuals to have an increasingly vocal anonymous voice over the past few years. It worries me that there are so many people with apparent unaddressed mental health issues out there, its not an impression I get in the general population outside of the internet. Some very worrying opinions, thoughts, need to troll, crave attention etc... Frightening stuff at time I must admit.

General bad manners seem to be magnified by the anonymity of the keyboard warrior also.

But message boards in general also tend to suffer from a painful "groupthink" and in the case of boards there are many examples, add to this the obvious moderation problems (even typing this I know will bring me to the attention of the mods while the wagons circle) and you get a kind of group exclusion if you dont hold the popular opinion.

Course the usual problems of "back up your assertion with proof sir, cited from peer reviewed journals" gets tedious too.

'Cept for the bit in bold there, the rest of your post with regard to "social media" in general is spot on. It often occurs to me that the term "social media" is a bit of a misnomer, as it can often be anything but!

Boards to me is a great site and I really have had some great discussions on it, and then I've been involved in discussions that are absolute head melters and I've had to walk away for a bit and regroup. I suppose in that way the site really IS like a community in that there are the vast majority of people you're going to get on great with, and then there are the minority that you're not going to get on so great with, but because you all share the same space, sometimes you just have to bite your lip and suck it up! :pac:



ps: I'm not liking the proposed new design for the desktop site, I'm not gone on the current one either, but I use the touch site 99.9% of the time so I never really see the desktop site, thankfully!

Sciprio

I never really got into staying around on messaging sites for too long to make friends but if you made a few friends from it then i supposed it helped you in some way. It's good for venting and getting away from the stresses of life! :pac:

wendell borton

"It is a black hole; it absorbs energy and personality and then re-presents it as spectacle."

http://alphavilleherald.com/2004/05/introducing_hum.html

One eyed Jack

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

It's an anniversary of my own in my fraught, yet passionate, relationship with boards.ie. One year since I decided to become a member! It has been an interesting year. I've enjoyed the majority of it. There are a handful of truly informative posters, with another handful of truly funny posters.

What has become most apparent is that nasty and petty Irish jealousy and begrudgry is alive and well. To let anyone know you've worked hard, made sacrifices and did OK for yourself results in a barrage of abuse and scorn. This is especially true in AH, which can be a seething cesspit of anger and begrudgry at times.

Much of this misguided anger seems to come from young men with extreme anger issues. This could be from lack of opportunity, smoking too much weed, playing too many computer games, reading too much Marx, eating too much fast food. I don't really know. It does seem that they are the loudest and most prolific of the posters when it comes to emotive issues like religion and politics.

I digress. It's a grand site. I wouldn't pay for it and it's best to just chuckle and ignore the opinions of most of the posters. When taken in that spirit then it's mildly diverting.

Beam in your own eye there much Aongus?

Ah I love you anyway, AH would certainly feel the loss of your observations channelling Patrick Kavanagh in full flight

Slicemeister

This place has made me realise I never really had a stutter, I was just inartic, inarticu, inartic, inart inart te te te


ah fvck it!

Duggy747

Boards to me is a place to kill some time and just have some craíc. Certainly are some characters around this place, for better or worse.

I keep meaning to go to a Boards beers so I might go to the next one when it rears it's head around the west again.

Maybe pretend I'm a different user and make a holy show of meself

Me: "Hi, I'm.............eh............Bluewolf
Person: "I thought you were a woman?............"
Me: "Uh...........shít..........."

realdanbreen

anncoates wrote: »

Try not to fashion a directive based on your own creative failings.

Try to remember that not everyone needs to read a load of self indulgent meandering.Keep it brief is my philosophy.

anncoates

realdanbreen wrote: »

Keep it brief is my philosophy

Let's not get carried away.

eviltwin

Its a bit of everything really.

Its a place to just pass the time, have a laugh.

Some days its a lifeline, it gets me though a bad day or a tough time, some posters here are just the best tonic you could get for a bad day. I've had so much advice and help on here from everything to dealing with my kids to where to find a good mechanic.

