Decline of P.ie?

ibis wrote:

Funnily enough, when DC was moderating the Lisbon forum himself, he regularly threatened to ban FT. Perhaps he's realised that FT is a better misinformation machine than Libertas?

Well I don't expect FT to have an agenda anyway. Slightly confused perhaps, but I don't doubt his sincerity. He believes what he's saying. He just seems to be afraid of everything and has an astounding ability to convert everything into something that endangers himself. He seems to have an awful lot of information, but his analytical skills and objectivity and dare I say, rationality, need much to be desired. (I could of course say that about myself quite often).

Libertas, however, are a different matter. I feel they know well the information they're spouting is inaccurate scaremongering and have an ulterior agenda to promoting it. This is clear from their willingness to use different objections to the treaty from different political perspectives/extremes.

I wont slag off P.ie, because I really enjoyed posting there, and from time to time do so now.. but my post count lately has gone way down, mainly because I'm dealing with idiots when I do post

People like Apparatchik should be banned.. full stop

I tried boards (never posted, just looked), while P.ie was down, and thought I'd never suggest a harsh moderation policy.. but if I was a moderator on P.ie.. I'd kick ass, simple as.

It's a great site, if used properly.. as this one is, and that one was... but essentially politics is a serious game, and unless people are willing to deal with messing seriously, the mainstream won't take any notice of it

Now, people like Merle, who I like, make silly contributions from time to time.. but he does it in jest, and people know that. He balances it with pretty excellent posting about hard line Republicanism, which still remains as part of the political landscape, and with postings on things like collusion or the Dublin Monaghan bombing.

People like FT.. are just deluded.. but don't intentionally destroy threads.

Others do.. ban em, when they come back, ban em again, and they'll eventually either shape up of f.. off

My own appetite is gone for it a little

rockofcashel wrote:

I wont slag off P.ie, because I really enjoyed posting there, and from time to time do so now.. but my post count lately has gone way down, mainly because I'm dealing with idiots when I do post

People like Apparatchik should be banned.. full stop

Exactly, Apparatchik and about a hundred others should just be thrown out all in one go. The place has become infested with trolls and is in dire need of a purge. If DC and the Content Team did that, it'd be much better.

Ah - I dont know if P.ie is any worse or better than always is or has been.

Coming up to something as obviously attractive and divisive as Lisbon to ,how shall I put it, the more niche elements of our political spectrum and society - it think it is only natural that its gone a bit mental at the moment - it will probably settle down afterwards.

Maybe maybe for us old farts - the bebo generation are finally coming into their inheritance!

Apparatchik is in a league of his own when it comes to a display of bitterness and the green eyed monster - but hey P.ie always has a couple of those - simple answer - just ignore him and he'll cop on or get bored.

FT - actually I like - the crazy tasmanian devil that he is,firing at everything and anything - he at least can string a vaguely coherent arguement together when he feels like it and there is normally a few pearls of truth in the madness! - and he makes me smile!

I think - maybe - I 've outgrown the stuff on P.ie and Im probably not alone - Im just not into slagging and baiting people (unless its Misty - who has gone strangely quiet - still in mourning I guess) and the constant one upmanship - but hey thats life - I still pop in now and again ( like today where I got more media inches than Bertie Ahern - Jaysus!)
but I'll be sticking to here for launching more serious discussions for the moment - its nice to be nice at times.

Any way Im off to my local for my friday night read of the London Indo and few pints of kilkenny's finest (Oops - where the feck is Smithwicks brewed these days?) and if you're lucky - you wont hear from me until tomorrow evening at the earliest!

Have a good one folks

Yes, as a Smithwicks person I'm sad to see the Kilkenny brewery going. The former Cherrys of Waterford is where most if not all of the Smidiola is brewed nowadays. I'd echo RoC's comments and find that I much prefer coherent posters who can justify a position, especially when I don't draw the same conclusions that they do. I'm staying off the Lisbon threads from now because going in there is like trying to argue with Jehovah's Witnesses about the saving of the 144,000 alone.

PS RoC - still owe you a pint sometime in Cashel!

P.ie is like the curate's egg. Sometimes you'd look at latest discussions and it is like looking at wallpaper. But it is an open forum (unless DC barges in) and there is still great posting there sometimes, new and old posters. There can be a fine lightness of touch, and the diversity is a wonder.

If there are problems, it is the captain of the ship who is responsible.

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

cookiemonster wrote:

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

You have apparently left everywhere cookiemonster

You just love them and leave them

sandar Thu May 08, 2008 6:32 pm

yeah cookiemonster and ard-taoisecah were top class posters didn't know they had gone,a nd some of what has replaced them has been of inferior quality.

cactus flower wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

You have apparently left everywhere cookiemonster

You just love them and leave them

sandar Thu May 08, 2008 6:32 pm

yeah cookiemonster and ard-taoisecah were top class posters didn't know they had gone,a nd some of what has replaced them has been of inferior quality.

