Gronk. Sign the beast.

[Ian]

I'll take this one @ashley1992 :

I have a few questions:

1. There's been several threads started by Team Bill posters that went to the Brady vs BB theme. Will those posters be warned to stop this theme or be threatened with a ban?

No, see my previous post.

2. Throughout several threads, there are many posters that denigrate Brady's impact on the winning ways during the dynasty. Many posters believe Bill was the main reason for the wins. Many others believe that it was having Brady at QB that led to the team's success (history actually proves this). I only see the pro Brady posters being admonished. The pro Bill or worse anti-Brady posters get a 100% pass. So, is it the operating procedure of Patsfans.com to squash these discussions only when it comes from pro Brady posters? Or will we see a more balanced response where anti-Brady posters also get admonished and warned?

This had been a bigger issue than it needed to be, but primarily because there had been instances where a lot of the same arguments kept coming up in multiple threads and they got a little nasty. That was my only issue and any "squashed" discussions were just where people started getting hostile over it. And again, the mods and I remove the offending post and all responses for the sake of trying to keep the thread alive vs just closing it. Otherwise, it really became more than it needed to be and I'll freely admit that.

3. Is having a football discussion on a football forum specifically about the team's "greatest player in NFL history" impact on the success of the franchise versus that of it's HC a violation of the forum rules? If so, can we have @Ian please update the forum rules so we all are aware of these changes?

It's definitely not a violation of the rules.

4. Is any form of criticism of Bill Belichick's actions as either a HC (i.e., not going for it on 4th or benching Butler) or GM (poor drafts or letting Brady walk) not allowed? If so, please instruct us on what is allowed and who is allowed to make that criticism.

I'm not above criticizing Belichick. I'm not a fan of people doing it in the game thread midway through the first quarter or first half in a game that is far from over. I think that's about the only issue I have. That and for most people who have been around as long as we have, I don't like declaring the season over in late September/mid October. Unless we're in a situation where the math tells us otherwise. That hasn't been the case in recent years...although 2020 was a completely different issue.

Venting is cathartic, I get it and I think most people who bring it up want to know if others feel the same way. And it's 100% cool if they do. It's just we do have some people who start repeating the same thing over and over and it becomes a tough situation. I've said it before, imagine being the guy in the corner saying "they suck" all the time. It's funny in "Major League" in subtitles with the grounds-crew guys in a few scenes. It's tougher in here when we're trying to have a discussion and the same few are still hating on the team that week in a game they haven't even played yet. That and there were times where we had people posting the same argument as an OP in multiple threads, and I'm not even referring to just one in particular because there were times where it was different people. That makes the overall vibe in here tough to handle.

5. Is open questioning of a posters fandom of the Patriots allowed simply because they choose to support a former player's success beyond his time with the Patriots?

I agree with you - and I've admitted as much. It's been talked about here since the season ended and Brady hung it up, so I don't expect it to be an issue moving forward.

6. Is open and blatant trolling allowed as long as the troll is a long standing member of the forum and a member of the Team Bill clique?

No on both counts. And it doesn't need to be that way.

7. How do a group of posters that are pro-Brady get their voices heard? Do they have to form a private DM group where they can strategize on which poster to target for banning, or coordinate multiple reports and complaints against a targeted poster? Sounds awfully boring, but if that's what it takes to get attention then please advice.

No, and as I mentioned, if Brady stays retired, the other forum will also go with it - and I've stated my reasoning behind it.

My suggestion, as long as discussions are civil, fact based, they should be allowed regardless of who's having them or who's agenda they support, and of course, they don't violate forum rules.

100% agree.

 

[Joker]

uh oh....looks like I'm on real thin ice...