gaaboard.com

Well known GAA website, An Fear Rua, has closed it's forum this week after 12 years of operation.
He blames financial problems as well as the difficulties of moderating an anonymous forum and a minority of users who do not stay within the guidelines.

Fear Rua Quote:
"This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it."

Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 11, 2012, 12:23:41 PM
Well known GAA website, An Fear Rua, has closed it's forum this week after 12 years of operation.
He blames financial problems as well as the difficulties of moderating an anonymous forum and a minority of users who do not stay within the guidelines.

Fear Rua Quote:
"This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it."

Where did you see this dinny?

The full quote:

QuoteExactly twelve years ago this month I set up An Fear Rua-The GAA Unplugged! I have now decided to discontinue it. I have immediately closed the 'Speak Out!' forum but the Content Zone will continue for the moment.
An anonymous internet forum is an anachronism. It has been overtaken by the arrival of 'open identity' forums such as Twitter and Facebook. This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

This has been a labour of love. In hard cash it has cost me more than €150,000 over the years. If I costed the time I've spent managing it – at even the average industrial wage – the total cost or investment would be the best part of €500,000. I have never made more than €10,000 a year on average in advertising revenue, despite trying the services of five or six ad selling agencies. It is simply not possible to make this site a paying proposition.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it.
I thank all the decent people who supported the site over the years. I regret that it has come to this and I wish you well in the future.

Strangeness. It's a 'labour of love' and he goes on to hypothetically cost it as if it were a full-time job. The solution to his other problems is this magical this magical thing called moderation.

Really can't get behind his logic. It has a strong feeling of taking the ball home with him.

I think we can expect a influx to the hurling board.

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 11, 2012, 12:30:22 PM

Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 11, 2012, 12:23:41 PM
Well known GAA website, An Fear Rua, has closed it's forum this week after 12 years of operation.
He blames financial problems as well as the difficulties of moderating an anonymous forum and a minority of users who do not stay within the guidelines.

Fear Rua Quote:
"This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it."

Where did you see this dinny?

It was on the Kerry GAA forum.

Ah, I thought it read like a press release. Sad to see it go in fairness, even though he called me a bollox :D

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 11, 2012, 12:39:22 PM
Ah, I thought it read like a press release. Sad to see it go in fairness, even though he called me a bollox :D

Nothing wrong with his senses so.

I have never come across anybody being sanctioned or reprimanded on this board. U think yer man on fear rua takes this board business too seriously

Quote from: theticklemister on September 11, 2012, 12:49:32 PM
I have never come across anybody being sanctioned or reprimanded on this board. U think yer man on fear rua takes this board business too seriously

I think he's been having a few health issues as well, so I wouldn't be going castigating him too much.

Did you post there AZ? I thought it was a decent forum with some good contributors and threads, though very much a Limerick/Clare dominated forum.

It's a pity it's gone and considering it was no different to here I find it hard to understand his fears regarding defamation law and the like.

I was banned I think :) I used to read it though.

When he started it up, I think he was spamming here directing people to go to his new forum, and I was one of a number that gave out to him. He called me a bollox on AFR at some stage after that :)

Quote from: Syferus on September 11, 2012, 12:31:11 PM
The full quote:

QuoteExactly twelve years ago this month I set up An Fear Rua-The GAA Unplugged! I have now decided to discontinue it. I have immediately closed the 'Speak Out!' forum but the Content Zone will continue for the moment.
An anonymous internet forum is an anachronism. It has been overtaken by the arrival of 'open identity' forums such as Twitter and Facebook. This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

This has been a labour of love. In hard cash it has cost me more than €150,000 over the years. If I costed the time I've spent managing it – at even the average industrial wage – the total cost or investment would be the best part of €500,000. I have never made more than €10,000 a year on average in advertising revenue, despite trying the services of five or six ad selling agencies. It is simply not possible to make this site a paying proposition.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it.
I thank all the decent people who supported the site over the years. I regret that it has come to this and I wish you well in the future.

Strangeness. It's a 'labour of love' and he goes on to hypothetically cost it as if it were a full-time job. The solution to his other problems is this magical this magical thing called moderation.

Really can't get behind his logic. It has a strong feeling of taking the ball home with him.

I think we can expect a influx to the hurling board.

I think you've put your finger on it there Syferus. It's a labour of love or it's an effort at making money. The reference to the six ad agencies settles it, I think.

If he's not well I hope he gets better but I think the chief reaction here should be happiness and relief that we're all able to enjoy good GAA banter here, the best GAA discussion board there is. Thanks, Mods, whoever you are. We appreciate it.

Quote from: theticklemister on September 11, 2012, 12:49:32 PM
I have never come across anybody being sanctioned or reprimanded on this board. U think yer man on fear rua takes this board business too seriously

There's been a fair few lads warned and banned here over the years. You do have to be a complete arsehole though!

Well business on the hurling board should pick up anyway.

Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on September 11, 2012, 01:40:55 PM

Quote from: Syferus on September 11, 2012, 12:31:11 PM
The full quote:

QuoteExactly twelve years ago this month I set up An Fear Rua-The GAA Unplugged! I have now decided to discontinue it. I have immediately closed the 'Speak Out!' forum but the Content Zone will continue for the moment.
An anonymous internet forum is an anachronism. It has been overtaken by the arrival of 'open identity' forums such as Twitter and Facebook. This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

This has been a labour of love. In hard cash it has cost me more than €150,000 over the years. If I costed the time I've spent managing it – at even the average industrial wage – the total cost or investment would be the best part of €500,000. I have never made more than €10,000 a year on average in advertising revenue, despite trying the services of five or six ad selling agencies. It is simply not possible to make this site a paying proposition.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it.
I thank all the decent people who supported the site over the years. I regret that it has come to this and I wish you well in the future.

Strangeness. It's a 'labour of love' and he goes on to hypothetically cost it as if it were a full-time job. The solution to his other problems is this magical this magical thing called moderation.

Really can't get behind his logic. It has a strong feeling of taking the ball home with him.

I think we can expect a influx to the hurling board.

I think you've put your finger on it there Syferus. It's a labour of love or it's an effort at making money. The reference to the six ad agencies settles it, I think.

If he's not well I hope he gets better but I think the chief reaction here should be happiness and relief that we're all able to enjoy good GAA banter here, the best GAA discussion board there is. Thanks, Mods, whoever you are. We appreciate it.

Yes - we don't remember often enough to express that.

Quote from: Hardy on September 11, 2012, 02:20:06 PM

Quote from: IolarCoisCuain on September 11, 2012, 01:40:55 PM

Quote from: Syferus on September 11, 2012, 12:31:11 PM
The full quote:

QuoteExactly twelve years ago this month I set up An Fear Rua-The GAA Unplugged! I have now decided to discontinue it. I have immediately closed the 'Speak Out!' forum but the Content Zone will continue for the moment.
An anonymous internet forum is an anachronism. It has been overtaken by the arrival of 'open identity' forums such as Twitter and Facebook. This model of internet comment is no longer viable, if the comment is to be within the law at all times as well as the bounds of good taste.

This has been a labour of love. In hard cash it has cost me more than €150,000 over the years. If I costed the time I've spent managing it – at even the average industrial wage – the total cost or investment would be the best part of €500,000. I have never made more than €10,000 a year on average in advertising revenue, despite trying the services of five or six ad selling agencies. It is simply not possible to make this site a paying proposition.

In that context, my decision is also influenced by the unreasonable sense of entitlement displayed by a growing minority of Registered Users. There is a sense that they can just register under a pseudonym, pay nothing towards the upkeep of the site or towards an insurance against libel matched by a total lack of any attempt to even understand – let alone accept – that I have a right, and a duty, to administer this site in accordance with the law and in the interests of everyone who used it.
I thank all the decent people who supported the site over the years. I regret that it has come to this and I wish you well in the future.

Strangeness. It's a 'labour of love' and he goes on to hypothetically cost it as if it were a full-time job. The solution to his other problems is this magical this magical thing called moderation.

Really can't get behind his logic. It has a strong feeling of taking the ball home with him.

I think we can expect a influx to the hurling board.

I think you've put your finger on it there Syferus. It's a labour of love or it's an effort at making money. The reference to the six ad agencies settles it, I think.

If he's not well I hope he gets better but I think the chief reaction here should be happiness and relief that we're all able to enjoy good GAA banter here, the best GAA discussion board there is. Thanks, Mods, whoever you are. We appreciate it.

Yes - we don't remember often enough to express that.

Ziggy knows we appreciate his hard work!!!

I rarely visited it. It always struck me as Brian Carthy and Kitty The Hare reading Ireland's Own to each other in The Tailor and Ansty's little cottage out at the butt of the wind.

I do remember one good thread about Simmenthal bullocks from it  that was reproduced here.

Edit: Sorry - Limousins (http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611).

Quote from: Hardy on September 11, 2012, 02:40:04 PM
I rarely visited it. It always struck me as Brian Carthy and Kitty The Hare reading Ireland's Own to each other in The Tailor and Ansty's little cottage out at the butt of the wind.

