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Boards' traveller problem

  • 15-04-2021 7:22am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,379 ✭✭✭✭


    Something has been annoying me more and more over the last few months regarding boards. It seems that across a wider and wider portion of the site, people feel free to make sweeping anti traveller stereotypes with no real repercussions. AH and Current affairs forums have them all the time, and the post would need to be pretty egregious to have some sort of warning applied.

    What's worse is that it's now across the site. I've seen comments in places like the radio forum, and today there was a thread about somebody who witnessed a car hit another car and drive away, it took maybe 5 posts for somebody to suggest it was travellers.

    Why is this tolerated? I can understand the moderators can only do so much, but I still think its not being called out for what it is, racism/bigotry. If you replaced traveller with any other community/race it would attract site bans all the time, but apparently travellers are still largely fair game here.

    This has been creeping across the site over the last few years and it's making the site less enjoyable to use. I have no idea what can be done about it, but it would be interesting to see if the mods and/or boards itself have any sort of insights here?
    Post edited by Shield on


«134

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,537 ✭✭✭✭Cookie_Monster


    It's just a reflection of reality. Traveller society has no positive aspects and people are simply sick to death of having to deal with it. Education, crime, health, employment, poverty etc statistics will all back up the unrelenting negative aspects of the 'culture'. If it was any other group it would simply not be tolerated by the state but they've somehow managed to gain an extremely privileged position that is totally undeserved.

    I for one don't think many of those stereotypes are actually incorrect. I'd find it hard to believe the majority of people don't think the same, and it's not exactly unfounded, all the statistics back them up. You cannot simply ignore the reality and pretend it's a positive, beneficial, socially responsible part of Irish society that can happily be left as is.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Theres a big difference in statements about an individual traveller based on nothing more than knowledge of their being a traveller, and statements posters feel reflects their actual long experience with "travellers" as a group with distinct group behaviours

    Admittedly its a tough line to manage but treating the latter as a forbidden expression isn't going to do any good when the majority of people will feel that its telling them they cannot say what they see or have seen themselves.

    "You cant make generalisations about travellers as a distinct group" would either have to be a total ban on generalisations or a case of very special treatment for travellers, who are after a ll a distinct group with quite observable distinct group behaviours and issues.

    I dont see you making a case for banning generalisations on a message board, so is it the latter you are looking for?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    The thread in After Hours entitled Who Lives in a House Like This is a prime example of this.

    2 Recent Examples from that thread include:

    (a) A link to a house for sale including the full address. The thread proceeded to take swipes at the home. Then someone posted the RIP link to the owner. This was reported and was swiftly actioned by Moderators (RIP link). However all comments remained. Despite being aware that there was an RIP link, a number of posters continued to mock the home and its contents.

    (b) A link to a home for sale on Daft.ie. Full House number and Address published. Numerous insinuations that this was a travellers house, including references to piebalds, caravans, boss, the childer etc. There was also an allegation that property in the house was there because either (a) someone else was missing theirs, or (b) it fell off the back of a lorry.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,733 ✭✭✭✭osarusan


    The only good thing about the traveller threads is that they seem to get closer mod/admin scrutiny than other threads and thus the obnoxious dicks who get away with obnoxious dickish posting elsewhere get modded on these threads.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,024 ✭✭✭✭Baggly


    dulpit wrote: »
    Something has been annoying me more and more over the last few months regarding boards. It seems that across a wider and wider portion of the site, people feel free to make sweeping anti traveller stereotypes with no real repercussions. AH and Current affairs forums have them all the time, and the post would need to be pretty egregious to have some sort of warning applied.

    What's worse is that it's now across the site. I've seen comments in places like the radio forum, and today there was a thread about somebody who witnessed a car hit another car and drive away, it took maybe 5 posts for somebody to suggest it was travellers.

    Why is this tolerated? I can understand the moderators can only do so much, but I still think its not being called out for what it is, racism/bigotry. If you replaced traveller with any other community/race it would attract site bans all the time, but apparently travellers are still largely fair game here.

    This has been creeping across the site over the last few years and it's making the site less enjoyable to use. I have no idea what can be done about it, but it would be interesting to see if the mods and/or boards itself have any sort of insights here?

    Can you provide us with some examples of unactioned posts that are an issue for you?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Baggly wrote: »
    Can you provide us with some examples of unactioned posts that are an issue for you?

