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MMA Forum Feedback.

  • 12-12-2013 6:39pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 12,408 ✭✭✭✭El Guapo!


    As it says on the tin, this thread is for everyone to post any and all feedback or suggestions that you may have regarding the forum.

    We've had an increase in traffic here lately and a lot of that is thanks to the rise of Conor McGregor and him becoming more of a public figure. The forum is probably going to keep attracting more and more people as Irish mma grows and more people take an interest in the sport.
    For this reason we'd like all members to give us any feedback or suggestions that you can think of. Anything you think could add to this forum, we want to hear it.
    Everyone is welcome to post here whether it's your first day on the site or if you're part of the furniture here!

    All feedback, good and bad, is welcomed and encouraged. If there's something you want to say, but don't want to post it on-thread, then you're more than welcome to pm me with comments or suggestions or your bank account details. ;)
    Any pm's will be treated with the strictest confidence.

    We want this forum to be the first point of call for Irish mma and, with your help, hopefully it can become a better and more welcoming place for new fans and members of the mma community.

    This thread is not for airing any grievances with other posters and should not be used to attack any member of the forum or member of the wider mma community.

    So, fire away......


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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 19,145 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Others might not agree but, as with the old moderators, this forum is pretty well and fairly moderated.

    Things only get out of hand when Soccer Forum type discussions start flying in the McG thread. When they do, I feel they're handled well.

    Elsewhere though discussion is always civil and enjoyable.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,904 ✭✭✭✭scudzilla


    Put the words 'Conor' and 'McGregor' onto the banned list and things will calm down overnight ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,296 ✭✭✭✭gimmick


    The only thing I would change is the "news thread" is a little too catch all and people miss out on news/conversation as a result.

    Lots of people, myself included, do not particularly like starting threads. I understand that. But for example, the horrible Shane Del Rosario illness and death would have been missed by many as it was just in the news thread. There are plenty other examples.

    More threads = more chat imo.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,145 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Maybe we could change the threat to an "off topic" or "general chat" thread?


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    gimmick wrote: »
    The only thing I would change is the "news thread" is a little too catch all and people miss out on news/conversation as a result.

    Lots of people, myself included, do not particularly like starting threads. I understand that. But for example, the horrible Shane Del Rosario illness and death would have been missed by many as it was just in the news thread. There are plenty other examples.

    More threads = more chat imo.

    Before that though it was a bit of a mess. Threads would be started for pretty much every news item and often with only 1/2 replies if any.
    Really it should be more an issue of personal judgement on each topic. Del Rosarios illness should have been brought out on its own IMO but it doesnt work everyway.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,296 ✭✭✭✭gimmick


    Oh I know. I mod the pro wrestling forum and the "news" thread is a handy thread for little snippets here and there, stuff which doesn't warrant a thread. But occassionally I do go in and there might be 15 posts in reply to something. I split the thread and put the item out on its own from there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    gimmick wrote: »
    Oh I know. I mod the pro wrestling forum and the "news" thread is a handy thread for little snippets here and there, stuff which doesn't warrant a thread. But occassionally I do go in and there might be 15 posts in reply to something. I split the thread and put the item out on its own from there.

    Thats about it really. Just needs judgement call on the activity different news stories can & will generate.

    One thing I would like to see is a bit more maintenance of the Irish events Sticky. I know its no easy task considering the amount of events that are happening but I do find some shows are sliding under the radar even though a lot of the bigger ones have their own thread.

    Actually maybe the stickys in general could use a review. Maybe an irish rankings one or results/records to compliment the events?

    I'm just babbling now, dont mind me :o


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭Clive


    Get rid of the stickies. They''re great as a resource for things that don't change very often e.g. FAQs but for club listings etc they don't work well IMO.

    Maybe one sticky for upcoming events so that all shows, seminars etc can be put in there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    Actually am I going mad or was there an MMA faq here at one stage or did I imagine that?
    Might be no harm to bundle one in with the charter post considering more irish stars could mean bigger influx.

    And any UFC with an Irish fighter should have their approx fight time in the thread title :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    Clive wrote: »
    Get rid of the stickies. They''re great as a resource for things that don't change very often e.g. FAQs but for club listings etc they don't work well IMO.

    Maybe one sticky for upcoming events so that all shows, seminars etc can be put in there.
    I think the biggest issue with the club details one is keeping them all up to date. Just taking a look through the one we have theres definitely a few there that addresses/phone numbers/names have changed or in a couple of instances Im not even sure if they exist anymore.
    Personally I like the idea of a club one but it'd probably need coaches input when things get updated.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭Clive


    I think the biggest issue with the club details one is keeping them all up to date. Just taking a look through the one we have theres definitely a few there that addresses/phone numbers/names have changed or in a couple of instances Im not even sure if they exist anymore.
    Personally I like the idea of a club one but it'd probably need coaches input when things get updated.