I do remember one good thread about Simmenthal bullocks from it  that was reproduced here.

Edit: Sorry - Limousins (http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611).

even now that is still absolutely classic stuff. AFRs finest hour

Quote from: prewtna on September 11, 2012, 03:00:03 PM

Quote from: Hardy on September 11, 2012, 02:40:04 PM
I rarely visited it. It always struck me as Brian Carthy and Kitty The Hare reading Ireland's Own to each other in The Tailor and Ansty's little cottage out at the butt of the wind.

I do remember one good thread about Simmenthal bullocks from it  that was reproduced here.

Edit: Sorry - Limousins (http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611).

even now that is still absolutely classic stuff. AFRs finest hour

Didn't some Limousin breeder try to bring litigation against AFR for that thread as he felt it was painting a bad picture of Limousin cattle which was bad for his business or am I imagining this?

Making money out of GAA chat seems to be a lot like making money out of playing professional GAA . Not going to happen.

next for reservoir dubs  ;D

Quote from: squire_in_navy_slacks on September 11, 2012, 05:16:39 PM
next for reservoir dubs  ;D

God I hope not, best to keep all those paranoid lunatics in the one spot.

Quote from: Dinny Breen on September 11, 2012, 05:21:17 PM

Quote from: squire_in_navy_slacks on September 11, 2012, 05:16:39 PM
next for reservoir dubs  ;D

God I hope not, best to keep all those paranoid lunatics in the one spot.

;D spot on dinny

Sorry to see it go, was a brilliant forum for hurling people especially. Think it began after the end of clarehurlers.com so that explains the Clare/Limerick domination. Was some cracking threads and generally was good debate on there. Wonder where everyone will migrate to now?

Seeing that there was barely electricity in most places never mind the interweb when Mayo last won the All-Ireland, GAA forums are closing down as a preventive measure against the meltdown that will occur if Mayo win with all the revenge posts Mayo folk will be writing in the forums for the millions of slights and jokes they've suffered over the last 60 years both online and offline.

I certainly enjoyed browsing AFR and it had plenty of knowledgeable hurling contributors.
It was also a good place to get plain speaking on current affairs from contributors that didn't just go with the flow.
There was a certain quirkiness about the site but that added to it's appeal.
Best of luck to Liam Cahill but maybe he should look at ways of keeping AFR running.

He spent mad money paying a lad to develop a custom forum from scratch.
It looked like something from 1999. Fools and their money are easily parted!

Looking at the reactions thefreekick and premierview, he annoyed some amount of people in those 12 years!

An Fear Ruined it would seem. Afraid of legal cases been taken agin him my arse. Have to be careful on here now because more hacks will be looking in at our excellent database of knowledge about all things GAA and anything from the scientific observations of Olly to how to get your car fixed.  From now on you can't be saying Pat Sipllane is a right eejit or Joe Brolly has an ego as big as the knot in Ger Loughnanes tie or anything like that - and Oh yes, leave Tommy Walsh alone as well.

I posted something earlier on here about yer man but deleted it because the ma says if you can't say anything good about someone say nathin.

I was a regular in there since the 90s.  I even used to write a column for him.

In more recent years I noticed a change in his tone though, he was getting angrier and more easily provoked at the slightest thing.  I used to report bugs and suggest fixes for them and he used to thank me for it, but one time more recently I reported a problem with his news feed (it was throwing up random news stories that had nothing to do with the GAA).  His response was I could go somewhere else if I didn't like it and "your constant whinging about this site is getting to be a pain in the hole." 

He once made a rule about Heysel, banned all discussions of the subject because of some thread that had gotten out of hand. So later the issue of the Hill 16 wall came up and I was talking about crowd control and pressure and how people underestimate how much pressure a big enough crowd of people can exert.  I happened to mention that it can be enough to knock a wall down like at Heysel.

Well the next day I awoke to a tirade of angry abuse in my personal email inbox saying he was "disgusted with my behaviour" and castigating me about my attitude.  That was me banned for life.  In theory I could have registered a fresh account and gone back but I'd hate to be posting under a regime like that, so I never bothered going back.

I never went there to see the site because I had a tangle with him for touting on here for some of our posters to go over to their forum about ten years ago. 

Any warning of a closure before he closed it down?

He used to be a civil enough crater. It's only in the last lok of years he started acting strange.

I'd reserve judgment.

Quote from: Bud Wiser on September 11, 2012, 10:01:59 PM
I never went there to see the site because I had a tangle with him for touting on here for some of our posters to go over to their forum about ten years ago.

Yeah, that was the same time as myself Bud. He never forgot that either :)

He was on RnaG earlier around 5:30pm, came across well in fairness. Said was relieved to be closing down the site as was fierce hassle especially the last 2 years. Pretty much repeated what was quoted earlier.

Quote from: Bud Wiser on September 11, 2012, 10:01:59 PM
I never went there to see the site because I had a tangle with him for touting on here for some of our posters to go over to their forum about ten years ago.

In the spirit of that spat, you can give me some hits by reading my thoughts on the demise of AFR here (http://www.comeonthedeise.ie/2012/09/12/slan-an-fear-rua/).

Quote from: deiseach on September 12, 2012, 09:12:49 AM

Quote from: Bud Wiser on September 11, 2012, 10:01:59 PM
I never went there to see the site because I had a tangle with him for touting on here for some of our posters to go over to their forum about ten years ago.

In the spirit of that spat, you can give me some hits by reading my thoughts on the demise of AFR here (http://www.comeonthedeise.ie/2012/09/12/slan-an-fear-rua/).

Are ye saying that this place can't be the place to think? Well, maybe not ;D

One episode known as IP-gate was hilarious.
There was lots of accusations that people were setting up multiple accounts and posting under different aliases and so to stop this or at least track who was doing it, the owner rather naïvely changed the system so that all posts were listed with the Ip-address that they were posted from.
It's fairly easily to trace someone's location/company from their Ip-address so lots of people's real life identities were compromised.
It was pandamonium for a while trying to put the genie back in the box.

Quote from: blanketattack on September 12, 2012, 11:16:29 AM
One episode known as IP-gate was hilarious.
There was lots of accusations that people were setting up multiple accounts and posting under different aliases and so to stop this or at least track who was doing it, the owner rather naïvely changed the system so that all posts were listed with the Ip-address that they were posted from.
It's fairly easily to trace someone's location/company from their Ip-address so lots of people's real life identities were compromised.
It was pandamonium for a while trying to put the genie back in the box.

I think that was around the same time a contributor used the tag of David Trimble was winding the hell out of all the non Tipp contributors and subsequently got banned. Even the use of the name Trimble was asterisked out after that!

Quote from: johnneycool on September 12, 2012, 11:58:02 AM
I think that was around the same time a contributor used the tag of David Trimble was winding the hell out of all the non Tipp contributors and subsequently got banned. Even the use of the name Trimble was asterisked out after that!

He was winding the hell out of everyone. Four corners of a bollix. Still, the way AFR spat his dummy out over it  after tolerating it for years was bizarre

Quote from: johnneycool on September 12, 2012, 11:58:02 AM

I think that was around the same time a contributor used the tag of David Trimble was winding the hell out of all the non Tipp contributors and subsequently got banned. Even the use of the name Trimble was asterisked out after that!

Aye, remember a client by that name in April 2003 coming on here and making one post about Armagh players being on steroids. The next post on the thread was from someone calling themselves Déise Girl who wrote that there was a problem with their site but if it was fixed she wanted him back over there and for GAABoard not to accept him as a member.

I think some of the comments on here are very insensitive and show a serious lack of compassion, the guy who ran AFR has been sick for a while now, i remember he had an op a while back aswell. Its hard enough going through life but having illness on top of it makes it way harder, makes you more irratable, makes your decision making harder, and you tend to focus on negatives. Its hard to keep a positive focus. So give the lad a break its no coincidence that he may have got angrier with his life getting alot harder and externalizing it, no need to be precious about yer own self importance. I dont know AFR btw but you could read between the lines. If he reads on here i wish him all the best.

This has been a labour of love. In hard cash it has cost me more than €150,000 over the years. If I costed the time I've spent managing it – at even the average industrial wage – the total cost or investment would be the best part of €500,000. I have never made more than €10,000 a year on average in advertising revenue, despite trying the services of five or six ad selling agencies. It is simply not possible to make this site a paying proposition.[b][/b]


good luck to the lad if he has been ill, all the best with it. But if the figures above are anyway close to how much he wasted them he is a fool, i'm sure there's better things he could have done. I never used the forum, and it's years since i even looked at the site, seemed to be a load of munster shite

Quote from: deiseach on September 12, 2012, 09:12:49 AM

Quote from: Bud Wiser on September 11, 2012, 10:01:59 PM
I never went there to see the site because I had a tangle with him for touting on here for some of our posters to go over to their forum about ten years ago.

