broadsheet.ie is closing.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179048#Comment_119179048

Nothing to do with advertisers but instead contributors I believe.

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179254#Comment_119179254

So you're saying that you aren't stupid enough to state it directly but you're happy to imply it?

Let me put it to you this way; do you think that I am any of the things you mentioned above?

pixelburp

I had completely forgotten about broadsheet for a long while; for a good period, it was a go-to site during my day's browsing. I foolishly commented on articles n' all. Out of deep boredom / a random synapse firing, I had a look to see if it still existed during CoVid ... and yeah, had thought there was a whiff of anti-vax about the articles. Didn't stay long enough to confirm: had wondered if was just me, but forgot the site again as quickly. Guess I was right.

Hadn't realised it extended to indulging the likes of Gemma O'Doherty though - that's quite the leap off the ideological cliff edge. Learning it was also flirting with more openly prejudicial viewpoints? Well, I can see why it's now closing. The language of the "goodbye" post reads weird though: I can't figure if they're lamenting the editorial swing in the first place, or simply bitter at the wider world for rejecting it.

No question though: no more than the High Street squeezed out the small, niche shops in favour of franchises and chains who could afford the high rents and overhead, so it goes with the internet. Small, independent sites - especially those with a more localised market - are finding it harder and harder to keep the lights on. Server costs, marketing, salaries, it all tots up; Social Media is a lumbering, toxic beast always threatening to shutter these kind of sites - including Boards.

The vanilla transition has flaws, big ones, but you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming before I jumped into the howling void that is Reddit or Twitter. It's just not the same as a big clatter of (mostly) Irish folk talking anything & everything in relative civility.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179197#Comment_119179197

My contention is that your suggestion that I was bigging up the size or strength of the far right in Ireland is strawmanning, as I didn't do any such thing. I just pointed out what Broadsheet had done, and the company they were keeping.

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179640#Comment_119179640

The company they were keeping? By highlighting a five year old article involving somebody who is now in conflict with the website in question?

What you posted suggested that broadsheet and Gemma O'Doherty had some sort of symbiotic relationship when the reality is far removed from that.

Another poster cited what they saw as your "obsession with the far right". I can't speak to this myself but I'm going to assume it's a topic you've spoken about before on this site as you chose not to correct that poster when they mentioned it.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179826#Comment_119179826

Let's remind ourselves what I actually posted, which was; "Was an occasional visitor until they went all Gemma, that was it for me. " which you turned into something about far right or alt right in your delightful dash to their defence.

Can I judge you on all the things you chose not to correct people on around here?

Dyr

Hardly suprising given that its readership would have had it bookmarked beside indymedia 😂

youngblood

Had to laugh at this "farewell"

'Their deeply unfashionable take on recent world events alienated everyone on Broadsheet but a few and proved to be ‘box office poison’.

When they are wondering why everyone else left due to their "unfashionable" take and fact that know they created nothing but a ground for "box office poison", you'd wonder how deluded they have actually become when they cant see the writing on their own walls!??

Wheety

I'm another who used to be a regular before they ruined it. I stopped going back when the conspiracy stuff took over. You can say it was with a nod and a wink or "exploring both sides" but Bodger seemed to lean that way. Then that dragged in the right wing commenters.

nullzero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119180004#Comment_119180004

Delightful dash? Very creative.

" Went all Gemma" as a statement is loaded with the assumption that the reader understands what Gemma represents, in this case far right beliefs. Are you suggesting you weren't alluding to the far right when name checking Gemma?

As we're reminding ourselves of what you actually posted, can you clarify what you were attempting to convey with that statement, for the sake of clarity and transparency of course.

As for judging me, we're all making judgments about each other all the time. If you make a statement related to how you judge me I may well respond to it if I feel it's incorrect, that's part and parcel of using a site like this.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119180458#Comment_119180458

My 'obsession' about the far right extends to four posts so far this year, one of them on this thread. Maybe I should work harder on my obsessions?

Do you generally condemn people for the things they chose NOT to correct?

Arghus

Used to read it regularly back in the day, it was a great one stop shop of news and all kinds of stuff.

Hadn't looked at it for ages, nothing intentional, just gradually stopped clicking into it.

Checked back there a few months ago to see how it was getting on and at first couldn't believe it was what it appeared to be. Thought it was a joke at first.

But, no, reading through it made it obvious that the site had gone bananas. A truly bizarre metamorphosis, quite depressing really.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119181677#Comment_119181677

CoVid seemed to activate a weird switch in some people's brains, where a broad or resting suspicion for authority figures mutated into full-blown paranoia and conspiracy theory. Previously, presumed "sane" people suddenly sliding into more extreme positions. Thankfully it didn't happen with any immediate family or friends.

