What happened to Boards.ie - genuine question

Specific people from Boards or the other place spoke with this one psychiatric nurse? Sure Jan.

suvigirl

Vaguely remember someone setting up another site after the changeover.....is that the one? Can't even remember it's name....

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758727#Comment_120758727

The other place, and their cousin just so happens to post here too.

Royale with Cheese

I'm here since 2005, although had an earlier account with a couple of posts in it from 2003, we'll say 20 years so. If I go back and look at my posts from 2005 now there is absolutely no way I'd post most of them these days. I was 20 back then and used the site very differently, and I suspect a lot of people are the same. That has nothing to do with becoming middle aged, fat, balding or right wing. You just change a lot over those 20 years. Also having used the site for that long I'm far more likely to realise when it's not worth getting involved in a thread, which is quite a lot of the time. The same general discussions have been covered to death in that time too which might be why we're largely left with highly divisive current affairs discussions now.

Tavrin Callas

Why is this thread in Current Affairs - genuine question

Tavrin Callas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758428#Comment_120758428

I have to disagree with you there. Echo chambers and bad, and dangerous, no matter which side of the spectrum the echo comes from.

To quote (not)Voltaire - I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

And Noam Chomsky says it well too - The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.

It's not on when posters are abusive or deliberately baiting, but a reasonable comment on whatever controversial subject you can think of, should be allowed. I know Boards is a private company and can set its own rules, but I do think a shame that that side of it has been stymied.

PommieBast

Whenever I hear remarks about the standard of discussions it makes me think about what Usenet was like back in the mid-1990s. By that measure I don't think Boards is notably bad.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758642#Comment_120758642

No there aren't 😆

ZookeeperDub

Like what is the point of boards when you have threads full of people just copying and pasting content from twitter? with little to no content. Just skip the middle man and read twitter.

If someone hasn't the imagination to think up their own opinion should boards really allowed just multiple posts of people copying and pasting from twitter?

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759098#Comment_120759098

Yes. There were.

I didn’t remove my previous “signature” on here for no reason.

The last thing I’d want is for some deranged oddball turning up on my doorstep putting me, and my family, in danger simply because I don’t hate trans people or immigrants.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759163#Comment_120759163

What did the guards say about these threats from "deranged oddballs"?

As an aside, calling someone a deranged oddball is most unkind.

Arghus

I don't think moderation is the cause in the drop off of activity. There's less moderation and moderators on boards now than there ever was in the past.

There's plenty of forums on here where there doesn't seem to be any active moderation at all these days. And there's others where there's been no discernable change in moderation style or frequency for years and yet the traffic and activity is way, way, down on what it once was. I can think of the films forum or gigs/events as examples, both are forums where the moderation is pretty much as it always was, but the forums are nowhere near as active.

I think it's just fundamentally message boards and discussion boards are increasingly old fashioned across the board and the userbase has aged out and there's not a constant stream of newer posters to keep things fresh. There's fck all posters under the age of 25 on the site tbh. If you visit reddit - which I think is vastly inferior in many ways - it's obvious that the userbase is much younger. It's an interesting contrast sometimes often to see how an issue in the news is talked about on reddit and how it is discussed on boards.

And if a site like this starts to go stale it has a cumulative effect where people are less inclined to post or even read it - and posting just starts dropping across the board.

Now, obviously, boards didn't help itself with the changeover. Maybe it had to be done, maybe they had reached the end of road with vbulletin, or didn't have the resources available to support it anymore - but it was a real pity, as it was a joy to use, navigate and even look at compared to vanilla. Which is, quite frankly, crap. The place hasn't felt the same since. And that's hastened the departure of many.

Ten of Swords

Mod - Thread is not a current affair however it can stay if users wish to discuss the good and bad aspects of the old and new platforms *civilly*

Do NOT use this thread to have a go at other users (past or present)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759163#Comment_120759163

How would they know who you are, where you live etc?

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758977#Comment_120758977

I never understood why echo chambers were seen as a bad thing. I don’t know you, and I’m not making assumptions, but I have found that those with more conservative beliefs are often the ones to complain about echo chambers more than others.

To me it’s more one less thing to argue about, so here’s my recipe for pancakes. Also, why would you want to go back to a website to get enraged and to argue constantly? It’s the main reason the Musk taking over twitter made me quit.

Life is too short, why is hanging out with people who agree with you a bad thing?

Ignoramus of Loyola

I would've been here almost twenty years now, and I poke my head in every so often just to see what's going on; honestly it's been saddening to see Boards spiralling down into right-wing extremism. All the top threads are just endless whinge-fests about people right-wingers don't like. Websites like that inevitably collapse because it drives away the majority of ordinary, reasonable people. Why surround yourself with that kind of misery and hatred when you can just.. not?

