Considering the recent re-vamp will you continue to use boards?

Flex

I still log in to try to find my way around to read some of the forums I like, but far far less now, and becoming less frequent. Combination of the new site being very poor which has been fed back and detailed extensively by others already along with how its so very noticeable now how much quieter the forums have become as well, Investments & Markets forum in particular was a favourite of mine to read and its so inactive now.

No testing before go-live or feedback sought, appears as though no-one on Boards.ie side actually checked what they were getting from Vanilla.

Its disappointing as I really have enjoyed Boards.ie for many years, whether posting or just reading to pass the time, a lot of people enjoyed that and it is lost now.

timetogo1

I still use it but once every few days (and this gap is getting bigger). It used to be several times a day (and night). Some of the threads I follow have died a death, if there's no conversation it's not worth checking in.

I can't figure out the mobile experience (to view followed threads) and have to switch to desktop mode on my phone which is unwieldy and faffing about.

Flinty997

Even if I wanted to use it. I can't follow or find threads I've posted in. So my usage he has dropped right off.

Sleeper12

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774836#Comment_117774836

I've noticed big improvements over the last few weeks & can see Boards trying its best to resolve the issues but I have to say I'm still struggling

airy fairy

I'm missing loads. I'm getting multiple replies from posts, but no idea where to begin, apart from taking down the time that I last looked, it's awful.

OMM 0000

I know Odhran in the real world and he's a nice person and a good people manager, but he's non-technical and should not be leading a technical project.

This entire problem could have been solved with proper planning (requires experience and technical knowledge), better communication, and involving the community.

Here's how I would have done it, off the top of my head. Assumption is we have to use Vanilla due to financial reasons or whatever:

• A long time ago, start developing the new site for Vanilla. Make it a test site (completely separate database which will be thrown away when the merge happens) and ask boards.ie users to test it. There are people willing to do this.
• Explain to the community you're broke, and can people help with CSS, development, etc. There are people willing to provide their skill for this. I would have even been willing to manage the entire thing for free (I manage complex technical projects and run two tech companies).
• Keep developing the test site until all the bugs are ironed out.
• Do a test migration to the test side. Test it. See the soccer forum has disappeared, see people's emails are being displayed, etc. Fix the issues on the test site. The original, normal boards.ie site is running as normal.
• Do another test migration and see if it works and how long it took.
• When happy with everything, communicate clearly it's time for the migration, start it on a Monday, and have it done by the end of the work week.
• Switch to the test site.

What I've described above is absolutely basic and obvious and off the top of my head.

OMM 0000

Sorry, to answer the question, I will use it as long as they can fix the "ignore user" bug, as this site is unusable if you have to see the replies from the crazy people, and there are many crazy people who post here.

FlubberJones

Yes

I use a lot less these days, it's slow and cumbersome and just not an "enjoyable" few minutes... looking elsewhere for similar

Place is like a ghost town at the minute. The site is just too difficult to navigate and way to much effort to use at the minute.

Used to be simple you had:

followed threads

Find all my posts

In the search menu you could type the name of a forum and it would just appear and click.

Thargor

No

All the threads I used to barely be able to keep up with even reading 30 threads a day are now dead. Ive gone from visiting multiple threads every day to checking in every 3 days and less and less as time goes on, they've completely murdered boards.ie and should be ashamed.

OMM 0000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117777511#Comment_117777511

How do you even find this Feedback forum?

I'm having to click the sad post about the staff member dying, and then go to feedback from there. There doesn't appear to be any other way?

Masala

No

Less and less.....

keeps asking me to Login on my iPad. If I pop out to Facebook or other application ... it logs me out and when I return I have to login again. So have stopped looking at my followed threads. I just skim down the Home page and see if there is anything I want to read

find the site slow and not user friendly.

Jim_Hodge

No

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117779018#Comment_117779018

Talk to...Boards..Feedback.

manutd83

Yes

Don't post an awful lot on boards but have been a user and daily reader of threads for years and now I barely bother at all,voted yes buts that's a just about yes,vote could have gone either way,site is just not what it was sadly

Umekichi

No

I don't think I will to be honest. Was never a massive user of the site - I mostly lurked and would rarely post from time to time. After this site redesign, its not as easy to find specific threads and I've noticed the site is quieter than pre-redesign.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117779018#Comment_117779018

If you go to the top of this page there is a Bookmark icon to the right of the title.

I only found out about it from another poster.

Still persevering, hoping against hope !!

Mars Bar

I voted yes but it's becoming a no with each day that passes. I'm definitely drifting away from the site. It's just too damn awkward to get around. It has been a big part of my life since 2005. I used to moderate too. It's the beginning of an end of an era for me.

OMM 0000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117782146#Comment_117782146

I don't have a bookmark icon...