In the spirit of that spat, you can give me some hits by reading my thoughts on the demise of AFR here (http://www.comeonthedeise.ie/2012/09/12/slan-an-fear-rua/).

+1

It's hard to feel sympathy for the guy after being on the receiving end of his abusive behaviour, but we know he was in poor health so you have to forgive. Not much point in holding a grudge. 

I quite enjoyed the place in its heyday after the Clare Hurlers invasion. I particularly liked The Squinting Eye column, always an enjoyable read about the smaller details and the stories behind them.  Whether they were based in fact or not I was never able to figure out, but they were always well written.  And I agree with you that the forum was often a source of some very informed opinions, it's just a shame you had to skim over so much personal handbagging and point-scoring between regular contributors to get to the good stuff.

I'm not sure if discussion boards are as obsolete as people say they are. Boards.ie seems to be doing pretty well, and this place seems to be ticking along nicely.  The only problem with discussion boards is that they've become so easy to set up.  Any old eejit could go to yuku.com and start a board right now, but it all depends on whether or not you can attract a critical mass of quality contributors.  Established communities like this are at an advantage.

Quote from: theticklemister on September 11, 2012, 12:49:32 PM
I have never come across anybody being sanctioned or reprimanded on this board. U think yer man on fear rua takes this board business too seriously

He runs a PR company and was active politically for the labour party. As a result you couldn't say anything about anybody. I won't miss him. He got rid of a lot of good people from his forum simply so he could be the boss. The people who made thst forum good and now he is gone.

Quote from: SLIGONIAN on September 12, 2012, 01:02:03 PM
I think some of the comments on here are very insensitive and show a serious lack of compassion, the guy who ran AFR has been sick for a while now, i remember he had an op a while back aswell. Its hard enough going through life but having illness on top of it makes it way harder, makes you more irratable, makes your decision making harder, and you tend to focus on negatives. Its hard to keep a positive focus. So give the lad a break its no coincidence that he may have got angrier with his life getting alot harder and externalizing it, no need to be precious about yer own self importance. I dont know AFR btw but you could read between the lines. If he reads on here i wish him all the best.

You may be right about that bit he showed a serious lack of sensitivoty and compassion for posters on his website. He indulged Trimble and chums for years before getting rid of all the good posters in a purge that included myself. The thing is all the chancers were happy to change usernames and e mail addresses and would be back on posting in a few hours while the better class of people took it seriously and never came back.

Interesting his comment that anonymous online forums aren't a viable prospect. Does he mean financially or simply as an entity?

Yesterday this site had 441 new posts, 5 new members and 328 online at one time.

It'd be interesting to hear from the mods here to see if we've sailed close to the legal line atall recently.

Also, the Cahill attempting a last blast at free publicity here? It's just the forum closing down - the actual site is forging ahead with the usual articles.

Quote from: ONeill on September 12, 2012, 11:19:04 PM
Also, the Cahill attempting a last blast at free publicity here? It's just the forum closing down - the actual site is forging ahead with the usual articles.

Yeah but it's the dynamic nature of the forum part that keeps people coming back multiple times a day. I'd say the only way he's going to get a bit of traffic now is by posting links to his articles from his Facebook and Twitter feeds.  He'll still get some traffic, but nothing like what it was. Plus he's made a lot of enemies with his treatment of people like myself and Pat there. I certainly stopped clicking on his ads around the time when he started getting abusive.

And last time I looked at the place he still hadn't fixed his news feed. Still showing random international news stories instead of GAA ones.

Seems like alot of them holed up in a thread on Boards.ie. Weird choice because that's pretty much the exact opposite of An Fear Rua in every way imaginable. Do they not know this place exists? It seems the natural home for those refugees, the same sort of freedom and without a boarderline insane moderator. Would be nice if we could get the hurling talk charged up a bit out of all this commotion, it's all this place is really missing.

A discussion board closes down, who gives a f**k - if this one closed tomorrow, who would miss it, really?  It just something to look at that isn't blocked from work, be back to the BBC for a read!

Quote from: Syferus on September 14, 2012, 01:57:14 AM
Seems like alot of them holed up in a thread on Boards.ie. Weird choice because that's pretty much the exact opposite of An Fear Rua in every way imaginable. Do they not know this place exists? It seems the natural home for those refugees, the same sort of freedom and without a boarderline insane moderator. Would be nice if we could get the hurling talk charged up a bit out of all this commotion, it's all this place is really missing.

;D Wahoo, a man after my own heart.  More hurling discussion, do away with the football thread.
Maybe call it the "Football" thread instead of "GAA Discussion" and then we could all talk about hurling and GAA without going near that football topic.  Still, can't really say anything other than praise the mods on here for the length of time this board is on the go. The mods from boards.ie should pop in for a while and see how a forum is run by two boys out of a garage and a computer repair shop and the only revenue coming from two threads on "How to Fix Your Car" and "Computer Problems"  It is great to see that some of us are here on this board for around fifteen years and just because An Fear Ruined says that forums are a thing of the past, well, I would bet forums have as good a chance of being around in ten years time as much as Facebook or Twatter.

Quote from: Cold tea on September 14, 2012, 08:58:51 AM
A discussion board closes down, who gives a f**k - if this one closed tomorrow, who would miss it, really?  It just something to look at that isn't blocked from work, be back to the BBC for a read!

There are two types of people IMO who engage in discussion forums.  One is a "USER" and the other is a "Participant".  One, the participant sees the time and effort that people put into providing the forum as beneficial to his general interest of the topics that are available and can relate to the type of contributor who subscribes to the various topics. By being a participant in the forum you would have respect for those who provide it and hence why there has never been a problem here over fifteen years.

The other is a "USER" and could not give, as you say, a f**k about anyone. This person expects to land on a forum of whatever rattles his can any time at all without any consideration for what goes into making it all possible and as an example of a GAA forum, may sign up today, make a few comments on two or three posts and witin a week is asking for free advice, where to get tickets, even where to sell tickets and then is not seen again.

Put simple, if nobody gave a f**k as you say, there would be no forums. Thankfully our mods have been giving their free time for years and there are thousands who appreciate it from all corners of the world.

I was reading that boards.ie thread alright and the AFR lads are fairly lost as well. It's gas that what they are looking for (A single forum with individual boards for Counties, a non-gaa discussion etc) are all here, and they don't know about us :) That might be a good or bad thing.

Maybe we should take ads out in the GAA Programmes like AFR did :)

Quote from: Bud Wiser on September 14, 2012, 09:37:43 AM

Quote from: Cold tea on September 14, 2012, 08:58:51 AM
A discussion board closes down, who gives a f**k - if this one closed tomorrow, who would miss it, really?  It just something to look at that isn't blocked from work, be back to the BBC for a read!

There are two types of people IMO who engage in discussion forums.  One is a "USER" and the other is a "Participant".  One, the participant sees the time and effort that people put into providing the forum as beneficial to his general interest of the topics that are available and can relate to the type of contributor who subscribes to the various topics. By being a participant in the forum you would have respect for those who provide it and hence why there has never been a problem here over fifteen years.

The other is a "USER" and could not give, as you say, a f**k about anyone. This person expects to land on a forum of whatever rattles his can any time at all without any consideration for what goes into making it all possible and as an example of a GAA forum, may sign up today, make a few comments on two or three posts and witin a week is asking for free advice, where to get tickets, even where to sell tickets and then is not seen again.

Put simple, if nobody gave a f**k as you say, there would be no forums. Thankfully our mods have been giving their free time for years and there are thousands who appreciate it from all corners of the world.

And would your life be affected if this forum closed down.  That's my point!

I think with a forum this size, and of this age, you have a chance to actually meet the people on it as well from time to time. That definitely makes a difference in terms of how important it is. At the end of the day, it's just people posting messages on a forum, for others to read and respond to. It's just a communication device, as well as a repository for all sorts of knowledge.

If it closed down, then you would lose that outlet. Of course there would be other fora to go to, if you wanted, but these things tend to become your own little community. Occasionally they can become a good thing in real life too, as us all chipping in to raise 3 grand for Pieta House and the Cormac Trust last year shows. (We should do that again next year).

I've met loads of lads in real life, through this board, Kerry Mike, Broken Crossbar, Billys Boots, Magpie Seanie, Bud Wiser, as well as a host of others briefly at the golf day, and everyone has been sound, as you would expect because at the end of the day everyone on here has a common interest.

People definitely take these things too seriously at times, no doubt about it, but I think the analogy of your local pub is a good one. If every pub in your town closed down, you'd still be able to keep in touch, but you wouldn't have a single meeting place. That's all this board, and others like it, provides.

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 10:27:37 AM
I think with a forum this size, and of this age, you have a chance to actually meet the people on it as well from time to time. That definitely makes a difference in terms of how important it is. At the end of the day, it's just people posting messages on a forum, for others to read and respond to. It's just a communication device, as well as a repository for all sorts of knowledge.

If it closed down, then you would lose that outlet. Of course there would be other fora to go to, if you wanted, but these things tend to become your own little community. Occasionally they can become a good thing in real life too, as us all chipping in to raise 3 grand for Pieta House and the Cormac Trust last year shows. (We should do that again next year).

