What happened to Boards.ie - genuine question

Spanish Eyes

Love the gif there @Leg End Reject

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801161#Comment_120801161

It worked out marvellously well, well apart from all the differences between the two platforms that were supposed to behave identically. 😂

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801177#Comment_120801177

Can confirm the gif post displays the same on iOS safari as windows chrome

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801312#Comment_120801312

I wasn't talking about the gif. It was in relation to how functionality differs, there was certainly major differences at the start, you still can't see thanks on a mobile and the search on mobile is more of a random lucky prize generator.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120800166#Comment_120800166

"its very easy not to get banned on boards. Just don’t be a dickhead. Attack the post not the poster. Two very straightforward ways that escape many, many posters regularly."

This is interesting... I was thread banned from the Burke thread for simply stating and I quote "Isn't that an amazing photo! A family prepared to stand together and defend their siblings against the slings and arrows of misfortune. If Ireland was full of families with the strength of these 'Burkes', think what an amazing country we'd have :) And no, I'm not trolling. Just offering a common man's view from the ditch." This was in response to a photo of the Burke family walking together to a court hearing.

Please tell me exactly which part of above is 'attacking the poster'. I simply expressed a POV that runs against the grain on that thread and was banned.

I have been warned by another mod for writing "Paid insurance premiums of all sorts for many years and only successful claim was an experience with trying to claim when a drunk driver hit us. Their insurance company did everything possible to squirm out of it on the basis the driver was supposed to be a teetotaller. Didn't give a crap that we were nearly killed or that our car written off. Other claims on travel insurance like cameras lost on international trips and so on, just point blank refused unless we went back and got various extra documents signed and so. Bunch of shysters. My take is only have insurance if you're legally obliged to do so." Just exactly what is wrong with that, it's a viewpoint.

Another mod disagreed vehemently with my views in a discussion re Irexit - I simply made points as to why it might appeal to some. They proceeded to rubbish these. That's fine and are entitled to do so. Except, within a day of this I noticed a 'spam block' on my account.

And I could pick others.

So your comfortable definition of what is regarded as suitable for censure is just a cosy illusion on your part. It's the above cavalier riding over posters that has boards in decline.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801312#Comment_120801312

It's pronounced "gif"

Uncharted2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058302046/what-happened-to-boards-ie-genuine-question

Too many Fine Gael supporters on here.

Goldengirl

@Spanish Eyes I am not the most technical ( laughs) .

I have pinned Boards to my front page on my phone and computer so one click and I am in , just to sign in , refuse the cookies and try to read without a big ad taking over the page on mobile , which has improved lately .

I don't know if this is a mind blowing new advancement for anyone or if you will find it any good for you , but it's as cool as I get😋

I will now find out that everybody does this anyway ...runs away to the corner and hides face.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801469#Comment_120801469

Sometimes it's not just one post. That's the just the post that sent you over the edge to a warning. If you had a serious issue with that warning, you should take it to the DRP.

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801601#Comment_120801601

It can't send anything over the edge if there is nothing wrong with it, so what was wrong with it?

And DRP is a complete **** waste of time and everybody knows it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801048#Comment_120801048

We're left compared to American politics, nowhere near left in a European sense (who often have actual left/right divisions)

apache

What does DRP stand for? Is it dispute resolution or something like that? It should be signposted and the process explained.

JupiterKid

Moderation is a thankless job, let's be honest. I've modded online forums for nearly 15 years at this stage.

As a mod, you are constantly accused by very angry posters whom you reprimand/warn/ban, usually those with extreme and deeply offensive views, that you are being completely unreasonable and biased and "why didn't you also ban XX or YY?"

There's no doubt that boards has changed hugely over the past decade and the near-disastrous migration in July 2021 certainly compounded these trends.

The user base of boards has most certainly aged - its very apparent to see. I'd say the average boardsie is now around 41/42, many of whom are married with young kids and have issues/responsibilities that just did not enter their footloose, freer and easier minds when they joined back in 2002 at the age of 20, still in college and planning a year away in Australia with their mates. They say having kids is a sure-fire way to become more conservative in one's views.

There's far less banter and casual chat now and much more anger, bitterness, simmering resentment and finger pointing at others - often minorities who cannot defend themselves online - as a means of blaming others for their own problems or perceived injustices done to them.

It's impossible to be completely unbiased as a human being, but we mods do try to be as fair and impartial as possible. You really have to have a pretty thick skin to be a moderator on boards!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801706#Comment_120801706

usually those with extreme and deeply offensive views

That's subjective.

My views are considered "extreme", and that truly awful word, "offensive", but that's all in the eye of the beholder.

In a pub, most people would just disagree -- not resort to exclamations that some people should be "banned" in the pub; but just honest debate. Heated debate perhaps, but honest debate. No stupid labels.