Its been educational, I've learnt a lot from people and their stories, made some new friends, been frustrated at people's opinions, encouraged by other people's opinions.

Its inspired me to try new things, read new books, go to new venues.

Its a great place, don't ever change Boards.

PizzamanIRL

the evasion_kid wrote: »

These days I just laugh at most of it.

How to start an argument on boards :

1. Post a comment

2. Wait

You're an eejit. That comment shows what an insufferable human being you can be.

Menas

eviltwin wrote: »

Its a bit of everything really.

Its a place to just pass the time, have a laugh.

Some days its a lifeline, it gets me though a bad day or a tough time, some posters here are just the best tonic you could get for a bad day. I've had so much advice and help on here from everything to dealing with my kids to where to find a good mechanic.

Its been educational, I've learnt a lot from people and their stories, made some new friends, been frustrated at people's opinions, encouraged by other people's opinions.

Its inspired me to try new things, read new books, go to new venues.

Its a great place, don't ever change Boards.

I would agree with all you say except the bolded bit.

We need more flashing lights in here.
And some background music.
And a sobriety test before being allowed to post on a saturday night.

the evasion_kid

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

You're an eejit. That comment shows what an insufferable human being you can be.

Ding ding ding we have a winner!

Mesrine65

A momentary respite from the tedium of work.

realdanbreen

anncoates wrote: »

Let's not get carried away.

Let's not feel we have to respond to every post.

Aongus Von Bismarck

One eyed Jack wrote: »

Beam in your own eye there much Aongus?

Ah I love you anyway, AH would certainly feel the loss of your observations channelling Patrick Kavanagh in full flight

Excuse me, but what does that mean? I'll admit to descending down to the level of those trying to take swipes at me from time-to-time. That was in my early days. There are a handful of posters who follow Aongus around this site trying to get a rise out of me. I now ignore them, but can only surmise that their need to do so is as a result of jealousy and begrudgry.

I have a belief system that involves working hard, continuous learning, good grooming and dress sense, plenty of exercise, a positive manner, a balanced diet and a selection of interesting and fulfilling hobbies. This seems to drive some people batty. Maybe I should grow a neckbeard, smoke weed and play computer games all weekend. 'Get down' with the lads.

dd972

Limitless opportunities to discuss Gays and Travellers...:P

endacl

'Tis a great place to get free medical and legal advice!

Mesrine65

Aongus Von Bismark?

anncoates

realdanbreen wrote: »

Let's not feel we have to respond to every post.

Let's n...


Damn.

Summer wind

I love boards and usually dip into about six different forums. After hours is the best though:)

jimgoose

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Excuse me, but what does that mean?...

It means you're like a peculiar hybrid of Paddy Kavanagh and a Teutonic Gordon Gecko. G'wan de AvB bah!!

0byme75341jo28

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Excuse me, but what does that mean? I'll admit to descending down to the level of those trying to take swipes at me from time-to-time. That was in my early days. There are a handful of posters who follow Aongus around this site trying to get a rise out of me. I now ignore them, but can only surmise that their need to do so is as a result of jealousy and begrudgry.

I have a belief system that involves working hard, continuous learning, good grooming and dress sense, plenty of exercise, a positive manner, a balanced diet and a selection of interesting and fulfilling hobbies. This seems to drive some people batty. Maybe I should grow a neckbeard, smoke weed and play computer games all weekend. 'Get down' with the lads.

Oh the ironing..

Donkey Oaty

jimgoose wrote: »

It means you're like a peculiar hybrid of Paddy Kavanagh and a Teutonic Gordon Gecko. G'wan de AvB bah!!

Paddy Kavanagh/Teutonic Gordon Gecko?

On Raglanstrasse
On an autumn day
I met her first and knew

I'm highly intelligent
Very well-groomed
And earn considerably more than you.

hollster2

No matter how right you think you are your not someone will always argue lol