BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!

Subject: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: Gray D
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 07:40 PM

To advertise to the world their mastery of technology, managers of many of the BBC message boards have decided . . . to close them at night.

The BBC folk board, for instance, is now closed between 22:00 and 07:30 GMT.

They don't store your message and post it the next day as they used to, you just can't post.

So that's me stuffed, then. And one or two others, I suspect. Shame, as I enjoyed posting there.

As Spike Milligan said of the BBC in one "Goon Show" - "The BBC. Hold it up to the light; not a brain in sight".

The idiots.

Gray D

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: Sorcha
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 09:53 PM

Don't they realize it's not 'night' all over the planet?????

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 24 Jul 03 - 10:19 PM

'course they do sorcha!

There is a lot I don't like about the bbc message board systems, notably user unfriendliness and rules that I feel are too rigid but I also appreciate that they have difficulties that perhaps other forums don't have.

The BBC is in someways supposed to be an "upright pillar of UK society" and I don't think could afford to accept "idiot" posts. You have seen what can happen here with just 1 fuckwit posting something, followed by dozens of posters complaining how awful it is or adding thier 2c to the thread to ensure thier opinion is heard, etc.

Imagine what could break out, perhaps including reports of the "bbc has allowed this on the Internet" leaked out to newspapers... I guess that is why they go so far with the moderation and closing. They seem to feel that to protect themselves, they have the need to keep a close watch on posts and as far as I know have never allowed posts to be "live" overnight.

I think the other thing we need to consider is the scale of the BBC message board system. We tend only to look at the folk one and compare it to the infinately more busy Mudcat. But folk is only one board on the system and a minority one at that. R2 alone has 8 boards including the folk one. Running through R1 to R5, I count 67 boards on the system, including boards for popular chart music and for discussion on soccer.

I'm not saying thier management is right, just they may have far more problems to deal with than may be apparent at top surface.

Unfortunately the bottom line for me is that the restrictions and user unfriendliness mean that I don't find the folk music board particularly useful although I do look in there most days.

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: Gray D
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 08:25 PM

Language, Jon, language!

The Beeb used to store late night posts, then vet them and stick them on the board next day. Not any more though. The messageboards are ¡§hosted¡¨ by people who have no control over managerial policy, many of whom appear to have complained about the new system. I copy below the ¡§spin¡¨ issued to the messageboard hosts, followed by my response in a form of computer person¡¦s ¡§Structured English¡¨:-

„«        Here's a message you can post in threads where people are complaining about
> no longer being able to post after closing time. You could if you'd prefer
> post it as a new thread, calling it something like 'Recent Messageboard
> Changes'.
> >
> Thank you for all your feedback about the new closing-time policy. To
> further clarify - dealing with the overnight queue of messages was taking
> away from the resources that we have for running the service during the day.
> As most messages were being posted before closing, and a only small number
> of users were posting outside of the stated opening hours, it was clear that
> the most positive step to take - the one which would directly affect as few
> users as possible - would be to stop messages being posted after closing
> time.
> >
> As you may have noticed, a small number of boards still allow posting after
> closing time. This is generally because some website teams have been able to
> reschedule their production work in order to moderate their own overnight
> queue of messages, and so have taken on this additional responsibility. We
> are looking at all sorts of ways to enable a more accessible service, but
> please bear in mind that this may mean that we have to make further changes
> to the way the boards are currently run. Please note that we do aim to
> provide as much prior notice of any change as we possibly can.
> >
> > We do value your contributions and hope you'll continue to enjoy posting.
> >
> > BBCi Messageboard Team

Gray D response:-

If
       "only a small number of users were posting outside of the stated opening hours"
then
       dealing with a few posts shouldn't be a problem
       keep site open 24/7                         'Comment - like the rest of the web, you idiots
else
       'Comment - management is not competent
       delete management
end if

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: Gray D
Date: 25 Jul 03 - 08:27 PM

Apologies for the strange formatting of diverse inverted commas, obviously. It was a "cut and paste" job.

Gray D

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 02:57 AM

Hell, if there was posting 24/7, it would become like the MudCat and then the goons, and freaks and zombies would be able to slip postings in - outside of the "clone on duty" hours - and anarachy would reign -

they are British and to stand in a que is a national honor.

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 02:59 AM

Next time - first cut and paste to the NOTEPAD - then re-cut and re-past to the thread. That will remove the odd configuration by turning it into ANSI text.

Subject: RE: BS: BBC messageboards - closing times!
From: Gray D
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 01:46 PM

GUEST (oh go on, join up and get an i.d.)

1) Thanks for the Notepad tip. I'll give it a try next time I need a rant.

2) I do like the the idea of "anarachy" - tho' p'raps it should be spelled "anoraky". Looking around there's a lot of it about already.

So, the next time I am frustrated by some inept technical decision I shall be thinking "Anoraky rules!". Thanks for that one, as well.

(For non UK readers, the wearing of an anorak, particularly if it is too short and water absorbent to be of any use against the British weather, is taken as a sure sign that the wearer is, er, how can I illustrate this . . . oh yes, possibly a little too concerned with the finer nuances of obscure television science fiction series of the nineteen seventies. What some of you may recognise as a "geek" or "nerd")

Gray D