Off Topic Thread 4.0

irishbucsfan

bilston wrote: »

I've been close to closing my Facebook a few times because of people spouting political crap. Being a middle of the road liberal sort of person I find that propaganda from the left and right annoy in equal measure which doesn't give me many places to hide!!

Then again I still find Facebook useful for lots of things so I just put up with it. I suppose unfriending people is an option but then doing that because I don't agree with their politics would be a bad route to go.

I just mute everyone except my close family because its the only social media I share with them. Particularly the elderly nordies.

errlloyd

bilston wrote: »

I've been close to closing my Facebook a few times because of people spouting political crap. Being a middle of the road liberal sort of person I find that propaganda from the left and right annoy in equal measure which doesn't give me many places to hide!!

I often hover some of the more extreme and think about blocking them, but you sort of need to see the bat**** perspectives sometimes. And it's helpful that they're real people not just posters behind nicknames.

Synode

I deleted my Facebook about 4 months ago. Thought I'd really miss it, especially the local community groups but I don't at all. It really became just an advertising platform in the last few years

swiwi_

My wife has no FB and got rid of WhatsApp.

I only keep FB for a few contacts scattered round the globe, otherwise I pretty much avoid.

My views on Twitter are known.

dregin

Mastodon for all!

Oh man, this must be the cheapest thing Bruce Willis will have starred in to date. It looks like a PR movie paid for by China. Adrian Brody looks like he is dying inside the entire trailer, and Bruce Willis actually seems to slur his words at the end..

The only thing, it certainly looks like it could fall into the bracket of so bad it's good and we'll all be meme'ing it to death next season.

dregin

Deleted User wrote: »

Oh man, this must be the cheapest thing Bruce Willis will have starred in to date. It looks like a PR movie paid for by China. Adrian Brody looks like he is dying inside the entire trailer, and Bruce Willis actually seems to slur his words at the end..

The only thing, it certainly looks like it could fall into the bracket of so bad it's good and we'll all be meme'ing it to death next season.

Some of that looks like they've actually used game footage from Battlefield 1942!

mfceiling

swiwi_ wrote: »

My views on Twitter are known.

Do you not like Twitter?

I don't find it too bad but then I could skip a day or 2 and then remember I haven't looked at it.
I don't follow much on it bar a few comedians, a few beer nerds and a couple of rugby pages.
Life's too short to argue with opposing political opinions.

Dave_The_Sheep

Deleted User wrote: »

It looks like a PR movie paid for by China.

"The one final battle ... that changed the second great war".

Sure thing lads, sure thing. China all powerful, all decisive.

dregin wrote: »

Some of that looks like they've actually used game footage from Battlefield 1942!

https://media.giphy.com/media/8c0NwcHbTrfUBKh8q8/giphy.gif if the gif won't embed.

Podge_irl

swiwi_ wrote: »

My wife has no FB and got rid of WhatsApp.

I only keep FB for a few contacts scattered round the globe, otherwise I pretty much avoid.

My views on Twitter are known.

I don't really get WhatsApp being classified as social media. Is it not just a messaging service? Why get rid of it?

errlloyd

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't really get WhatsApp being classified as social media. Is it not just a messaging service? Why get rid of it?

Groups can be kinda toxic. And sometimes it's easier to say you don't have WhatsApp than say you don't want to be in a group.

(lads groups automatically adding pictures to my camera roll are the worst)

Podge_irl

errlloyd wrote: »

Groups can be kinda toxic. And sometimes it's easier to say you don't have WhatsApp than say you don't want to be in a group.

(lads groups automatically adding pictures to my camera roll are the worst)

You know you can just not have whatsapp photos added to your photo roll?

If you don't wanna be in a group you should probably just leave it or say you don't wanna be in it. Deleting the app to avoid it seems a bit bloody weird to me.

swiwi_

mfceiling wrote: »

Do you not like Twitter?

I don't mind twitter as such. What I don't like is celebrities using twitter to increase their following by publicly sending messages of pseudo-sympathy etc. If you genuinely care, send a card in the post.

swiwi_

Podge_irl wrote: »

I don't really get WhatsApp being classified as social media. Is it not just a messaging service? Why get rid of it?

She got tired of being added to groups and then carpet-messaged. AFAIK you can't stop someone adding you to a group and you can't discreetly quit a group.

My rugby team had to create 2 groups: one for team messages etc (which I have on permanent mute, otherwise I just get constant beeps throughout the day), and the other for those who essentially like sending smut to each other. Even if I had wanted to (which I didn't in in case you were wondering...), there was no way I was letting my work phone (which is also my personal phone) get inundated with risqué images from my teammates.

Interested Observer

errlloyd wrote: »

(lads groups automatically adding pictures to my camera roll are the worst)

You can stop that you know.

Buer

I find WhatsApp by far the easiest and quickest way of keeping in touch with friends. I have a FB account that I haven't logged into in about 5 years. I've a Twitter account that I rarely check and normally only do so as it's by far the easiest way to check on team/breaking news for rugby without visiting multiple sites.

What I find interesting is just how quickly things move on. My nephews and nieces who range from 9-23 years of age would rarely use FB now. They see it as something older people use. Twitter is not on their radar as a day to day social media site. Also, WhatsApp is used by them but not hugely. Instagram and Snapchat are far preferable for them. Lines of communication become more and more streamlined. Photos are involved in nearly every communication rather than actual text.

It's amazing how quickly things move on. MySpace became Bebo which became Facebook which is now moved towards Instagram. I'm sure the next medium is already in use but I'm just so far behind the curve, I don't have a clue about it.

