Bingo.
Some people here believe that those who try to self police the forum or believe some level of forum etiquette is desirable should be painted as the thin skinned whiners - so they start a pole to insure everyone gets their self important read on who the real fools are.
You ARE "thin skinned whiners". Actually, you're WORSE than "thin skinned whiners". You're thin skinned, self-righteous, immature, hypocritical whiners. You're not a moderator .... you're a POSTER, no different from ANY other POSTER and it's not your job to "self-police" this messageboard. That's the job of the moderators/Ian. Your idea of "forum etiquette" is not necessarily shared by all and as you're not the OWNER of this board, you have no basis to impose YOUR idea of "forum etiquette" (i.e. thou shalt not bash the Patriots OC, thou shalt not be pessimistic, thou shalt not be self-absorbed....) on others.
This was once the best Patriots site on the net - possibly the best football fan site on the net. Now it's become a place for posters to argue about each other and the way the site is managed. And many of the best and brightest who attracted many of us to this site post more amd more infrequently because dealing with the crap has nearly ruined the experience. Even they get sucked in, as in the final anaysis everyone here does, because that's human nature.
If you believe this messageboard has deteriorated due to people "arguing about each other", then how about directing YOUR posts to those who perpetuate such actions. That would be BOR, PatsNut, DaBruinz, Brownfan80, to name a few. You would do well to note that those who object to the stupidity of other posters chanting for people to be banned on the basis of their ideas DO NOT argue about other posters. It doesn't take a bright person to USE the ignore option or simply to ignore, by scrolling by, those posts that are "crap" so I quite doubt your claim that the "best and brightest" no longer visit. Some of your pals may no longer visist but they obviously aren't too bright if their reason for not visiting is the existence of immature threads perpetuated by the "anti-NEM posse".
It's all well and good to suggest ignoring those who live to provoke, but they don't just start threads, they hijack existing threads and destroy them in a deliberate attempt to gain attention. And when they get a dose of their own medicine in retaliation - which is what is descends to when management doesn't step in and maintain some semblance of decorum, then these self absorbed provocateurs raise the cry that they are being persecuted and harassed and provoked.
It doesn't matter whether someone you have on your ignore list STARTS a thread or "hijacks" a thread. The point of the ignore option is that you don't have to see the comments that person makes and this works in threads started or "hijacked" by that person. If a person is making a "deliberate attempt to gain attention", shouldn't YOU as adults simply IGNORE such an obvious attempt? The fact that you DON'T illustrates your immaturity and hypocrisy. Engaging in the same behaviour you profess to dislike with the ludicrous qualifier that it is being done to "give a dose of their own medicine" is also blatant hypocrisy. NEM has been harassed and provoked - you can refuse to acknowledge that or excuse it by claiming that it was in "retaliation" but anyone who has read through certain threads knows that to be a fact.
A few months ago I initiated what I hoped could be a thoughtful discussion of the offense and I suggested that disappointed bandwagon fans who wanted to vent or NEM if he just wanted to continue trashing the OC not post in that thread. LOL Every unhappy camper on the roster showed up and NEM initiated an attack on me which included suddenly labeling me as a member of the misguided anti-NEM cult - even accused me of secretly PM'ing other members I have never had any contact with outside of this board (several of whom I often disagree with without it impacing our lives), as well as proclaiming me a member of a filthy (his assessment) board where he had recently been unfairly banned and one on which I have never posted. And of course, he threatened that he wasn't going to stand for it and my days here were numbered.
Any post on a public messageboard is open to any person who has the ability to post on that messageboard. If you want to have a discussion between yourself and select individuals, where you can be assured to receive only selected opinions, simply PM those individuals. Better yet, just create your own messageboard where you can set rules dictating the types of opinions that can be expressed. Make sure you invite the "anti-NEM" posse.
Believe me, if the ignore option worked we'd all use it. It doesn't. People wouldn't be lining up to add their two cents to an argument that long predates many of their memberships if it did - just human nature. You can't change it, but IAN can control it on his board if he chooses to.
The ignore option works very well - actually, I'll qualify that statement. It works very well for people whose only intent is to ignore a particular poster. A person who wants EVERYONE to share HIS opinion and actions concerning a particular poster will not like the ignore option because it doesn't censor the "offending" poster or prohibit others from conversing with the "offending" poster. Such are the type of people who lead the "ban NEM" chants, people whose fragile egos simply cannot abide the thought that their irrational hatred for NEM isn't shared by every Pats fan.