    Maybe a list of links to websites/Facebook pages sorted by area? Even if details are updated later in the sticky most people stop reading once they''ve found what they want.


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    True most would have a site or page at the minimum. Might be better if its kept but just cleaned out & started fresh


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,408 ✭✭✭✭El Guapo!


    All good suggestions folks. Keep 'em coming.
    Everything posted here will be taken on board and we'll see if we can all make the forum better and get a good community going again. :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    What would people think about trialling an Off Topic thread? They really can help build a community in forums and are standard in most specialty forums but no idea would it take off.

    Or a Q&A thread?

    (Yes im shamelessly robbing from the Pro Wrestling forum :pac: )


  • Registered Users Posts: 51,054 ✭✭✭✭Professey Chin


    Actually the more I'm looking around the forum, we have (obviously) countless threads ranging from fighters to events and general news but surprisingly little relating to our own activities in the sport. We have people here with experience ranging from professional fighting experience down to years/months training in MMA or individual aspects of it and others who are just considering getting involved but outside the occasional "What club?" threads youd hear very little about peoples own experiences with the sport.
    Would there be anyway to kinda get this out more? I'm not talking about people offering direct training advice but just hearing more about peoples own training experiences etc (like the Tiger MMA discussion that briefly popped up in the GSP thread)

    I'll stop babbling soon I swear!


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,408 ✭✭✭✭El Guapo!


    A bit of an update on what's been happening so far.....

    You'll notice the club details sticky is gone. It was way out of date and some of the clubs in there don't even exist any more. At some stage in the future we might compile an up to date list but for now it's gone.

    The seminars sticky is also gone. Seminars seem to be few and far between. If one comes up, then by all means start a new thread and we can sticky it until the seminar is done. This way they won't get lost in a sticky that no one reads.

    The upcoming events sticky has also been binned for now. A new, more comprehensive one will be making an appearance when events are scheduled.


    An off-topic thread is a no go for the moment. It probably won't work in here anyway and can get a bit messy.

    Regarding the general news thread: If you feel that a news snippet will generate a good bit of discussion, then start a new thread if it deserves it. Some important news pieces get lost in that thread which is a shame.
    Also, if something is posted in there that warrants it's own thread and is gathering momentum, we'll split it away from the main thread and leave it out on its own.

    I think that covers everything for now. I'll leave this thread open and if you have any more suggestions etc then fire away.


  • Registered Users Posts: 19,145 ✭✭✭✭MrStuffins


    Actually the more I'm looking around the forum, we have (obviously) countless threads ranging from fighters to events and general news but surprisingly little relating to our own activities in the sport. We have people here with experience ranging from professional fighting experience down to years/months training in MMA or individual aspects of it and others who are just considering getting involved but outside the occasional "What club?" threads youd hear very little about peoples own experiences with the sport.
    Would there be anyway to kinda get this out more? I'm not talking about people offering direct training advice but just hearing more about peoples own training experiences etc (like the Tiger MMA discussion that briefly popped up in the GSP thread)

    I'll stop babbling soon I swear!

    We could call it the "Do you even UFC bro?" thread!


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,408 ✭✭✭✭El Guapo!


    Well this has been up for 3 weeks now, I reckon that's just about everything that needed to be covered.
    I'll remove it as a sticky now but the thread will remain open. If anyone has anything else to add then please do. :)




  • What are people's thoughts on what should and shouldn't be discussed in the MMA section ?

    Lately it seems the "no non-MMA related discussion" rule is quite controversial. I can understand the intent of the original rulings - to outlaw celebrity-trivia style discussion. I am totally on board with that. But in recent days/weeks I think it's obvious there is a need for clarity on what exactly is MMA related, and why.

    In the recent Tony Ferguson situation - Tony having some legal and mental heath issues - I don't see how this is not MMA related. It's going to affect the title picture, it's one less possible opponent for Conor etc. I can understand not allowing gossip about his mental health but some of the details are on the record.

    Can a mod provide some clarity on the thought process behind this, and whether it is flexible at all ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,733 ✭✭✭ASOT


    I'll post my two cents when I'm on the laptop later.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 21,316 ✭✭✭✭martyos121


    I’ll express my views as civilly as possible; the modding in this forum lately has been exceedingly heavy handed. I can understand why that is the case and how it’s gotten to this point, but it’s pretty much killed the two biggest threads in the forum stone dead since the latest warnings.