I am by no means a young person any more, sadly, but my life has lent me a lot of perspective about what it means to be on the receiving end of that kind of hatred. And when the largest, most active forum on the site serves as a platform for it? I'm sure I needn't spell out the obvious.

CGI_Livia_Soprano

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759500#Comment_120759500

The problem is that those right-wing whingers dont think of themselves as such, they think that they are the reasonable, “centrist”, rational ones and the people standing up for marginalised communities who are constantly under attack are “wokies,” “snowflakes,” “loony lefties,” and so on.

lmao10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759500#Comment_120759500

Yeah the best you can do is ignore list those posters but I've seen on some of their telegram groups that their actual goal is the disintegration of the forum and the moderators and owners are letting it happen. It's none of my business how the forum is run but it's clear as day to see where it's going. I remember reading boards years ago and you'd see boards beers type things and people all posting their photos in certain threads and a great sense of camaraderie. You wouldn't see anything like that now.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759496#Comment_120759496

What's the point in a discussion forum with people only agreeing with each other?

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758554#Comment_120758554

These are people who think it's good for children to identify as cats, wolves, or moons. If that's not some form of mental illness, then I don't know what is.

it’s exactly these kind of baseless accusations towards users that gets peoples posts deleted and their accounts banned, not “wrongthink.” I haven’t seen anyone on the website ever uphold anyone identifying as cats, wolves or moons.

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759773#Comment_120759773

So you can talk about other things? Or you can enjoy like minded conversation? I’m on a dads forum, left leaning, accepts anyone that identifies as a dad, gay straight, trans whatever, and it’s lovely and a breath of fresh air.

What’s the point in antagonising yourself by going on a forum where you have to constantly battle? I do it here because I used to care a lot more about this place and have seen it slip to the right in the last 10/15 years, and I don’t like that. If I was a new user seeing boards for the first time, I’d run a mile. I’m only here because I have history with the place.

But not sharing views doesn't automatically mean a battle. People can discuss and disagree civilly. Discussion isn't taking place if it's just like minded folk. The problem is when they aren't civil, which, granted, is often the case here - from all "sides". But mere disagreement (and I'm not talking about extremist views - just disagreement) in and of itself shouldn't be a problem. It's the essence of discussion.

Conservatives aren't always rabidly rightwing either. For instance I'm pro choice but I don't mind people being pro life once they're civil. I'm atheist but I have religious family members whom I care deeply about.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759786#Comment_120759786

Last time my cat went near my keyboard, it was something like ';lkasf9gv[oABENC'L;baxIC VQWD8342TO HJK.

This might be why we don't see any users here claiming such things.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759786#Comment_120759786

This always comes across as the most transparent form of projection to me. It's entirely baseless nonsense as you've said and we've repeatedly seen the right aggressively attempt to shut down any dissent.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759895#Comment_120759895

Especially the trans panic and groomer panic projection lately... ‘Oh everyone on thread who thinks trans women have civil rights must believe in kids identifying as cats, getting kickboxed by grown adults and force little girls to stare at penises.’ It’s droll and seems to supplant any critically thinking arguments on the topics. And then mods have to clean that crap up.

CGI_Livia_Soprano

Asking members of marginalised groups to be “civil” when they are fighting for their rights really is the height of arrogance and privilege.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759163#Comment_120759163

How did removing your signature here make you and your family safer?

nachouser

It's hard to take them seriously as "the right" though, they're just a bunch of ars*holes who, you can be fairly sure, would have entirely different personas in mixed company or at a work night out.

Tavrin Callas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759496#Comment_120759496

I don’t know you, and I’m not making assumptions, but I have found that those with more conservative beliefs are often the ones to complain about echo chambers more than others.

You may remember me from such threads as the Barbarity of drug pushers where you and I were pretty much in agreement about legalisation, so I don't think you'd call me altogether conservative!!

Though I guess there are topics you probably would call me conservative about.

Toxic arguments are not good for mental health and I generally avoid them myself. But, when people are respectful and put forward well thought out arguments, there can be a benefit to discussions between people of opposing views. Not that it happens much online though, but that's the shame of it! And when everyone just starts migrating to their own corner of the internet where everyone just agrees with each other then there can be no progress. Even if those discussions don't change your mind, there's a benefit to them as it may help you gain empathy with others by seeing where they are coming from with their perspectives.

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120759914#Comment_120759914

This appeal to emotion can be applied by anyone on any side though. So yes we must remain civil.