The future of the rugby forum

[RDW]

Folks,

For those who do not already know, Hero (the original founder of the forum) is stepping down from running the site and I am taking over from him. The first big announcement is that I’ve up-rated the rugby moderating team, with George Carlin stepping up to rugby Administrator and new mods Biggee, London Tiger and maestagmafia created. There will be an Irish/Northern Irish mod to come but they haven’t opened their PM yet asking if they want to do it!

I’m keen to get people’s opinions on the site, good or bad, and to hear ideas on how we can make the site better. I would appreciate if this doesn’t just become a moan about mods – once again worth reminding that we are all volunteers who try to do our best in our spare time. Hopefully adding more moderators will help complaints be resolved more quickly. Ultimately though if all posters treat each other with respect and act with maturity we wouldn’t have any modding to do!

So I’ll leave this as an open forum to raise any points you want to raise and hopefully we can get some ideas.

Finally, I would appreciate if you could follow our new Twitter account – we used to have one but the password for it is long gone! https://twitter.com/606v2R if you could give a retweet as well that would be super.

Cheers,

RDW (Ross)

[tigertattie]

I don't know how much revenue there is from advetising on here, but could there be more? Could this then in turn be used for us to purchase ads on the likes of Rugby Rampage etc to see if we can increase the number of posters?

Not jsut rugby but other parts of the forum too? But the rugby one is the important one

[NeilyBroon]

Only thing that could improve is the mobile site, maybe user numbers would increase with some kind of app?

Would be cool to have opinion articles on top of the forum too.

[Geordie]

Well im quite happy with everything...apart from my teams performance this season!

Keep up the good work.

[No 7&1/2]

Yes if you could put a quote function on the mobile app part of this that would be great please.
And thanks for inviting feedback.

[tigertattie]

Yes if you could put a quote function on the mobile app part of this that would be great please.
And thanks for inviting feedback.

We'll need a Jimbo proof version of this

[Rugby Fan]

Good on you RDW. Will write some thoughts down later.

[Eejit]

I don't know how much revenue there is from advetising on here, but could there be more? Could this then in turn be used for us to purchase ads on the likes of Rugby Rampage etc to see if we can increase the number of posters?

Not just rugby but other parts of the forum too? But the rugby one is the important one

Got to wonder how much traffic some of these sites get these days though. Twitter and reddit are the big ones for news these days And evenforums are on their way out with the exception of specialised interests like rugby or automobiles. How about some targeted ads on some of the many rugby podcasts going about? Everybody and their granny has one these days and they all seem to do pretty good numbers. Acast can do targeted ads so you target specifics pods.

The forum itself is fine. Some proper characters and a particularly favourable good guy to Muppet ratio unlike some other places.

The only other thing I can think of is our new rugby administrator put together an official 606 Scottish rugby nickname compendium as there’s far too much real name pish going on these days.

[SecretFly]

Just on the contentious issue then.  A good few/many posters disappeared.  Now in my opinion that's just mostly the ebb and flow of life.  People just drift away from all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons.
But some posters seem to believe one of the major issues is runaway wummers who make life unbearable for certain personality types.

Obviously, I'm not going to get involved in who should be banned from time to time, as I'd never ban anyone personally (I'd therefore make a terrible mod ) - freedom of speech being very important in my world view.  

But could I just say that there is also an alternate view that certain personalities come looking to be offended and perhaps are repeat 'red exclamation mark' pressers even when comments directed at them are largely inoffensive if perhaps a little salty or tongue-in-cheek.

So maybe serial alert pressers should be asked to reassess their own behaviour.  Many potential posters might walk away from here both as active posters and non-joining readers because it might have gotten too sterile and functional.  People like fun.  And fun is language and fun can be mild wumming.  Fun isn't a crime.  Some people need to be taught not to over-react all the time.

No problems otherwise at all.  But those red exclamation marks over posts for no apparent reason becomes tiresome in robust debating threads.

[BigGee]

I think that is a very good point from SF and one which as a new mod, I will take very much to heart.

There are plenty of alternatives to complaining, my own preference being to leave a thread that I don't like the tone of. I have managed to survive on here for many years and to continue to enjoy myself, without ever having made a complaint.