Maybe it was just another manifestation of the madness we all went through during lockdown, our mental health collectively eroded by the isolation. Either way, it was quite the shock to see a site I had kept in relatively high regard take such a downward turn. As someone else mentioned, they always had a degree of "both sides", albeit with a bit of a twinkle in the eye. Guess they started believing what they posted.

Liberty_Bear

I lament the passing of Broadsheet. Twould write a few pieces for them over the years . I didnt like the far right bits and pieces crawling into their content but I enjoyed the commentators over the years. One became a friend after I wrote a piece and she listened to me (some might guess who I am lol!).

Kermit.de.frog

Some batsh!t crazy content during Covid. Think that mostly finished the site. The only thing to miss is handy to see the following mornings front pages.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119185921#Comment_119185921

Re front pages, try

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/what-the-papers-say-june-10-1317983.html

Welsh Megaman

Thank You

https://www.broadsheet.ie/2022/06/12/thank-you-6/

Gregor Samsa

Everything. As It Happens.

Everything. As It Happened.

loyatemu

Used to read BS every day, often interesting content on it. I stopped completely last year as they'd gone totally over to the conspiracy theory, anti-vax etc side (there was alway an element of it TBH). Looks like I wasn't the only one.

Shame to see them going (based on what the site used to be like), but they made their decision, and this is the result.

Hotblack Desiato

Given what it turned into, no loss.

monkeybutter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119185705#Comment_119185705

some feel that your contributions were the final nail in the coffin

Muahahaha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119194506#Comment_119194506

Its good that it is still readable and they plan to archive it all. It will be a good source for researchers and historians in time to come. Their existence spans the recession & austerity, two societal changing referendums and the pandemic where they gave an alternative view.Not one I agreed with but they were about the only media outlet to give voice to dissent during that time, the rest of them towed the line while up to their eyeballs in government advertising money. Just a pity they went too far with it and eventually turned people off. It was a great site in its prime.

Welsh Megaman

Do we still Save Poolbeg?

Liberty_Bear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119199981#Comment_119199981

or lack there of...

AllForIt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119179066#Comment_119179066

You'll be next sunshine

I'm sorry to hear that.

I used to be a regular commenter - don't know how I used to find the time but I did - and even though I would usually have a different opinion or lean a different way to the majority of commenters, for the most part the comments were polite and fun and there were no grudges and craic to be had in other threads.

I haven't been on at all in the last couple of years so can't speak much to editorial (though I often disagreed with it anyway), and believe the comments had gotten less appreciative of nuance, context, or craic - kind of like the rest of the internet - and I did see they became swamped with nonsense multi posting. This I have seen also in actual broadsheet btl's so it's not just broadsheet.ie that can be blamed.

One thing I have to say is the JOR has always seemed like a gent with impeccable manners. We'd probably disagree on most things, and I was mostly a nuisance of a poster, but he always stuck by his open door policy and treated everyone with the utmost respect, often without getting it in return.

John, if you're reading this I think you're a very nice man and thanks for all of the entertainment.

emo72

I loved broadsheet. Really sorry to see it go. In regards to the COVID lunacy everyone (mostly) seems to be avoiding it of.......

COVID was a turmoil that split everyone. I seen close families turn against each other. Friends turn against friends. I still don't know what happened. Still digesting it. But when we were in the thick of it trying to make sense of it, I would look everywhere for factual info, but we all know it was a shitshow. All the main media taking a ton of advertising, their hands were then financially tied. I think people are being way to harsh on broadsheet. They were one of the few who could post alternative views, didn't always mean it was true, but it was there to be read. You didn't have to agree with it, but if your a mature adult, you could handle it. But people are polarized. You could agree with 99 things BS said, but of they said 1 thing you disagreed with, you were finished with them? Come on man! Come back to the real world!

loyatemu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119206002#Comment_119206002

I'm not going to get into an argument about Covid, but I stopped reading BS because every second story was easily-disprovable conspiracy theory crap. I clearly wasn't alone and now the site is gone as a result. They stuck to their guns, they weren't silenced but the market has spoken and thankfully most people (in Ireland at least) aren't interested in reading that sh!te.

scottser

typical that broadsheet closes the week before the tans get handed a 4-0 defeat at home. where can i go to gloat now?

emo72

And that's good that you could tell it was claptrap. And being an adult you could tell that, but why not ignore it if you don't like it? It also did lots of great things too. If I lost something it was a great site for lost and found items, although they claimed they don't normally do that 😂. What if boards goes next? What are we left with, Twitter and Facebook? Now that's a dystopian future .