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boards.ie in June 2022

Grady Boyd

What will boards.ie and after hours be like in 5 years time ? I'd say a lot of smaller forums will have closed, others will have merged and after hours will be more of a General discussion forum merged maybe with all the politics fourms.

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RDM_83 again

I thought this was a interesting post over on Reddit about the future here that wasn't just the standard complaints

Contrary to most views expressed here, though, heavy moderation can't have been Boards' only problem - I would say it just defined the shape of the collapse. Politics.ie, which is very lightly moderated, has also died a death compared to its previous heights.
Both forums suffer from the same basic problem - capture by small groups of users. In the case of Boards, the small groups tend to reflect the preferences of the forum mods, in the case of p.ie, it's the more extreme posters. Both result in ever-smaller ranges of opinion, with the same people making the same points about every new thing.
There might be some kind of 'habitable zone' for forums, with death by runaway processes either side - cold runaway (Mars/Boards) with heavy moderation, hot runaway (Venus/p.ie) with none. I don't think any forum has a permanent place in the sun.

Personally I think the way that there is literally nowhere for users (this thread will be locked most likely), who are the content generators to post about the direction of the site and recent changes that have occurred says a lot about the site.

I see the plug being pulled on the site, I would have thought it would be a gradual decline but the changes to Feedback the way and the response to the issues in a very busy forum (politics cafe) point to whoever runs the site these days not being that concerned about growing the site and retaining existing users.

RDM_83 again

super_furry wrote: »

I get the feeling that boards is being left behind by younger people who just don't see it as a place they'd visit. Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat and Twitter are the places where the newer communities are forming and I'd be very interested in seeing the boards.ie demographics. I'd bet there's very few newer users under the age of 18/19 here nowadays.

I think there is some space for these types of forums even if its reduced in the amount of total traffic, not everyone who is younger likes to have everything linked to their real name. Reddit has a pretty young userbase AFAIK.

super_furry

RDM_83 again wrote: »

I think there is some space for these types of forums even if its reduced in the amount of total traffic, not everyone who is younger likes to have everything linked to their real name. Reddit has a pretty young userbase AFAIK.

Yeah but people leave here and they're not replaced. It's an interesting point you make because /r/ireland is almost exactly the same kind of place at After Hours was maybe 10 years ago. There's more than a few people there that would have been regulars here in the past but left for one reason or another.

Yourself isit

petes wrote: »

It won't be around in a lot shorter time than that. Just checked feedback and you can't post on any of the current threads. A quote from Niamh herself 'to combat negative whinging' that's the view from the top down. Site has gone to **** in the last year. Any suggestions fall on deaf ears, the moderation is a joke and always has been.

I only frequent a couple of threads now but can't see myself staying either.

It's fairly insane that a customer complaint forum is basically shut down in response to customer complaints. Because too complainy.

The new politics cafe forum is dead but AH threads are being shunted in there to die. As a business proposition this removes traffic. In a web site with declining traffic.

I too think many people will move on by 2022. I don't like reddit though. Not sure where I will be.

koumi

I dunno about boards but I have a missed call on my phone dated the 20/03/2022 so I'll let you know then what happens.

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super_furry

Yourself isit wrote: »

It's fairly insane that a customer complaint forum is basically shut down in response to customer complaints. Because too complainy.

business-commerce-work-workers-employee-employer-staff-mfln1482_low.jpg

snowflaker

Boards will be dead. Tommy Robinson appreciation threads excepted

Fred Swanson

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Lackey

super_furry wrote: »

I get the feeling that boards is being left behind by younger people who just don't see it as a place they'd visit. Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat and Twitter are the places where the newer communities are forming and I'd be very interested in seeing the boards.ie demographics. I'd bet there's very few newer users under the age of 18/19 here nowadays.

Easy to see by looking at the Leaving Cert forum,
Serious decline in posts from a few years ago

RobbingBandit

The great Tayto shortage of 2021 will still be hard to bare, the vote on a united Ireland will be narrowly defeated and will cause the site to implode,

osarusan

The changes to Feedback are in keeping with the tendency to do nothing for too long and then suddenly go the other way and completely overreact.

Setanter

petes wrote: »

It won't be around in a lot shorter time than that. Just checked feedback and you can't post on any of the current threads. A quote from Niamh herself 'to combat negative whinging' that's the view from the top down. Site has gone to **** in the last year. Any suggestions fall on deaf ears, the moderation is a joke and always has been.

I only frequent a couple of threads now but can't see myself staying either.

Safe trip

Irish Guitarist

After the robot uprising there will be a thread about it's racist to judge all robots by the actions of a few. Just because they wiped out two thirds of the human race doesn't mean they're all bad. Someone will reply to this thread saying "my entire family was killed by robots". Someone else will quote them and change the word 'robot' to 'aliens' to make a point.