In my experience, people take offence on line far more easily than they would in a face to face conversation. I have been to many rugby games with friends of various nationalities and whilst the banter before, during and after the game can be pretty lively at times, no-one ever seems to take offence. That is why we all love rugby.

On line though, it sometimes just does not seem to work like that, not just in the forums but in any form of communication. Have you ever seen how an email at work can get badly misinterpreted by everyone you send it to, when it is perfectly clear to you.

So basically on a forum such as this, for it all to work well, everyone has responsibilities, posters, readers of posts and moderators.

This is a great place and I think we all enjoy spending some time on here talking about rugby. Let's just all remember why we like doing that and it is fun!

[BamBam]

Just on the contentious issue then.  A good few/many posters disappeared.  Now in my opinion that's just mostly the ebb and flow of life.  People just drift away from all kinds of things for all kinds of reasons.
But some posters seem to believe one of the major issues is runaway wummers who make life unbearable for certain personality types.

Obviously, I'm not going to get involved in who should be banned from time to time, as I'd never ban anyone personally (I'd therefore make a terrible mod ) - freedom of speech being very important in my world view.  

But could I just say that there is also an alternate view that certain personalities come looking to be offended and perhaps are repeat 'red exclamation mark' pressers even when comments directed at them are largely inoffensive if perhaps a little salty or tongue-in-cheek.

So maybe serial alert pressers should be asked to reassess their own behaviour.  Many potential posters might walk away from here both as active posters and non-joining readers because it might have gotten too sterile and functional.  People like fun.  And fun is language and fun can be mild wumming.  Fun isn't a crime.  Some people need to be taught not to over-react all the time.

No problems otherwise at all.  But those red exclamation marks over posts for no apparent reason becomes tiresome in robust debating threads.

The temptation to report this post was almost overwhelming

[SecretFly]

The temptation to report this post was almost overwhelming

I was expecting such a reaction, Bam.

I had a lovely thick book ready for the long lay off

[RDW]

Thanks for the initial comments folks. Picking on some of them:

Advertising -

So I'm happy to be completely open and honest about this - I am still a volunteer who wants to talk about rugby after all, and not in this to make money or turn it into a business. Advertising is an option but I have to pay the forum hosts for the privilege (as they won't get our advertising revenue). There's no money generated from the forum currently, and indeed I spent my own money to keep the URL (those that were on the forum Saturday night would have seen that I had a minor hiccup in doing so!). TBH this isn't something I want to rush into because it is a big investment, and not something I know much about. The original founders tried to make advertising revenue from the site but it just isn't busy enough to make it worth it, and they returned to the current arrangement where we just pay a one off fee to keep the URL (but don't get any advertising revenue). If someone knows more about this kind of thing please get in touch! I would agree though that trying to get traffic by paying other websites isn't really an option, as you'd have to invest heavily to get anywhere.

Mobile version

I don't use the mobile version as I don't like the layout - I use the desktop version and it works fine. What are the issues people are having?

Nelly - what do you mean by opinion articles?

Reporting posts

There's no doubt that offense is in the eye of the beholder, and a large number of reported posts certainly aren't report worthy. Saying that, you definitely need more context than the specific post that is reported - often it is a culmination of posts that have been constantly baiting the person, and the reported posts was the final straw. This is what makes moderating so fun....! I would wholeheartedly agree though the easiest way for the forum to be a consistently positive place to be is if people treat each other like they would if they were face to face. We're all mature adults here (I think!) but sometimes it's like a bunch of 12 year olds have taken over the forum.

(I said I didn't want to talk about moderating so will eave it there!)

[LondonTiger]

Yes if you could put a quote function on the mobile app part of this that would be great please.
And thanks for inviting feedback.

I quote just fine from my phone (my main way of accessing this) , but because I still use a browser I guess.

[No 7&1/2]

I have no clue then LT! Just doesn't appear on the version I'm using. If I'm doing it wrong so.eone give me a heads up!

[Cyril]

I find it most fitting that one of the biggest wums on here is now a mod! Long live the 606 sense of humour. Given our history, I expect to be banned most of the time!

[Cyril]

Yeah, the quoting function needs sorting out for the app.

[BamBam]

I find it most fitting that one of the biggest wums on here is now a mod! Long live the 606 sense of humour. Given our history, I expect to be banned most of the time!