I've met loads of lads in real life, through this board, Kerry Mike, Broken Crossbar, Billys Boots, Magpie Seanie, Bud Wiser, as well as a host of others briefly at the golf day, and everyone has been sound, as you would expect because at the end of the day everyone on here has a common interest.

People definitely take these things too seriously at times, no doubt about it, but I think the analogy of your local pub is a good one. If every pub in your town closed down, you'd still be able to keep in touch, but you wouldn't have a single meeting place. That's all this board, and others like it, provides.

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little!!

If this forum closed down it would be a loss because there isn't anything like it elsewhere. It has an atmosphere of its own.
I wouldn't want to follow the procession of Mayo to an all Ireland anywhere else. 

The UK Guardian newspaper had a discussion board that was great craic and it was suddenly pulled without warning and that was it. Gone. All the users scattered.

Quote from: screenexile on September 14, 2012, 10:37:04 AM

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 10:27:37 AM
I think with a forum this size, and of this age, you have a chance to actually meet the people on it as well from time to time. That definitely makes a difference in terms of how important it is. At the end of the day, it's just people posting messages on a forum, for others to read and respond to. It's just a communication device, as well as a repository for all sorts of knowledge.

If it closed down, then you would lose that outlet. Of course there would be other fora to go to, if you wanted, but these things tend to become your own little community. Occasionally they can become a good thing in real life too, as us all chipping in to raise 3 grand for Pieta House and the Cormac Trust last year shows. (We should do that again next year).

I've met loads of lads in real life, through this board, Kerry Mike, Broken Crossbar, Billys Boots, Magpie Seanie, Bud Wiser, as well as a host of others briefly at the golf day, and everyone has been sound, as you would expect because at the end of the day everyone on here has a common interest.

People definitely take these things too seriously at times, no doubt about it, but I think the analogy of your local pub is a good one. If every pub in your town closed down, you'd still be able to keep in touch, but you wouldn't have a single meeting place. That's all this board, and others like it, provides.

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little!!

Common enough one to get wrong 
if you are speaking about ancient rome or indeed speaking latin its stadia and fora, but if you are referring to modern times, its plane old Stadiums and forums
but seeing as meaning is clear its not really important anyway

You learn something new every day. I always say stadia as well.  A bit harsh to puke at it though :D I thought he was puking at the thought of relocating.

And if we are teaching and learning, the word is 'plain' and we won't go into apostrophe usage :D

Send him to the Vomitarium, it's over there beyond the Fora!

 

Quote from: Billys Boots on September 14, 2012, 11:30:56 AM
Send him to the Vomitarium, it's over there beyond the Fora!

you say Vomitarium i say Vomitorium close enough ! you want to send me to the area leading to the exit ? or are you thinking of the vulgar usage which associates Vomitorium with a place to vomit , confused by the fact that  both being to do with expurging ,  people in the first case the contents of you stomach in the other
Really don't the teach the classics any more

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 09:59:31 AM
I was reading that boards.ie thread alright and the AFR lads are fairly lost as well. It's gas that what they are looking for (A single forum with individual boards for Counties, a non-gaa discussion etc) are all here, and they don't know about us :) That might be a good or bad thing.

We are omnipresent AZ  ;D

Oh oh. It's begun :)

Time for the mods (howyie lads) to give newbies some provisional rights only until they have proved that they can engage on a meaningful level - rather than at a 'schoolyard taunts' level that you'd see on Hoganshite.com

In other words (say) cannot create new threads until 100 posts are reached for one thing.
Not allowed to use a hotmail/yahoo mail account.

etc

*runs for cover*

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on September 14, 2012, 02:35:20 PM
Time for the mods (howyie lads) to give newbies some provisional rights only until they have proved that they can engage on a meaningful level - rather than at a 'schoolyard taunts' level that you'd see on Hoganshite.com

In other words (say) cannot create new threads until 100 posts are reached for one thing.
Not allowed to use a hotmail/yahoo mail account.

etc

*runs for cover*

Agreed and they should have to Rule 1 any hot girlfriends, sisters, mothers, grannies(for Hardy :P)!

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on September 14, 2012, 02:35:20 PM
Time for the mods (howyie lads) to give newbies some provisional rights only until they have proved that they can engage on a meaningful level - rather than at a 'schoolyard taunts' level that you'd see on Hoganshite.com

In other words (say) cannot create new threads until 100 posts are reached for one thing.
Not allowed to use a hotmail/yahoo mail account.

etc

*runs for cover*

Over at YBIG they have a policy where a newbies first 10 posts maybe (not sure on exact number) have to be approved by a mod first.. Probably time consuming on a Mods behalf but it would stop a certain amount of tripe..

Sorry BCB........whose hot sister or girlfriend do I get to run my ruler over ?? ;)

I'm sure the new intake will get on very well with Evil Genius and Myles Na G

Quote from: upmonaghansayswe on September 14, 2012, 02:47:16 PM

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on September 14, 2012, 02:35:20 PM
Time for the mods (howyie lads) to give newbies some provisional rights only until they have proved that they can engage on a meaningful level - rather than at a 'schoolyard taunts' level that you'd see on Hoganshite.com

In other words (say) cannot create new threads until 100 posts are reached for one thing.
Not allowed to use a hotmail/yahoo mail account.

etc

*runs for cover*

Over at YBIG they have a policy where a newbies first 10 posts maybe (not sure on exact number) have to be approved by a mod first.. Probably time consuming on a Mods behalf but it would stop a certain amount of tripe..

Feic sake lads, just two posts and there's allegations of tripe, and recommendations for special " provisional " status, I'm not exactly the mujahadeen about to ride into town

dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 02:57:47 PM
dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Complete reverse of AFR, where the decent posters were more likely to get the road, and the persistant maggot-acters escape scot-free.
 

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:02:54 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 02:57:47 PM
dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Complete reverse of AFR, where the decent posters were more likely to get the road, and the persistant maggot-acters escape scot-free.

Perhaps. I'm sure AFR was a decent site. I never got into it because it always seems very Munster-ish rather than AI. Of course the same thing could be levelled at Gaaboard, there's a dominant Ulster membership with a good gang from Mayo.
New blood is important for an forum, things get stale quickly enough if you have the same heads arguing about the same thing all the time.

As anyone invited any of these lost posters over here?

Hi haven't because boards.ie mods have said not to do so, which is fair enough. You'd essentially be doing what AFR did here and we all fell out with him :)

Quote from: RMDrive on September 14, 2012, 03:12:12 PM

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:02:54 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 02:57:47 PM
dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Complete reverse of AFR, where the decent posters were more likely to get the road, and the persistant maggot-acters escape scot-free.

Perhaps. I'm sure AFR was a decent site. I never got into it because it always seems very Munster-ish rather than AI. Of course the same thing could be levelled at Gaaboard, there's a dominant Ulster membership with a good gang from Mayo.
New blood is important for an forum, things get stale quickly enough if you have the same heads arguing about the same thing all the time.

Lot of lads from Clare and Limerick particularly on AFR, often looked in here without registering over the years - very much a an Ulster and north Connacht base of posters, which is fine - but you don't get much hurling chat out of the Fermanagh lads 

I'd love the hurling part of the board to get an influx of new contributors.

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:24:11 PM

Quote from: RMDrive on September 14, 2012, 03:12:12 PM

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:02:54 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 02:57:47 PM
dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Complete reverse of AFR, where the decent posters were more likely to get the road, and the persistant maggot-acters escape scot-free.

Perhaps. I'm sure AFR was a decent site. I never got into it because it always seems very Munster-ish rather than AI. Of course the same thing could be levelled at Gaaboard, there's a dominant Ulster membership with a good gang from Mayo.
New blood is important for an forum, things get stale quickly enough if you have the same heads arguing about the same thing all the time.

Lot of lads from Clare and Limerick particularly on AFR, often looked in here without registering over the years - very much a an Ulster and north Connacht base of posters, which is fine - but you don't get much hurling chat out of the Fermanagh lads

Aye, but how do these things ever change unless people with different interests join in? Perhaps an influx of AFR folks would shift the balance here.

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:24:11 PM

Quote from: RMDrive on September 14, 2012, 03:12:12 PM

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 03:02:54 PM

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 02:57:47 PM
dont' worry, there's no such constraints on newbies here. If you act the maggot, you get the road, but you have to nearly be looking for it :)

Complete reverse of AFR, where the decent posters were more likely to get the road, and the persistant maggot-acters escape scot-free.

Perhaps. I'm sure AFR was a decent site. I never got into it because it always seems very Munster-ish rather than AI. Of course the same thing could be levelled at Gaaboard, there's a dominant Ulster membership with a good gang from Mayo.
New blood is important for an forum, things get stale quickly enough if you have the same heads arguing about the same thing all the time.

