Some notes from your new Forum Mod

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Good evening everyone. Kingpk has been promoted to a global mod, and I have been asked to fill his position as moderator here at the sports forum. First off, I have some ground rules I would like to lay down.....

 

1. One and Only threads are hereby abolished. I feel if a topic is important enough to generate discussion it should have its own thread. And you should be able to come up with a paragraph to describe your thoughts. If it is a minor trade of which you have no substantial thoughts, don't bother posting it.

 

2. In place of the OaO threads, I am going to experiment with AIM chats, similar to the one employed on the TSM main page. These chats will serve as places to discuss game chatter, and whatever else is on your minds. They might provide a good outlet for your various thoughts, and save resources on the message board.

 

3. Posts of a certain type bitching about a certain team will no longer be tolerated. These posts will be summarily edited. If you have something to say about your team, say something constructive, meaningful, and that encourages subsequent discussion. This is not your personal venting stage.

 

That's about the gist of it. We are here to engage in friendly discussion and debate. I hope I can create a condusive environment to both.

[bob_barron 0]

Banning OAO threads totally is not the best idea Al.

 

Last season the OAO NHL thread and subsequent playoff thread was a place for great discussion and a lot of it would've gotten lost had it we been forced to chat on AIM or start a seperate threads for everything.

 

I don't think OAO threads for certain things are such a bad thing and I think the hockey threads are evidence of that.

[Guest Anglesault]

You don't have to worry about editing my posts. I'm now BLINDLY HAPPY ANGLESAULT! Didn't you see me all thrilled after tonight's loss and pointing out ultimately meaningless positives from the game?

 

I did that because I was happy and stuff.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Can I still talk about Racist Dusty?...

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Banning OAO threads totally is not the best idea Al.

 

Last season the OAO NHL thread and subsequent playoff thread was a place for great discussion and a lot of it would've gotten lost had it we been forced to chat on AIM or start a seperate threads for everything.

 

I don't think OAO threads for certain things are such a bad thing and I think the hockey threads are evidence of that.

The problem is that people are intimidated by the sheer size of the threads. Any good discussion about one thread is lost the moment the next piece of news comes along.

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I personally think the "This Week In ____" format works pretty well, although I do agree that the OAO threads have some fine discussion too. In any case, I think the AIM chatroom thing is a bit of a bad idea compared to those 2 anyways.

[Bored 0]

OAO threads are already becoming a thing of the past partly because the "this week in basball" threads for have worked so well. I plan to do this when the college football season begins as there was a OAO topic for it last year and it did become overbloated. The AIM chats though do seem like a waste of time.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The chatroom is an experiment.

 

And I don't see why the OaO discussion wouldn't carry over to individual threads. Derek Fisher signs with the Warriors? Write a paragraph about Fisher and his new team, their chances and so on, and start a new topic.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I should add that too often, OaO threads become a dumping ground for talk like "Player A hits a home run, fumbles, etc.", that add little, do not spur discussion, and generally waste space. I am not criticizing anyone, it is just that is the kind of discussion you get from OaO threads.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I have to admit that I'm less than thrilled about the switch to AIM in lieu of OaO-type threads. I do most of my posting while at work, so don't use IM (and also am on-line when there's not many other people on-line).

 

If a OaO thread is too intimidating for someone to read through or join, then that's their loss. It's not difficult to read through the last page or 2 worth of posts and comment on what you want to. Could we at least create, and then pin, "This Week in the NHL" (and same for the NBA & NFL) when their respective seasons start?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

That's always a possibility. The chats are simply an experiment, and if they don't work out, that's the end of it. In the meantime, I think we'll keep game chatter threads, labeling them as such.

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I think the OAO/This Week In____ format also gives one to do things on their own time. In a chatroom, you got a large group of people all talking at once, in the forum setting, you cab reply to one statement without being buried by 15 others. Tis a bit easier to have back and forth discussion then.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Fair enough. I'm going to try the chats at some points for major events, because I think they have some merit. But we'll stick with the This Week In _____ format. But they will NOT be One and Only threads. If you have substantial thoughts about something, by all means start a new topic.

[Guest Nelly's Bandaid]

I don't see how moving discussion off the board will ever be a good thing, as a mod you should be encouraging discussion here not limiting it.

