With all due respect....

[dsqrddgd909]

Originally Posted by Freddy

The first thing to learn, as a first year official, is NEVER use French on the discussion board. Latin, yes. French, NYET!

Freddy, Thanks. I fixed it above.

[Smitty]

This message board is extremely mild compared to many, so be glad you can actually find more useful content than not here. This place is where I learn the most about situations and the different ways to look at the rules.

What I find more annoying than the bantering are the lame attempts at humor and when threads become personal conversations way off topic. There are some people who think they are pretty self-important, but I generally ignore their posts. Overall this is an outstanding resource.

[fullor30]

Originally Posted by Smitty

This message board is extremely mild compared to many, so be glad you can actually find more useful content than not here. This place is where I learn the most about situations and the different ways to look at the rules.

What I find more annoying than the bantering are the lame attempts at humor and when threads become personal conversations way off topic. There are some people who think they are pretty self-important, but I generally ignore their posts. Overall this is an outstanding resource.

I liken it to a corner saloon where you have all types of patrons whose banter is fueled by drink, in our case anonymity, who freely express their views. I appreciate the diversity both in the personalities and the levels of officials here.

I've also noticed more civility towards new officials over the year, where in the past some were intimidating with their responses to the newbies.
I do miss Jurassic, who was always the voice of common sense to me and had alot to offer officials on any level.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Freddy

The first thing to learn, as a first year official, is NEVER use French on the discussion board. Latin, yes. French, NYET!

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Maybe umpref intended his post for the baseball forum.

[IREFU2]

Originally Posted by umpref

....I was a member here before, primarily in another sport. I left. Why?

Simply because it seems that there are many guys on here that want to play "gotcha" with loaded questions, or use mistakes in grammar to blast somebody as being wrong.

It seems that some around here (no, I will no start naming names) want to argue and nitpick, rather than discuss and educate.

I certainly know how easy it is to fall into the traps of playing "gotcha!" and flame wars. I have certainly been involved with my share of both on other BBS's.

I took a LONG break from BBS's (about a year....forever in internet terms...LOL) and just recently came back here to engage in discussions about basketball, which is a very new sport for me.

I gotta say, I am about ready to leave. It seems that almost every thread turns into a p i s s i n g match!

Guys, if your contributions, EVEN SOME OF THE TIME is nothing more than arguing against somebody, maybe you need a break from this! Seriously! If posting questions, then replying with "gotcha" is something you do more than say once every 3 months or so, maybe it is time for a break. You are obviously missing the spirit of what a BBS is about.

Really, it comes down to the "Golden Rule". Treat others the way you would like to be treated. Maybe as sports officials, I would challenge you to treat others BETTER than you would like to be treated, and BETTER THAN THEY DESERVE! Let's leave the baiting, heckling, and gamesmanship to the coaches! We are supposed to be a team, and not JUST on the field of play.

Can I get a AMEN?

Eat the meat and spit out the bones! Use what you can use and throw out the rest and dont take anything personal.

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally Posted by fullor30

I liken it to a corner saloon where you have all types of patrons whose banter is fueled by drink, in our case anonymity, who freely express their views. I appreciate the diversity both in the personalities and the levels of officials here.

I've also noticed more civility towards new officials over the year, where in the past some were intimidating with their responses to the newbies.
I do miss Jurassic, who was always the voice of common sense to me and had alot to offer officials on any level.

I agree. What makes this place interesting and useful is that it attracts so many different people, from different backgrounds, varying experience levels, with diverse philosophies. It's great to be able to pick so many different people's brains about actual situations or wacky what-ifs. I constantly learn things here, certainly from the veterans, but it's not uncommon to learn things from new officials too.

I like the people here as well. This place is unique, in my experience, as a place for officials to hang out. Officiating is a huge passion for me, but my real world opportunities to hang out with other officials is pretty limited. I know some locales have their local watering hole where officials gather after games. There's nothing like that here.

And yeah, the anonymity is both a blessing and a curse. People say things they wouldn't normally, and probably shouldn't, say. But it also gives me a chance to explore questions, philosophies, points of view, etc. that I wouldn't be able to in the real world without consequences.

And it reinforces my sense of self-importance (Sorry, Smitty, just had to run with that one a bit)

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Smitty

What I find more annoying than the bantering are the lame attempts at humor and when threads become personal conversations way off topic. There are some people who think they are pretty self-important, but I generally ignore their posts. Overall this is an outstanding resource.

That is going to happen on any board where you have a solid group that is constantly contributing. I have noticed that here, but in other places. You must understand that some people here actually know each other and have known each other on the board (not including real life) for almost 10 years. That is just going to happen. Even the people here that I have had knock down drag out fights with, I have met personally at camps or were people that showed me support when I worked some big assignments. That will never go away even if you wanted it to. You just have to ignore like you said, or participate. At the end of the day, this is a good place to get some information you might not get in many places. But I would suggest that just like any advice, you verify it with the people you work for and take what you can use and throw out what you cannot.

I heard a person talk years ago about picking up pennies. If you can pick up a penny that helps you out and leave the rest there, you have accomplished something. That is all this place should be for most people. You are not going to learn everything about officiating by reading this board or any other board.

Peace

[Smitty]

I completely agree with you. I wouldn't expect anything to change on this board and the good far outweighs the bad. We are fortunate that there is rarely a need for a moderator to pull posts or deal with any flame wars. It could be A LOT worse, for sure.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by ref3808

I have an uncle who irritates me with his politics, offends me with his humor and can generally be a pain. I still invite him to dinner.

Does he try to "tickle" you?

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by fullor30

I liken it to a corner saloon where you have all types of patrons whose banter is fueled by drink, in our case anonymity, who freely express their views.

Liken? Hey. I only post on the Forum after I've had a few glasses of wine, or a six pack, or a few stiff drinks. You think that I would post while I was sober?

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

You think that I would post while I was sober?

This does explain alot!

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by fullor30

I do miss Jurassic, who was always the voice of common sense to me and had a lot to offer officials on any level.

He's still around:

Basketballrefs.com - View Profile: JurassicReferee

Classic line on his profile page: "JurassicReferee has not made any friends yet."

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by mbyron

De gustibus non est disputandum.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

Or better: Semper ubi sub ubi.

[Back In The Saddle]

My other favorite is: Quid quid Latine dictum sit altum videtur

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Illegitimi non carborundum.

Or better: Semper ubi sub ubi.

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

My other favorite is: Quid quid Latine dictum sit altum videtur

Gentlemen, please stop these. My Rosetta Stone Latin free trial edition has not yet arrived (not that it would be particularly useful for these phrases).