[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by DC_Ref12

I won't speak for Bad Zebra, but I'm here to learn. This is the most active basketball officials' forum I've been able to find on the Web which applies to the field I'm preparing to enter (ie, NFHS/NCAA). There is a plethora of knowledge on here and I have learned tons just in the last few weeks I've been participating.

That being said, the tone at times, especially to new posters, can be very petty and immature. I realize this is a free country, and it's not illegal to be a jackass, but it's also just plain bad manners.

It seems to me that, for some reason a good number of posters, for whatever reason, feel the need to add snide comments, a tone of superiority and/or rude responses as part of a junkyard dog type mentality.

Again, no one is saying, JRut, that it should be required for posters to say only nice things and everyone should hold hands and skip in meadows of daisies. But there is no need for a lot of the nastiness that goes on here, especially to newcomers who are just looking for a place to get started, or get information or just to pick someone's brain about the rules of basketball and/or officiating.

These are not unfamiliar themes. These are everyday things. I often wonder how certain posters on here function in everyday society with the type of attitude they display on this board. If certain posters act they way they do on here in real life, I wonder how they could possibly have any friends or hold a real job or have any respect for anyone. Or maybe it's just that people feel they can act differently when they're talking to a computer screen instead of a real-live human being.

Either way, in the end it all comes down to the golden rule. You don't like being disrespected any more than anyone else out there. So show a little respect yourself.....please

Just my $0.02.

Nobody owes you anything on this site or any other place for that matter.

As for the Golden Rule, "Treat others as you would like to be treated." I can tell you I have rarely ever said anything to someone I would not expect if I made similar comments on the other side. As an official I like people to tell me the truth. If that means that I said something or did something that was "out of pocket" I will not be offended. I know when I am evaluated I tend to ask more questions to get a real response out of people even if I do not like what I just heard at the moment. I guess we have a different definition of "respect." It is not disrespectful to question the motives of someone asking a question that can be considered very vague or unclear. Unless someone calls you a name out of the box (which did not happen) then I might agree with you. The OP did not even clarify his position when he was being very unclear. If you do not want people to have that reaction, then do not ask any questions at all. I know I have asked questions that were vague and later had to come back and clarify. Then again, I am confident in myself and realize that communication is often a two way street. I think we have a bunch of people on this site that are very sensitive and cannot take the fact that someone even questions them on any level. If you cannot take it here, I question what is going to happen when you have people in your face and really calling you names.

Peace