Caution: The Online Conversation

[Lcubed48]

My copy of the June issue of "Referee Magazine" arrived yesteday. An article entitled - Caution: The Online Conversation - begins on page 44. It raises topics and issues that affect all of us who read and post here and on other boards. The one stich mentioned heavily in the article was taken from the the officials discussion group on the NFHS website. Has anyone here received any feedback - negative, positive, or otherwise - from online posts? I haven't, but I don't post a lot.

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Lcubed48

Has anyone here received any feedback - negative, positive, or otherwise - from online posts? I haven't, but I don't post a lot.

There was a fairly accomplished official who used to post here frequently, but who doesn't anymore because some of his comments were sent to one of his assignors, and I guess he caught a lot of grief for it.

[Adam]

In the two areas I've worked since joining the board, I've never had any "powers-that-be" indicate they frequent this site. I'll be setting up shop in my third association soon, so we'll find out.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

There was a fairly accomplished official who used to post here frequently, but who doesn't anymore because some of his comments were sent to one of his assignors, and I guess he caught a lot of grief for it.

Scrappy, I know Dan's been in a funk lately with the Yankees, but did you have to throw him this hanging curve just to cheer him up?

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

Scrappy, I know Dan's been in a funk lately with the Yankees, but did you have to throw him this hanging curve just to cheer him up?

I don't know what you're referring to, but I was talking about a poster named Drake who did some D1 (and above) but was taken to task for his posts here.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

I don't know what you're referring to, but I was talking about a poster named Drake who did some D1 (and above) but was taken to task for his posts here.

I'm sure it's in reference to a diminuitive BoSox fan.

[BillyMac]

The interpreter of my local board suggested that I not use my real name, not indicate my local association's name, not indicate my hometown, and not use the name of any of the "higher ups" on my local board when citing their interpretations, on this Forum, or any other similar forum . His suggestion seemed fair, and not a big deal, so I made these changes about 18 months ago.

He mentioned this to me after a friend of his, like my interpreter, an NCAA Division I official, who actually went so far as to change his Forum name, his original Forum name pretty much gave away all his personal information, to a new "vague" Forum name. I figured that if this was a good idea for a well respected Forum member, who officiates Division I basketball, as well as high school basketball, then it was probably a good idea for me to follow suit.

[JRutledge]

I guess if you are engaged in activity that you would not be proud of in the public eye, then I guess you have something to worry about. I have always felt using my real name allows my words to stand by who I am. If I make a claim it is a lot easier to verify that claim because this is who I am. And as time has gone on I have realized what conversations I should have in public and which I should have in private. Since this is a public site, I use similar standards as to what I would say here as I would off this site.

It has not been a problem yet.

Peace

[truerookie]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

The interpreter of my local board suggested that I not use my real name, not indicate my local association's name, not indicate my hometown, and not use the name of any of the "higher ups" on my local board when citing their interpretations, on this Forum, or any other similar forum . His suggestion seemed fair, and not a big deal, so I made these changes about 18 months ago.

He mentioned this to me after a friend of his, like my interpreter, an NCAA Division I official, who actually went so far as to change his Forum name, his original Forum name pretty much gave away all his personal information, to a new "vague" Forum name. I figured that if this was a good idea for a well respected Forum member, who officiates Division I basketball, as well as high school basketball, then it was probably a good idea for me to follow suit.

So here I am all this time thinking your real name is BillyMac . Shoot, well blow me over .

[Mark Padgett]

I, too, use a pseudonym. My real name is Skippy Weaselpants. OOPS! Shouldn't have revealed that!

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

I am with Rut on this one. I have nothing to hide (my wife thinks otherwise, ). I have never thought it a problem to put my money (or my foot, for that matter, ) where my mouth, so to speak. I know a number of IAABO officials, including interpreters, from Connecticut and I am suprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name.

MTD, Sr.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

I am with Rut on this one. I have nothing to hide (my wife thinks otherwise, ). I have never thought it a problem to put my money (or my foot, for that matter, ) where my mouth, so to speak. I know a number of IAABO officials, including interpreters, from Connecticut and I am suprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name.

MTD, Sr.