    To be fair, between the ten hours time of the OP and the time of your question, you did a sweep through the traveler thread in CA. I think it would be fairer to just state that had been done, rather than set up the OP with a question like that, as if to make them look a fool for having brought up the observation.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 34,216 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    Overheal wrote: »
    To be fair, between the ten hours time of the OP and the time of your question, you did a sweep through the traveler thread in CA. I think it would be fairer to just state that had been done, rather than set up the OP with a question like that, as if to make them look a fool for having brought up the observation.

    You going to pay moderators to be on the site 24/7.


    Tbf.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    listermint wrote: »
    You going to pay moderators to be on the site 24/7.


    Tbf.

    Huh?

    Nothing I said relates to that. Person A says "hey there's a mess in here, B [mods, general]" - some time later, B cleans up the mess, goes back to Person A "Hey, what mess are you talking about?" That's a bit condescending, no?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 34,216 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    Overheal wrote: »
    Huh?

    Nothing I said relates to that. Person A says "hey there's a mess in here, B [mods, general]" - some time later, B cleans up the mess, goes back to Person A "Hey, what mess are you talking about?" That's a bit condescending, no?

    Text being a great communicator (not) ,The mod could have been looking for examples for further correction.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,024 ✭✭✭✭Baggly


    Overheal wrote: »
    To be fair, between the ten hours time of the OP and the time of your question, you did a sweep through the traveler thread in CA. I think it would be fairer to just state that had been done, rather than set up the OP with a question like that, as if to make them look a fool for having brought up the observation.

    I want to see if there are others that are objectionable, beyond what I saw in that one thread. The OP mentions a consistent issue not just in that thread.

    Thanks for the tip overheal, but I'm OK in having a conversation with another poster, just as I'm sure they are OK speaking for themselves.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Baggly wrote: »
    I want to see if there are others that are objectionable, beyond what I saw in that one thread. The OP mentions a consistent issue not just in that thread.

    Thanks for the tip overheal, but I'm OK in having a conversation with another poster, just as I'm sure they are OK speaking for themselves.

    The message here is clearly, don't speak truth to power, butt out in a public forum for site feedback. Have I got that right? I take exception when authority figures get defensive about valid criticism. Your second effort in this thread to shut down a user. Surely just as you are OK with having a conversation with someone else, you can manage critique about it too.

    It's not that I don't appreciate your moderation in that thread or taking those actions but the behavior here comes off as trying to trip up people for trying to call attention to it. You didn't ask, 'are there any more' you asked are there any, as if to suggest to the OP and to us observers that you are oblivious to the nature of the problem, since you haven't volunteered to say on here that you've both seen and actioned it since the thread was made. That's all, I found your question on this thread to be incongruent with your actions I observed off this thread.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,024 ✭✭✭✭Baggly


    I haven't attempted to shut any user down. I asked for examples because when trying to take feedback on board, concrete examples are useful.

    I clarified your misinterpretation of my post and advised you that I'd be much happier discussing my post directed to the OP with the OP. How exactly did I shut anyone down?

    You have extrapolated a context that isn't there tbh.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭BingCrosbee


    Admin: Not eligible to post in feedback.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Jesus. If woke Americans spent as much time speaking truth to American power there might be fewer children starving in Yemen, no slave markets in Libya, and the bombs might stop falling in the Middle East.

    With all due respect, I don't see what any of that remark has to do with the topic or with what I said at all. I did not attack Baggly's personal character or background or anything, I criticized certain speech and actions in Moderator Capacity as they played out, re: optics, and how I felt the way it played out was not on brand. It hardly seems proportional to make such digs at me in his defense - or more basely to simply take what you probably see as advantageous swipes at me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 86,729 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Baggly wrote: »
    I haven't attempted to shut any user down. I asked for examples because when trying to take feedback on board, concrete examples are useful.

    I clarified your misinterpretation of my post and advised you that I'd be much happier discussing my post directed to the OP with the OP. How exactly did I shut anyone down?

    You have extrapolated a context that isn't there tbh.

    I certainly don't wish to think you would attempt to do so deliberately and I'm not trying to accuse you of that - but I will acknowledge I am being very cynical.

    I am only calling out what I argued, earlier already, came off as condescending armed with the knowledge you had in the between time of OP and response, actioned a lot of that crap (And thank you). And I absolutely understand your clarification, I hope you understood mine.

