Discuss: Private Boards

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I've had a request to add to ilx the facility to make private, i.e. invitation only, boards. This is a thorny one, but not one that had never crossed my mind. Old timers, recall that this *was* a feature of greenspun.

Considering that the bandwidth and server space are all put up for free, it seems a bit too divisive to be an acceptable use of the code. My personal feeling is that private boards = something you must pay for, otherwise perhaps Andrew's opinion might be the last word on the matter.

What do ilxor posse think? (Jon to stay)

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:00 (twenty-two years ago)

It sounds like a BAD idea - exclusive and elitest.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:08 (twenty-two years ago)

no. I would miss the trolls ;-)

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Go to http://www.yahoogroups.com Turn the email off and - whoosh - a private board. I can't think of a good reason for Andrew to pay for this. Having said that, I can't think of a good reason for Andrew to pay for THIS so perhaps that's a redundant argument.

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:11 (twenty-two years ago)

doesnt matter either way to me. its andrews space, andrews bandwidth, i'd say it was pretty much up to him

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:14 (twenty-two years ago)

I really don't like the idea of the private boards to be honest. The cost issue aside, it would mean that ilx could become really cliquey & certain people would be excluded all of the time.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:15 (twenty-two years ago)

what gareth said, but my feeling is no

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:16 (twenty-two years ago)

I think we need more cliqueyness

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Cliqueyness should be avoided. Unless I'm in the clique.

― robster (robster), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I think they're a bad idea.

I like the idea that we're all kind of friends and that we choose who we hang out with freely and are open to everyone.

I'd be constantly wondering what has to be private in there, plus there are plenty of alternatives.

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I wouldn't wanna belong to any clique that would have me as a cliquer.

My initial reaction is that it would be a bad idea and against the 'spirit' of ILX, such as it is. But, at the same time, I can't imagine it would be a massively used function or would lead to ructiosn particularly. And as has been said, it's Andrew's space/bandwidth, so ultimately his call.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I wouldn't wanna belong to any clique that would have me as a cliquer.

too late nick. every person that has posted here is part of the clique, they have no choice in the matter.

i understood the question as meaning extra boards to the server, rather than making ilx itself private. i dont like the idea of making ilx itself private, because new people is good, but as for extra boards that are private, that is of no consequence to me

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:30 (twenty-two years ago)

There would be problems when someone refers to a discussion that was had on a private board. those involved would know exactly what was discussed, others wouldnt.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:32 (twenty-two years ago)

''too late nick. every person that has posted here is part of the clique, they have no choice in the matter.''

waht exactly is clique?

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:33 (twenty-two years ago)

clique=chimera

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:34 (twenty-two years ago)

clique = no "us" without "them"

― Sommermute (Wintermute), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:52 (twenty-two years ago)

the "us" and the "them" are relative. those that are "them" are also "us". we are all the individual, we are all the mass. you may think you are "us" but to someone else you are "them". you may think you are "them" but to someone else you are "us"

its all turkey shoots and rolled over wiring

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 08:56 (twenty-two years ago)

isn't that the architect's speech from Reloaded?

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:00 (twenty-two years ago)

no it was frankie bunn after he scored his 4th against scarboro

― gareth (gareth), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Any private boards would be used by certain individuals for widespread bitching and would do little but build bad feeling. If people want to have private little chats, let them do it by AIM or email. ILX is for everyone.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:13 (twenty-two years ago)

why would the private boards on ILX build more bad feeling than knowing that people talk by AIM, e-mail, IRL and other sites as well as here on ILX

― Alan (Alan), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Because it would be going on right under everyone's noses?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i understood the question as meaning extra boards to the server, rather than making ilx itself private. i dont like the idea of making ilx itself private, because new people is good, but as for extra boards that are private, that is of no consequence to me

That's my feeling too. If Andrew doesn't want it, then it shouldn't happen. Otherwise, I'm a little bit puzzled by the handwringing going on here. It's not like anyone would be forced to join a private discussion group if they didn't want to be a part of it.

― Nicole (Nicole), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:36 (twenty-two years ago)

I was paraphrasing (I think) Oscar Wilde (might've been Grouch Marx though) with "I wouldn't wanna belong..." remark.

Clique just means group, ostensibly, but kind of secret and exclusive and a bit sneering towards outsiders.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Furthermore, it isn't like allusions to private discussions don't happen already. It's really a non-issue.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:46 (twenty-two years ago)

There are a lot of people who would interpret a drop off on ILE as everyone talking behind their back. Er, including me.

Isn't it the case with AIM that people have to be explicitly removed rather than explicitly added?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 09:51 (twenty-two years ago)

too late nick. every person that has posted here is part of the clique, they have no choice in the matter.

but at the moment anyone can join the clique, just by coming here.

That's great!

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 10:18 (twenty-two years ago)

If one wanted private chats, surely AIM/MSN serves that function, as Andrew just said. Its something I always found annoying about IRC, that knowing people are running off to private chats to have a beeatch. I agree, the open community is what makes this place :)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 11:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I once got invited onto a private "invitation only" mailing list being told beforehand it was "elitist" and "cliquey". It turned out to be a complete understatement - a lot of insular posturing and singling certain personalities conspicuously absent from the "inner sanctum" for some horrifically bitchy and nasty abuse. Whether or not that abuse was in any way justified is irrelevant. There is a huge difference between everyday conversation between friends talking about someone they don't like and what is posted onto a list to fester in the archives potentially for years. I say it's a really bad idea. In my case, it turned out be pretty good as I realised what those people were really like and from then on I backed off and thankfully had nothing further to do with them.

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 11:20 (twenty-two years ago)

on greenspun, where new boards weren't necessarily offshoots of old boards, this feature was unexpectionable => a couple of explicitly anti-ilm boards actually sprang up for a while — for all i know they're still going, the unacknowledged bloomsbury groups of 22nd century culture — but they weren't visible and encroaching from the main thoroughfare

i think on ilxor, where ilx is basically still the community-generating body (apols.to Ask a Drunk), it *would* be more divisive if they were generally visible but exclusionary (esp.when it's so easy to go elsewhere and create such things, on aim or email if not yahoo...)

i think capacity of andrew's server is key, as are concerns about potential wear and tear on those who would have to oversee the protocols of this development — the ubermoderators of all ilxor: ie andrew, alan, me (?i think) and tom (?poss.retired?)

― mark s (mark s), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 11:33 (twenty-two years ago)

four years pass...

Has there been any progress on this yet?

― Stewart Payne, Monday, 7 April 2008 19:46 (seventeen years ago)

hahahaha

― HI DERE, Monday, 7 April 2008 20:02 (seventeen years ago)

good job

― balls, Monday, 7 April 2008 20:06 (seventeen years ago)

Oh, how times have changed.

― Tuomas, Monday, 7 April 2008 20:10 (seventeen years ago)

yeah now we have 1000 post thread on subject instead of just 30

― blueski, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:29 (seventeen years ago)

someone needs to revive that one where Tom & the britts said they were closing ILx and that it would reform via invite only. Wacky pranksters. (I fell for it.)

― bnw, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:32 (seventeen years ago)

it was something like only the top 100 most worthy users would be allowed in.

― bnw, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:33 (seventeen years ago)

i think that was all pete b's doing. weird as he's usually so truthful.

― blueski, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:43 (seventeen years ago)

Dear god it's the BOB here.

― Abbott, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:44 (seventeen years ago)

I mean the blob.

― Abbott, Monday, 7 April 2008 21:45 (seventeen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.