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

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It's usually taken as a sign of defeat when a poster starts to turn on another poster rather than the subject in hand. The point I'm making is that if someone is easily offended and takes the arguments personally, then they shouldn't be taking part.

I know, that's what I'm saying. People resort to harping on about snowflakes and SJWs when their opinion is challenged or characterised in a way they don't like.

The other day I was described as wearing my white guilt like a burqa for saying I hold it true that Western military interventions in the Middle East were a leading cause of the current wave of immigration and terrorism, and honestly just the originality of the turn of phrase was deeply refreshing

falinn merking

Keira Thankful Target wrote: »

The other day I was described as wearing my white guilt like a burqa for saying I hold it true that Western military interventions in the Middle East were a leading cause of the current wave of immigration and terrorism, and honestly just the originality of the turn of phrase was deeply refreshing

Did you need the number of a good counselor?

The other day just try and put it behind you.:eek:

_Dara_

keith_sixteen wrote: »

Reads to me like you want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

I get the point that there is limited real estate with stickies and what not.

The real issue is the fundamental lack of functionality on boards. The only development of the site seems to be cosmetic and deeply unpopular from what I can tell.

Why not add a "hide this thread" function? That way, more people see and participate in the content they want.

Killing or moving the chat threads is a lazy solution to something which really shouldn't be an issue.

I agree that functionality and site layout is a huge factor. But that doesn’t mean that there can’t be contributory factors. It’s not either or. I think the proliferation of chat threads is not helping. I don’t have a peer-reviewed study to present on the matter, it’s just based my own observations and experiences.

I think a ‘hide the thread’ function is a good idea. Techy improvements seem slow to happen but hopefully they might consider this.

McMurphy

Vronsky wrote: »

Example two: Politics Cafe. This was a lively forum and I used to frequently contribute to it. Rules changed and you had to ask for permission to post. Now forgive me, but I'm not asking anyone on the internet for permission to post so I don't post there. I'm not alone in thinking this either - so it's gone from a busy forum to a zombie one overnight.

On the cafe, I once upon a time used to post in it quite frequently, but will be damned if I'll ever resort to having to "request permission" to do so again.

However.

Looking in at it from time to time, and it's clearly a dead forum except for this particular thread.

Which (in my eyes) is little more than a bullying/trollfest of a clearly sick man who believes he's a politician, and on top of that - is banned from posting on the site in order to defend himself or refute anything.

Think about it.

Bunny Colvin

Moderation is definitely a problem. A quick look at this thread will tell you that.

On my old account, I remember posting a thread in AH. It was put up for a bit of a laugh with nothing derogatory in it. I was hardly a problem poster or a troll either, I think I got a couple of yellow cards in three years with a few thousand posts. Anyways, after I posted the thread I got a message from a fairly infamous Mod (who still posts) which basically insulted me. I'm sure they got off sending that message and deleting the thread. I was tempted to message the Mod back but didn't bother. I certainly posted less after that because I just couldn't have been bothered.

Who would be a mod anyway? You're doing the work for someone else anonymously, literally wasting time correcting people on the internet. I think some like a little power, even though nobody really cares at the end of the day. There are some very decent mods on here though, Bounty Hunter, Hammer Archer and Wibbs to name a few and some obviously do it for the community aspect.

But I think going forward for Boards, strict moderation is not something people will tolerate. On Reddit, they're basically not existent.

Vela

I don't understand what the actual issue is here, and I've read almost this entire thread now.

From my point of view, the chat threads provide a sense of community that's been lost for a while on boards (yes, I'm a rereg from way back) and I really like them. You get to know posters a bit more by engaging in these threads and it's a nice place to hang out for some light-hearted chat. I wouldn't compare it to Facebook or the likes at all.

I don't think they're cliquey either, TBH. I'd hedge a bet that anyone who thinks they are, hasn't contributed to those threads very much/often.

I also don't understand why it bothers the people who don't use them. Why not just ignore them and contribute to the threads you do enjoy, or create new ones? Enough people contribute and enjoy the chat threads to keep them on the front page of AH most of the time, so it makes zero sense to get rid of them.

Bunny Colvin

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

Moderation is definitely a problem. A quick look at this thread will tell you that.

.

I don't see it. I must be blind. Do please point it out to me.:)

falinn merking

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't see it. I must be blind. Do please point it out to me.:)

Usernames are apt on many levels.:D

Army_of_One

Rick Shaw wrote: »

Which (in my eyes) is little more than a bullying/trollfest of a clearly sick man who believes he's a politician, and on top of that - is banned from posting on the site in order to defend himself or refute anything.