    I don't think it was an extrapolation on my part though, I think it is, mundanely, a different perspective to yours. Because the way I saw the answer to your question getting ready to play out is, 'hey, I can't actually find any recent examples that aren't action, weird' which, in the context of the thread, would have belittled IMO the effort of the OP to raise the Feedback issue, rather than thanking them for making that effort, in the way I have already Person A-B analogized. I just think it would have been more efficient and on brand to say 'Got it, we just took care of a bunch, did we miss anything else?' I think we've cleared the air now though I hope Baggly. You're a volunteer yes, this isn't a write-up or professional reprimand or anything it's just - feedback.


  • Posts: 13,712 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    dulpit wrote: »

    What's worse is that it's now across the site. I've seen comments in places like the radio forum, and today there was a thread about somebody who witnessed a car hit another car and drive away, it took maybe 5 posts for somebody to suggest it was travellers.

    For the record, I completely agree with you. I haven't seen any reported post like this in the Radio Forum, but if you report that particular post, it will be actioned, based on that description.

    Reporting posts doesn't just bring something to mods' attentio, it also sends out a message that what you're seeing is not acceptable. I can't speak for anyone else, obviously, but sometimes when a post is borderline you think "Well maybe I am the one being too sensitive".

    Often in such cases I'll check for a report, and if there is none, sometimes nothing will be done. So please do report.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    I did report the posts in the house photos thread about insinuating that the home was a travellers and that the contents fell off the back if a truck, but it's still there.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,379 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    And now I see there's a thread about "hate crime nonsense" in current affairs.

    The reason I raised this wasn't so much about the moderations, the mods will do what they can when it's raised.

    But there is a general tolerance by a cohort of boards users (could be a majority, I don't know) to any traveller bashing, it's just accepted. It's an awful shame really, but I don't know what can be done.

    It would be good if more proactive work could be done, but I don't know what that could possibly look like.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    dulpit wrote: »
    And now I see there's a thread about "hate crime nonsense" in current affairs.

    The reason I raised this wasn't so much about the moderations, the mods will do what they can when it's raised.

    But there is a general tolerance by a cohort of boards users (could be a majority, I don't know) to any traveller bashing, it's just accepted. It's an awful shame really, but I don't know what can be done.

    It would be good if more proactive work could be done, but I don't know what that could possibly look like.

    The only way i can see any proactive actions working is preapproval of any posts. And that's ridiculous request


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 78,393 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    dulpit wrote: »
    Why is this tolerated? I can understand the moderators can only do so much, but I still think its not being called out for what it is, racism/bigotry. If you replaced traveller with any other community/race it would attract site bans all the time, but apparently travellers are still largely fair game here.
    dulpit wrote: »

    It would be good if more proactive work could be done, but I don't know what that could possibly look like.
    We simply cannot review every post - we have thousands every day in the 2 main forums I have responsibility for

    Why don't you be more proactive an report stuff? Whenever I see a thread like this I trawl back through reports for examples of the issue being raised, but I cannot see any from you over the past 16 months relating to threads in which travellers have been discussed


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    dulpit wrote: »

    But there is a general tolerance by a cohort of boards users (could be a majority, I don't know) to any traveller bashing, it's just accepted. It's an awful shame really, but I don't know what can be done.
    .

    It was raised under another feedback thread that there needs to be more transparency as to what is/what is not acceptable as the current charter may be a bit loose.

    There will be some people (the cohort you reference) who dont want this transparency, because it will curtail their behaviour.

    But it would be great if it could be considered.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    Beasty wrote: »
    We simply cannot review every post - we have thousands every day in the 2 main forums I have responsibility for

    Why don't you be more proactive an report stuff? Whenever I see a thread like this I trawl back through reports for examples of the issue being raised, but I cannot see any from you over the past 16 months relating to threads in which travellers have been discussed

    Is there a way to view a copy of your own reported posts?

    I reported a number of them on the who lives here thread and havent seen any updates on them?

    I suppose though when you see it like that- that there are often thousands to action daily, that the enormity of the task facing Mods is brought home and why other posts near or beside a bad post is not automatically picked up.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 78,393 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    anewme wrote: »
    Is there a way to view a copy of your own reported posts?

    I reported a number of them on the who lives here thread and havent seen any updates on them?

