What is the forum?

[Back In The Saddle]

With all the brouhaha about off-topic posting, I've been pondering what I think people should realistically be able to expect from this forum.

I think most people go through stages in their relationship with the forum. First there's the wide-eyed, "This is the coolest thing ever" stage. The there's the excited contributor stage. And eventually there's "the honeymoon is over" stage. Reality sets in and a few things really start to irk you. You realize that the forum would be perfect if only we would all just make a couple of changes.

And every so often somebody is foolish enough to suggest that we all need to make this change or that, only to be surprised when they get flamed. It would be easy for this crispy poster to lick his third degree burns and believe he was treated unfairly.

But such a poster has missed the entire essence of the forum.

The forum is Padgett off his meds. It is JR acting the curmudgeon. It is Jeff and Nevada feuding. It is rainmaker taking us all to task. It is Dan_ref's occassional bitterness. It is passionate and self-assured arguments over questions with no definite answer. It is the annual running of the trolls. It is BBR's annual backcourt quiz. It is BillyMac's graphics and most misunderstood rules. It is BITS' boring philosophical missives. It is the annual off-topic baseball thread. It is inside jokes, running gags, and one disturbingly well equipped squirrel. And once upon a time it was also some guy named ChuckElias (may he rest in peace).

It is all these things and more because the forum is no more and no less than the people who gather here to share something of themselves with the rest of us. Often they share their knowledge and experience. But over the years many have shared far more of themselves than just that. And in my opinion, this is the best part of all.

So if you selfishly view this forum as your personal font of basketball officiating wisdom, like some internet genie in a bottle just waiting to serve you, if you mistakenly believe you are owed an uninterrupted stream of knowledge and answers, and especially if you think that those of us who contribute should stick to talking officiating and check the rest of ourselves at the door...then you're in the wrong place.

The good news is that what you're looking for is out there. It's called a book. They even have stores where you can buy them.

But if you want to hang out here, you can learn far more than you'll ever find in some book. But you'll only get that knowledge on the terms of those willing to provide it.

Trying to change us into something that will custom fit your wants and needs isn't only doomed to painful failure, it's extremely arrogant, presumptuous, and ultimately ungrateful.

We are the forum.