What happened to Boards.ie - genuine question

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779436#Comment_120779436

It's abundantly evident to many posters that a noisy minority report almost everything from posters whose opinions they dislike. They see this as a mechanism to get them banned, whilst hiding behind the banner of "I'm only doing what's expected of me".

I'll never understand why moderators allow it, because it creates more work for them. Needless work, in my opinion. If there was an active warning in place saying to people, don't do this -- you can be quite sure that moderator's work would be massively reduced. It's a win-win for the forum and the moderators.

Moreover, I self-censor to a ridiculous degree on this forum. I cannot utter many of my deeply held opinions, which I can argue for very effectively if challenged, because those opinions are considered too unorthodox to be seriously held. If I were to speak them, those opinions would undoubtedly be Reported -- and I would be accused of "trolling".

The best discussions emerge from unorthodox opinions, from people who think outside the box, but who can back up their claims -- even if almost everyone disagrees with them.

If those unorthodox opinions are over-reported and de facto classified as "trolling" (because who else would believe them?), it kills original debate entirely.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779512#Comment_120779512

Reporting a post does not morph the post into a troll post.

Reporting a troll post will be found as trolling.

suvigirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779512#Comment_120779512

If something is reported because it's breached a charter or whatever, then there is no such thing as over reporting!

If a post is against the rules then it's against the rules, if it's not, well grand so. Reporting doesn't change the post

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779256#Comment_120779256

What would you know about who is reporting what and in what volume? Nothing, so let's drop the conspiracy theory yeah

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120778709#Comment_120778709

If you're going to punish those who over report, the first step would be to provide feedback on reports, so that those reporting know whether their report is deemed valid or not.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779512#Comment_120779512

It's abundantly evident

You have no evidence. For all anyone knows you could be the most vexatious reporter of posts and still come out with this clap accusing others of doing it

nachouser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779512#Comment_120779512

Just create yet another new account, but skip the farage thing. Worth a shot at this point. Maybe include an image of someone from labour. See how you get on. Even better, an image of someone who is black. Your words will still out you.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779540#Comment_120779540

Nice edit on the 'Prove it"! 😂

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779591#Comment_120779591

Alright then sorry: prove it?

If you think you have access to anything approaching proof I'd love for that to be made public.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779667#Comment_120779667

I didn't imply I had proof, it was a joke based on discussion of posters asking for proof.

Calahonda52

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120754010#Comment_120754010

This is right on the money

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779747#Comment_120779747

I was in a discussion a few weeks ago.

Someone said to me that they "fixed my IT disability". I reported the post, thinking -- well, this is an obvious violation of the rule "to be civil". What happened is that I was warned as a consequence of issuing the report, and the insulting comment against me was left on the thread (and remains there to this day; and the user who said it not sanctioned at all).

Nor was this the first time this kind of thing happened.

Obviously I want Boards.ie to succeed and thrive with more users and engagement and advertising revenue, but it's hard to see that happening when such flagrant breaches of impartiality are considered the norm.

People will not stay and engage if this kind of thing is considered acceptable.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120764389#Comment_120764389

Ah, lookit, you seem satisfied that it was all in my head. So you can make jokes about it, hide it behind context or “nuance”, or whatever the fine people over there said to explain what was really meant during your investigation. That’s fine.

I’ve seen enough clips on Twitter of angry, overzealous, potatoheads turning up at some, normal, person’s place of work to have a go over an opinion they’ve “expressed” online. You just don’t know what someone so full of anger, and hate, is capable of. Maybe they won’t call in, they might just vandalise your property or stalk you, and your family, for a bit. That sort of thing isn’t appealing to me.

Now, you might say that nothing like that would happen on this site but just yesterday someone posted about a prominent Radio Forum poster registering on that other site you joined using the name of a mod of the Radio Forum. This, then, caused that moderator, a really great poster imho, to close their account. I don’t know the moderator personally, unfortunately, so I can’t confirm that was the reason but, if it was, were they just being silly too?

In this day and age it’s not too hard to find out where someone works if you have their name and if you can find that, with a bit more effort, you could find where they live. Now, you might be fine with even a slim chance that some frogeyed dribbler would turn up at your door ranting and raving about your “opinions”, or lack of, and you may find it funny but, again, that is a risk I, personally, don’t want to take. But that’s just me.

incorrect quote

Cannot Delete: New site is great...