    I’m not even sure how the situation could be fixed, but a zero tolerance policy for trolls and those who don’t wish to discuss the sport in any capacity (and by that I mean instant forum bans, not swathes of warnings such as “next time you do X you’ll be banned for Y weeks” which are often not followed up on. That’s just a suggestion, not me having notions or trying to backseat mod). Fighter’s personal lives are absolutely relevant to the sport and their careers in many situations, so to outlaw discussion of that entirely is not the right move in my opinion. Certain things that have occurred lately couldn’t be discussed here for legal reasons and most understand that and have no issue with that, but to extend that embargo to prohibit discussion of any matters outside of the cage in the news thread or elsewhere is going to kill this forum soon enough.

    There are plenty of posters who discuss fighting and fighters’ lives within reason here, there are also plenty who discuss just fighting, and unfortunately there are probably even more who discuss anything other than fighting. The first two categories are mostly fine, the third one is obviously a problem. It all stems from the McGregor thread, which might be one of the most hostile, vitriolic threads I’ve seen anywhere on the website in all my time posting here. One possible idea to cut out a lot of the shîte in there could be to enforce a registration policy to that thread similar to the one in the soccer forum but specific to that one thread in this case, where you could have to reach 50 non-spam posts elsewhere in the MMA forum before requesting access to post in that thread. I don’t know if that’s even possible or if it’s even a good idea, but it is an idea at least and something needs to change with the McGregor thread. Maybe even a modified charter for that thread specifically. Again, I’m just spitballing here.

    Drastically limiting what we can post in here isn’t the solution I believe, but limiting the posters who can post in here could be, perhaps? I have sympathy for the mods of this forum, I really do, it’s probably one of the hardest to mod across the site but it’s mostly because of one thread (I’ve had my own issues posting there in the past, but it was always reactionary, now I mostly avoid posting there at all). If some of the problems with that thread could be addressed without affecting the rest of the forum and those of us who post in event threads, gambling threads, the humour thread or discuss the sport in general anywhere else within the forum, that would be ideal I reckon.

    None of this post is a criticism of the mods themselves, just to be clear. The forum up until very recently was being modded fairly and effectively for the most part, I feel. This is only a few ideas on how to possibly make it a forum that fans of the sport actually want to post in.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 22,584 CMod ✭✭✭✭Steve


    Thanks for the feedback it is very welcome.

    I agree that the moderation has had to become quite narrow of late , that is because the forum is short handed and for the last few months we have been trying to recruit a new mod but to no avail.

    More scope of discussion means more mod time needed to stay on top of it, something that is simply not there right now.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    That is one factor but there is clearly another as regards common sense in what is and isn’t appropriate to post in the forum.

    There is a high number of posters who only post in the McGregor thread and only when its in relation to his life outside the UFC. Whether thats an attempt to just provoke a reaction out of others, or a sign of a lack of interest in MMA and only in McGregor or a combination of both, the reality is it tends to add little to the forum and usually spirals into nonsense name calling and remarks which are inappropriate in an MMA forum.

    Moderation clamping down on what can and be discussed would not be as necessary if the discussion itself was kept at a level where it didnt need such excessive moderation to begin with and there was some common sense and a lack of treating this as as if its Sherdog or a forum on TMZ.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,081 ✭✭✭Fromvert


    The McGregor thread and any of his event threads are just a toilet full of ****, destroyed by a handful of dickheads who cant discuss anything without name calling (and I get I just stooped to their level). The rest of the forum is great for discussion about fights, match ups, tactics etc and if we let the 5% of idiots on either side of the McGregor spectrum ruin the forum it'll be a another **** up on an already dying website.


  • Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 74,773 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    As I have just posted in the McGregor thread - speculation or commentary on ongoing/likely legal cases is not permitted here or elsewhere on the site. This is not an issue for further debate here

    I am sure many of you will be aware of comments made by the judiciary in light of social media commentary surrounding the (fairly) recent case involving Rugby players. Such commentary can seriously prejudice cases.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 22,584 CMod ✭✭✭✭Steve


    I'm going to put a time limit on the feedback for whether this MMA forum is strictly sport related or includes 'celebrity gossip' so please get your opinions in.

    You have till the end of the month (March 2019).


  • Registered Users Posts: 605 ✭✭✭pastorbarrett


    Modding unnecessarily punitive and disciplinarian of late. Litigation aside, it's unrealistic at this point to expect discussion on someone of McGregor's stature to remain solely fight orientated - for better or worse.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,056 ✭✭✭darced


    The tone of the modding is terrible lads, absolute worst on the site. I know its the MMA forum but less of the hard man 'open your mouth and ill ban you' posts would be very welcome. I appreciate that you may not have enough mods but every time I see this nonsense I think I can't be arsed posting.