Biggins was banned for threatening legal action against boards.ie.

He sees himself as a politician and has his own political party so is fair game afaic.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

El Caballo wrote: »

When everything is political, nothing is objective

People are so quick to throw out political labels these days that they'd almost judge you by which urinal you piss in.

America's been leaking all over the internet for years now unfortunately. Both the never-back-down, adversarial identity political style of debate and a lot of the terminology.

This is a reasonably moderate country politcally speaking, with a very fringe far left and a nearly non existent far right. Why the Christ we're at the point of calling each other snowflakes and Nazis is an interesting but sad question.

McMurphy

Army_of_One wrote: »

Biggins was banned for threatening legal action against boards.ie.

He sees himself as a politician and has his own political party so is fair game afaic.

As I said, it's entirely my own opinion, but that opinion is that he's clearly an unwell individual with grand delusions, he may be fair game afayc (and that's entirely your prerogative btw) but my point remains that the cafe is now seemingly a zombie wasteland - save for the one thread that's ripping the piss from a deluded individual who's unable to defend themselves.

Rick Shaw

Rick Shaw wrote: »

As I said, it's entirely my own opinion, but that opinion is that he's clearly an unwell individual

Hi Pádraig

Wanna tell me something?

dxhound2005

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

Moderation is definitely a problem. A quick look at this thread will tell you that.

On my old account, I remember posting a thread in AH. It was put up for a bit of a laugh with nothing derogatory in it. I was hardly a problem poster or a troll either, I think I got a couple of yellow cards in three years with a few thousand posts. Anyways, after I posted the thread I got a message from a fairly infamous Mod (who still posts) which basically insulted me. I'm sure they got off sending that message and deleting the thread. I was tempted to message the Mod back but didn't bother. I certainly posted less after that because I just couldn't have been bothered.

Who would be a mod anyway? You're doing the work for someone else anonymously, literally wasting time correcting people on the internet. I think some like a little power, even though nobody really cares at the end of the day. There are some very decent mods on here though, Bounty Hunter, Hammer Archer and Wibbs to name a few and some obviously do it for the community aspect.

But I think going forward for Boards, strict moderation is not something people will tolerate. On Reddit, they're basically not existent.

If there was a time in the past with no Moderators, then your story would mean something. But your experience, nor your personal opinions, does not explain why posts are down by three million.

A hundred stories from people who still remember something trivial from years ago is not the reason either. And this thread concentrates too much on what happens on AH, with not much reference to the hundreds? of other forums.

The reason for the decline is quite clear to me, new technology and young people having different interests.

McMurphy

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi Paig

Wanna tell me something?

Yeah.

The easiest way to sharpen a pair of scissors is to cut through sandpaper with them.

the_pen_turner

I see it s two issues
one
new members arnt joining, staying, or contributing

2
members arnt staying or being pushed away in some cases.

its hard to control no 1 . that's down to loads of stuff like facebook, reddit, etc

we can control no 2 . we each as members and the mods have to generate content and to make the place worth joining.

_Dara_

dxhound2005 wrote: »

If there was a time in the past with no Moderators, then your story would mean something. But your experience, nor your personal opinions, does not explain why posts are down by three million.

A hundred stories from people who still remember something trivial from years ago is not the reason either. And this thread concentrates too much on what happens on AH, with not much reference to the hundreds? of other forums.

The reason for the decline is quite clear to me, new technology and young people having different interests.

Plus, I don’t really use Reddit so can’t comment on that but I’ve (briefly) used other moderator-less messageboards and they were unusable, so filled with trolls were they.

_Dara_

Vela wrote: »

I don't understand what the actual issue is here, and I've read almost this entire thread now.

From my point of view, the chat threads provide a sense of community that's been lost for a while on boards (yes, I'm a rereg from way back) and I really like them. You get to know posters a bit more by engaging in these threads and it's a nice place to hang out for some light-hearted chat. I wouldn't compare it to Facebook or the likes at all.

I don't think they're cliquey either, TBH. I'd hedge a bet that anyone who thinks they are, hasn't contributed to those threads very much/often.

I also don't understand why it bothers the people who don't use them. Why not just ignore them and contribute to the threads you do enjoy, or create new ones? Enough people contribute and enjoy the chat threads to keep them on the front page of AH most of the time, so it makes zero sense to get rid of them.

The reasons why they bother some of us have been outlined numerous times in this thread. You’ve read the whole thread so I don’t know where your confusion is?