Lot of lads from Clare and Limerick particularly on AFR, often looked in here without registering over the years - very much a an Ulster and north Connacht base of posters, which is fine - but you don't get much hurling chat out of the Fermanagh lads

I wouldn't go along with that generalisation, you'd get lots of hurling chat out of these Fermanagh lads...

(http://cdn.independent.ie/multimedia/dynamic/00160/griffin_160004t.jpg)

Ha ha.....very good, wel done  ;D

................I should've said Leitrim  ;)

Quote from: bp on September 14, 2012, 02:54:31 PM

Quote from: upmonaghansayswe on September 14, 2012, 02:47:16 PM

Quote from: Shamrock Shore on September 14, 2012, 02:35:20 PM
Time for the mods (howyie lads) to give newbies some provisional rights only until they have proved that they can engage on a meaningful level - rather than at a 'schoolyard taunts' level that you'd see on Hoganshite.com

In other words (say) cannot create new threads until 100 posts are reached for one thing.
Not allowed to use a hotmail/yahoo mail account.

etc

*runs for cover*

Over at YBIG they have a policy where a newbies first 10 posts maybe (not sure on exact number) have to be approved by a mod first.. Probably time consuming on a Mods behalf but it would stop a certain amount of tripe..

Feic sake lads, just two posts and there's allegations of tripe, and recommendations for special " provisional " status, I'm not exactly the mujahadeen about to ride into town

That wasnt aimed at you!.. More at the summer holiday types.. One buck had six posts and four of them were threads!. 

No worries, no offence taken, though if you forgive just one more generalisation - I would be inclined to get a bit nervous if Northern lads were aiming at me  ;)

...oh and it's a while since I had summer holidays  :-[

Oh Jesus - don't be poking dem Northern bize.

They get offended horrid azy.

...it's the underactive sense of humour I suppose  :P

Quote from: AZOffaly on September 14, 2012, 03:28:14 PM
I'd love the hurling part of the board to get an influx of new contributors.

a few kk heads and an influx of tipp wallahs (no premier, imperial or home of hurling references in names please) and a selection of wexford and rest of munster would be a great addition . I must say though that the chat that follows another fallow year for the less successful ulster fuball counties on here is very interesting . Hardstation's posts the evening the saffrons beat galway were magic. It isn't about all irelands most of the time.

I think the lad's speaking a mountain of guff there. Sure of course it's the 'despair of the nation' and not his widely reported insanely inconsistent moderation that wrecked the forum.

He's coming across as an incredible spoofer, and I don't hand out those words gladly. All the coverage is likely only going to increase what clearly are personal issues inside him and not inside some forum's fabric.

Thought the same about that article. Looks like he has the meedja eating out of his hands about nothing. I don't know anyone who used AFR nor have I ever heard anyone mention it. I'm sure it was popular in some pockets of the country.

Quote from: ONeill on September 15, 2012, 02:06:49 PM
Thought the same about that article. Looks like he has the meedja eating out of his hands about nothing. I don't know anyone who used AFR nor have I ever heard anyone mention it. I'm sure it was popular in some pockets of the country.

It was a hurling centric forum really. I'd say 95% of the posters there were from hurling counties.

I would be one of those 95% you are talking about. I would have little interest in football, so afr was a good spot to hang out.
Anyway its gone now but I'm sure there will be plenty to chat about here

Quote from: EwanMacKenna on September 15, 2012, 12:21:55 PM
Hope this doesn't alter the balance of posters too much but might be of interest to some given ye are on the subject... http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/post-the-sad-news-an-fear-rua-is-gone-207669.html

Maudlin shite.

Hi folks,

I read the article in the examiner today. Looking back An Fear Rua did not take off until the clarehurlers.com site ended. CH.com had picked up a lot of contributors with some great banter on it. Someone with a better memory than me might remember dates etc but I think CH.com went from about 98/99 to 2004?? Previous to that I do remember An Fear Rua coming onto the previous incarnations of this site inviting contributors to check out the discussions on An Fear Rua. This often rightly did not go down well. When the numbers picked up on An Fear Rua there were often some great discussions on it and it did have a great set of contributors, some who were here infrequently, some who were not.

Looking back to the start and from reading the article you had an individual willing to devote a lot of time and investment into providing an internet site for GAA fans and you also had an internet community (here) that struggled for a few years to get a permanent home as it was migrating between various free sites. I think if he had been ready to launch prior to Clarehurlers taking off and at a time when this site was struggling to get a home he would have had a massive web presence. As it was he didn't do too badly over the years but it must have been torture in the last few years to try to moderate the site with the amount of lads going on a deliberate windup.

I'm sorry to see An Fear Rua gone and I hope it all works out for the admin.

I was a regular user of anfearrua for over 10 years, mostly reading there but posting as well and it is a pity to see it go but things move on. A few gaa forums have closed recently like upthedeise and kilkennycats. I can understand why the people running the site close them now after seeing Liam Cahill's closure notice.
I googled gaa discussion and this one came up so I decided to register here after lurking for a few days. Hopefully a few more from Anfearrua will come over here to add to the discussion.

As I said above there, it'd be great to see a few AFR lads give an auld injection of new blood to the forum. This forum tips along grand, peaks and troughs, but an influx of good posters to the hurling side especially would be great. More than welcome.

I don't mind really what happens on the hurling side,
isn't it a good thing to have that discussion forum fenced off?

Quote from: turk on September 15, 2012, 04:56:53 PM
Hi folks,

I read the article in the examiner today. Looking back An Fear Rua did not take off until the clarehurlers.com site ended. CH.com had picked up a lot of contributors with some great banter on it. Someone with a better memory than me might remember dates etc but I think CH.com went from about 98/99 to 2004?? Previous to that I do remember An Fear Rua coming onto the previous incarnations of this site inviting contributors to check out the discussions on An Fear Rua. This often rightly did not go down well. When the numbers picked up on An Fear Rua there were often some great discussions on it and it did have a great set of contributors, some who were here infrequently, some who were not.

Clarehurlers.com started roughly around March or April of 2000.
I also think the domain name was bought for 4 years and it expired in Spring 2004 because it didn't get renewed.

Hence the migration to AFR.com and the main reason for the traffic surge experienced in 2005 by AFR.

I remember well the days when AFR was on here trying to promote his site.
Typically a plug would pan out like this.

Someone asks:
"Does anyone who know who won the Wicklow county final yesterday?"

Reply from AFR:
"I don't know who won the final, but read what AFR has to say about the new Wickla crest in his latest chronicle <Link to article>"

Then a load of lads here would go ape and tell him where to go.
I think fellas like Sid Wallace, Michelin Man, Fred Titmus and First Touch Joe Cooney took the most umbrage to him.

In fairness to him, the site was a labour of love and he put a huge effort into getting off the ground.

Quote from: blanketattack on September 11, 2012, 05:59:29 PM
Seeing that there was barely electricity in most places never mind the interweb when Mayo last won the All-Ireland, GAA forums are closing down as a preventive measure against the meltdown that will occur if Mayo win with all the revenge posts Mayo folk will be writing in the forums for the millions of slights and jokes they've suffered over the last 60 years both online and offline.

Chalk it down, I have 5 pages of a manifesto going back to when Charlie refused the Monsignor for the runway the first time (I manage to relate that to a slight on Mayo footballers) ready to be unleashed on the world come just after 5 next Sunday.

.....ready to take off, so to speak  8)

Didn't realise Kilkenny Cats was gone. Now there was a site where every contributor thought that coming from the same county as Henry Shefflin meant that each and every one of them was the joint-greatest hurler ever. Painful stuff

Quote from: Main Street on September 17, 2012, 10:31:58 AM
I don't mind really what happens on the hurling side,
isn't it a good thing to have that discussion forum fenced off?

I would feel the same about the bigball game.

Quote from: Bord na Mona man on September 17, 2012, 11:50:24 AM

Quote from: turk on September 15, 2012, 04:56:53 PM
Hi folks,

I read the article in the examiner today. Looking back An Fear Rua did not take off until the clarehurlers.com site ended. CH.com had picked up a lot of contributors with some great banter on it. Someone with a better memory than me might remember dates etc but I think CH.com went from about 98/99 to 2004?? Previous to that I do remember An Fear Rua coming onto the previous incarnations of this site inviting contributors to check out the discussions on An Fear Rua. This often rightly did not go down well. When the numbers picked up on An Fear Rua there were often some great discussions on it and it did have a great set of contributors, some who were here infrequently, some who were not.

Clarehurlers.com started roughly around March or April of 2000.
I also think the domain name was bought for 4 years and it expired in Spring 2004 because it didn't get renewed.

Hence the migration to AFR.com and the main reason for the traffic surge experienced in 2005 by AFR.

I remember well the days when AFR was on here trying to promote his site.
Typically a plug would pan out like this.

Someone asks:
"Does anyone who know who won the Wicklow county final yesterday?"

Reply from AFR:
"I don't know who won the final, but read what AFR has to say about the new Wickla crest in his latest chronicle <Link to article>"

Then a load of lads here would go ape and tell him where to go.
I think fellas like Sid Wallace, Michelin Man, Fred Titmus and First Touch Joe Cooney took the most umbrage to him.