Same here....absolutely 100% willing to stand behind my words.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I guess if you are engaged in activity that you would not be proud of in the public eye, then I guess you have something to worry about. I have always felt using my real name allows my words to stand by who I am. If I make a claim it is a lot easier to verify that claim because this is who I am. And as time has gone on I have realized what conversations I should have in public and which I should have in private. Since this is a public site, I use similar standards as to what I would say here as I would off this site.

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

I am with Rut on this one. I have nothing to hide. I have never thought it a problem to put my money where my mouth, so to speak. I know a number of IAABO officials, including interpreters, from Connecticut and I am surprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name.
MTD, Sr.

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Same here. Absolutely 100% willing to stand behind my words.

I give a lot of credit to those Forum members, like JRutledge, Mark T. DeNucci, Sr., Camron Rust, and others, who use their real name on this Forum. It certainly gives them a degree of credibility that anonymous posters, like myself, have to work a lot harder to achieve.

Regarding MTD, Sr.'s statement, "I am surprised at BillyMac being told not to use his real name". I was not told. It was only suggested to me, and since I have a lot of respect for the person who made this suggestion, I decided to do what was suggested.

Regarding JRutledge's statement, "As time has gone on I have realized what conversations I should have in public and which I should have in private. Since this is a public site, I use similar standards as to what I would say here as I would off this site". I had problems distinguishing between public and private. I made a few posts giving an interpretation by my interpreter, I believe involving advantage-disadvantage, mentioning him by name. Even though the information that I posted, attributed to him, was an accurate description of what he stated at our local meetings, he told me that he did not appreciate his name appearing all over the internet. Even if I hadn't used his name, and just referred to him as "my interpreter", if my real name were part of the post, it wouldn't have been too difficult to find out who "my interpreter" is, because his name, and title, is published all over the place, both in written publications, as well as our local board's website. So, at his suggestion, my real name, exact location, and local board affiliation, simply became BillyMac, an IAABO official, from Connecticut.

Another reason that I followed his suggestion, was that he pointed out to me that his friend, ChuckElias, had also decided to stop posting under his real name. At the time, I had a lot of respect for ChuckElias. I looked forward to his posts because they had a lot to offer, good solid advice, offered in an educational, not condescending, tone. For those of you who only know of ChuckElias as the "annual baseball guy", or don't remember why he left the Forum, let's go down memory lane:

A Fond Farewell

I figured that if leaving the Forum, or being vague about who you are, was good enough for ChuckElias, one of the most respected officials on the Forum, at the time, then it was good enough for me.

Hopefully, since becoming IAABO Connecticut BillyMac, I have gained some credibility as a Forum poster. I have always tried to be polite to those who disagree with me, have been open to constructive criticism, and have tried to post information that is helpful to all officials, as a retired teacher, and a member of my local board's training committee, especially to new officials. As JRutledge brought up, I don't believe that I have posted anything that I was not be proud of in the public eye. As Camron Rust pointed out, I am willing to stand behind my words, but not up to the 100% level that he does. Unfortunately, as MTD, Sr. stated, I do have something to hide, for the reasons outlined above.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

I give a lot of credit to those Forum members, like JRutledge, Mark T. DeNucci, Sr., Camron Rust, and others, who use their real name on this Forum. It certainly gives them a degree of credibility that anonymous posters, like myself, have to work a lot harder to achieve.

Boolsh!t!!

What they post gives people their credibility.

Didya ever hear the old saying about not judging a book by it's cover?

Saying that somebody is automatically more credible than some one else just because of the name that they are using might just be the dumbest premise I've ever heard. What you are saying is that if Chuck Elias is now posting here again under an anonymous nom de net, he doesn't have the same credibility as when he posted under his real name. That's stoopid! Chuck's posts gave him his credibility, not his freaking name.

Lah me.......too bad.....Mick, NevadaRef, Dan_ref, M&Mguy, Snaqwells, Scrapper1, BktBallRef, BadNewsRef, Tomegun, RookieDude, etc., etc., freaking etc.....these guys just aren't as credible as the others using their real names.

If OldSchool hadda used his real name, would that have applied to him too, Billy?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

What they post gives people their credibility...Mick, NevadaRef, DanRef, M&Mguy, Snaqwells, Scrapper1, BktBallRef, BadNewsRef, Tomegun, RookieDude, etc. If OldSchool hadda used his real name, would that have applied to him too.

You make a good point. The posters you've mentioned have certainly earned their credibility, as you have certainly earned yours.

Are you saying that OldSchool wasn't credible?