Only if the wifi connection lasts that long

[mikey_dragon]

I find it most fitting that one of the biggest wums on here is now a mod! Long live the 606 sense of humour. Given our history, I expect to be banned most of the time!

I never saw MM as a WUM, but someone who was less keen on the English. I can’t see you getting banned as you’re now a good contributor, BamBam on the other hand...

[mikey_dragon]

Great job RDW, so some thoughts; whenever Wales play we have a match thread to discuss the game (obviously), except every single time it gets ruined by the usual posters wumming and anti-welsh BS. Seeing as you’re all reluctant to take action why not just set up a thread and call it ‘Wales thread: Ref-blaming thread and wummery’. Let it run throughout the year seeing as it never stops. Also, seeing as said posters are always English and Scottish we don’t really see any action taken and it’s allowed to continue, nor do I see it on match day threads set up for other teams. I’m not convinced on the new mod team but perhaps with the introduction of maestegmafia we will see something finally get done about it. I’ll be requesting that he keep a good eye on those individuals

[BamBam]

Always the victims eh

[mikey_dragon]

Started again have you, not so long after your strange and uncalled for outburst the other day. I’d tone it down if I were you, mods are watching .

[Cyril]

Question for the mods (in the spirit of transparency):

How are bans decided and by whom?

[Cyril]

Also, how are mods decided?

[RDW]

Great job RDW, so some thoughts; whenever Wales play we have a match thread to discuss the game (obviously), except every single time it gets ruined by the usual posters wumming and anti-welsh BS. Seeing as you’re all reluctant to take action why not just set up a thread and call it ‘Wales thread: Ref-blaming thread and wummery’. Let it run throughout the year seeing as it never stops. Also, seeing as said posters are always English and Scottish we don’t really see any action taken and it’s allowed to continue, nor do I see it on match day threads set up for other teams. I’m not convinced on the new mod team but perhaps with the introduction of maestegmafia we will see something finally get done about it. I’ll be requesting that he keep a good eye on those individuals

Thanks for the post Mikey. A few key points:

- It’s certainly no secret that the Welsh threads have the biggest problems on here. What makes it difficult is that it isn’t just one or two people causing trouble, there are a large number of posters who just don’t get on and that’s on both sides. It is also true that some posters don’t get on, but also take delight in baiting each other and putting in sly digs, and there are often recurring themes to arguments. The number 1 way of avoiding mass arguments is for posters to ignore that person or put them on their foe list, but given the numbers often involved that isn’t always practical.
- “Seeing as you’re all reluctant to take action” that hasn’t been the case and certainly won’t be the case going forward. The theme of this 6N from a mod perspective is trying to nip trouble in the bud before it even starts – that means deleting offending posts and maybe even handing out short term bans if necessary. Again I keep coming back to individual responsibility – if posters behave in a mature and positive way then there would be no need for mods. I also want to remind everyone (as I say this a lot) is that 90% of moderating is done behind the scenes – deleting posts, sending PMs, short term bans etc. I’ve even removed some posts from this thread that probably haven’t been seen by anyone. Whenever anyone says “you never do anything about it” it’s just not true – just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
- As an extension to the above, we have definitely been hampered by existing rugby mods no longer posting on the forum regularly – Bedford Welsh, Notch and Biltong for example. By adding a new mod from each of the home nations we should have more capability to respond to things. Being a mod is voluntary after all and I don’t think it is reasonable for people to expect an immediate response to a report given none of us might be available at that time. Having a mod from each nation will also hopefully reduce calls of bias, although I can categorically say we do not have a bias for or against any nation – mainly because I’ve been doing most of the moderating for the last while and I don’t dislike any particular nation!
- With me taking over as Founder and new mods coming in there has been quite a lot of change on here and we’ve got a good chance for a fresh start and hopefully moving forward in a more positive way. I look forward to everyone’s cooperating in doing that!

[RDW]

Question for the mods (in the spirit of transparency):

How are bans decided and by whom?

Cyril – thanks for your questions.

Mods are appointed by the Founder and Admins of the forums. Ultimately we look for people who we can work with, are decent posters and are regular enough on the forum to make a difference. I appreciate that some mods have history with some posters but they also get on with 99.9% of the rest of the forum. If I tried to find a mod with no history I’d struggle to get one from every nation!    While we are volunteers ultimately the forum is not a democracy – it would fall to pieces if we made it so. This is a free public forum where the Mods, Admins and Founder do their best to make it an attractive place for people to be. It is our own best interest to do so as we want to post here too, and no one wants to post in a rubbish forum!

