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

Ursus Horribilis · 18-01-2018 08:48PM

That all sounds fair. I must've missed that while reading through the thread

Calahonda52 · 18-01-2018 08:51PM

anna080 wrote: »

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:

internet planet

BBDBB · 18-01-2018 09:03PM

My thoughts

Users -
1)Stop being a dick
2) Be more tolerant, without voice tone or body language sometimes the written word doesnt mean the worst possible version of what you thought was said. So stop before your competitive streak makes you reply and think about what has been said

Mods

1) The clue is in the name - Moderation, sometimes all it takes is a gentle word
2) Stop trying to "organise" the fun, conversations go off topic in real life, those tangents are part of any discussion, they dont always need deleting/moving. If discussion has any value its in its freedom to roam

Thanks to all who make this place fun and interesting.

19-01-2018 12:19AM

BBDBB wrote: »

My thoughts
............
............
Thanks to all who make this place fun and interesting.

You’d really enjoy the werewolf forum.

19-01-2018 12:30AM

One of the greatest annoyances on boards is that threads are allowed to go on for 100+ pages, this is ridiculous it would be a lot better if it was kept to no more than about 50 pages max. Get the point and not rambling after rambling , off topic for 50 pages etc.

Next is the continuous repetitive Threads like, "The Catholic Church" "Middle lane Drivers"

Next comes over modding , Boards has to be the most over modded forum on Earth , there's just far too many !

I'd really like to see a thread limit of 50 pages.

KERSPLAT! · 19-01-2018 12:44AM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

One of the greatest annoyances on boards is that threads are allowed to go on for 100+ pages, this is ridiculous it would be a lot better if it was kept to no more than about 50 pages max. Get the point and not rambling after rambling , off topic for 50 pages etc.

Next is the continuous repetitive Threads like, "The Catholic Church" "Middle lane Drivers"

Next comes over modding , Boards has to be the most over modded forum on Earth , there's just far too many !

I'd really like to see a thread limit of 50 pages.

Just unsub from a thread you're done with.

_Dara_ · 19-01-2018 02:03AM

bot44 wrote: »

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.

Deleting usernames is fine but I hate the idea of deleting posts.

A huge part of why I don’t really use reddit is that often the threads are unreadable with gaps. I read many old threads on boards, it’s a fascinating archive. A huge plus of this site for me is the chronological format of threads and the fact that they remain intact for the most part. The option to delete posts would indeed make many old threads unreadable and worthless. And how would you deal with posts that quote deleted posts? The people who did the quoting might not want their posts deleted or edited in order to erase someone else’s footprint. And boards doesn’t hide the fact that posts can’t be deleted. People posted with the knowledge that this was the case.

Not everyone likes Reddit’s format. And Facebook is not a messageboard. I consider it to be in a separate category to forum sites.

19-01-2018 02:05AM

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

Just unsub from a thread you're done with.

Or from Boards.ie !

But seriously the threads are a complete mess most of the time, rambling on and on and on.

boards.ie needs to re-invent itself.

Calahonda52 · 19-01-2018 08:37AM

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

Just unsub from a thread you're done with.

A facile response, symptomatic of the underlying malaise that permeates boards.ie at the higher levels

Rikand · 19-01-2018 08:47AM

Calahonda52 wrote: »

A facile response, symptomatic of the underlying malaise that permeates boards.ie at the higher levels

I'm disappointed that you gave up on the fancy words at the end of your post. I was expecting you to close with "upper echelons" or something equally high brow. Boards needs more fancy words!

Discodog · 19-01-2018 08:48AM

Deleted User wrote: »

One of the greatest annoyances on boards is that threads are allowed to go on for 100+ pages, this is ridiculous it would be a lot better if it was kept to no more than about 50 pages max. Get the point and not rambling after rambling , off topic for 50 pages etc.

Next is the continuous repetitive Threads like, "The Catholic Church" "Middle lane Drivers"

Next comes over modding , Boards has to be the most over modded forum on Earth , there's just far too many !

I'd really like to see a thread limit of 50 pages.