In fairness to him, the site was a labour of love and he put a huge effort into getting off the ground.

I remember being in a pub in Miltown Malbay in July 2000 and there were two lads who had printed off about 50 pages off Clarehurlers.com. One would read out a few lines and the two of them would fall about the pub laughing - some of it was good stuff!

These days people would just show the other lad on the phone.
What was the admin's name - Matt wasn't it?

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on September 15, 2012, 04:10:29 PM

Quote from: EwanMacKenna on September 15, 2012, 12:21:55 PM
Hope this doesn't alter the balance of posters too much but might be of interest to some given ye are on the subject... http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/post-the-sad-news-an-fear-rua-is-gone-207669.html

Maudlin shite.

"Throughout 1998 and 1999 there were large companies and if you had a website going for six months they'd buy it for two or three million quid. That was in the back of my mind but that option went completely because six weeks after I left Intel and set up An Fear Rua, the dot-com collapse happened."

So he set up AFR to make a quick buck!

That was always well understood, I thought. Nothing wrong with it, of course, but Liam is an entrepreneur, not a philanthropist.

Quote from: Hardy on September 18, 2012, 11:28:23 AM
That was always well understood, I thought. Nothing wrong with it, of course, but Liam is an entrepreneur, not a philanthropist.

Ok, sorry. I am newer to the scene and wouldn't know the history behind these forums.
I did get banned by him for no good reason.
It must have been because I had a low net worth!

No need to apologise! I meant to refer to the more general tendency to view the demise of AFR's discussion board as a social tragedy occasioned by a tireless charity worker reaching the end of his tether.

Quote from: Dag Dog on September 18, 2012, 11:35:38 AM
Ok, sorry. I am newer to the scene and wouldn't know the history behind these forums.
I did get banned by him for no good reason.
It must have been because I had a low net worth!

Hmm. And who were you on AFR? I don't recall any 'Dag Dog' but I do recall plenty of Home and Away trolls who never seemed to get canned

Quote from: deiseach on September 18, 2012, 11:41:05 AM

Quote from: Dag Dog on September 18, 2012, 11:35:38 AM
Ok, sorry. I am newer to the scene and wouldn't know the history behind these forums.
I did get banned by him for no good reason.
It must have been because I had a low net worth!

Hmm. And who were you on AFR? I don't recall any 'Dag Dog' but I do recall plenty of Home and Away trolls who never seemed to get canned

I used to post as my first name, but then I was clocked in real life by a few people, so I switched to charlie for a while.
I actually haven't watched Home and Away in over 20 years. I was trying to come up with the username on the spot and was short on inspiration.
I don't remember any H&A trolls on AFR as I never opened the topic on it.
I do remember plenty of Unionists and South American socialists.

Quote from: turk on September 17, 2012, 05:27:57 PM
I remember being in a pub in Miltown Malbay in July 2000 and there were two lads who had printed off about 50 pages off Clarehurlers.com. One would read out a few lines and the two of them would fall about the pub laughing - some of it was good stuff!

These days people would just show the other lad on the phone.
What was the admin's name - Matt wasn't it?

Matt Purcell was the admin. I remember he was more recently the family spokesman for Ger Loughnane at the time he was mistakenly reported dead.
There was even a Ger Loughnane question and answers forum on the original Clarehurlers.
This was at the height of the Clare-Tipp rivalry, so you can imagine that it wasn't always very civil.

Quote from: Dag Dog on September 18, 2012, 12:13:54 PM

Quote from: deiseach on September 18, 2012, 11:41:05 AM

Quote from: Dag Dog on September 18, 2012, 11:35:38 AM
Ok, sorry. I am newer to the scene and wouldn't know the history behind these forums.
I did get banned by him for no good reason.
It must have been because I had a low net worth!

Hmm. And who were you on AFR? I don't recall any 'Dag Dog' but I do recall plenty of Home and Away trolls who never seemed to get canned

I used to post as my first name, but then I was clocked in real life by a few people, so I switched to charlie for a while.
I actually haven't watched Home and Away in over 20 years. I was trying to come up with the username on the spot and was short on inspiration.
I don't remember any H&A trolls on AFR as I never opened the topic on it.
I do remember plenty of Unionists and South American socialists.

Evo Morales and Hugo chavez were one and the same individual.

Ditto the knob with the loyalist/unionist monikers.

Quote from: johnneycool on September 18, 2012, 01:59:07 PM
Evo Morales and Hugo chavez were one and the same individual.

And Father Fernando Lugo

Quote from: deiseach on September 18, 2012, 02:27:27 PM

Quote from: johnneycool on September 18, 2012, 01:59:07 PM
Evo Morales and Hugo chavez were one and the same individual.

And Father Fernando Lugo

Don't remember him now.

There was some very good hurling debates on there as well as the usual shite about Cork strikers, Limerick managers and what not.

The likes of TAN97 was good, always liked his post match analysis.

Quote from: johnneycool on September 18, 2012, 01:59:07 PM
Evo Morales and Hugo chavez were one and the same individual.

Ditto the knob with the loyalist/unionist monikers.

David Trimble!

Quote from: Premier Emperor on September 18, 2012, 04:07:22 PM

Quote from: johnneycool on September 18, 2012, 01:59:07 PM
Evo Morales and Hugo chavez were one and the same individual.

Ditto the knob with the loyalist/unionist monikers.

David Trimble!

No he was a hoor from Tipp  ;D

Quote from: johnneycool on September 18, 2012, 04:15:57 PM
No he was a hoor from Tipp  ;D

That's a tautology if ever there was one

So is this where we are ending up? Another site to waste my time away on!

Jaysus, is this first Cat to post here? Welcome aboard legalalien.

Does anyone know how the archive forums on AFR can be viewed?  There are a few threads there that I would hate to see lost forever to the recycle bin!

Quote from: LegalAlien on September 18, 2012, 05:22:25 PM
So is this where we are ending up? Another site to waste my time away on!

Ya lets hope a few more stumble in to break some ash around here

Yeah,I was a user on An Fear Rua for 4 or 5 years and really enjoyed it.There were some great posters on there who gave great hurling reports and insights on the game and also a few wums.The moderator had a tough time with some posters who seemed to have no sense of balance and seemed to delight in personal insults which I'm glad to see will not be tolerated on this site either.
Are Carryharry or Blanco on here,two great Tipp posters,well balanced and sound out.

An Fear Rua is a loss but hopefully we can make our home here now.

Quote from: Absent on September 19, 2012, 03:00:14 PM
Yeah,I was a user on An Fear Rua for 4 or 5 years and really enjoyed it.There were some great posters on there who gave great hurling reports and insights on the game and also a few wums.The moderator had a tough time with some posters who seemed to have no sense of balance and seemed to delight in personal insults which I'm glad to see will not be tolerated on this site either.
Are Carryharry or Blanco on here,two great Tipp posters,well balanced and sound out.

An Fear Rua is a loss but hopefully we can make our home here now.

I'd like to see more hurling talk on here,it's the only thing missing really.

The hurling section has had a bit more life recently, but yes, the more the merrier.

The "GAA Discussion" should be called  "Football Discussion" and "Hurling Discussion" should be given equal prominance.
The " Liverpool thread, Manchester Utd, Everton, Celtic, Official Gooners, and all the soccer threads should be put into one folder along with anything to do with Cork and then deleted  :)

(http://irisharchaeology.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/The-Hurling-Match.jpg)

I see there are some articles still appearing on Fear Rua since last thursday,is there a chance it could retrurn.This site is fine but it does not appear to attract many hurling fans from the munster area,neither has it the same vigour as Fear Rua.

Yeah there isn't as many posts here as AFR had for some reason.

Quote from: Eamonnca1 on September 11, 2012, 09:02:44 PM
I was a regular in there since the 90s.  I even used to write a column for him.

In more recent years I noticed a change in his tone though, he was getting angrier and more easily provoked at the slightest thing.  I used to report bugs and suggest fixes for them and he used to thank me for it, but one time more recently I reported a problem with his news feed (it was throwing up random news stories that had nothing to do with the GAA).  His response was I could go somewhere else if I didn't like it and "your constant whinging about this site is getting to be a pain in the hole." 

He once made a rule about Heysel, banned all discussions of the subject because of some thread that had gotten out of hand. So later the issue of the Hill 16 wall came up and I was talking about crowd control and pressure and how people underestimate how much pressure a big enough crowd of people can exert.  I happened to mention that it can be enough to knock a wall down like at Heysel.

Well the next day I awoke to a tirade of angry abuse in my personal email inbox saying he was "disgusted with my behaviour" and castigating me about my attitude.  That was me banned for life.  In theory I could have registered a fresh account and gone back but I'd hate to be posting under a regime like that, so I never bothered going back.

