The slow death of forums see OP for Admin warning and update 28/02/18

Boards.ie: Mark · 18-01-2018 12:59PM

I really like some of the suggestions being made here, though some of them require dev work, which means added discussion and slotting into a packed schedule - some have been raised in the past, in Site Development and the likes, and haven't been forgotten about (the ability to hide your username when logged in for example, but in the meantime you may have to cleverly position a post-it on your monitor

).

Non-tech solutions are certainly things that we'll have more control over. So things like whether Forum Requests is the right place or whether it should be on a Category by Category basis is food for thought. And we could be more experimental / proactive (if a topic is particularly popular, which is how the Fighting Game forum came to be for one - built up a community of active posters in a thread and then when the Forum Request was put forward, they flooded in and it was easy to see that the interest was there).

Virtual Reality Gaming slipped through the cracks and I apologise for that, but that's something that we can tackle now.

Boards.ie: Mark · 18-01-2018 01:03PM

As for the deletion of posts and concerns over personal information, mass deletion would render the forum unusable at times. However, if there are concerns about particular posts and threads, you can contact mods as Conspectus said or e-mail us. I can't promise that what you would like disappeared will be deleted, but we will review posts.

whoopsadoodles · 18-01-2018 01:06PM

Kurtosis wrote: »

I didn't interpret Victor's post as suggesting AH was the starting point for this hatred, moreso that he didn't see much of it elsewhere so perhaps these organised efforts to spout bigotry aren't dealt with as well as they could be in AH.

Thank you that does make sense. Not saying I agree with it but the point is clearer

bot44 · 18-01-2018 01:14PM

Boards.ie: Mark wrote: »

As for the deletion of posts and concerns over personal information, mass deletion would render the forum unusable at times.

How would it render the forum unusable? This issue doesnt affect Reddit or Facebook?

Madness that users dont have control of their own content two days after they post it, forcing users to close accounts and open new ones to obfuscate their identities and protect their privacy. To top it off, Boards tell us we are liable for the content we post even though they prevent us removing it!

This is totally unworkable in 2018 and will spell the end (along with the ridiculous over-zealous moderation) for Boards eventually.

Delirium · 18-01-2018 01:19PM

bot44 wrote: »

How would it render the forum unusable? This issue doesnt affect Reddit or Facebook?

Madness that users dont have control of their own content two days after they post it, forcing users to close accounts and open new ones to obfuscate their identities and protect their privacy. To top it off, Boards tell us we are liable for the content we post even though they prevent us removing it!

This is totally unworkable in 2018 and will spell the end (along with the ridiculous over-zealous moderation) for Boards eventually.

what would you suggest happens to active threads where the initial post is included in the bulk delete of posts for a user? Do you drop the active thread?

Pintman Paddy Losty · 18-01-2018 01:24PM

A simple solution that doesn't require a tech workaround is removing the access request from Politics Cafe.

That forum went from being one of the most popular forums on the site to a graveyard overnight due to the access system. This decision needs to be reviewed.

bot44 · 18-01-2018 01:24PM

Delirium wrote: »

what would you suggest happens to active threads where the initial post is included in the bulk delete of posts for a user? Do you drop the active thread?

Could do the same thing that happens on Reddit, initial post shows <deleted>. Or show <deleted account> instead of the posters name if you must preserve the content of initial posts in a thread.

bot44 · 18-01-2018 01:26PM

Pintman Paddy Losty wrote: »

A simple solution that doesn't require a tech workaround is removing the access request from Politics Cafe.

That forum went from being one of the most popular forums on the site to a graveyard overnight due to the access system. This decision needs to be reviewed.

This one is the most comical example of the moderation Boards is widely mocked for. One of the mods is on there celebrating that there are no reported posts now too, gas.

He's delighted that he doesn't have to moderate it any more.

Boards.ie: Mark · 18-01-2018 01:32PM

bot44 wrote: »

How would it render the forum unusable? This issue doesnt affect Reddit or Facebook?

Madness that users dont have control of their own content two days after they post it, forcing users to close accounts and open new ones to obfuscate their identities and protect their privacy. To top it off, Boards tell us we are liable for the content we post even though they prevent us removing it!

This is totally unworkable in 2018 and will spell the end (along with the ridiculous over-zealous moderation) for Boards eventually.