If this were a real company a bunch of people would be fired for incompetence.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117783457#Comment_117783457

Its like the finanical lad in charge of IT who doesn't have a notion pf IT on 120K a year making himself look good by cutting every budget available.

Every company has them and its usually when something happens like this **** show that they get looked at.

tomslick

No

No. The revamp has killed my interest in the site. Very difficult to use on a mobile. I used to use the site a lot each day but now might click once a day just to see if it has improved. It hasn't.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117783457#Comment_117783457

If you go to the top of this page there is a little oblong white panel with an indent at the bottom. If you click on it, it will turn blue and then you will be following the thread.

Before the changes you just had to either post in a thread or click "follow thread".

How someone thought a little panel with no indication as to it's use was an improvement beats me.

85603

Yes

Yes, but at reduced frequency as the white background is burning my eyes and giving me a tan.

Show me the developer who doesnt include a dark mode and Ill show you someone who needs to eat some keyboard keys.

kheb

I will continue to use it but hopefully the powers that be realise mistakes have been made and make improvements instead of just giving up.

DublinWriter

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117783457#Comment_117783457

Maybe go and spend your money elsewhere?

Oh.

The amount of 'pissy' comments on here are laughable. Lads, this is a free service. It must have been hard enough to update a mega-hacked VB instance to Vanilla and fair play to the Boards team for a long-overdue update.

Instead of sounding like petulant 5-year olds and launching ad-hominem attacks on Board staff, maybe engage in a positive way?

osarusan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785041#Comment_117785041

I can kind of agree that there is a lot of entitled moaning about something that we get to use for free.

but from Boards' perspective, it's a business, and from that perspective, the migration, subsequent multiple site issues, and consequent drop in site traffic and trust in the site, have been an absolute disaster.

OMM 0000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785041#Comment_117785041

Imagine having such low standards and being so controlling you think what has happened to boards is something people should shut up and accept. And you're saying this in the Feedback forum in a topic about the new version of boards.

You're the one throwing abuse around, grow some self awareness, holy crap.

Why did they remove the ignore feature? This website is unusable if we have to put up with the unpleasant and unstable folks.

OMM 0000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117784116#Comment_117784116

I don't have this. What browser are you using? Seems I'm getting a different version than you. Are you using an app or something?

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785070#Comment_117785070

I see your point but lot's of the internet is available "free" or at least without direct subscription.

We are at least still here trying to make sense of things.

A lot more are gone like snow off a ditch and this site is suffering because of that.

Tumbleweed down many of the forums I used to enjoy.

DublinWriter

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785070#Comment_117785070

True, but it's just the whingy entitled posts that sound like Eric Cartman demanding more CheezeyPuffs that make me want to hurl.

As I said, people need to engage positively and with respect with Boards.ie like regular human beings and not trollishly funnel their general disappointment with their life into what is, in the greater scheme of things, a very insubstantial issue.

Yes

Trying to decide which is DublinWriter's most hysterical point.

That he wants to vomit, that people who have different opinion are 'pissy'5 year olds, or that they're obviously disappointed in life unlike him....:)

DublinWriter

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785592#Comment_117785592

Sorry mate, I don't engage with trolls. Too much life, too little time. Have a Coke, Snickers bar and a smile on me.

pc7

No

I voted no because I’m using it less and less, maybe as improvements continue I might get drawn back in but find it a mare to use on the phone.

Flex

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785636#Comment_117785636

I still remember your previous stances in Investments, Property, Irish Economy forums and so on here given your reckless, ignorant and (ill be frank) dumbass positions throughout 2008; others warning about the property crash and already occurring implosion of property prices were 'gutless 30 something year old chumps' trying to 'justify the fact they still live with their parents' due the fact they 'arent ballsy property investors', then shamelessly in the years thereafter saying that people objecting to calls for the government to raise taxes during that crash to bail out those same 'ballsy property investors' were suddenly selfish mé-féiners. Good man.

Rather than dismissing others, perhaps go enjoy your coke and snickers, and grow some humility. Boards.ie was a fun place for everyday people to pass the time. It has been ruined through carelessness. While you previously lauded such behaviour, try to learn from those errors; people are rightly annoyed and frustrated about what has transpired.

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785636#Comment_117785636

And yet the only person trolling, with silly comments about 'pissy' kids and vomiting, is you.

I do always enjoy the angry posters who insist that they're happy and smiling though...

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785116#Comment_117785116

I use Google Chrome or Firefox on a laptop and tablet.

Nothing fancy and never use a phone to access Boards.

Others seem to be having trouble with phones.

fenris

No

I am using boards less and less since the re-vamp, browsing on a phone or tablet is not exactly low friction and tends towards just being frustrating, desktop is not as bad but still a bit of a pain compared to the previous version, which just worked.