    I suppose though when you see it like that- that there are often thousands to action daily, that the enormity of the task facing Mods is brought home and why other posts near or beside a bad post is not automatically picked up.
    Reports go to a dedicated forum which only Mods/CMods/Admins can access

    There are not "thousands" of reports. I mentioned thousands of posts per day which means we simply cannot find time to review posts - we rely very heavily on reports


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 78,393 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    Just to add though - I spent pretty much all the time between my two posts above reviewing reports. There remain a lot more to go through that have not already been reviewed across CA and Coronavirus forums


  • Posts: 13,712 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Beasty wrote: »
    We simply cannot review every post - we have thousands every day in the 2 main forums I have responsibility for

    Why don't you be more proactive an report stuff? Whenever I see a thread like this I trawl back through reports for examples of the issue being raised, but I cannot see any from you over the past 16 months relating to threads in which travellers have been discussed
    in fairness, where would you even begin?

    It's so normalised that if you reported one post, why not report a dozen of them?
    And that creates a problem for mods, too – how can you action one post without actioning the majority who (seemingly) openly share an anti-traveller prejudice?

    You'd have to be blind to honestly claim you've never seen anti traveller bigotry go unchallenged here. Nobody believes that.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,749 ✭✭✭corks finest


    dulpit wrote: »
    Something has been annoying me more and more over the last few months regarding boards. It seems that across a wider and wider portion of the site, people feel free to make sweeping anti traveller stereotypes with no real repercussions. AH and Current affairs forums have them all the time, and the post would need to be pretty egregious to have some sort of warning applied.

    What's worse is that it's now across the site. I've seen comments in places like the radio forum, and today there was a thread about somebody who witnessed a car hit another car and drive away, it took maybe 5 posts for somebody to suggest it was travellers.

    Why is this tolerated? I can understand the moderators can only do so much, but I still think its not being called out for what it is, racism/bigotry. If you replaced traveller with any other community/race it would attract site bans all the time, but apparently travellers are still largely fair game here.

    This has been creeping across the site over the last few years and it's making the site less enjoyable to use. I have no idea what can be done about it, but it would be interesting to see if the mods and/or boards itself have any sort of insights here?

    Google westmeath yesterday, feud, same going on all over the country at different times


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    anewme wrote: »
    Is there a way to view a copy of your own reported posts?

    I reported a number of them on the who lives here thread and havent seen any updates on them?

    I suppose though when you see it like that- that there are often thousands to action daily, that the enormity of the task facing Mods is brought home and why other posts near or beside a bad post is not automatically picked up.


    I’ll make the same point I made in the previous thread you referred to. People asking mods to justify their actions (or inactions where a report was deemed to be spurious) is quite simply a ridiculous demand on mods. Oversight is provided by CMods and admins. The mods are volunteers. There is quite simply no justification to make demands on their unpaid time to satisfy the general users.

    Oversight is there to make sure mods are behaving in a proper fashion in relation to their forums. The mods of PI/RI have to take a much less lenient view of posts than the mods in AH/CA. I’m using those 4 forums as examples.


  • Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 18,664 Mod ✭✭✭✭Leg End Reject


    I’ll make the same point I made in the previous thread you referred to. People asking mods to justify their actions (or inactions where a report was deemed to be spurious) is quite simply a ridiculous demand on mods. Oversight is provided by CMods and admins. The mods are volunteers. There is quite simply no justification to make demands on their unpaid time to satisfy the general users.

    Oversight is there to make sure mods are behaving in a proper fashion in relation to their forums. The mods of PI/RI have to take a much less lenient view of posts than the mods in AH/CA. I’m using those 4 forums as examples.

    Just to add, a mod did delete some posts in that thread so the report was obviously seen.

    When the concern was raised on the thread I PMed a mod too to check what we had posted, but another mod get there first, obviously a result of the reported post, so I'm unsure where the confusion is.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    I’ll make the same point I made in the previous thread you referred to. People asking mods to justify their actions (or inactions where a report was deemed to be spurious) is quite simply a ridiculous demand on mods. Oversight is provided by CMods and admins. The mods are volunteers. There is quite simply no justification to make demands on their unpaid time to satisfy the general users.

    Oversight is there to make sure mods are behaving in a proper fashion in relation to their forums. The mods of PI/RI have to take a much less lenient view of posts than the mods in AH/CA. I’m using those 4 forums as examples.

    You keep using the unpaid volunteers line. The responsibility for this site does not rest with its unpaid volunteers. No one is asking unpaid Volunteers to justify their actions, they are asking for the beneficial owners to take responsibility.

    Not a disrespect to volunteers, but Boards.ie is a Commercial entity and with that comes responsibility for Boards Management and owners.