    On the mixing private life and MMA the sport issue I'd say simply ban anything that could realistically get boards in bother, Everything else should be fine. Its ridiculous to try and enforce no off-topic posting, its an unworkable and unwanted rule.

    I don't even bother with the rumour stuff myself but its 2019, it'll be happening here or somewhere else anyway, maybe open a gossip thread keep it all in there.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,421 ✭✭✭The Rooster


    Agree with Teo above, not being able to mention Ferguson’s current issues is utterly ridiculous!

    As for McGregor, Axwell had it perfect in relation to legal issues, that if it’s in the mainstream press, then it’s fine to mention, but no going repeating unsubstantiated rumours.

    So we should be able to mention that a person has been arrested for assault or damage to property or whatever, when it’s a 100% fact and is reported in, for example, the Irish Times. And we should be able to discuss what’s the timing for any court appearance, where does that put him in terms of likely being able to fight again, the arrest report showed his weight and if that can be relied on then it’s looks like he’s been training well, will the UFC punish him, etc etc

    What we can’t say is -
    typical Scumbag Mcgregor = ban!
    I heard he gave the photographer a broken nose = ban
    Scumbag paparazzi, deserved a beating = ban
    My mate’s mate saw it, he’s definitely guilty = ban

    The other issues that should be addressed are:
    Whiskey and other sponsorships - that should all be 100% fine. It’s derived from his MMA and if people find it interesting to talk about in the McGregor thread, that should be fine.
    Drug taking and infidelity is the one that need to be carefully considered and specifically dealt with.
    Personally, I think the ‘rule’ about if it’s in mainstream media (and maybe Ax or some other knowledgeable person can list 1 or 2 or 3 reputable MMA media outlets as well as normal Irish media) then it’s fair to mention and discuss implications. But in any event stuff like;
    -I saw him in Lillies and he was doped up, or
    -My friend saw him in leeson st getting stuck into some young wan
    Should equal Ban.

    Finally, and back to my first point, somebody on the MMA forum started roaring and crying that there was one rule for talking about McGregor and another rule for everyone else. That resulted in talk about Ferguson being shut down. There should be no apology for treating McGregor different (if that’s what mods decide). He’s the only one with his own thread and he’s Irish and the biggest star in the sport. Unique person, unique rules.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,422 ✭✭✭Inviere


    I've only started lurking again recently, after someone tipped me off that all the 'celeb gossip' style of posting here had been cut out. I stopped browsing, reading, and posting in the forum for a good while because of that type of content; if I don't want to read how many babies McGregor has, and wasn't too interested in Tony McGregor's latest musings on life in After Hours, I hardly want to read it here in a sporting forum dedicated to MMA, so I just quit using the forum altogether.

    That said, I think it's gone to the other extreme now, in that you can only talk about MMA related topics. I'd imagine it'd be fine to discuss Ferguson's ongoing mental health issues, fine to discuss McGregor's latest phone incident, and fine to discuss the more personal side to the lives of fighters - with one HUGE proviso - the charter mention of 'no fighter bashing' be strictly enforced. The overall goal should be to create a friendly environment where people can discuss MMA, the the stars of the sport, without creating a cesspit where trolls can thrive. Similarly, discussion should only relate to the fighters themselves, all due respect to Tony McGregor, but fooked if he's remotely relevant in an MMA forum, leave that type of tripe to AH where it belongs.

    I also think another few mods are needed, maybe two. So much seems to fall on Axwell, and while we mightn't see eye to eye on things, he is now the sole mod of the forum, and that just can't be a good idea, for various reasons (burnout, possibly inadvertently biased modding, lack of a mod team to discuss/develop/build the forum, fresh faces/fresh ideas, etc etc). Similarly, I personally find the "don't post like that or I'll ban you" type mod warnings as massively blunt, and they don't reflect well on moderators as a whole - you can get a warning across without writing in a threatening manner, it just looks amateurish (and again, no disrespect to Axwell, it's just an observation).

    To summarise, I think it's good that the celeb/tmz tripe has been nuked, but I'm not sure it's a good idea outlawing everything outside of MMA. Allow chat that's directly related to fighters (not their families, and not rumours/accusations), implement a hard and fast ban system for fighter bashing to keep the habitual moaners that get a hard on for bashing away (they only ever cause angst anyway), and get some new modding blood on board to create a cohesive modding team, one that can continue to develop/grow the forum for the future.


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