BowSideChamp

The decline in posts follows the rise in smartphone use. People have moved away from using their laptops/desktops and in turn stopped posting on boards.ie becuase it sucks on mobile.

One thing that bugs me is navigating between related forums. Like there is no direct link from a subforum to the main forum eg from train and rail systems back to commuting and transport. You have to go through the annoying mess that is the top navigation menu.

Vela

_Dara_ wrote: »

The reasons why they bother some of us have been outlined numerous times in this thread. You’ve read the whole thread so I don’t know where your confusion is?

I've read the reasoning, and I don't understand it.

GreeBo

BowSideChamp wrote: »

The decline in posts follows the rise in smartphone use. People have moved away from using their laptops/desktops and in turn stopped posting on boards.ie becuase it sucks on mobile.

One thing that bugs me is navigating between related forums. Like there is no direct link from a subforum to the main forum eg from train and rail systems back to commuting and transport. You have to go through the annoying mess that is the top navigation menu.

Save yourself the hassle and use desktop mode.
Lack of breadcrumbs is a ridiculous oversight, it's not 1992 anymore.

_Dara_

Vela wrote: »

I've read the reasoning, and I don't understand it.

What parts do you not understand? The points put forth haven't been nonsensical. There's logic behind them. We're not licking our views from the stones.

Bunny Colvin

dxhound2005 wrote: »

If there was a time in the past with no Moderators, then your story would mean something. But your experience, nor your personal opinions, does not explain why posts are down by three million.

A hundred stories from people who still remember something trivial from years ago is not the reason either. And this thread concentrates too much on what happens on AH, with not much reference to the hundreds? of other forums.

The reason for the decline is quite clear to me, new technology and young people having different interests.

You're dead right. It might not even be in the top ten reasons why there's a decline but I felt like highlighting it and I just kind of went for it. I've no regrets, had my fun etc.

Tom Mann Centuria

Bunny Colvin wrote: »

You're dead right. It might not even be in the top ten reasons why there's a decline but I felt like highlighting it and I just kind of went for it. I've no regrets, had my fun etc.

And we salute you.

Vela

_Dara_ wrote: »

What parts do you not understand? The points put forth haven't been nonsensical. There's logic behind them. We're not licking our views from the stones.

I personally don't understand your opinion or where you're coming from.

Sephiroth_dude

The threads in question are no where to be seen on the front page now, no precious forum space being clogged up, Happy now?

_Dara_

Vela wrote: »

I personally don't understand your opinion or where you're coming from.

Well, fair enough. But that doesn't mean I don't have a point. It just means you don't agree.

A word on cliques: I've observed throughout my life that very often members of cliques are totally oblivious to their existence because they don't have that arms-length detachment from them.

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

The threads in question are no where to be seen on the front page now, no precious forum space being clogged up, Happy now?

Grow up, I have no interest in gloating. Jaaaaysus.

Arghus

_Dara_ wrote: »

What parts do you not understand? The points put forth haven't been nonsensical. There's logic behind them. We're not licking our views from the stones.

The point is that even after taking your arguments on board and understanding why you hold them - it still comes back to that basic question for a lot of us: why don't you just ignore them?

I appreciate that you are making your case in good faith and you've put forward reasoned arguments to outline your position, but I can't magically agree with you if I don't think you are right. And a lot of why I - and seemingly quite a few others - can't agree with you is because of that same oft repeated question, Why Don't You Just etc,etc... - which just feels so blindingly obvious that it ends the debate before it even begins.

KERSPLAT!

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

The threads in question are no where to be seen on the front page now, no precious forum space being clogged up, Happy now?

Don't be so silly. Surely the posters on both sides can see the points of view of others even if they don't agree. Most here want what's best for the place.

GreeBo

Arghus wrote: »

The point is that even after taking your arguments on board and understanding why you hold them - it still comes back to that basic question for a lot of us: why don't you just ignore them?

I appreciate that you are making your case in good faith and you've put forward reasoned arguments to outline your position, but I can't magically agree with you if I don't think you are right. And a lot of why I - and seemingly quite a few others - can't agree with you is because of that same oft repeated question, Why Don't You Just etc,etc... - which just feels so blindingly obvious that it ends the debate before it even begins.

We can't ignore them off the first page.
The visitor drop off rate for page two of any site has been a well known phenomenon since websites began, I'm sure this isn't news to anyone?

Arghus

GreeBo wrote: »

We can't ignore them off the first page.

Well, you could.