Forum Ettiquette

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Critical comments on this topic of posting

They were deserved. Sometimes I just get "silly". Silly Billy? Certainly not a good name for a .. err ... someone of my age. Definitely not a good name for an official.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by The_Rookie

Billy..Thanks for laying it out there and your heartfelt words..I hope some members of this forum can throttle back a bit on the critical comments on this topic of posting

This is not about our personal lives. This is about what is acceptable or not acceptable on this site. People come here to discuss issues in officiating, not see pictures and videos that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. And if it keeps up, the criticism is not going to stop. What might happen is those that want to be here might just go away and that is not a good thing. Go to a comedy board if you want to make jokes all the time and derail or hijack threads with nonsense.

Peace

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

This is about what is acceptable or not acceptable on this site. People come here to discuss issues in officiating, not see pictures and videos that have nothing to do with the topic at hand.

I'm sure that there are many Forum members who only want to discuss issues on officiating, and absolutely nothing else that could distract them from those issues, probably a very high percentage, and at one time, in the past, I was one of those members, but I've changed my opinion.

But not everyone. There is, at least, one member who disagrees: "Lame jokes have a place in a forum. They give a forum a sort of personality." Charles Michael “Mick” Chambers (1947-2010)

Warning: Please do not click on the link, below, unless you want to view an on topic, but not basketball related, video. Old timers may enjoy it, younguns may learn something, most will certainly hate it. Being just a little younger than Mick, I'm going to guess that he would like it, but I never had the pleasure, or honor, to know Mick in person, so I'm probably wrong. If you choose to open the link, and you find it distasteful, offensive, or worse, a waste of time, then simply close the video and it will magically go away, probably going somewhere into cyberspace. If you have dial-up internet access, or pay for your internet access by the minute, then you may not want to open the link. To those members who are more curious than a cat, well, deal with it, but I do promise that the video, probably, won't kill you (unless your modem, or computer, gets struck by lightning while you're viewing the video, but that's an act of God, and it wouldn't be my fault). Please note that I chose to post the link rather than to embed the link. The link takes up less space on your tiny computer monitors, and probably takes up less bandwidth, but I'm not sure about that.

http://youtu.be/pHn2DVdS-rQ

[Brad]

Moderators employ the old "do as I say, not as I do" method

FYI — this has been addressed.

If there is a single job that is more thankless than officiating I would say that it is being a moderator on a forum dedicated to sports officials! For the most part I would say that the mods have done a good job of figuring out how to handle the different issues that pop up on the forums.

I started this board in 1999 (pause for h&#y s#&t moment) for fun and because I loved officiating—and that's the spirit in which I would like it to continue. I don't want it to be a no fun zone where everything is super studious, technical, and boring. I also don't want it to be a bunch of randomness and funny pictures of cats.

Just like in officiating, there is a balance. Also, there are different styles amongst members—and some people are here for different reasons. Just like on the court there is the young official trying to move up, the guy with 4 kids just trying to make some extra cash, and the old veteran who knows he is close to (or maybe even past) retirement age, but is hanging on for the camaraderie.

There is room for everybody. But, just like on the court, there isn't room for personal attacks and discussions that completely detract from what we are trying to accomplish here: Get better, make friends, and have fun in the process.

You miss calls. The mods will miss posts.

One poster will get away with something that another doesn't.

Thems the breaks.

Be nice. Be civil. And if you really get riled up about something just remember that you are arguing on the internet and that's like… well, it's arguing on the internet.

If something is bothering you, PM the mods. If you think it's a bigger problem than they can handle, email me.

The mods have a group where they communicate and I keep up with them on any issues that come up. So, for all of the faults you may find with them, I assure you that they are committed and trying to do the best job they can—for no pay and little thanks!

Hope everyone is having a great off-season!!