All moderating decisions (including bans) are discussed by the moderating and Admin team. If the situation permits any individual mod can act on their own judgement and hand out bans without discussing it first, as often it is required to stop a situation escalating.  If the rest of the team disagrees the decision afterwards it can be reversed/changed but this is a very rare things to happen (I can’t remember any instances).

Ultimately I’m happy with the new mods and they are all aware of what I’d like them to help with on the forum.

[tigertattie]

Top tips for surviving on here

1. You can't take anything anyone says too seriously.
2. The written word doesn't convey tone and emotion so is far easier to misinterpret that a face to face chat.
3. Don’t feed the trolls (don’t react and they can’t react in turn).
4. Before reporting someone, have a think about if you’ve poured fuel on the fire. If you have, maybe reconsider reporting it!
5. Clearly, abusive language (an exhaustive list), is a big no no so just don’t use it.

We’re all here to discuss rugby and sometimes have a laugh while doing it. I don’t always see eye to eye with some Glasgow fans (they are in denial about their players using more hair products than the Edinburgh ones), but I’d still buy a Glasgow fan a pint in real life (though I’d likely not get one in return).

As has been said before, if someone is just going at you, put them on your ignore list and that way you don’t have to leave the thread and can still take part.

Mostly though, have a thick skin and accept that not everyone will agree with your opinion.

PS, the above is my opinion and may not necessarily be right

[LondonTiger]

2. The written word doesn't convey tone and emotion so is far easier to misinterpret that a face to face chat.

I would like to second this one (not dissing the others). I guess it applies to the reader and the writer, but what may sound like an obvious joke when you write it may not always come across that way. I am far too old to be a fan of emojis but have to feel that adding them to what is meant to be a light hearted comment can help convey the tone you wish.

[No 7&1/2]

I missed your question re the app above RDW. On the app I can't see the quote function button or for that matter report button. Can't see which posters are mods either for the matter! the other version is just too unwieldy for my mobile. May just be too cheap for a decent phone.

[LondonTiger]

I missed your question re the app above RDW. On the app I can't see the quote function button or for that matter report button. Can't see which posters are mods either for the matter! the other version is just too unwieldy for my mobile. May just be too cheap for a decent phone.

I accepted that Chinese Intelligence would be able to spy on my day to day activity to allow me to get a phone that can access the forum with a browser rather than have to use the simplified version (is that the app?).

[SecretFly]

Chinese Intelligence!??   Run to your left, people!!!! All I talked about was dodgy refs, honest!

Oops.... ran into Russian Intelligence!!!  Run to your right folks!  All I did was claim Wales should be invaded by South Africa!

Damn, cut off by American Intelligence!  I only said Trump wasn't all bad!  

F**K!  British Intelligence!  I only said the PRL is a front for MI6!  

Leave us alone you basterdes!  We is only a little sports forum!

[SecretFly]

Irish Intelligence!!!

.... well, that's only a long running joke as we all know

[No 7&1/2]

My knowledge of tech is rubbish LT so I believe I'm using a browser but have switched to The mobile version on the menu at the top. I can change back to the original version but it's clunky on my phone.

[RDW]

Congrats to rodders who is the final moderator appointment, meaning that all home nations have a moderator now

[compelling and rich]

not a big contributor on the rugby board but a long time member who came over from old 606, think my only gripe is when two people go at it on one the thread it gets locked, sometimes other than a couple of wums it could be a decent thread. would it be a option to kick guilty members of derailing a thread from that particularity thread (cool down or whatever you want to call it) rather than banning them or locking the thread for everyone else?

[RDW]

Folks - if you're willing can I ask you again to give the Twitter page a follow and maybe give a re-tweet or two

https://twitter.com/606v2R

[RDW]

not a big contributor on the rugby board but a long time member who came over from old 606, think my only gripe is when two people go at it on one the thread it gets locked, sometimes other than a couple of wums it could be a decent thread. would it be a option to kick guilty members of derailing a thread from that particularity thread (cool down or whatever you want to call it) rather than banning them or locking the thread for everyone else?