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779725#Comment_120779725

Right. In a post-truth internet landscape with so much 'alternative facts' and users that cannot even seem to build up a credible reputation for themselves before they blame everyone else for their problems and register a new account hoping nobody notices.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120757593#Comment_120757593

The only real time that I had issues with Mods of any boards like forum was when they drew a mod card, when losing an argument.

Sites which allowed this withered and I have seen it a few times here too.

Best sites were sites where a mod couldn't act, as a mod, in a discussion where they were actively debating someone

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120780174#Comment_120780174

C'mere, can you let us know the logic behind changing your signature to save your life?

The other thing was checked BTW, and it didn't happen. Of course, you couldn't know that because you don’t visit over yonder, but I wanted to put your mind at ease.

You're welcome. ☺

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120780201#Comment_120780201

I have no idea why you're quoting me in that post.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758640#Comment_120758640

Bring back DeVore.

I was here in the mid 2000s on an account I can no longer access the email for and it was a great place to find information and niche topics.

Look at the entire Technology section. It's a digital wasteland now where once I had a guy send me a TV calibration set, to get the best out of my screen.

Oscar_Madison

Moderation is a disaster for starters. In the past you wouldn’t have to wait an hour but a thread troll obvious or otherwise, would be thread or forum banned. Now trolls are lasting months.

And mods, if you actually exist other than Beasty, don’t bother replying- it’s a fact and you know it -reporting posts is as useless as wet toilet paper.

In the past there was a fun and social aspect to boards- that’s long gone.

Hey ho, such is life.

Dr Turk Turkelton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779530#Comment_120779530

Post reported for backseat modding.

Packrat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779410#Comment_120779410

Despite your high postcount, I'm only vaguely aware of having seen your username before. Maybe we post in different fora.

I never referenced you or anyone else, never mentioned right wing, left wing, conservative or liberal.

You however took it as a direct attack on yourself - if the cap fits then I suppose you should wear it but, genuinely, I hadn't noticed you nor was I thinking of you when I called out "thread destroyers" - the passive aggressive perfectly within the lines never moderated people.

Surely your recent site ban that you told us all about would rule you out of the group I was referring to?

Seriously, - don't be so quick to take offence where none was directed at you.

You've kinda proven that you only see discussions through entrenched prisms which is another big problem brought up by other posters earlier in this thread, but one I didn't get into.

It became woke infected.

Xavi6

I've been here a loooooong time but barely post anymore. Boards used to be a community, you met people online and then caught up in person. I played for the Boards football team when it started many moons ago, initiatives like that could never happen now.

Some of the reasons are straight forward - people got old, had families, and drifted away. Others closed an account and opened another (and repeat) so you don't know who they are anymore, the tone of the site got a lot darker and less fun, and there was the platform stuff. Moderation was always hit and miss, and I say that as a former mod.

FWIW, I'm in a WhatsApp group 14 other lads who all got to know each other through Boards over the years. Some of us still haven't met IRL but we talk endless amounts of sh*t on a daily basis. We do it on our terms and it's great. Like many others, we've simply taken our discussion elsewhere.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120779512#Comment_120779512

You kind of have to take responsibility for your own posts, only posts that contravenes the forums charter, or boards.ie's general rules. are acted upon.

I would take a serious look at myself if I had to self-censor myself to the extent you're claiming you have to in order not to be banned form a public message board. That's not the message boards problem - it's yours.

DEFTLEFTHAND

The whole concept of a message board is dead in the water. Most people under the age of 25 would have never even have heard of Boards.ie let alone post on it.

The site seems to have a dreadful reputation online too with numerous parodies.

It did certainly used to be fun though. I enjoyed many a good hour on here. However Its slowly dying and will be gone for good sooner than later sans doute.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120780573#Comment_120780573

I don't think Boards democratic was ever mostly under 25. Except at the very start.

Panrich

This thread is a great example of why boards is in decline in my opinion. Vexatious posters now appear in almost every thread with a confrontational posting style and there’s always a few who rise to the bait leaving no room for reasoned or reasonable debate.

I have a large list of people on ignore because life is too short to read low level trolls going about their business.

batman_oh

delete

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120780674#Comment_120780674

The mods delete a lot of the confrontational posts though in fairness to them.