Now boards is more of a repository than a living community, so some work is needed to prevent a decline into irrelevance, starting with taking the crayons off whoever has gone the form over function route.

DublinWriter

Yes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785881#Comment_117785881

I've no clue who you are, but you're quoting my posts from 13 years ago? Dude, go have a chat with yourself.

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772078#Comment_117772078

I see what I was on about is available. I found the link on the touch site which I don't normally use. Anyway bookmarked it on my PC browser.

Edit: I think the thread title should be on the top though, not the bottom, in a bigger heading size.

https://www.boards.ie/profile/comments

cj maxx

My pages are really long to scroll down, toomuch on page for phone. It used to take 10 mins to check my threads from my posts , now its a grag

it’s not just lack of familiarity. It really is much more awkward to navigate. The only way I could find my posts was to bookmark the “comments” page of my profile. Took me a while to figure that one out.

I would suspect a lot of people might just find the new system either awkward or to have a steep learning curve that isn’t worth the effort.

I notice a lot of forums are much quieter now and others seem to be increasingly dominated by trolls as the regulars aren’t posting as much and the moderation seems to be patchy and less effective too, so I assume the mod tools must be less useful.

SouthWesterly

Browse through the Home page and have to do a search to find the few groups I still look at.usage is way down on what it was.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117850482#Comment_117850482

Agree about the lack of moderation.

It will finish the site off if the revamp doesn't do the job.

The place is full of re-regs and trolls running riot with ad hominems, one liners and general coarseness.

Yeah, the old Boards prime directive of attack the post and not the poster seems to be evaporating. It’s especially evident on the COVID forum threads. I have given up even trying to participate in discussions over there.

I would assume the mods are over stretched.

The ban lists seem to have disappeared in the change over too, so I would assume a lot of the re-reg and reappearance of trolls is because of that.

In general though I think the whole flow of the site has been severely messed up

No

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117785834#Comment_117785834

Thats exactly how I feel. Using it less and less. If it improves significantly, I might return, but, unlikely.

ghoulfinger

Yes

I speak here from the point of view of an iPhone user of Boards and, having forgiven the initial teething problems and my own ineptitude at navigating the new site, I’m still finding the latter aspect particularly irritating.

On the plus side, as I have visual problems with close-sight, I find it easier to read the current mobile site.

Bear in mind the development team has consisted of three individuals, Ódhran, Niamh and Mark, and the last very sadly died unexpectedly, having completed a course in CSS (quite a handful of coding for visual web layout which works in alliance with HTML, JavaScript and allied web development tools) and implemented it in redeveloping this website. It is a tribute to his hard work and he had hoped to carve a further career in this area had his life not been cut so tragically short.

It has left a bereaved team of two colleagues to shoulder the rest, and further develop the site. Functionality in the navigation and query facilities definitely need to be worked on, and I expect with one person down (and hopefully another soon if not already in training) that this area may considerably improve, but I wouldn’t be holding my breath for it to happen overnight.

We used to have a “visually busy” (read in my case, difficult to see) touch site with great search facilities and where I could jump reasonably quickly (site speed etc permitting) on my phone to the full site if I tried very hard to use my eyesight. The old site was particularly subject to downtimes, slow speeds and glitches. Hopefully in future the current site will regain the best of the functionality of the past. I don’t use it quite so much, but I’ll play the long game and give it a chance to improve.

Comhrá

Yes

I'm sticking with it for another while anyway, but only on the desktop site. I used to love browsing my favourite forums on the phone in bed early in the morning, but the new mobile site has been hobbled so much it's put a stop to that.

I still scan my regular forums but the drop in activity and dearth of new input has made my visits very much shorter and more infrequent than before.

Beasty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854017#Comment_117854017

On the specifics of the Coronavirus forum I look at pretty much all of the reports and act as I see appropriate. I can assure you that despite lack of resources all reports do get reviewed (both there and in Current Affairs, the 2 main forums that I can speak for as I actively moderate both). Sometimes it may be a day or more later, but action is taken where appropriate

Pussyhands

I'm having less interest in coming back.

The things which made my experience are gone.

Hover over threads for previews, notifications on my profile of threads I've commented in where I can quickly see new posts, list of users that thanked posts (visual representation) are all gone and they were vital to my experience on here.

Oh and it's very very slow. Took about 6 seconds to click into this thread on desktop.

search functionality is terrible aswell. I used to always use the search bar to quickly navigate to forums or users. Now that easy function is gone.

Yes

It's the New Coke, Guinness Light and Gap logo change of Irish forum re-vamps.

ghoulfinger

Yes

Frustrating as it presently is, especially the mobile site which is the one I use due to the sheer convenience & speed of my phone, this site is a work in progress.

Below Niamh implies that the mobile site will sometime be way more usable. Fingers crossed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058202425/state-of-the-site-and-ongoing-issues-updates