Squidgy Black

Snapchat is by far the most used for communicating for kids/teenagers these days, even if it's not photos it's just the chat feature.

Most people I know only have a Facebook account still because they use Messenger and haven't realised they can use it without a FB account.

Long wave radio is gonna make a comeback. I can feel it.

Squidgy Black

Deleted User wrote: »

Long wave radio is gonna make a comeback. I can feel it.

.ak has probably already got one and is telling people listening to vinyl how that's "so 2014"

Buer

Dubinusa wrote: »

Was reading the pundits claiming Gaelic football is dying due to the Dubs. I can't recall such hysteria when Kerry were racking up titles or Kilkenny in hurling for that matter.

It's a different world now. Kerry never had the same level of scrutiny or exposure as football now experiences. There are more club games televised live now than there were intercounty games televised in 1978. The GAA have nobody to blame but themselves for tinkering with the tournament and people have hit saturation point from seeing the same teams over and over again. There's no hope for a football follower from a smaller county which wasn't the case historically.

The change in the make up of the tournament has shifted things dramatically. With the introduction of the back door system, the championship has all but eliminated the chances of smaller counties having a big day out. It's near impossible for them now.

If you look at the 90s (the final decade before the back door system) we had the following counties in All Ireland semi-finals or even a final in a couple of cases: Roscommon, Clare, Leitrim, Derry, Offaly, Cavan, Kildare.

These counties were capable of some big performances on any given day and progressing. The current system gives Kerry, Mayo, Tyrone, Dublin etc. a second bite at the cherry and they'll rarely be beaten twice. The format has removed the magic and uncertainty of the title.

Since (and including) 2011, Dublin, Donegal, Mayo, Kerry and Tyrone have made up the semi finalists nearly entirely with a single semi final appearance from Cork, Tipp, Galway and Monaghan breaking the domination in those 8 seasons and 32 semi final slots. And Cork and Galway are hardly smaller counties.

Is the football championship dull? Yup, it sure is. But it's not due to any team. It has made the tournament harder to win if anything (Kerry achieved 4 titles in a row by winning only 15 matches including only 3 in 1980). The knock on impact of that is ensuring that the strongest teams are by far the best placed to win the All Ireland which is how it should be but it does eliminate the magic of a cup competition.

Dubinusa

But, it is the same system for hurling? It's usually Kilkenny, Tipp and Cork with a smidgen of Clare and Galway. Limerick were a surprise this year and are rarely in the final. The smaller counties have no real chance, including Dublin. But, there's no real criticism of the hurling.

Squidgy Black

Question for the nordies, if you had to chose an area of Belfast to live in for say 6 months, that's easily commutable to near Central Station, where would you recommend?

Buer

Dubinusa wrote: »

But, it is the same system for hurling? It's usually Kilkenny, Tipp and Cork with a smidgen of Clare and Galway. Limerick were a surprise this year and are rarely in the final. The smaller counties have no real chance, including Dublin. But, there's no real criticism of the hurling.

But they never had a chance, in fairness. Two thirds of the country don't play hurling to any significant level. Two entire provinces don't even compete in the All Ireland Championship (if we consider Galway as being from Leinster) and multiple counties in Leinster don't compete either. 3 counties share nearly 100 titles between them. So people are somewhat resigned to the lack of competition as it has always been like this.

With that said, I certainly recall misgivings against Kilkenny a decade ago when they were utterly dominating. It was a procession.

The difference with hurling is those top 7 or 8 teams are genuine contenders who are all capable of beating one another as we've seen this year and that massively suited the new league format for the Leinster and Munster titles. As I posted previously, hurling is at an all time high in terms of entertainmnet but I believe it is also the lowest quality hurling generally speaking in the last 15 years. The Kilkenny team of 2003-2013 or the Tipp team of 2009-2015 would have comfortably beaten Limerick or Galway, I believe. The semi finals and final were high on drama but the standard of shooting on display would have given Brian Cody or Michael Ryan a stroke.

Dublin are now where Kilkenny were a decade ago but there is an even smaller chasing pack it appears. Their dominance will end, I've no doubt but I think something does need to be done to level the playing field in terms of the financial advantages they have.

Squidgy Black

With the hurling, it's more that Kilkenny fell down to the level of the competition. They're nowhere near as strong as previous squads, and as such it's made the competition more interesting.

If Dublin were to lose a number of players, and come down to the level of the rest it'd be a similar situation for football. You'd have Tyrone, Mayo, Kerry, Donegal (if they get their act together again), the likes of Monaghan and Galway making strides and causing upsets.

The Super 8s format in particular has meant that other teams get a fair shot at it and it's not based off one off games until the Semis. If you take Dublin out of the equation, there was plenty of competition.

irishbucsfan

Squidgy Black wrote: »

If you take Dublin out of the equation

Yes please

bilston

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Question for the nordies, if you had to chose an area of Belfast to live in for say 6 months, that's easily commutable to near Central Station, where would you recommend?

Depends what you're after.

Ballyhackamore is the place to live these days. A couple of nice pubs, lots of varied restaurants, 10-15 mins from Central Station by bus and 20 mins from the city centre. It's a fairly liberal, middle class apolitical area as well, albeit it's in East Belfast and not that far from a couple of Loyalist heartlands, but that's unavoidable in Belfast for both sides!

Bridge93

Dear me the Republics football team is in a bad place. The lack of quality players is frightening

awec

Bridge93 wrote: »

Dear me the Republics football team is in a bad place. The lack of quality players is frightening

Martin O'Neill is yesterday's man.

Mookie Blaylock

Burt Reynolds has passed away...I do like the fact he has 1.5 million children.... according to wiki

Didn't even know there was a game on.