I saw that earlier. My time and energy were required elsewhere owing to a death in the family. Though admittidely I'm not posting that much anywhere at the moment.

cookiemonster wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

You have apparently left everywhere cookiemonster

You just love them and leave them

sandar Thu May 08, 2008 6:32 pm

yeah cookiemonster and ard-taoisecah were top class posters didn't know they had gone,a nd some of what has replaced them has been of inferior quality.

I saw that earlier. My time and energy were required elsewhere owing to a death in the family. Though admittidely I'm not posting that much anywhere at the moment.

Sorry for your loss, cookiemonster.

cookiemonster wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

You have apparently left everywhere cookiemonster

You just love them and leave them

sandar Thu May 08, 2008 6:32 pm

yeah cookiemonster and ard-taoisecah were top class posters didn't know they had gone,a nd some of what has replaced them has been of inferior quality.

I saw that earlier. My time and energy were required elsewhere owing to a death in the family. Though admittidely I'm not posting that much anywhere at the moment.

Yeah - you're slacking your mod duties of balancing my notoriously biased agenda.

cactus flower wrote:

Sorry for your loss, cookiemonster.

Thanks, though she's not lost. I know exactly where she is.

cookiemonster wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Sorry for your loss, cookiemonster.

Thanks, though she's not lost. I know exactly where she is.

Is it sad that that's one of the funniest posts I've seen today?

ibis wrote:

Yeah - you're slacking your mod duties of balancing my notoriously biased agenda.

Did I not start a thread which was in danger of becoming dangerously close to love in?

Some people are never happy!

ibis wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Sorry for your loss, cookiemonster.

Thanks, though she's not lost. I know exactly where she is.

Is it sad that that's one of the funniest posts I've seen today?

Ha, my Grandmother was being waked at home and I'd been sitting in the room having a chat with her for a while. When my shift (for one of a better word was over) my cousin arrived all puffy faced a teary eyed. Before I left to go home I stuck my head back in the door and said "there's no minding in her, there hasn't been a peep out of her all night". The following day my cousin took it upon herself to bust out in laughter every time she though of it. I quietly told callers to the house that she was quite mad. They didn't need much convincing.

I'm really sorry about your grandmother, CookieMonster.

Glad to see you back again.

Very sorry about your grandmother, Cookie. My grandfather died a couple of months ago. Tough times for the family I should imagine.

johnfás wrote:

Very sorry about your grandmother, Cookie. My grandfather died a couple of months ago. Tough times for the family I should imagine.

Very, but it's brought the rest of us closer together. Which she would have been delighted with.

Sorry about your grandfather.

Thanks for the comments folks.

Sorry for both ye`re losses lads.

I'll add to that - sorry for your losses guys and my sympathies to all concerned.

cookiemonster wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

cookiemonster wrote:

Ah yeah, the place had gone to shit since I left... oh wait, that was here...

You have apparently left everywhere cookiemonster

You just love them and leave them

sandar Thu May 08, 2008 6:32 pm

yeah cookiemonster and ard-taoisecah were top class posters didn't know they had gone,a nd some of what has replaced them has been of inferior quality.

I saw that earlier. My time and energy were required elsewhere owing to a death in the family. Though admittidely I'm not posting that much anywhere at the moment.

Is mór is oth liom do bhris.

I'm greatly saddened by your loss cookie. My only hope is that it was peaceful.

In iothlainn Dé go gcuirtear sinn.

Sorry for your losses folks.

May I also express my sympathies.

As for the original question, I was a long-term poster on P.ie, but I've left in the past couple of months. Conor was correct to state that there's always been a vibe of not-as-good-as-it-was, but I think it's undeniable that things have gone seriously downhill since last year's election, at least.

It's the nasty, personalised, "troll", "crook", "gombeen" style of 'discussion' that has proliferated over the last while. There used to be, as Rocky points out, a feeling of community there, with genuine conversations between different posters with different politics who were still respectful towards each other. That, in many ways, is gone now.

Kate P is right to highlight the Gayle Killelea thread. While I thought the original article was tripe, the misogynistic bile directed at the woman was pretty horrible. Similarly, the abuse on the Seamus Brennan thread. RoC is right; the softly-softly response has served P.ie well over the years, but a clampdown is needed. However, another problem is DC's increasingly idiosyncratic and somewhat abusive moderating style.

It's a shame, but like Kate, the break from posting is probably doing me good!

I have to say that Lisbon certainly generates more heat than light on p.ie. I would like to have discussions, but frankly it's just a propaganda war 99% of the time. The aim is not discussion of the issues, but to impress an unseen audience with the snappiest soundbite.