    I'll use your own feedback as an example here.

    I believe by sharing photos of someones home and insinuating that they are thieves or dishonest because their home looks like a "traveller chic" home is racism and discrimination at its most basic, yet you deem it ok as its followed by a passive agressive smiley face.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    Just to add, a mod did delete some posts in that thread so the report was obviously seen.

    When the concern was raised on the thread I PMed a mod too to check what we had posted, but another mod get there first, obviously a result of the reported post, so I'm unsure where the confusion is.

    In the interests of transparency: there is no confusion.

    Bad faith threads though.

    I clearly said on my post here that the posts I reported under GDPR were deleted but the bad taste posts remain.

    Laughing at dead peoples homes is at best dickish behaviour, no? Certainly up there in my view (another reason why definitions are needed)

    The report I'm referring to refers to a different home, posting the address and insinuating that it was a travellers home and the contents were obtained by dishonest means.

    The posts claiming that the contents of that home were obtained off the back of a truck or because someone else is missing their contents remain on the thread.

    The residents of that home have done nothing more than offer their home for sale. They dont deserve to be ridiculed and labelled thieves because they dont share the same interior design tastes as you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,324 ✭✭✭JustAThought


    anewme wrote: »
    There is no confusion.

    I clearly said on my post here that the posts I reported under GDPR were deleted.

    Laughing at dead peoples homes is at best dickish behaviour, no? Certainly up there in my view (another reason why definitions are needed)

    The report I'm referring to refers to a different home, posting the address and insinuating that it was a travellers home and the contents were obtained by dishonest means.

    The posts claiming that the contents of that home were obtained off the back of a truck or because someone else is missing their contents remain on the thread.

    The residents of that home have done nothing more than offer their home for sale. They dont deserve to be ridiculed and labelled thieves because they dont share the same interior design tastes as you.

    Thats probably not the reason they’re being labelled tbh.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    Thats probably not the reason they’re being labelled tbh.

    Posting photos of a random persons home without any other information and assuming the owners are thieves because they are travellers (due to their furnishings) is obvious racism at its most basic.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 210 ✭✭Doublebusy


    Seen it myself in the threads i post
    Not a great job by the mods imo
    "yes im aware I can report posts if i want"
    Its embarrassing some of the stuff that's posted
    Negative comments towards other races are dealt with more harsh - should be equal


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,991 ✭✭✭PeadarCo


    anewme wrote: »
    You keep using the unpaid volunteers line. The responsibility for this site does not rest with its unpaid volunteers. No one is asking unpaid Volunteers to justify their actions, they are asking for the beneficial owners to take responsibility.

    Not a disrespect to volunteers, but Boards.ie is a Commercial entity and with that comes responsibility for Boards Management and owners.

    I'll use your own feedback as an example here.

    I believe by sharing photos of someones home and insinuating that they are thieves or dishonest because their home looks like a "traveller chic" home is racism and discrimination at its most basic, yet you deem it ok as its followed by a passive agressive smiley face.

    You do understand that without the unpaid volunteers this site would be very unlikely to exist. Boards is reasonably well moderated, and very well moderated when compared to most Internet discussion sites of its scope ie Twitter and Facebook.

    Boards maybe a commercial entity but it's not an exactly profitable entity(its not Facebook or Google) given how few full time staff actually run/maintain it. So it does come back to unpaid volunteers as on a day to day basis as they moderate the site. On some of the more contraversial forums I imagine it's an absolutely thankless job. Any changes you want have to be workable from their point of view as Boards will probably never be in a postion(never profitable enough) to be able to employee full time mods.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    anewme wrote: »
    Posting photos of a random persons home without any other information and assuming the owners are thieves because they are travellers (due to their furnishings) is obvious racism at its most basic.

    You’re being a little bit disingenuous here. It’s not as if people’s houses have been broken into and photos taken for laughs. The photos are quotes from property for sale websites, such as daft and myhome. I’ve never sold a house so I don’t know if the vendor gets to approve the photos the agent puts up but I’d assume that if the vendor had an issue the pictures would be removed.


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  • Posts: 6,192 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    You’re being a little bit disingenuous here. It’s not as if people’s houses have been broken into and photos taken for laughs. The photos are quotes from property for sale websites, such as daft and myhome. I’ve never sold a house so I don’t know if the vendor gets to approve the photos the agent puts up but I’d assume that if the vendor had an issue the pictures would be removed.

