Boards.ie could be "forced to shut down"

tallpaul said:
If Boards became known as a source and repository for these types of discussion, they could jettison the bigger ones like the aforementioned After Hours, Politics and possibly soccer.
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I take a passing interest in infrastructure which is almost completely ignored by the media unless there is an overspend.

There is genuine expertise in depth on boards.is on this topic and it’s a real resource for someone like me who takes an occasional interest. There is some contrarian opinion but, a bit like AAM, the majority view is generally the correct one.
 
If one thread explains the downfall of boards its the "you laugh you lose" one where people posted memes. By thread 20 the mods threatened to ban people for the audacity of reposting memes.
 
tallpaul said:
Surely this would be more attractive to advertisers who would be clearer in knowing what audience is being reached.

The site has been dragged down by fools and their opinions for far too many years.
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They're using Adnxs/AppNexus, They already have the ability to charge more for better targeted ads.

Fools are often an advertiser's target audience!!
 
Brendan Burgess said:
I pay for it myself and am happy to do so. At one stage we had a whip-around and it caused more hassle than it was worth. People felt that if they donated money, they should not be moderated! ( I have seen the same today on the boards.ie thread "If we pay you €6 a month, will that mean that you won't moderate us?")

Technical support: $1450 = €1,200
Hosting £1308 = €1500
Xenforo annual license and support $86 = €73 (There was an initial purchase price)
Anti-spam and other add-ons : c.€200

Total annual running costs: <€3,000

Please don't start posting "You can get free hosting on xyz website and sure I will give you a hand with the technical support". It's working well and professional support and hosting is cheaper than volunteers!
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As a poster who doesn't always agree with your views, I must say that this level of transparency reflects very well on you, Brendan.

It is an excellent resource that you have created, and we do appreciate it.
 
tallpaul said:
Boards would be far better focusing on the multiplicity of very active, relatively niche fora that cater to specific audiences where information and help is willingly shared. If Boards became known as a source and repository for these types of discussion, they could jettison the bigger ones like the aforementioned After Hours, Politics and possibly soccer. Surely this would be more attractive to advertisers who would be clearer in knowing what audience is being reached.

The site has been dragged down by fools and their opinions for far too many years.
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I agree that some of the niche fora on boards - motoring, cycling and the like - work well, but also I think there a potential space on a website like boards for something like 'After Hours' , which is basically a section for people talking random nonsense and not to be taken seriously.

What I find more problematic about boards.ie is the complete lack of transparency as regards ownership, financing and, frankly, constantly re-registering posters with strange and questionable agendas. In their defence, they have (belatedly) made some attempts to ban long term trolls and openly racist/fascist and hateful posters, and have apparently recently introduced a subscription facility , but as far as I'm concerned they are, as the old phrase goes, "a day late and a dollar short". I wouldn't contribute, even if I had the funds, which currently I don't.
 
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walktothewater said:
I agree that some of the niche fora on boards - motoring, cycling and the like - work well, but also I think there a potential space on a website like boards for something like 'After Hours' , which is basically a section for people talking random nonsense and not to be taken seriously.
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But do these two very different types of forums need to be under the same umbrella?

We have Shooting the Breeze and Letting Off Steam, but you have to have 50 posts to be allowed to post there. So it's for people who use Askaboutmoney for the purpose for which is intended, to let off a bit of steam. You can't register on Askaboutmoney and immediately starting posting this stuff.

Boards could do the same. If someone has contributed to the motoring or cycling forum and has been a member for at least a month, then give them access to the GAA or CA forums. It would dramatically reduce the traffic on boards but what would be left would be much better. I suspect that the people using the motoring and cycling forums would be happy to pay €50 a year.
 
walktothewater said:
which is basically a section for people talking random nonsense and not to be taken seriously.
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As I said previously, it is a forum that adds nothing but takes up moderation resources. They should simply analyse all of the fora that take the most effort and time to moderate and cull them. Let the racists/fascists/weirdos etc. find somewhere else to spout their rubbish.
 
Something like Boards would actually be a good use of the TV license fee.

Politicians talk about media diversity and Boards does have a fair base of original content that you don’t find elsewhere.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Politicians talk about media diversity and Boards does have a fair base of original content that you don’t find elsewhere.
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But when most posters are anonymous they don't see much political capital or votes in it for them. Would it even get a mention in the dail even if some TDs could be regular posters on boards
 
joe sod said:
Would it even get a mention in the dail even if some TDs could be regular posters on boards
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I have a vague notion that a few times rumours started on boards were mentioned in the dail (I may be thinking of p45.net).
 
If i was in charge of boards.ie, I would have archived/shelved everything older than 2 years and moved to a proper platform like Xenforo. I can't understand what those guys Orhan & Mike who own/manage boards.ie are doing, there was a lot of good will towards them in Summer 2025 when they first looked for donations, but they have really annoyed a lot of people who subscribed by bringing in an even more awkward version of vanilla and by being pretty much invisible since last Christmas. subscriptions have fallen by a couple of hundred the last couple of months.
 
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