There will be another thread about a robot that asked a bakery for a cake but was refused because it was run by members of the resistance. The robot decimated every staff member by shooting them with his laser beam eyes. The general consensus will be that the staff deserved it for their prejudice.

RobbingBandit

What about the monkey uprising, followed by the ape uprising followed by the snail uprising till we salt the ****ers thus causing the tayto shortage.

Jurgen Klopp

Things were bad, but Jesus the pre moderation they brought in for feedback said it all tbh.

Essentially closing down your complaints forum because you got too many complaints

It's like a small shop down the road from an Aldis and Lidls where instead of doing everything they can to keep loyal customers the staff are constantly being rude to customers, never stock most items people want and charge €2 more for each item compared to shops down the road, then regularly have meetings behind closed doors trying to figure out why no one is coming in anymore

Fr_Dougal

I'd say numbers will have dropped off even more.

Usually BS excuse will be given as a reason for this, 'ah shur Facebook and Twitter are killing us off, derp de derp".

Grady Boyd

So any suggestions on how boards can stay relevant going forward ?

Laois_Man

Grady Boyd wrote: »

So any suggestions on how boards can stay relevant going forward ?

In the short-term, the mobile app needs to be dramatically improved.

In the medium to long term, think it needs an AR facility accessible by wearable devices the doesn't just take keyboard inputs - said facility needs to come stocked with an abundant supply of Coke & Hookers.

Boom_Bap

Mod Note

Can I ask that you don't use After Hours to take a steamer on the changes to Feeback or the Politics Cafe please.

Feedback is the place for that, the forum still exists for that purpose.

Cheers

RedTie

Grady Boyd wrote: »

So any suggestions on how boards can stay relevant going forward ?

Close down and reopen as Reddit Ireland.

conorhal

Jurgen Klopp wrote: »

Things were bad, but Jesus the pre moderation they brought in for feedback said it all tbh.

Essentially closing down your complaints forum because you got too many complaints

It's like a small shop down the road from an Aldis and Lidls where instead of doing everything they can to keep loyal customers the staff are constantly being rude to customers, never stock most items people want and charge €2 more for each item compared to shops down the road, then regularly have meetings behind closed doors trying to figure out why no one is coming in anymore

This is a local boards for local people! We don't want your 'kind' in here!

Lux23

Seeing as it isn't all that different to 2012 I would imagine it will be almost exactly the same as today.

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DEFTLEFTHAND

To be brutally honest I don't think the site will survive another 5 years.

I hope I'm wrong but I just can't see it.

Wibbs

I could see it being bought by a crowd like VerticalScope who have bought up a load of specialist forums across the interwebs. Even low number niche forums can appeal to someone like that as the spread the costs and reap the advertising across many forums.

jmayo

RayM wrote: »

Some of the posters who hate Muslims will still be around, but they'll have moved on to hating some other group by then.

snowflaker wrote: »

Boards will be dead. Tommy Robinson appreciation threads excepted

Ahh FFS.

Can't we have a discussion without your usual shyte.

Collie D wrote: »

The usual AH event mega thread will be opened up for the World Cup and then we'll realise some dope decided to let a desert host it and it's been moved to winter

I can't wait for that World Cups babe thread. :rolleyes:

The site is dying, I have been around here since early 2007.
It now reminds me a bit of Ask About Money where Brendan decided at the height of housing bubble to ban any mention of it.

Current affairs discussion has been hijacked and now the usual official shutdown response is that comments or topics are not deemed worthy enough to be left on site.

Politics Cafe actually recreated the day in the Dail when ceann comhairle John O'Donghoue decided to go mad with the ban hammer.

It looks like there was a mod shake up with some returning to traffic duty and the Cafe was butchered and now sits like a eunuchs get together.

Other forums have had mods that are Walter Mittys.

There are still some good forums/threads, but they are becoming the minority around here now.

BowSideChamp

Boards is dying and probably won't survive to see 2022. Looking at Google Trends it appears interest in the site peaked around 2010. I'm sure the sites fcuking around with the "responsive site" and layout will not have helped matters. Indeed the company hasn't made a profit with accumulated losses of nearly €600k

Fr_Dougal

BowSideChamp wrote: »

Boards is dying and probably won't survive to see 2022. Looking at Google Trends it appears interest in the site peaked around 2010. I'm sure the sites fcuking around with the "responsive site" and layout will not have helped matters. Indeed the company hasn't made a profit with accumulated losses of nearly €600k

Have a look at their lates figures, they're making a profit now.

BowSideChamp

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Have a look at their lates figures, they're making a profit now.

Their latest financial statements (YE 15') show a loss of €70k.