 

And what do you mean with the negativity thing? No more cursing out a team and calling them bums? No more one-liners like "FUCK BOSTON"? Or do you seriously want to eliminate any kind of negativity?

 

My best advice would have to be to not try so hard. A lot of the time a new mod will feel inclined to do something in order to justify his spot, when really he doesn't have to. I'm hoping this won't be one of those situations.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

And what do you mean with the negativity thing? No more cursing out a team and calling them bums? No more one-liners like "FUCK BOSTON"? Or do you seriously want to eliminate any kind of negativity?

 

That was meant about one poster in particular. Not to the board as a whole.

[bob_barron 0]

I should add that too often, OaO threads become a dumping ground for talk like "Player A hits a home run, fumbles, etc.", that add little, do not spur discussion, and generally waste space. I am not criticizing anyone, it is just that is the kind of discussion you get from OaO threads.

That's the thing- the NHL threads really weren't like that. It was mostly just a few people talking about the hockey season. I don't see why anyone would be intimidated by a thread with just a couple of people talking hockey and it's not like the threads were full of one liners either. For the most part there was great discussion, good debates and generally everyone knew their stuff. Putting into an AIM Chat would lose all that.

 

I can understand eliminating OAO threads for certain things- but for sports like soccer or hockey they're a perfect place for some good discussion among a limited group of posters. Having everyone migrate to AIM would kill that and would possibly kill a lot of good debates or discussion.

 

I've never really understood your hatred for all OAO threads- sometimes they really do work. And while I can see someone not liking one liner posts like 'Sundin scores!' they're part of the fun of seeing everyone's reactions to certain events and the threads have a certain charm cause of that. I remember reading the Baseball Playoff thread last year and seeing everyone's reaction to Aaron Boone's HR. Plus they're a good way to keep up with the game.

 

I know you want to promote good discussion and debate, and I think that's great- it's just I post here to have fun and reading stuff like 'you should be able to come up with a paragraph to describe your thoughts' takes away from it.

 

Sorry for the rant- just my two cents

[Guest Anglesault]

And what do you mean with the negativity thing? No more cursing out a team and calling them bums? No more one-liners like "FUCK BOSTON"? Or do you seriously want to eliminate any kind of negativity?

 

That was meant about one poster in particular. Not to the board as a whole.

Pssst.

 

It means I'm not allowed to think the Yankees have any serious flaws.

[treble 0]

I don't think 'OAO' even really means 'One and Only' anymore, it's just something that people stick in there on instinct (and it's annoying seeing every thread titled that). If there's big enough news, people will start their own thread for it, whether or not there's a 'OAO' thread already created.

[the max 0]

I like the OAO threads, as it literally means that any news on that particular subject will be found in there.

 

I don't like people making individual threads on signings or news in the offseason for every little "headline". For instance, alf has been making threads about guys going to sign somewhere, or someone talking about being traded that ends up as a one reply thread that bumps something else off the main page.

 

NHL especially needs the OAO NHL Season thread, as this is the discussion of games, players, trades, etc. If there is really big news ('BETTMAN REVEALED TO BE ALIEN') or something, that gets its own thread. But making members go to AIM chatrooms to have discussion is uncomfortable.

 

If there is an NHL season to discuss, I'll start a OAO NHL Season thread because it is the perfect way to discuss the season.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

And what do you mean with the negativity thing? No more cursing out a team and calling them bums? No more one-liners like "FUCK BOSTON"? Or do you seriously want to eliminate any kind of negativity?

 

That was meant about one poster in particular. Not to the board as a whole.

Pssst.

 

It means I'm not allowed to think the Yankees have any serious flaws.

It is not that. The problem was posts like this.....

 

What in the hell was that?

 

WHAT IN THE FUCKING HELL WAS THAT?

 

I'm doing my best to put this behind me.

 

SOMEONE PLEASE help me put a one hit complete game shutout by Mike Moroth behind me. Please.

 

Anyone?

 

I just don't understand this team. I don't fucking get it.

 

Forget Pedro, Schilling or Johnson

 

The Yankees better hope they never see a rotation of Moroth, Weaver Sparks, Lima and that one Oriole.

 

The gap between good and bad teams is not as large as you might think. And going completely off the handle for a single loss is quite irksome. Even the best players only get on base 40% of the time, and sometimes it just happens that none of them succeed. Other days many of them succeed. That's just how it is.