We tend to only lock threads as a last resort – basically when all hell breaks loose and we need some time to fix it. If it is a small number of people causing trouble short term bans are considered.

The main exception to this has been any ‘future of the Pro14’ thread – I think we have had 4 incarnations now and they have all descended into chaos with multiple people having blazing arguments about the same thing over and over again. When it gets to the point that everyone is repeating themselves and the thread isn’t going anywhere I have locked it.

[SecretFly]

not a big contributor on the rugby board but a long time member who came over from old 606, think my only gripe is when two people go at it on one the thread it gets locked, sometimes other than a couple of wums it could be a decent thread. would it be a option to kick guilty members of derailing a thread from that particularity thread (cool down or whatever you want to call it) rather than banning them or locking the thread for everyone else?

We tend to only lock threads as a last resort – basically when all hell breaks loose and we need some time to fix it. If it is a small number of people causing trouble short term bans are considered.

The main exception to this has been any ‘future of the Pro14’ thread – I think we have had 4 incarnations now and they have all descended into chaos with multiple people having blazing arguments about the same thing over and over again. When it gets to the point that everyone is repeating themselves and the thread isn’t going anywhere I have locked it.

With that in mind....could you lock the Brexit Thread?? Never in human history was so much talked about that was repeated word for word the very next day.

[RDW]

Which one?

[SecretFly]

Oh only messing. The one down in Off Topic. It's like groundhog day................ but then, so is 'Brexit' itself.

[rodders]

With that in mind....could you lock the Brexit Thread??   Never in human history was so much talked about that was repeated word for word the very next day.

Sorry fly that has to be agreed by all EU 27.

[SecretFly]

With that in mind....could you lock the Brexit Thread??   Never in human history was so much talked about that was repeated word for word the very next day.

Sorry fly that has to be agreed by all EU 27.

Feck it!

[LordDowlais]

not a big contributor on the rugby board but a long time member who came over from old 606, think my only gripe is when two people go at it on one the thread it gets locked, sometimes other than a couple of wums it could be a decent thread. would it be a option to kick guilty members of derailing a thread from that particularity thread (cool down or whatever you want to call it) rather than banning them or locking the thread for everyone else?

We tend to only lock threads as a last resort – basically when all hell breaks loose and we need some time to fix it. If it is a small number of people causing trouble short term bans are considered.

The main exception to this has been any ‘future of the Pro14’ thread – I think we have had 4 incarnations now and they have all descended into chaos with multiple people having blazing arguments about the same thing over and over again. When it gets to the point that everyone is repeating themselves and the thread isn’t going anywhere I have locked it.

I think some of the moderating on that particular thread is nothing short of shambolic. Sorry. Just speaking my mind.

But, now with these new changes, and perhaps with the new world order on here, I live in hope that things will improve.

[yappysnap]

Just go to the comments sections of articles online and post the link to v2 over and over again, that's what other people do and I can't see it going wrong...

[stub]

I think things have improved of late - thanks to everyone who gives up their own time to make the forum work.

[Pal Joey]

Congrats to rodders who is the final moderator appointment, meaning that all home nations have a moderator now

Congratulations Rodders!

So that just leaves a moderator or two from the non-Home Nations south of the Equator and well east of Greenwich, RDW.

Not much to chose from in that department is there? Think it's fine as it is.

[SecretFly]

I nominate Collapse... he was born down under innit? The real lads from the bottom of the world are too wild to be tamed enough to show due respect for Marquis of Queensbury rules!

[Pal Joey]

No wires on the gloves around here, SF.  

[Cyril]

The rugby forum is a mess. Moderators are either jumping on posters they don’t agree with (deleting comments and closing threads) or just ignoring problems, not taking promised action.

[Pal Joey]

It's hard work, Cyril.

Biltong and I used to have our hands full during the peak wumming season.
Whilst it's all meant to be good fun - it does drive you nuts at times. It can be much less enjoyable than it seems.

Truss did me a favour in conning Adam into giving me the boot.
I simply stood my ground whilst putting him in his place. Must have really struck a raw nerve!  If you can't take it; then don't dish it out.

That's the best thing I ever did on this site (getting stripped of Mod status) apart from setting up the cricket tipping competitions.
I certainly don't miss archiving all the threads and doing the lion share of cleaning up the mess created. That type of work makes you dizzy.

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