I was wondering just this morning why I haven't seen JR around. It seems really quiet lately, even for the off season. In fact, there's been more action in the volleyball forum lately than here. And that's just wrong
My $0.02 on the direction of late...
a) For as long as I've been here, which is a few years now, it seems that all posts eventually get sidetracked. This is not new, although it seems to happen sooner these days.
b) Pictures, as long as they're family friendly, have never bothered me.
c) I also (dis)agree with BM on this one. We used to get into some pretty intense off-season brawls here. That was long before the days of ToadStool. I think there has been much less rancor of late than in some previous off-seasons.
What I have been contemplating of late is this: How useful is this site today? I've been coming here for years now. I have learned a LOT. I find it less personally useful than I once did, largely because I'm so much further along the learning curve.
But I also think this site is not as useful, friendly, or welcoming of new officials as it once was. It's my impression that collectively we're not as interested in answering questions and helping new members. There are a lot of inside jokes, so many so often that I don't get half of them, even when I'm here all the time. That's gotta be off-putting to newcomers as well.
And worst of all, I've noticed over the last year or so that some long time members have lost patience to the point where ideas contrary to their own get shouted down. It's done in the guise of ensuring newer officials aren't seduced by "bad ideas". But it makes for a pretty hostile environment, one that's not welcoming, either to newer members or to the free discussion of ideas.