[bob_barron 0]

Just so I don't completely negative- I do like rule #3- I think AS' game by game love for his Yankees is a bit tiring (I mean they have the best record in baseball) so I do like that Al is trying to end that.

[Dr. Tom 0]

I think the OAO threads work for things like hockey because it has a comparitively small following. The same thing for the baseball or football seasons would quickly become ridiculously cumbersome. Heck, I think the current TWIB threads are cumbersome, but that's because I'm not known for being patient.

 

I remember during the NFL season, the threads made for the week's games would quickly become bloated. Usually, it was 7 pages of one-sentence posts about something that happened in a game. That's annoying to have to read thru for people like me, who prefer actual discussion to some random person going OMG over something I just saw described a lot better on my TV.

 

For this season, I think a game chatter thread would be fine, with a separate thread for actual coherent discussion of the games, the impact of the games, which teams are hot/not, etc. That way, both sides win.

 

Personally, I'm with Al in my dislike for OAO threads. If I wanted to read thru ten pages of garbage to find something meaningful, I'd buy more newspapers.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I don't like people making individual threads on signings or news in the offseason for every little "headline". For instance, alf has been making threads about guys going to sign somewhere, or someone talking about being traded that ends up as a one reply thread that bumps something else off the main page.

 

Currently, the last topic on page was last replied to four days ago. I don't think that is a significant problem. If you do think so, we might start a thread called "Minor transactions" or some sort.

 

NHL especially needs the OAO NHL Season thread, as this is the discussion of games, players, trades, etc. If there is really big news ('BETTMAN REVEALED TO BE ALIEN') or something, that gets its own thread. But making members go to AIM chatrooms to have discussion is uncomfortable.

 

I'm not making them go. It is its own idea, to run concurrent with the message board. Frankly, I think some of our members might enjoy a live chat. Its just an experiment, and its not going to replace anything.

[Guest Anglesault]

Just so I don't completely negative- I do like rule #3- I think AS' game by game love for his Yankees is a bit tiring (I mean they have the best record in baseball)

Well, in about half an inning, they won't, and even if they did, that doesn't magically erase the serious problems this team faces.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

After some time to think about the OaO threads. We'll keep them around for the NHL and overseas sports and the like. They will not be labeled OaO threads, however, and posters are welcome to post outside of those threads if they feel the subject deserves its own thread.

 

For the NBA, I'd prefer to see new threads started for major trades. There's no reason the Shaq trade should be shoehorned in along with everything else. How does the trade affect the Lakers? The Heat? What is Shaq's future career path? There's more than enough there to support a single thread. And Max Power, looking at the board Alf has started three threads over the last ten days, only one of which concerned basketball transactions.

[Guest Anglesault]

For the NBA, I'd prefer to see new threads started for major trades. There's no reason the Shaq trade should be shoehorned in along with everything else. How does the trade affect the Lakers? The Heat? What is Shaq's future career path? There's more than enough there to support a single thread. And Max Power, looking at the board Alf has started three threads over the last ten days, only one of which concerned basketball transactions.

I agree. It's stupid to have major trade talk buried in a OAO thread with the usual off season bullshit talk.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I always understood that major happenings, like say the Shaq deal, would be posted in their own seperate threads. It is obviously up to the discretion of the poster and the mods to decide what is important or not. The swapping of two minor leaguers isn't big news.

 

OAOs have their place for stuff like the NFL Draft, where you don't want 30 threads for each of the first round picks. I agree about most of your concerns though. They are certainly overused.

[Steviekick 0]

Although I am a fan of the OaO threads, I do understand that sometimes they can be a little overwhelming. Maybe instead of weekly threads, monthly ones would work out better. That way discussions could go longer.

[Dr. Tom 0]

How does having monthly threads instead of weekly threads sol;ve the problem of OAO threads being overwhelming? They're overwhelming enough as it is. I don't see any reason to expand on 25 pages of one-line posts, which comprise 90% of the content in those threads.

[Guest FrigidSoul]

Well either you're going to scroll through 25 pages of comments or 25 current pages of topics with comments. I don't care as long as the stupid shit and bitch fights are kept out of it

 

You may pick your poison though