Why do some people stop using online forums?

11-04-2021 7:51am

I'm on my third account now, I had a few thousand posts on my last two I think. I closed my last account because I got fed up of certain people who take an internet forum extremely seriously and who seemed to develop a deep hatred/obsession of and with me for reasons I'll never know. It was very strange so I decided to close the account and start anew, it's mad how some people behave with complete strangers on an anonymous web forum. I still keep an eye out for posts by people I liked and had gotten on with but I won't interact with them much either, Boards has lost it's appeal for me.

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

There are 3 or so posters who have left here in fairly recent times who I had a lot of time for.

Appreciate it.

11-04-2021 8:01am

The way the forum is run, threats, or just generally to stop sinking so much time into it are just a few I’d see from my point of view anyway. Certainly would be why I’ve considered it before.

11-04-2021 9:53am

Some just get found out, and have their names scrambled which is the coward's refuge. Imagine threatening legal action over a Walter Mitty. No, me neither.

Pussyhands · 11-04-2021 9:59am

Mullaghteelin wrote: »

In fairness, internet forums probably peaked around 2006.

I think it was 2009/2010

11-04-2021 10:01am

Deleted User wrote:

Some just get found out, and have their names scrambled which is the coward's refuge. Imagine threatening legal action over a Walter Mitty. No, me neither.

I read that three times and still can't figure out what you meant :pac:

Investor12 · 11-04-2021 10:03am

Reddit has killed many of the traditional forums which have an antiquated layout.

Seems like the average boards.ie user is well into their 40s and 50s. Some of the sub forums such as leaving cert and college are completely dead.

looksee · 11-04-2021 10:24am

Investor12 wrote: »

Reddit has killed many of the traditional forums which have an antiquated layout.

Seems like the average boards.ie user is well into their 40s and 50s. Some of the sub forums such as leaving cert and college are completely dead.

Could you expand a bit on why this is a problem? Are you suggesting that the internet is only for people under, say, 30? Why would you think that? Should there be a cut off age at which people are not allowed to post on message boards?

NIMAN · 11-04-2021 10:56am

Love the latest review:

"...left wing far right despots".

EmmetSpiceland · 11-04-2021 11:00am

NIMAN wrote: »

Love the latest review:

"...left wing far right despots".

MORE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS BEING PUSHED ONTO US BY THE TOXIC GREENS. THEY WON'T STOP UNTIL THEY HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RUINED SUPERMACS!!

fits · 11-04-2021 11:06am

I don’t post near as much as I used to as I hate typing on phone. When people browsed from pc I think there was a lot more content in here. Still a great resource for information though.

I also can’t be bothered getting into arguments online these days.

BrianD3 · 11-04-2021 11:36am

Boards age profile is probably a lot older than than used to be and several posters have mentioned having cancer or other serious conditions. Some of these will have died without anyone on here knowing. I know of one poster who died without any publicity on here, only reason i know he died is because I knew someone who knew him in real life and could make the connection from what he posted on here.

Graces7 · 11-04-2021 12:40pm

BrianD3 wrote: »

Boards age profile is probably a lot older than than used to be and several posters have mentioned having cancer or other serious conditions. Some of these will have died without anyone on here knowing. I know of one poster who died without any publicity on here, only reason i know he died is because I knew someone who knew him in real life and could make the connection from what he posted on here.

That is sad. I have had several long breaks from boards and always when I return I miss folk and wonder. But very much we are " ships that pass in the night" with no mooring ropes or anchors and that can be a helpful thing at times.

The DayDream · 11-04-2021 3:06pm

I went through a long stretch of unemployment which wasn't my fault (educated, good CV, but stuck in a crap location with no car and unable to afford to move or get on the road when every penny went to bills and rent).

I had to stop using boards because of the constant dole bashing threads being allowed. People with no clue about how hard it is to get by on benefits, who barely felt either recession (whereas I graduated college at the height of it) putting me down, lumping me in with junkies, telling me there were plenty of jobs, bla bla bla really didn't help my mental state.

Even now I feel like boards is mainly a fascinating reveal of how the supposedly happy go lucky enternally friendly Irish are often in reality seething balls of bitter hate inside. It's a very fake society that way, yet they'll tell you how false Americans are (when in fact most of them are pretty up front about stuff).

Now I just make sure to limit my time on the site, ignore the arseholes and carry on. But when my self esteem was really low from being unemployed this wasn't a site to hang out in.

AdrianBalboa · 11-04-2021 4:25pm

From what I have observed most of the people who post on Boards are middle aged people, I doubt there are many posters on here aged under thirty five who haven't been using the site since their teens. With middle age comes a lack of flexibility and boards.ie has earned a bad reputation on the wider internet for being the Irish home for right-wing cheerleading, and for over-zealous moderation.

I am speaking from my own experience posting on the forum: a left-leaning poster who cuts through the right-wing racist/bigoted bull**** will be reprimanded for not being "civil" enough (like I have been, many many times). Whereas a right-wing bully and a racist will be deemed fine to post so long as their language is camouflaged with the right kind of polished niceties. "I'm not anti-trans, I'm pro-woman" that sort of thing.

The "civility above all else doctrine," like boards.ie itself, is a relic of the Clinton-era end-of-history neo-liberal period where it was determined that ideological perfection has been attained and there's no need for to shout as we fine-tune it.

