Does anyone know

If people are still posting its hardly dead, may not be as popular as it was but i see your point.

So my answer to you would be:

APPARENTLY some where a bit too sensitive and took a message board to heart, they got offended to others having a laugh, had them banned and now most of the people from the old days are “across the road”

We are all adults here but some can’t log off, or ignore people, and then there is some don’t want to hear others opinions and think everyone should be sweetness and light – if only the real world was like that eh Trapper??

I think the problem with the boards (and chat for that matter) comes down to one of two things (or both):

Lack of respect from certain contributors – most apparent in feeble attempts to ‘shock’.

Intentional provocation – unfortunately regarded by some as a form of entertainment.

In both cases, the perpetrators are usually compensating for something, e.g. they don’t possess a personality that anybody in their right mind would warm to, which leads them to seek attention in other ways. Some such people would have you believe they’re mavericks – the rules don’t apply to them. They do what they want, when they want, unchecked by social convention or morals. In truth, the most rebellious thing they’re ever likely do is type, safely cocooned as they are in their bedrooms, hoping mummy doesn’t realise they’re not in bed.. and it’s after 9!

There are plenty of examples, but I won’t name names, I’ll leave that to those narcissistic enough to actually believe that their opinions of other individuals are worth documenting in a public forum (despite never being asked for them). Still, I suppose there’s that ‘shock’ factor that someone dare say such things. *Yawwwwwwwwwn*

And so we’re led, screaming and kicking (or typing and clicking) into conflict, because many people feel the need to repel ‘attacks’ and fight their corner (which of course equates to sustenance for the aforementioned attention-starved). We can throw some loyalty issues into the mix too.. who will back who? Who will stand by doing nothing? Who will think it’s all ridiculous and hand out virtual Lego in the hope of diffusing the situation? Alliances formed. Friendships tested. Virtual Lego stocks depleted.

Finally, we can add the spectres of trust and confidentiality – and the fact that 99.72% of people are unable to keep supposedly private information to themselves. (I made that figure up, obviously – but it has been said 88% of statistics are made up on the spot).

So all that, I believe, drives the majority (decent people) away. It all starts with those first two things. In ‘real life’ I have my own ways of dealing with them. Online, the need to deal with them is usually usurped by the feeling that the poor things have so little going for them that they need to resort to such measures.

Oh, on a related note, don’t you find it ironic that the unwashed use that “You say you’re not bothered.. but you replied.. so you must be” shoite, whilst claiming everything is like water off a ducks back to them – conveniently forgetting that usually, on word count, they themselves are way ahead of anybody else (and sometimes were even ‘bothered’ enough to initiate the thread in the first place). Who’s putting in most effort there, eh?

Speaking of word count…

@sceptical guy wrote:

for once, a long post was worth reading, Mr Alley-Cat.

Why thank you kind scep!

@sceptical guy wrote:

But what you’re saying is what’s wrong wiht people, not what’s wrong wiht the boards.

But what’s wrong with the boards in my opinion is some of the people that frequent them – exhibiting behaviour that deters others from posting. Take the example of someone posting a pic. I can almost guarantee that amongst the first comments will be someone commenting on the ‘bravery’ of the poster. These are people who go about their daily lives with no need to be ‘brave’ – despite being seen by tens or hundreds of people – yet many of us are wincing at the thought of what is likely to come next once they’ve shared their pic with us.

So, technologically speaking, there’s nothing wrong with the boards. As a medium, they live or die (or shuffle along with the help of a walking frame) by the contributions of the users.