Site is a graveyard - How can boards save itself? [Threadbanned users in 1st post]

09-04-2024 03:03PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121997353#Comment_121997353

usually not to give them oxygen

Ten of Swords · 09-04-2024 03:21PM

When a rereg is banned typically all of their content is removed. Removing post #1 of any thread means the entire thread is removed

awec · 09-04-2024 03:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121997353#Comment_121997353

We have to remove so many re-reg and troll accounts that it would simply be a massive time sink to analyse every thread they create to see if it's worth keeping or not.

In general, I will nuke the account if they haven't got a lot of posts.

For the very few re-regs / trolls that manage to accrue a large post count before getting caught I will generally leave their content as it can cause a bit of a mess deleting a lot of posts.

Eibhir · 09-04-2024 03:31PM

I also feel covid's effects could be seen online. Some people were effected more than others by the various lockdowns. You could see this in reality with some returning to work etc.

Online people became more angry, frustrated, and this became evident far outside the issue of covid itself. The resultant conflict and increase in negativity brought about more bans and tension on sites like this. I suppose 2016 was a kick off year for polarisation Brexit, Trump and so on. Then Covid took over for 2 years, now Gaza.

Cultural wars, 'wokeism', left v right etc all sensitive areas which cause polarisation are difficult to mod.

Shan Doras · 09-04-2024 03:47PM

Has boards considered doing a gofundme type campaign to move to a better platform than vanilla?

o1s1n · 09-04-2024 04:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121996767#Comment_121996767

I was just about to mention the 'Post of the day' thing too. I remember when the thanks function was first introduced to the site and that was a cool little feature that resulted from it.

If I remember correctly, there was an account that 'liked' all the Post of the Day posts and you could click on that account's profile to look back through all the best posts.

Some of the charity fund raising stuff was great. Lots of boardsies in their nip in public spaces there for a bit. 😁

Ten of Swords · 09-04-2024 04:24PM

Post of the Day

Thread of the Day

Love.php

League of B*stards

None of these survived the migration :(

HildaOgdenx · 09-04-2024 04:36PM

I used to love the Most Thanked post feature, it often brought me into areas that I wouldn't usually read.

Always interesting or funny.

Tell me how · 09-04-2024 05:16PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121997793#Comment_121997793

I've mentioned this several times on feedback threads.

I used to read those posts on my lunch break and like you said it often ended up in me reading much more of the threads they were on that I may have missed for some reason.

I remember when I saw one of my posts be Most Thanked post for the first time and I legit got a buzz out of it.

I don't like that now, for popular posts, you can't see who has thanked them.

Necro · 09-04-2024 05:26PM

There's a whole Best Of option in the menu at the moment that has the sum total of nothing contained within. Why is it not populated with the sort of things that people are talking about here, Thread of the Day, Most Thanked, Post of the Day... Seems like a waste of a resource.

PmMeUrDogs · 09-04-2024 07:47PM

Positives as requested -

1. Post and thread of the day. Loved those.

2. Love.php was always good craic.

3. AH before CA. Now any "current affairs" go to CA, which I understand. But it's dry, serious and quite frankly a handful of posters arguing in circles. My suggestion would be allow current affairs in AH as well as in CA, or get rid of CA. It was always a mix of seriousness and light heartedness when discussing current affairs in AH, and that mix always felt good to me.

4. In general, boards is fantastic as a resource. Why I'm still here, albeit on an "alt" account because I nuked my previous accounts.

nachouser · 09-04-2024 08:13PM

I'd agree that the site can be a good resource but, let's be honest, "Thread of the Day, Most Thanked, Post of the Day..."

They would all be CA anti-trans, anti-immigrant, 33k civs being killed is perfectly fine, etc. The sh*t posters would win out. You can add the anti-bus lane lads to the list:-)

nachouser · 09-04-2024 08:45PM

I'd also wonder, why is there an actual allowed Gangland thread? With actual new accounts posting about stuff they've just done?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058103388/gangland-shootings-part-4-read-op-before-posting-updated-30-12-23

Anyone?

Quantum Erasure · 09-04-2024 09:00PM

SHhhh, you'll spoil the fun for everyone.

If you don't like it you don't have to click into it

Esel · 09-04-2024 09:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121998782#Comment_121998782

With actual new accounts posting about stuff they've just done?

Can you give examples of the above? I read the thread, but can't recollect any offhand.

SafeSurfer · 09-04-2024 10:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121991402#Comment_121991402

There seems to be a lack of consistency about what “being civil” means. For example the Russia thread is full of obnoxious racism which is never called out as long as it is aimed in the right direction.
I was banned from the Israel/Gaza thread for suggesting that a future Hamas leader, like the PLO before them, could be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. For this I was labeled, by a mod, “a Hamas apologist”! Merely for pointing out historic precedent.

bucketybuck · 09-04-2024 10:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999216#Comment_121999216

This weekend a poster quoted me to say I was talking nonsense, in fact I was talking complete bollocks, and that repeating it was on me than anything else.