Spot on.The guy was a p***k,pure and simple.I was banned after many years for criticizing Cooney's wages.Nothing that wasn't in the public domain.He made a snide remark to me on the public forum then banned me so I had no chace to reply,cowardly stuff.His irrational fear of ligation was an excuse he used to do whatever he wanted without any rhyme or reason.Long time posters were banned for nothing and WUMS allowed stay even though they had said much worse.He struck me as a condescending,over confrontational,bitter man.His old response to everyone was "well if you dont like it you can F off"Well looks like enough people took his advice.

In fairness the man had serious health problems which he referred to some months ago.

Some posters did show a lot of anger both towards public figures and fellow posters and the constant harranging and name calling and violent attitudes and indeed the level of foul mouthed abuse left an awful lot to be desired and was not worthy of the site,some posters just could not help themselves and were not prepared to obey the rules and were rightly thrown out,a modicum of decorum can be foreign to some posters.I encountered the playing the man on several occasions myself,whereby the poster could not or would not enggage with the point made,rather preferred to name call or swear,these type of posters are no addition to any site,the type of guys you would run a mile from if you encounterd them in your local pub.

I am not accusing any poster here of being like that but it is only fair to give the other side of the story

Another one bites the dust.  I see this place has gone as well.  A crazy time to close unless there was a particular reason with the Dublin county final up next week.

Didn't see that one BC1. Was an early contributor for a good few years but less so recently. Some good lads on it but some loopers as well - A bit like here ;)

I wonder is this place on borrowed time too so?

http://www.dubsandclubs.com/forums/register.php

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on October 24, 2012, 09:50:55 AM
there have been suggestions on boards.ie that there was an inappropriate picture of juveniles put up and within hours the place was closed down. 

Not the case

Quote from: heffo on October 24, 2012, 01:17:24 PM

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on October 24, 2012, 09:50:55 AM
there have been suggestions on boards.ie that there was an inappropriate picture of juveniles put up and within hours the place was closed down. 

Not the case

It has been closed down though hasn't it for whatever reason?

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on October 24, 2012, 01:19:22 PM

Quote from: heffo on October 24, 2012, 01:17:24 PM

Quote from: brokencrossbar1 on October 24, 2012, 09:50:55 AM
there have been suggestions on boards.ie that there was an inappropriate picture of juveniles put up and within hours the place was closed down. 

Not the case

It has been closed down though hasn't it for whatever reason?

Gone alright but there wasn't a pic like suggested

Fair enough heffo, original post changed.

Threatening closure for years, constant rattlers thrown out of prams...........................id say it will be back up in running within a week or so  ::)

Quotehttp://www.dubsandclubs.com/forums/register.php

Well that didn't last long!!

Chaps,

Some of you may be wondering why the site closed today.

I was a presentation this morning and didn't realise the dubsandclubs site was being pushed heavily on twitter. It was only ever meant to be a small private site, not an alternative to ResDubs, as those who were members will know. It was really just a little sandbox for trialling and developing software and organising coverage for games. Never had any ambition to be anything more.

So upon reflection when I got back to my desk this morning I decided against hosting the site any longer, particularly if it meant a heap of people signing up who I did not know personally.

Anything more than 35 odd people on the website means moderation, and it's hard enough to keep the day job down, never mind spending all day moderating a website on the internet!

Apologies to those who signed-up today only to have the website close so quickly. But it really wasn't going to be suitable for a discussion board for that many users.

Quote
Although there have been no issues on this website for the small time it was running, it is quite clear from other forums that we are aware of that a small minority of people cannot seem to exercise any discretion when utilising online discussion forums, and a small minority of people can create potential liabilities for both themselves and those who host such websites. As such, we have made the decision to close this website permanently.

This is a permanent notice, and the website will not be revived.

This notice will be taken down shortly and all content removed from the website.

Many thanks to all who contributed to date.

Now, ye shower of utilisers.

Quote from: AZOffaly on October 24, 2012, 03:37:33 PM

Quote
Although there have been no issues on this website for the small time it was running, it is quite clear from other forums that we are aware of that a small minority of people cannot seem to exercise any discretion when utilising online discussion forums, and a small minority of people can create potential liabilities for both themselves and those who host such websites. As such, we have made the decision to close this website permanently.

This is a permanent notice, and the website will not be revived.

This notice will be taken down shortly and all content removed from the website.

Many thanks to all who contributed to date.

Now, ye shower of utilisers.

You do a great job AZ!

Quote from: Declan on October 24, 2012, 02:57:23 PM

Quotehttp://www.dubsandclubs.com/forums/register.php

Well that didn't last long!!

When was it set up?

Res Dubs had some good posters and the local club scene was well covered.
It also had some head cases too. A few thin skinned conspiracy theorists who saw anti-Dublin culchie plots coming at them from all directions.

Quote from: deiseach on October 24, 2012, 04:30:16 PM

Quote from: Declan on October 24, 2012, 02:57:23 PM

Quotehttp://www.dubsandclubs.com/forums/register.php

Well that didn't last long!!

When was it set up?

April-ish..

The dubsandclubs forum was associated with the DubMatchTracker service on Twitter, which sadly is coming to an end also. I'll really miss that, it was like Ceefax for the Dublin club updates!

There were only ever a small handful of posters on dubsandclubs - a group of mates basically, so I don't think it was ever going to be a full scale forum. It would have been ideally positioned to take over from ResDubs, but it seems there is nobody willing to moderate it.

Heffo, do you know what the reason was for ResDubs shutting up shop? I've only visited it occassionally over the last year or so, but any time I had a look it all seemed very civil and well behaved.
EDIT: I see its been confirmed there was a dodgy pic posted. Inappropriate rather than indecent from what I hear (unconfirmed rumour on boards that it may have related to a former Irish Times sports correspondent), but the administrator decided to call a halt. He's been threatening to close it down for years.

Res Dubs back up and running??

RIP Liam Cahill.
He might have had a few jousts with us over the years but he was an entertaining character too.
He put a lot of time and effort into An Fear Rua and it was one of the earliest GAA websites of the digital age.

https://twitter.com/gavreilly/status/1539002178186141696

It's hard to believe it's already decade since he pulled the plug on the Farmyard!

At its peak it was viewing an online riot. It got even more hilarious when Liam himself would arrive back to the site and try and clean up the mess. Often he banned the wrong people.

Limousin thread...

http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611

Anyone you know in your club? (an Fear Rua 20212)

The Shit Stirrer

The scourge of all clubs.

Has no role in society, let alone a GAA club other than turning up at the club's general meetings, dressed in their Sunday best and wreaking all sorts of cumbersome havoc. As footballers they were in general, disgustingly hopeless and with a pair of arms and legs that refused to work together in harmony on the pitch they spent their careers wrapped up in a good big overcoat on the line belittling the efforts of their team-mates on the field and vocally cursing the mentors who had the sense to keep them off the starting fifteen.

Their resentments are built up over the years and anyone who ever crossed their path is subject to their pent up vitriol. Will seethingly complain about everything in the club from selectors to assistant-treasurers, have a penchant for refusing to accept democratic decisions at all levels yet will never offer to do anything constructive for the club and even buying a monthly €5 ticket is beyond their limited capabilities.

Are completely selfish and only seem to care about themselves and their brothers/sons/nephews within the club - all of whom are a milder version of the general Shit Stirrer.

Have a deep hatred of all neighbouring clubs, referees and most of their own clubmates yet in most cases never receive the widespread condemnation they truly deserve.

The Idiot

If a club only has one such character they are something of a mundane outfit.

However, it is usually the most lunatic character within the club's environs that gains this unenviable title. Can be seen at championship matches pacing up and down the line frothing and foaming at the lips of his mostly toothless mouth and shouting all sorts of impenetrable obscenities at the referee, linesman, players from both sides and supporters.

Will be among the first people in the dressing room before a big game, will reappear again at half time and at the end and will be very forthright in his much-maligned opinions. He will more than likely have changed his tack later in the local after a few pints of the black stuff and couple of half ones yet will always swear by his views.

In most cases this raving lunatic doesn't own a car yet there is always someone available to prop him up in the front of their vehicle and bring him to his required destination.

Whenever the opportunity arises he will serve as linesman and his arm always signals the same direction - in favour of his team. He will more than likely cause some sort of row but has an uncanny knack of being able to disappear when the going gets tough.

The Saviour

Every club in every county has one - if they didn't they would have ceased to exist long ago.

He is the man in the club that does everything - often without a title to his name. He arranges games, he lines the pitch, puts up the nets, pumps the balls, opens the dressing rooms, turns on the showers, brings the water, jerseys and first aid kit, pays the ref and locks up afterwards. He informs all the players of all the necessary details and if the game is away his car is bursting at the seams with players, supporters and club officials.

Often he will train an Under-10 team on a given evening in the field, finish up in time to select the Junior 'C' team, and end up being forced into action himself because of a lack of numbers before rushing to a County Board meeting as the club's delegate and then back to the 'local' to co-ordinate the monthly draw.
On the rare occasions that this individual falls sick or goes missing for a couple of days the entire club falls into disrepute and scenes of chaos ensue.