Says the person who posted on page 49 :pac:

Just stop reading if the content doesn't interest you anymore.

Beasty · 19-01-2018 10:24AM

It also depends what your page default is!

However there is no one-size fits all to thread length. We have an upper limit of 10,000 posts, but even then with the chat threads we start follow-ups

Try telling Liverpool or United fans that they must stop discussing a cup final that goes into extra-time at half time though? Think we'd have a bit of a backlash with that one.

CruelCoin · 19-01-2018 10:36AM

If new user retention is an issue, then you need to discourage behaviour that turns off the newbies.

Example: New User makes a thread and the first response is "been done before, use search, duuuuuh"

People making those statements need to get warnings and bans.

Asking a user to trawl through the search history before posting is crap, especially if the preceding thread is a zombie thread, which you shouldn't resurrect anyway)

LynnGrace · 19-01-2018 11:23AM

Would like to see opportunity for input to charter, obviously for a limited time, on individual fora. Not looking for an opportunity to attack mods, by the way, as most of them do a good job. Just feel that some forum mods and their fora would benefit from asking posters for input every now and again. Things change and the charters don't always keep up. It would possibly be a useful way to remind posters too of what is and is not acceptable.

Thanks for this thread, btw. It has been very constructive, overall, in my opinion.

19-01-2018 11:24AM

New Users could be limited in the first say, 50 - 100 posts ? can't create threads for instance before a certain number of posts have been reached.

New Users could be made to post first in a " New User " thread with a list of rules as stickies at the top, where thy also introduce themselves.

A thread limit is necessary because people as stated above can't be expected to read through 100 pages, all relevant information is lost beyond a certain page and the thread has all sorts of topics mixed in with all sorts of opinions.

Tell me how · 19-01-2018 11:33AM

CruelCoin wrote:

Example: New User makes a thread and the first response is "been done before, use search, duuuuuh"

Asking a user to trawl through the search history before posting is crap, especially if the preceding thread is a zombie thread, which you shouldn't resurrect anyway)

Agree very much with this. Maybe if someone was inclined to respond dismissively, they instead could post a link to the existing "active thread" with a more welcoming tone.
Hard to see how Boards could create this behaviour though.

The search function is, umm, quirky to say the least.

Pepefrogok · 19-01-2018 12:00PM

Not constantly banning new members for the same reason then retracting it without apology would be cool.

pilly · 19-01-2018 12:08PM

Tell me how wrote: »

Agree very much with this. Maybe if someone was inclined to respond dismissively, they instead could post a link to the existing "active thread" with a more welcoming tone.
Hard to see how Boards could create this behaviour though.

The search function is, umm, quirky to say the least.

I did a search yesterday for Weather and the 1st post that came up was 6 years old!! What's the story with that?

GreeBo · 19-01-2018 12:09PM

Deleted User wrote: »

New Users could be limited in the first say, 50 - 100 posts ? can't create threads for instance before a certain number of posts have been reached.

New Users could be made to post first in a " New User " thread with a list of rules as stickies at the top, where thy also introduce themselves.

A thread limit is necessary because people as stated above can't be expected to read through 100 pages, all relevant information is lost beyond a certain page and the thread has all sorts of topics mixed in with all sorts of opinions.

I'd guess that a lot of new users join specifically to start a thread and ask a question, maybe not in AH but certainly in a lot of the other "knowledge based" forums.

Adding a restriction like above would stop many people from bothering to sign up.

GreeBo · 19-01-2018 12:10PM

pilly wrote: »

I did a search yesterday for Weather and the 1st post that came up was 6 years old!! What's the story with that?

Sorted by "most relevant" (which may be weighted based on size of thread etc)

Just sort by newest first if thats what you want.

Quazzie · 19-01-2018 12:33PM

pilly wrote: »

I did a search yesterday for Weather and the 1st post that came up was 6 years old!! What's the story with that?

You Laugh You Lose threads are among the most popular across the whole site, but when you search for "you laugh you lose" you don't get the current thread, or even any of the older ones either. In fact you've to go to the second page of results to find even an old one.

