what's the story?

GerryO' · Post by **GerryO'** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:37 pm

There is a thread on the dark side that worries me. It points towards or suggests the existence of an inner cabal of posters on this site called the after five club or something like that. I have to say that it will not help this site if it becomes some sort of private members club with a few posters who know each other using it as a vehicle for something it was not originally intended to be. It has become increasingly obvious that the board is used by individuals who share â€˜in jokesâ€™ and have semi-private conversations. If it is the case that this board is moving in this direction then I for one will be getting off.

rugbymunchkin · Post by **rugbymunchkin** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:38 pm

morning glory?

Rooster · Post by **Rooster** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:06 pm

Gerry, as one of the members I can assure you it is nothing more than a closed talking shop for ideas to help with the site and is open to the people who provide content for this site, a sort of management office if you like.
The post on the other side is being perpetrated by a former poster of this site, I'm sure you'll guess who, who was banned for various reasons of which I will not go into, as it woul not be proper to do so either in public or private.

Some posts will always stray and involve some jokes between a few individuals but that is life, there is also a lack of rugby to talk about during the international weeks off, but I'm sure we will return to all things Ulster after this weekend with the Dragons game coming up next weekend.

Hope this answers your question Gerry

Post by **fermain** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:42 pm

in response to rooster and to clear up any concerns that folks might have, I asked several people who have contributed to the board in one shape or another, to help me look at new content for the site. I have always said that Content is King when it comes to websites, however I am becoming increasingly busy with other projects on the go, and as such felt that I needed a little hand. Something more formal than a seperate forum for which anyone could post. (any post here tends to drift off-topic pretty quick) I wanted to focus some attention to extras, and some good ideas have been made, thanks guys. In the near future I hope to implement these ideas when time permits. There are no secrets regardless of what some people think, and any 'in-jokes' made elsewhere are as beyond me as yourself Gerry

A private members club is the last thing I have in mind for the uafc.

fermain

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:06 pm

Gerry, as a follow up to what has already been said, the trip to Glasgow, which will hopefully be a great day out for a large bunch of Ulster fans, is perhaps the first outcome of discussions between the folks of the After 5 Club. I happened to suggest the possibility to the others and, thanks to their encouragement and input, the idea became a reality. As Fermain said, there are other ideas which have been mentioned which will hopefully become apparent soon and help ensure this website maintains what I hope people feel is a very high standard.
I can assure everyone - there is nothing sinister here!

jamesie · Post by **jamesie** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:10 pm

Gary wrote:the trip to Glasgow, which will hopefully be a great day out for a large bunch of Ulster fans, is perhaps the first outcome of discussions between the folks of the After 5 Club

...not to mention the charity work gaz

honestly though... just to reiterate NOTHING SINISTER WHATSOEVER!!! just pooling ideas of the great and the good who have already contributed through write ups, fizzio bench, match reports, photos, good looks and witty repartÃ©

shame someone had to flag it up as a cabal* or a secretive club

* what exactly is a cabal?

browner · Post by **browner** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:31 pm

CABAL..........................

Definition
cabal Show phonetics
noun [C] DISAPPROVING
a small group of people who plan secretly to take action, especially political action:

Nothing could be further from the truth Gerry, it's only a talking shop to come up with ways to improve the site.

jamesie · Post by **jamesie** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:35 pm

cheers brethren browner...

browner · Post by **browner** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:41 pm

............and don't forget the secret handshake Jamesie.

pressbox · Post by **pressbox** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:42 pm

I just want to reinterate, something I do well, as a member of the AFC, and I should point out, their newest member, the people involved are all working together to make the site better, or more interesting

As has been pointed out, everyone on AFC can be clearly seen to everyone on the site when they hit usergroups and secrecy is not what it is about.

As Rooster says, sometimes....and it does happen in the AFC too...topics go a little bit off the track, but we stay focused on what are topical and important issues.

Everyone has different resources available too them, sometimes the same, but it is a matter of pooling all of those together for the benefit of the site.

What is being said on the darkside is nothing more than coming from someone who has had the toys taken out of the pram.

barney · Post by **barney** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:44 pm

It's unfortunate the manner in which the existence of the talking shop has emerged. The brief appearance and rapid disappearance of a hidden messageboard forum a few weeks ago didn't help the (misplaced) perception of this site as being somehow "cliquey".

I can appreciate how onerous running a website like this is and fully understand the need to share the load. Perhaps, in the interests of openness, it might have been an idea to have publicly canvassed for volunteers with the stated intent of forming a steering committee?

Keeping everyting in the open might have denied certain individuals the opportunity to stir even more sh1t.

Gary · Post by **Gary** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:47 pm

To be fair barney, I think fermain simply turned to those that already contributed to the site by doing articles, adding photos and video etc.

Post by **fermain** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:53 pm

barney wrote:It's unfortunate the manner in which the existence of the talking shop has emerged. The brief appearance and rapid disappearance of a hidden messageboard forum a few weeks ago didn't help the (misplaced) perception of this site as being somehow "cliquey".

I can appreciate how onerous running a website like this is and fully understand the need to share the load. Perhaps, in the interests of openness, it might have been an idea to have publicly canvassed for volunteers with the stated intent of forming a steering committee?

Keeping everyting in the open might have denied certain individuals the opportunity to stir even more sh1t.

I agree Barney, but Gaz is right, thats the only way i could keep numbers down, or I might as well have had an open forum. The fact that it appeared and disappeared was due to my inexperience as an administrator, and using this sometimes confusing messageboard software.

barney · Post by **barney** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:55 pm

Understand that Gary and Fermain.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't I suppose !

Just a shame that there are people around with nothing better to do than take constant potshots. At least the air round here is a bit fresher the last couple of days

browner · Post by **browner** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:59 pm

I can see where you're coming from Barney, but the fact is people know it is there and the memberlist is there for all to see.
The Munsterfans web-site has something similar entitled Forum administration which, i imagine, has among other things the same kind of objectives as the AFC.