I'm not saying that personal abuse should be tolerated however I do think that the administrators need to realise that boards.ie has become a vessel for dog-whistlers concealing hate-speech. Posters who care about the vulnerable in society need to be able to call a spade a spade without fearing removal from the site.

As it stands boards.ie is being overrun with middle-aged crypto-fascists and young people who don't feel like being dragged down to the gutter with them.

artanevilla · 11-04-2021 4:35pm

People like a safe space where their world views won't be challenged. Unfortunately forums are not such a space.

Oranage2 · 11-04-2021 4:40pm

Life happens, also liverpool winning the league was probably the worst thing to have happened to boards, plenty of fans left the soccer forum because Liverpool fans are un-tolerable. Lucky their 1 season flukehas ended and they've been put back in their boxes.

11-04-2021 4:48pm

Oranage2 wrote:

Life happens, also liverpool winning the league was probably the worst thing to have happened to boards, plenty of fans left the soccer forum because Liverpool fans are un-tolerable. Lucky their 1 season flukehas ended and they've been put back in their boxes.

I sh!t you not, last season on motd Danny Murphy called them the greatest team the premier league has ever seen. Was chatting about it in work the following day and a standard deluded Liverpool fan who was giddy off the back of winning the league agreed with it and said they were better than that united team. You know the one that won heaps of titles?....

cj maxx · 11-04-2021 4:53pm

vitreouss wrote: »

Like boards or others? I know this forum has been controversial for some but I don't get why some posters with 5,000+ posts and having been here for over 5+ years just suddenly stop posting.

Is it death, boredom?

Pissed off with people opening accounts ,and a week later posting inane threads

11-04-2021 5:03pm

artanevilla wrote: »

People like a safe space where their world views won't be challenged. Unfortunately forums are not such a space.

Reddit is.

An Ri rua · 11-04-2021 5:03pm

Hamachi wrote: »

I find a few posters on here quite annoying and really don’t enjoy their input at all. It’s easier to tune them out when you aren’t actively posting.
.

Yeah, that's Mods for you. Right partypoopers.

Only kiddin Mods!!

An Ri rua · 11-04-2021 5:06pm

Ye're all some bunch of self entitled forumists aren't ye? Or whatever the outraged 'ism' label should be.
Discussing people who don't post on forums. On a forum! By people who do post! Where's the balance lads (and lassies) !?!?

It can be down to a number of reasons though. A Mod tells two to get a room, i.e. take it to PMs but, in the flurry of the battle, types PPs. Hence you have the whole sad 'penpal' phenomenon again. Still, it does away with droning, monotonous well-thought out positions, balanced arguments etc. There's no place for that here, certainly not in After Hours. Take that deep, considered argument stuff and stick it in an envelope. And wait. Let your thoughts ferment...

Dr Bolouswki · 11-04-2021 5:16pm

I use it for information requests mostly now, rather than opinion. The endless rise of the troll and the ease with which people take or make offence drove me away.

11-04-2021 5:24pm

An Ri rua wrote: »

Ye're all some bunch of self entitled forumists aren't ye? Or whatever the outraged 'ism' label should be.
Discussing people who don't post on forums. On a forum! By people who do post! Where's the balance lads (and lassies) !?!?

It can be down to a number of reasons though. A Mod tells two to get a room, i.e. take it to PMs but, in the flurry of the battle, types PPs. Hence you have the whole sad 'penpal' phenomenon again. Still, it does away with droning, monotonous well-thought out positions, balanced arguments etc. There's no place for that here, certainly not in After Hours. Take that deep, considered argument stuff and stick it in an envelope. And wait. Let your thoughts ferment...

What is the sad penpal phenomenon?

cj maxx · 11-04-2021 5:39pm

Mr.S wrote: »

Choice. When Boards first started, and through to like 2009ish there was little other popular mediums for Irish users to discuss topics, but then along comes Twitter, Reddit etc.

The setup here is arguably dated (I still like it!) and I think in 2021, people don't take too kindly to 'rules' and moderation - probably explains the drop in usage to some degree.

I like the boards setup, reddit just fries my head!

11-04-2021 5:42pm

cj maxx wrote: »

I like the boards setup, reddit just fries my head!

The Reddit layout is absolutely awful. People love calling this style old and antiquated but chronological is the correct way.

11-04-2021 5:47pm

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

The Reddit layout is absolutely awful. People love calling this style old and antiquated but chronological is the correct way.

yous can set reddit up, to sort from new to old.?

Its still hard to get used to,but like twitter,you.can set it up to just see what interests you etc,and filter out the poisionous elements.....both have a reputation for being toxic,but its easy filter it out

An Ri rua · 11-04-2021 5:54pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What is the sad penpal phenomenon?

Exactly that. People with time on their hands writing to one another.
No, communications need to be impulsive, poorly thought out and reactionary where possible.

11-04-2021 6:00pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

yous can set reddit up, to sort from new to old.?

Its still hard to get used to,but like twitter,you.can set it up to just see what interests you etc,and filter out the poisionous elements.....both have a reputation for being toxic,but its easy filter it out

Yeah but when it branches into multiple conversations it's a pain to follow.

11-04-2021 6:04pm

An Ri rua wrote: »

Exactly that. People with time on their hands writing to one another.
No, communications need to be impulsive, poorly thought out and reactionary where possible.

I think your last paragraph is sarcasm but I don't know. Isn't it nice to write to others?

Apoapsis Rex · 11-04-2021 6:04pm

They quickly realise threads are just research / surveys disguised as discussions.

Why do some people stop using online forums?

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