To me, they are quite different. Historical content on Boards is often useful and informative, or at the very least it can provide some insight into the way things were. I think a more accurate comparison would be to giving an interview; if you say something on public record, it's there forever.

Reddit has issues with OPs / highly rated comments being deleted. What frequently happens is someone else posts the image / gif / whatever (often titled "I've no idea why the OP deleted this...". And seeing a highly rated comment deleted breaks the flow - you can either look at the nested comments to get an idea or wonder what was.

But, as I say, highlight concerns to mods or e-mail us.

18-01-2018 01:38PM

Jayop wrote: »

For boards to compete with those it needs to be better than what it is and inconsistent at times agenda driven moderation is without doubt the worst thing about boards right now.

I'm not sure it is agenda driven (although a moderators personal opinion will no doubt influence their moderating) but it is the inconsistency and unwillingness to engage in debate about moderating decisions that i believe is a problem.

I think a lot of this comes down to what people's expectations are. To a lot of us, this is somewhere that topics can be debated and explored. Is this how "Boards Inc" see it, or are they just interested in lots of traffic to drive up the google ads revenue?

pilly · 18-01-2018 01:40PM

Discodog wrote: »

Totally agree. Mods should be told to watch out for this. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I don't know about this. Yes everyone is entitled to their opinion but where the problem arises is where people make sweeping statements as facts where there is no basis for them. That kind of sh1t belongs on Facebook.

A silly example say "cranberry juice cures cancer". It may be an opinion but it certainly can't go unchallenged by intelligent posters.

CruelCoin · 18-01-2018 01:51PM

TallGlass wrote: »

More and more I find myself going to post, writing a post out and then going 'naaahhh' not worth the effort and cancel it.

For me its the PC culture that does this.

I can no longer type out what I want to say without fear of a SJW gender spaghetti manbagging horde chasing me down with pitchforks.

CruelCoin · 18-01-2018 01:56PM

Beasty wrote: »

I am proposing we close this thread around lunchtime on Friday. This allows anyone who feels they have more to add, or think we have missed an important suggestion to respond accordingly.

Can we make all AMA guests completely anonymous?

The "Now Ye're Talking - to a video game journalist" was a joke for example.

Because the guest was identified, the thread devolved into a fanfest.
The guest pointedly ignored the vast majority of questions about the actual industry that did not refer to him or his work, and instead spent more or less the entire thread preening.

Anonymous guests would increase the quality of the discussion.

18-01-2018 01:57PM

pilly wrote: »

I don't know about this. Yes everyone is entitled to their opinion but where the problem arises is where people make sweeping statements as facts where there is no basis for them. That kind of sh1t belongs on Facebook.

A silly example say "cranberry juice cures cancer". It may be an opinion but it certainly can't go unchallenged by intelligent posters.

No, but when 80% of posters believe that cranberry juice does solve cancer and attack anyone who disagrees, you have a problem.

HowItsMade · 18-01-2018 01:59PM

I'm 21 and the only one in my group of friends who'd post on a forum.

Having said that, I wouldn't know as I'd never admit to posting in here

For no major reason other than it being considered strange and old-fashioned..

oh the youth of today.

flc37ie6ojwkh8 · 18-01-2018 02:01PM

I don't think forums will ever die. Using whatsapp and facebook is a good way to communicate with people you know, but what about meeting new people or finding new opinions?

Captain Obvious · 18-01-2018 02:18PM

Beasty wrote: »

Everyone is responsible for anything they post here or elsewhere. Anyone can copy and paste anything in the public forums. And that's the point - it's public, and posters know that when they post. You may have the right to be forgotten, but your actions are not and cannot be eradicated. And that applies even if you post under your real name. If you post anonymously, what is there to be forgotten?

I think the law coming in May is much more expansive than that.

bot44 · 18-01-2018 02:21PM

Captain Obvious wrote: »

I think the law coming in May is much more expansive than that.

Indeed, GDPR will hopefully force Boards to allow its users control of their own personal information.

hots · 18-01-2018 02:37PM

bot44 wrote: »

Indeed, GDPR will hopefully force Boards to allow its users control of their own personal information.

It's not personal though, it's anonymized right?

5rtytry56 · 18-01-2018 02:52PM

A particular 'blight' which will never entirely be gotten rid of on boards is the use of the of DEFLECT gambit by the warrior "class" of poster ("class" is a nice way of describing them) It become more evident since 2017. Deflection adds more "noise" to a thread. Is it getting more difficult to tackle here?

bot44 · 18-01-2018 02:52PM

hots wrote: »

It's not personal though, it's anonymized right?