    Noone has an issue with the pics being shown?

    Just that people openly insinuating they are from a travellers house and therefore stuff in the pics must be stolen.



    Like lads can say it all they want ,but factually speaking,if people were to broadbrush any other ethnicity/grouping with sterotypes/slurs for lols the posts would be actioned againest.......it seems obvious to me anyway,that this group
    is treated different,either let such posting againest all groups(or none)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    Noone has an issue with the pics being shown?

    Just that people openly insinuating they are from a travellers house and therefore stuff in the pics must be stolen.



    Like lads can say it all they want ,but factually speaking,if people were to broadbrush any other ethnicity/grouping with sterotypes/slurs for lols the posts would be actioned againest.......it seems obvious to me anyway,that this group
    is treated different,either let such posting againest all groups(or none)

    Then report the posts. Let the mods do what they do. Just don’t demand that the mods justify the call that they make to satisfy your curiosity


  • Posts: 6,192 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Then report the posts. Let the mods do what they do. Just don’t demand that the mods justify the call that they make to satisfy your curiosity

    Mate,its no skin off my nose.....just seems obvious to me,people say stuff about travellers that they wouldnt dream about saying on any other grouping



    To my eyes the lesson to infer from this,is obvious


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    PeadarCo wrote: »
    You do understand that without the unpaid volunteers this site would be very unlikely to exist. Boards is reasonably well moderated, and very well moderated when compared to most Internet discussion sites of its scope ie Twitter and Facebook.

    Boards maybe a commercial entity but it's not an exactly profitable entity(its not Facebook or Google) given how few full time staff actually run/maintain it. So it does come back to unpaid volunteers as on a day to day basis as they moderate the site. On some of the more contraversial forums I imagine it's an absolutely thankless job. Any changes you want have to be workable from their point of view as Boards will probably never be in a postion(never profitable enough) to be able to employee full time mods.

    I'm not saying the Mods do a bad job at all and Im sure it is a thankless job. Mod said above thousands of posts a day, cant be expected to read every post.

    I'm saying that unpaid volunteers should not be used an excuse for tolerating racism/sexism etc.

    Boards business model and the qualitative standards is one for the owners.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    anewme wrote: »
    I'm not saying the Mods do a bad job at all and Im sure it is a thankless job. Mod said above thousands of posts a day, cant be expected to read every post.

    I'm saying that unpaid volunteers should not be used an excuse for tolerating racism/sexism etc.

    Boards business model and the qualitative standards is one for the owners.

    They DON’T tolerate it. When it’s reported it’s dealt with.
    But you have asked for a report on how YOUR reported posts are handled. That’s an even bigger timesink than Reggie Mc ReRegerson, re-regger at large.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    You’re being a little bit disingenuous here. It’s not as if people’s houses have been broken into and photos taken for laughs. The photos are quotes from property for sale websites, such as daft and myhome. I’ve never sold a house so I don’t know if the vendor gets to approve the photos the agent puts up but I’d assume that if the vendor had an issue the pictures would be removed.

    I'm not being disingenuous at all.

    The photos taken are for the purpose of selling the house and not for the purpose that they are being used in the example I gave.

    Posting photos of someones home and address and laughing at their taste is dickish at best (in my opinion).

    Making derogatory remarks or Insinuating that the contents of that home were obtained dishonestly purely because that house has been deemed a travellers home by Boards users is traveller bashing and an example of what the OP is talking about here.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    They DON’T tolerate it. When it’s reported it’s dealt with.
    But you have asked for a report on how YOUR reported posts are handled. That’s an even bigger timesink than Reggie Mc ReRegerson, re-regger at large.

    I gave a clear example of traveller bashing posts that were not dealt with.

    Posting photos of someones home and saying they are travellers obtained the contents dishonestly can be nothing other than traveller bashing.

    Mods asked for examples of traveller bashing threads that were not dealt with. I gave a clear example.

    I'm giving that feedback to the Mods, by the way, not you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    anewme wrote: »
    I gave a clear example of traveller bashing posts that were not dealt with.

    So either the mod decided not to action them, or hasn’t got around to them.

    Just because you decide something is a clear example doesn’t mean that the mod dealing with it does.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,379 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Just to be clear to respond to comments, I have definitely reported traveller comments in threads that I'd be more involved in. The threads that appear in AH or current affairs I tend to ignore.