Quote from: GAABoardMod5 on June 21, 2022, 06:46:00 PM
Limousin thread...

http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611

Hilarious thread! :D

I grew up on cattle farm myself, but we generally kept a Charolais bull (cows were a mix of Friesians, Angus, Herefords, Shorthorns, Simmentals etc). Honestly wasn't aware of the temperament issue with Limousins, as you didn't see the breed that often in our part of the country. I guess I now know at least part of the reason!

Quote from: J70 on June 23, 2022, 12:58:04 PM

Quote from: GAABoardMod5 on June 21, 2022, 06:46:00 PM
Limousin thread...

http://www.anfearrua.ie/topic.aspx?id=436611

Hilarious thread! :D

I grew up on cattle farm myself, but we generally kept a Charolais bull (cows were a mix of Friesians, Angus, Herefords, Shorthorns, Simmentals etc). Honestly wasn't aware of the temperament issue with Limousins, as you didn't see the breed that often in our part of the country. I guess I now know at least part of the reason!

Same here. Over the years I've asked some farmers who rear a variety of breeds and Limousins never stood out to them as being problematic.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-40901717.html

A parting glass for An Fear Rua, who transplanted unflinching GAA tribalism to cyberspace
Modern GAA social media can be traced to the rise of discussion fora including An Fear Rua, set up by Liam Cahill, who died this week.
A parting glass for An Fear Rua, who transplanted unflinching GAA tribalism to cyberspace
R.I.P: An Fear Rua, Liam Cahill. ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan

THU, 23 JUN, 2022 - 08:00
PM O'SULLIVAN

Certain deaths, beyond a family's personal loss, end up framing an era.

The passing of Liam Cahill this week seemed a case in point. A man of varied talents, he predominantly worked during recent years as political adviser and media consultant. The Waterford City native had previously been an RTÉ journalist, serving as the station's Political Correspondent, before moving during the mid 1990s to a PR position with Intel. Cahill also wrote two well-regarded books, Forgotten Revolution: The Limerick Soviet 1919(1990) and From Suir to Jarama: Mossie Quinlan's Life and Legacy(2021).

The same man found time to run, between 2000 and 2012, an influential and widely read website, www.anfearrua.com. While its threads were always an eclectic mix, GAA discussion drove the heavy traffic this space drew for several years. His website changed the way in which Gaelic football and hurling got discussed, reorientations with us to this day.

A clear line can be traced backwards. Many forms of analysis practised on social media ― on Facebook and Twitter, predominantly ― are related to the rise of discussion fora during the early 2000s. Analysis of hurling puckouts on Twitter, now widespread, grew out of online discussion around the running and possession-centred approach adopted by Cork's Senior team from 2003 onwards. Broadcast and print media had found a rival of sorts.

Discussion fora allowed a multitude of voices. Most of these contributors, in the normal way of things, offered little of note. Some of these guys ― and the readership was almost all male ― were merely wind-up merchants, hopping more balls than Kobe Bryant. But useful information could be found and there were always a few posters, when partisan smoke cleared, quick with incisive observations.

By far the best discussion of Rule 42, for instance, happened online. 

I lived in England between 1992 and 2005. Like many other Irish people studying or working abroad, I found such boards an enjoyable resource, a narrowing of distance. At the time, they seemed rather an underground phenomenon, a kind of samizdat literature, resented but secretly enjoyed by leading GAA figures.

An Fear Rua did not arise from nowhere. From early in the decade, there were specific boards for Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Offaly, Tipperary and other counties. I first started writing about hurling in 2004 when asked to become a columnist on the Kilkenny-focused board. Some of them, such as clarehurlersforum.proboards.com and uibhfhaili.com, continue to operate. GAA discussion proceeds in many online spaces. 'Kilkenny GAA Thread' on boards.ie remains widely read within the county. All sorts of everything still get pondered on thefreekick.com. Curiosity is a persistent emotion.

Same time, An Fear Rua did up various antes around 2005. Many contributors to an earlier board, clarehurlers.com, migrated to AFR (as it became known) when the former site ceased operation in early 2004. Liam Cahill introduced columnists and actively sought exposure through ads and articles in GAA programmes. Even in August 2012, long after the place's heyday, AFR saw 74,000 individual people click into its pages.

The phenomenon possessed fascinating sides. Sociologists could mine the archives involved for insights into Celtic Tiger Ireland, as the country surged from boom to bust. The National Library of Ireland did contact Cahill, emphasising they understood the potential significance of internet content. The NLI were keen to make AFR part of their holdings.

The week of its founder's passing prompts reflection. There were obvious and less obvious dynamics attached to such boards. Few people had smartphones during the mid-2000s. To my eye, the vast majority of AFR readers fell into two categories. They were third level students with free Internet access or white collar workers with Internet access in their workplace.

Cahill noted perils for the latter category during an Irish Examiner interview in September 2012. He spoke of contemplating a new site feature: "a button that would turn the page black and white, remove the logos and make the computer screen look like a Word document. That way when bosses wandered around offices, they'd never realise what their employees were, and more importantly weren't, doing."

Cahill's overall approach tapped into one of Irish society's deepest tensions: the relationship between supposed metropolitan sophistication and supposed rural backwardness. An Fear Rua, in and of itself as a trope, was conceived in faux naïf mode ― specifically, faux culchie or faux hick mode. This vein in Irish culture runs back to the Irish R. M. trilogy (1899-1915) of Somerville and Ross, where Flurry Knox is a canny rustic who plays the fool. A century earlier, there had been Thady Quirk, narrator of Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent (1800), another manipulative rustic with his eye on the main chance.

Faux naïf emphases, at their best, provide a means of having your ironical cake and eating it. These styles seek an equilibrium between past and present, lore and latest, style and fashion, wisdom and smoothness. The first half of the 2000s, not coincidentally, was dominated by the so-called Rule 42 debate. That tedious process involved gross stereotypes about rural Ireland and the GAA sphere.

These connections might seem fanciful but I believe they are apt. AFR anticipated television such as Pure Mule (2005), Hardy Bucks (2010-2011, 2015, 2018) and Bridget & Eamon (2016-19). I found the last two of those three shows only fitfully enjoyable, if enjoyable at all. Faux naïf modes often end shredding themselves by becoming drearily predictable, à la hipster facial hair. Father Ted (1995-98), Ireland's most brilliant recent artefact in this mode, never became predictable.

What did GAA discussion fora, despite certain inbuilt difficulties, achieve during the 2000s? Main answer: legitimisation of regional and rural accents, articulation of non metropolitan perspectives. Any notable contributor's key aspect? His native county. The resultant tribalism was sometimes shocking and sometimes glorious but always febrile.

The lead up to big championship matches could be every bit as intense as the most packed terrace. I was forever amused by how the supposedly utopian colouring of the World Wide Web allowed unflinching GAA tribalism to transplant itself into cyberspace. Kilkenny's ascendancy in hurling happened in tandem with AFR's heyday, a convergence that occasioned far more heat than light.

Yet there was great value in gleaning perspectives from all around Ireland. County-focused identity is inherently insular. I got to know GAA supporters from far different backgrounds. One of them, a Limerick native, emailed this week about AFR: "A bit like 'free education' in the 1960s meaning that lads and lassies from different parishes got to know each other much better than they ordinarily would have. Less 'them and us', less faction fighting. I now know very knowledgeable hurling people from all the counties, something that would not have been the case without online forums or the web in general."

Within spaces such as AFR, the GAA also lost most of its baggage and became far more a matter of taste. People wanted to discuss hurling in the same spirit as they would discuss a preference for certain whiskies or a particular album by PJ Harvey. People wanted to say they preferred hurling to soccer or rugby on aesthetic grounds.

Liam Cahill deserves a parting glass for being one of the individuals who facilitated, among all the grandstanding and the squabbles, these welcome developments.

A very informative take by PM O'Sullivan. There is plenty of discussion nowadays about the "toxicity" social media and all that goes with it.

I wonder how will history remember the first wave of online discussion in the digital age?
In Ireland did it start to turn the wheel on perceptions of the GAA and people outside of the Montrose bubble for example?
Those discussions about, 'You know you're a Junior C player when'... It all helped shine a torch on how the GAA has more layers and dimensions to it.

I remember about 20 years ago working with some D4 dollies when one of those "Micheal O'Muircheartaigh quotes" emails was forwarded around.
They thought they were brilliant, were crying out for more and lamented they hadn't a clue about the GAA but it was dawning on them what they were missing out on. 
Perhaps the insular, inward looking types were not the GAA loving savages, but the metropolitans who thought civilisation only stretched as far as the end of the 50km zones.

Well that about wraps it up for AFR, then. I hope he found some peace in his last days.

He was an early adopter of the internet and it was an exciting time, when the only people accessing it were students and people with access from work, plus a small number of home-based dial-ups. I nipped over to the site tonight and it still seems to be up, including my old column, Square Ball. My views and my writing style have evolved a bit since then, but it's still nice to look back on it. Good times.