Most users post history contain information which could be used to identify them. Such information is subject to GDPR, the user is supposed to have control of that information, including the ability to delele it.

Chorus_suck · 18-01-2018 03:03PM

This post has been deleted.

batistuta9 · 18-01-2018 03:34PM

I wonder how mobile has affected the site, if at all?

It's handy for browsing but I feel it's better suited for short posts. it's not really great for threads where they'll be long replies/discussion etc.
Would you getting bothered getting into a serious discussion or controversial one on mobile?

The social media sites don't have this problem as most posts are shorter.

Green Peter · 18-01-2018 04:37PM

I gave up on the <snip> forum years ago. The mods were total pricks and signs on its a graveyard for information or discussion. It's a pity because it had potential. I'm no fan of Facebook but there are similar forums now that allow reasonable debate and that's where I go now. The mods lost the run of themselves in <snip> and the site managers failed or choose not to see it. I think this is repeated in many forums that are dying and until it's looked at seriously by the owners of the site their business will slowly be strangled.

This is more of it, editing the forum I was speaking about out of the post. You just proved my point admin.

Beasty · 18-01-2018 05:05PM

Just to follow-up on my previous update. the site-wide announcement made a couple of days ago has resulted in an influx of additional contributors to this thread. This is very encouraging as it means we are getting wider perspectives on issues, and I thank Kurtosis for the suggestion of the announcement.

In the circumstances I think it would be unfair to close it tomorrow, and we'll keep it open a bit longer, certainly into next week. I'm conscious of not allowing the discussion to drag on too long though, as we clearly need to start getting on with some of the "action" promised. I am therefore putting a new deadline of Wednesday (the 24th) afternoon for the thread to be closed.

FUBO · 18-01-2018 08:31PM

MODS MODS MODS to bloody strict handing out WARNINGS as if we were a crowd of children and then BANNING people
so much for freedom of speech
probably get banned for this as well

Ursus Horribilis · 18-01-2018 08:40PM

Trying to come up with a consistent modding policy is quite a challenge. One man's banter is another man's abuse. I would hate for boards to turn into the equivalent of the comments section on YouTube. There'll always be a need for moderation.

I wonder would some sort of discussion thread, using examples, be of use? Just to give everyone an idea of what is and isn't acceptable?

Beasty · 18-01-2018 08:40PM

FUBO wrote: »

MODS MODS MODS to bloody strict handing out WARNINGS as if we were a crowd of children and then BANNING people
so much for freedom of speech
probably get banned for this as well

You're not going to get banned for it. We have already committed to having a discussion amongst mods to try and get more consistency where it makes sense.

You refer to "bans" but there is no context other than "freedom of speech". In light of the fact this is a private website there is no freedom of speech here, which, I would suggest, caveats your feedback

Beasty · 18-01-2018 08:46PM

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Trying to come up with a consistent modding policy is quite a challenge. One man's banter is another man's abuse. I would hate for boards to turn into the equivalent of the comments section on YouTube. There'll always be a need for moderation.

I wonder would some sort of discussion thread, using examples, be of use? Just to give everyone an idea of what is and isn't acceptable?

There is no way modding will be "consistent" across the site, given the variety of topics and indeed specific limitation on what we can allow in certain areas. We've forums covering diverse topics such as politics, soccer, personal issues etc and there can never be a "one size fits all" Charter. Mods will always need to exercise varying amounts of discretion dependent on circumstances, particularly as charters can rarely accommodate every potential scenario

The things I think we can improve on have been raised in the thread already, including a consistent approach to in-thread warnings (such as updating OPs), and thread deleting. There are probably a few other areas, but I'm writing this without referring back to everything in a long thread

retro:electro · 18-01-2018 08:48PM

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Trying to come up with a consistent modding policy is quite a challenge. One man's banter is another man's abuse. I would hate for boards to turn into the equivalent of the comments section on YouTube. There'll always be a need for moderation.

I wonder would some sort of discussion thread, using examples, be of use? Just to give everyone an idea of what is and isn't acceptable?

I think if people need a template to guide them with respect to conversing civilly then they probably shouldn't be on the internet :pac:

The slow death of forums *see OP for Admin warning and update 28/02/18*

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The slow death of forums see OP for Admin warning and update 28/02/18