The search function on Boards.ie just doesn't work, and it's not an issue anyone in the offices tend to give any fucks about

Beasty · 19-01-2018 12:38PM

I don't know how it works, but for me it only seems to recognise the first two words of a search term, and I try to include the 2 words that are least likely to result in alternatives to what I'm looking for.

GreeBo · 19-01-2018 12:39PM

Quazzie wrote: »

You Laugh You Lose threads are among the most popular across the whole site, but when you search for "you laugh you lose" you don't get the current thread, or even any of the older ones either. In fact you've to go to the second page of results to find even an old one.

The search function on Boards.ie just doesn't work, and it's not an issue anyone in the offices tend to give any fucks about

Thats probably because the threads are not called "You laugh you lose"

Did you try searching for YLYL?
Second result.

Ken. · 19-01-2018 12:50PM

A mentor program might be something worth exploring.
Members of long standing sign up to be mentors to new users. When a new person signs up they can pick a box to take a mentor. If they tick they get randomly assigned a mentor whom they can pm for help.

Mentors would have their own forum with access for them and admins only. Mods of forums could be given access to help on a case by case basis.

whoopsadoodles · 19-01-2018 01:31PM

[Deleted User] wrote: »

New Users could be limited in the first say, 50 - 100 posts ? can't create threads for instance before a certain number of posts have been reached.

New Users could be made to post first in a " New User " thread with a list of rules as stickies at the top, where thy also introduce themselves.

A thread limit is necessary because people as stated above can't be expected to read through 100 pages, all relevant information is lost beyond a certain page and the thread has all sorts of topics mixed in with all sorts of opinions.

You've said that you think the place is overmoderated but the only changes you want made are extra moderation?

animaal · 19-01-2018 01:50PM

The biggest strength of boards is its local focus. If I want to sample opinions of some new video game, I won't think to go to Boards first. But if I want to see some opinions of an Irish matter, Boards will usually be my first port of call. I would guess that the number of visitors to Boards sees a huge increase around the time of any referendum or big scandal.

For me, the biggest weakness of Boards is over moderation in some cases, and biased moderation in other cases. There are certain topics that affect me in day to day life, but I wouldn't dream of visiting the relevant forums on Boards. I'd rather not mention specific forums/Mods, but let's make up an example - a forum titled "juggling". It has many regular members who are fanatical jugglers. Anybody who starts a thread that's in any way critical of juggling, or particular jugglers, or references an external article that's critical of juggling, is attacked. That's if the thread is left open for long enough by the moderator, who himself is a juggler. As a result, that forum is a general discussion area for enthusiastic jugglers, rather than a home for discussion of general juggling-centric topics.

Scotty # · 19-01-2018 02:47PM

I don't think it has anything to do with mod'ing or the search function, etc, etc...

Boards.ie is just another form of social media but bulletin boards have become quite dated compared to what's out there these days. They're just not phone friendly enough. I bet the drop in figures also correspond with the rise in mobile visitors.

Jerry Mac · 19-01-2018 02:55PM

Conspectus wrote: »

A mentor program might be something worth exploring.
Members of long standing sign up to be mentors to new users. When a new person signs up they can pick a box to take a mentor. If they tick they get randomly assigned a mentor whom they can pm for help.

Mentors would have their own forum with access for them and admins only. Mods of forums could be given access to help on a case by case basis.

You would want to be having nothing happening in your real life to devote time like that.

GreeBo · 19-01-2018 03:06PM

Jerry Mac wrote: »

You would want to be having nothing happening in your real life to devote time like that.

Its also the polar opposite to the attitude taken by the more modern sites that many believe are taking traffic from boards.

CruelCoin · 19-01-2018 03:23PM

Jerry Mac wrote: »

You would want to be having nothing happening in your real life to devote time like that.

Mentor programs are proven winners in areas where new-user retention is poor.

Eve Online as a game for example has a terrible new player experience, and ever since the introduction of the mentor program, retention has shot up.

Some people just like helping and supporting the activity they enjoy.

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