    And I don't expect any specific actions from individual mods here, but I do think the issue needs to be acknowledged by boards as an entity. I mean, there's people in this thread trying to justify this anyway.

    One thing that isn't clear to me is whether or not there's a standard set of actions that are imposed for specific transgressions. If somebody says something or does something that could be viewed as racist, defamatory, abusive, etc - is it up to the individual mod to decide on course of action? Or is it forum specific? Or do boards have some rules that should be followed?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    So either the mod decided not to action them, or hasn’t got around to them.

    Just because you decide something is a clear example doesn’t mean that the mod dealing with it does.

    That's why people are asking for more transparency.

    Insinuating someone is a thief based on nothing more than a photo of their home is a serious allegation to make and should be treated accordingly.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,867 ✭✭✭knucklehead6


    anewme wrote: »
    That's why people are asking for more transparency.

    Insinuating someone is a thief based on nothing more than a photo of their home is a serious allegation to make and should be treated accordingly.

    It’s interesting to see how people’s perspectives differ and can change over time. I remember a thread from a good while back where you were seriously intolerant of travellers, and traveller behaviour.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,060 ✭✭✭✭anewme


    dulpit wrote: »
    Just to be clear to respond to comments, I have definitely reported traveller comments in threads that I'd be more involved in. The threads that appear in AH or current affairs I tend to ignore.

    And I don't expect any specific actions from individual mods here, but I do think the issue needs to be acknowledged by boards as an entity. I mean, there's people in this thread trying to justify this anyway.

    One thing that isn't clear to me is whether or not there's a standard set of actions that are imposed for specific transgressions. If somebody says something or does something that could be viewed as racist, defamatory, abusive, etc - is it up to the individual mod to decide on course of action? Or is it forum specific? Or do boards have some rules that should be followed?

    People have been asking for a more specific charter similar to what you are asking here.

    I do believe it is required also and have given the same feedback on numerous occassions.

    I've given examples here of what I would see being racist or dickish comments, but as you say that can be open to people's own interpretation or the Mods.

    Given the size of the site, I accept it is not possible to have calibration across the site, however a base standard would be a start and would help Mods and Posters.

    I believe the small cohort referenced here dont want the status quo to change and are doing their best to pile on people advocating change and silence them. This has been raised at Mod level too.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    This is the second feedback thread in a week where one or two posters are permaposting demanding that the site reflect only those opinions they approve of, without regard to the function of a message board such as boards to reflect to the fullest practicable level a diversity of comment that falls short of the strictest definition of prohibited or undesirable speech.

    That line will never be subject to full agreement, and for a poster or a minority of posters to demand it again and again is imo not fair engagement with what boards is or should be.

    The tone they feel entitled to take towards moderators is, if i can say it, beyond the pale entirely.

    Ive had my bumps with mods and will again, but if someone pipes up constantly to opine what boards should be, they should back it up by giving real world examples of a comparable site that manages to meet that standard (and answer the obvious question- why arent you there instead?)

    The concerted move towards intolerance of a blurred line (and thats what interactions with people who dont agree with you on everything are going to be) isnt anything that mods or boards should or can treat as actionable feedback imo


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Beasty wrote: »
    We simply cannot review every post - we have thousands every day in the 2 main forums I have responsibility for

    Why don't you be more proactive an report stuff? Whenever I see a thread like this I trawl back through reports for examples of the issue being raised, but I cannot see any from you over the past 16 months relating to threads in which travellers have been discussed

    In fairness, there's a fair few posters that are still active on the site that regularly post atrocious and nasty views. They get disciplined but continue to do so. It's as if they continue to get in trouble but somehow avoid an absolute ban. Eg I can think of a poster who called for refugees on boats to be gunned down. They got disciplined and continue to get away with pretty dodgy posts including on travellers.

    It's pretty clear that there's some level of tolerance for some awful stuff at this point. There just seems to be denial of the fact.


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    In fairness, there's a fair few posters that are still active on the site that regularly post atrocious and nasty views. They get disciplined but continue to do so. It's as if they continue to get in trouble but somehow avoid an absolute ban. Eg I can think of a poster who called for refugees on boats to be gunned down. They got disciplined and continue to get away with pretty dodgy posts including on travellers.

    It's pretty clear that there's some level of tolerance for some awful stuff at this point. There just seems to be denial of the fact.

    For clarity's sake, i fully agree with this too. Not everything is fair comment and there are definitely repeat offenders who seem to enjoy a longer career than you'd like.


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