Civil?

Apparently so, the mods appear to have no problem with the post. Its inherently a comment on a poster rather than the post, but all good seemingly.

For myself I have no more interest in hearing about being "uncivil".

Goldengirl · 09-04-2024 10:37PM

Haven't been feeling very positive here lately but mostly enjoy this site and have learned a lot from it since I started here .

Love the DIY, Gardening and "things you remember threads ..helpful , amusing and easy going posters .

Public transport is good too. Some very knowledgeable posters so I rarely contribute just read . Same with Construction etc very specialised but really good info .

Current Affairs can be stimulating when it's going well but it does descend into a lot of fights and circular arguments on all sides. These threads definitely need more mods but the mods that are there are busy but fair and if you get a warning that you think isn't warranted they will look at it again and review it .. might still be upheld but it's a decent system .

Agree that Post of the Day might be overtaken by some not so pleasant subjects these days , sign of the times maybe .

My favourite thing about boards when I started was the advice and genuine help from boardsies in a lot of the practical forums . And the very witty people posting here who make me laugh every day .

Gremlinertia et al on the Nocturnal thread kept me going when I was on breaks on night duty . Brilliant.

I love the Music threads .

They are still all plus points today and there are a lot more positives than negatives to being here. Despite Vanilla . T

Necro · 09-04-2024 11:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121998604#Comment_121998604

Fairly easy solution to that. Exclude CA from the post of the day/thread etc and have it more focused on the smaller forums. Pretty sure similar used to be done with personal issues as well (for obvious reasons). There's a wide range of forums out there other than CA on Boards, if people could actually find them.

Weather can be great when there's a storm coming. Motors has some nice threads on people's awful parking. A few people mentioned DIY having good threads too, these should be highlighted and not hidden away under the mess of a UI that there currently is to try and find them.

We all know where CA is so I wouldn't have any interest clicking into a "thread of the day" from there tbh.

09-04-2024 11:43PM

The forums should be a place to discuss politics and current affairs. What's needed is civility when having those discussions.

Tell me how · 09-04-2024 11:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121998498#Comment_121998498

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121998604#Comment_121998604

I proposed as part of a larger post that CA could maybe become a members only for the more severe types of conversations.

The forum could be hidden unless you requested access (a la the soccer forum), posts within could be excluded from daily 'most thanked' etc and moderation would be more hands off unless more severe lines were crossed such as direct abuse or anything that might present legal issues for the site.

There's conversations that are unpleasant, and lead to harsh viewpoints but society needs to be able to discuss them in my view. Put them in a dark corner and then maybe the arguing in circles is left to those who want to be a part of it.

This might allow AH to be the AH that it was for a number of years but hasn't been for quite a while.

PmMeUrDogs · 10-04-2024 07:00AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999504#Comment_121999504

Genuinely think that's a great idea.

There's definitely a place and a need for serious discussion, and I've often read CA threads in their entirety because some make for really good reading and knowledge. But AH seems to have been in decline since the separation a few years back or whenever it was.

I agree with the need for a "serious" space like CA, but plenty of people want to discuss current affairs in a way that isn't quite so severe in manner.

odyssey06 · 10-04-2024 07:27AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999709#Comment_121999709

It will just evolve as it did before.

There is already the politics forum yet most of the chat happens in CA. CA isnt even the 'serious' space.

Hide CA away and AH will just end up as CA. You will have the same posters and topics that are on CA today but on AH.

Thats why CA was split off from AH.

Look at the top threads in CA. How could they be discussed in a less 'serious' / severe manner? You either couldnt discuss it or they would just end up becoming exactly as they are now. Because inevitably serious / severe points would be made.

SafeSurfer · 10-04-2024 07:50AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121993722#Comment_121993722

What I like about Boards is that no matter what the subject. No matter how black and white one believes an issue to be there will always be someone with a different, often well considered opinion.

I think this is the value of the site for me. It should be allowed to be opposite of an echo chamber. Heavy handed modding makes this much more difficult.

Big Bag of Chips · 10-04-2024 08:03AM

Just a note regarding viewing "Thanks".

On the mobile site if you tap the 3 dots at the top of a post and select "Log" you should be able to see all the thanks.

On desktop it's a little more restricted. You can hover over the "Thanks" button and it shows you I think 6-8 of the thanks.

Can a poster other than a mod test this for me? I know it's visible to us.

con747 · 10-04-2024 08:07AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121999800#Comment_121999800

On desktop if you go to the profile of the user you want to check who thanked their post go to "reactions" and you can see more if not all those who thanked the post AFAIK.

Edit

I think it's restricted to 10 thanks.