Ultimately behind a screen, it's easy to dismiss other people as extreme or "deeply offensive" when it suits. It's human nature. It's tribalistic. But very stupid, too.

And no, I'm not some far-right nutjob. I'm just an ordinary person with different opinions -- whose opinions are invariably framed as "extremist" as an attempt to dismiss me, discredit me, or ban me. All a sign of the weakness of the positions against me, but alas, that's the way it is.

Moderators should be thanked for the job they do, for sure. But that doesn't mean that things are perfect.

robbiezero

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801673#Comment_120801673

It stands for Circling the Wagons.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801764#Comment_120801764

but you've already posted

"Both sides deserve an equal playing field, whilst everyone can agree that all extremes should be harshly dealt with (and are)."

So you want different rules applied to your extreme views, but not to other peoples?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801819#Comment_120801819

No, because my views are not extreme. Nowhere near it.

People need to differentiate between "different" and "extreme".

Don't conflate the two, fearing one over the other.

I.R.Y.E.D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801829#Comment_120801829

What do you call comparing a young footballer who supports a charity for school meals to a known paedophilie and that they should be investigated by the police?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801829#Comment_120801829

I'm actually self censoring now, because if I replied how I would of a couple of months ago I suspect it will be deleted. These silent post deletions are becoming a bit disconcerting.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801764#Comment_120801764

Are "human cargo allowed" in this pub?

Shield

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801673#Comment_120801673

It is a process that allows for warnings (previously yellow cards on your profile) and points (previously red cards on your profile) to be appealed to CMods and higher again to a site admin. Have a read of the thread below which explains the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) in more detail:

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2056019884/instructions-on-how-to-dispute-a-ban-or-infraction

-Shield

Ubbquittious

Boards was semi-bought out by an auldfella with no hobbies besides being the big man with the banhammer.

According to reddit anyway

Pelvis Parsley

I used to think Oooodhran got it, or a share in it as part of a severance package to sweeten the pill. If he did, he'd surely have more interest in it than he does though.

Simple matter to do a CRO search, but I couldn't be bothered paying to find out.

Polar101

I think what happened to Boards.ie is that every thread here turns into a pointless right vs left discussion eventually.

apache

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801943#Comment_120801943

That should be signposted more clearly so people know what to do. I can't find the dispute section. I needed it a few months ago. Mod never replied to my pm. Questioned it in thread. Got banned. Didn't know what to do. It's not clear.

pjohnson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120801829#Comment_120801829

Sure you think its the number of warnings that get you sanctioned rather than the content.

You have a tenuous (at best) understanding of basic moderation.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120800678#Comment_120800678

But that’s what DRP is for. 

I got banned in March of this year from a thread I had started for asking someone who posted definitive statements repeatedly across various threads why they wouldn't defend these statements or explain their logic. I was sick of this poster posting such statements to influence various discussions, but would not defend them. I told the Mod I wanted to appeal the ban, I DM'ed the two listed Mods for the forum at the time, requesting that appeal. I never heard back from either the original Mod, or the two I messaged after.

I had 20K posts up to that time since I joined, I've probably had 8-10 total posts since, most of them on this thread.

A massive part of my stepping back from using the site was, and is, the moderation that exists.

atticu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120800166#Comment_120800166

So, after you become a moderator on Boards.ie, you can do no wrong?

Moderators on Boards.ie never make mistakes?

While I understand that this is the opinion that the vast majority of moderators hold, it does not mean that the moderators on boards.ie are infallible.

This is why you can’t understand some of the issues with this site.

I can give you plenty of examples of where moderators got it wrong, and to the detriment of the site, but I won’t waste my time, as I think that you and the other moderators will just come up with some stupid excuse to explain away your mistakes.

I have said plenty of times that there are moderators on boards.ie who need training.

What is the process for selecting moderators? Is there an interview where you have to demonstrate you ability to do the job? Do you check references from previous jobs, to ensure the moderators have the necessary skills? Do they even submit a CV outlining their skills and experience?

osarusan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120802425#Comment_120802425

What is the process for selecting moderators? Is there an interview where you have to demonstrate you ability to do the job? Do you check references from previous jobs, to ensure the moderators have the necessary skills? Do they even submit a CV outlining their skills and experience?

I can confirm that this is the process, plus candidates also have to run up a hill dragging a tyre attached round their waist by a rope.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120802425#Comment_120802425

I never once said that. I’ve said numerous times actually that despite being a mod of course I am not infallible and can get it wrong.

The thing is some posters don’t help themselves either with how they handle being warned/banned. The fastest way not to get help is to become abusive and that seems to be most peoples first call.

If you seriously think a volunteer moderator on a discussion site needs to be given training you’re just not living in the real world. Then I suppose you think I submitted a CV and was interviewed for the mod so maybe you’re not.