How to improve game-day threads?

[Patspsycho]

I think this is a subject worth discussing because I've noticed how sour the atmosphere in the game-day threads can turn when a few posters start jumping off virtual cliffs.

The problem with that is those cliffs are virtual, and unfortunately not real- so those posters jumping off cliffs keep coming back to jump off some more, and their negative attitude becomes the proverbial rotten apple in the barrel.

I think that there has got to be a way that those game-day threads are moderated better and more closely. There has got to be a way, some kind of uniform criteria that can be applied to screen out posters who ruin the experience for everyone else.

 

[BadMoFo]

So in other words, watch football as if you were an emotionless robot.

Cheer for the good plays, but ignore the bad ones. :rocker:

Who cares if people get upset, it's part of sports. Things here aren't as bad as they are in other team threads. I recall looking at the Dolphins thread on one of their sites when they lost to us and people were wishing death on their special teams coach. Things get no where near that bad around here.

 

[Nikolai]

I think this is a subject worth discussing because I've noticed how sour the atmosphere in the game-day threads can turn when a few posters start jumping off virtual cliffs.

The problem with that is those cliffs are virtual, and unfortunately not real- so those posters jumping off cliffs keep coming back to jump off some more, and their negative attitude becomes the proverbial rotten apple in the barrel.

I think that there has got to be a way that those game-day threads are moderated better and more closely. There has got to be a way, some kind of uniform criteria that can be applied to screen out posters who ruin the experience for everyone else.

We could just list the habitual offenders, but I think that thread disappeared about forty minutes after it was posted and thirty seconds before I could congratulate you on the topic.

I'm not sure what can be done. Generally speaking, most of the posters on those threads have a low number of posts, but there are a couple paying members that line up for the suicide booth. Close moderation is needed, but with the torrid pace of those threads, you'd probably have to triple the number of moderators to keep up with all the garbage.

I wondered about gametime bans for people that just won't quit, but I can't speak to the wisdom of banning people for having stupid opinions.

There were a few people trying to talk about how the plays were broken down, what happened on various plays, and I found those posts useful for seeing plays unfold later in the game. Unfortunately, I think the useful posters were turned off by the parade of idiots coming in to give their two cents about how bad the Pats suck.

EDIT - This was my 1776th post.

Therefore, ban them for the good of America...or somesuch.

 

[Nikolai]

So in other words, watch football as if you were an emotionless robot.

Or watch with the emotional maturity of a three-year old.

Cheer for the good plays, but ignore the bad ones. :rocker:

Or downplay the good plays, and call for BB to be fired when a WR drops a pass.

Are you seeing where this goes?

 

[jmt57]

I'm open to suggestions.

More than any other event, the game day thread opens itself up to knee jerk reactions - play after play. At some point "Yessss!" or "Noooo!" becomes ' cut this guy right now' and much, much worse. Where do you draw the line, beyond the obvious such as abusive language?

The other thing is that I want to watch the game, as every other moderator obviously does as well. I don't really want to be critiquing 1600 comments Sunday afternoon; I want to watch the game! I suppose one of us could each be 'assigned' to a different game, but it seems pretty sad to me that things would reach that point.

Perhaps I should go back to the previous game threads and see who the worst offenders are, and go from there. Based on that perhaps certain people should be suspended from posting on Sundays?

I don't know what the answer is, but if anybody has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them and talk about them.

 

[BadMoFo]

Or watch with the emotional maturity of a three-year old.



Or downplay the good plays, and call for BB to be fired when a WR drops a pass.

Are you seeing where this goes?

So have you actually been on the gameday thread and seen someone call for Belichick's head because a player drops a pass or are you stretching the truth just a little.

 

[BadMoFo]

I'm open to suggestions.

More than any other event, the game day thread opens itself up to knee jerk reactions - play after play. At some point "Yessss!" or "Noooo!" becomes ' cut this guy right now' and much, much worse. Where do you draw the line, beyond the obvious such as abusive language?

The other thing is that I want to watch the game, as every other moderator obviously does as well. I don't really want to be critiquing 1600 comments Sunday afternoon; I want to watch the game! I suppose one of us could each be 'assigned' to a different game, but it seems pretty sad to me that things would reach that point.

Perhaps I should go back to the previous game threads and see who the worst offenders are, and go from there. Based on that perhaps certain people should be suspended from posting on Sundays?

I don't know what the answer is, but if anybody has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them and talk about them.

I could have sworn that there was another gameday thread for "premium" posters. Maybe that's what is needed. Something for the positive, or "mature" posters, and something for everyone else.

I rarely post on gameday threads because I'm too busy actually watching the game, but I have read them and don't think we should limit people from posting their opinions. I've called people out fort their negativity, but it doesn't affect how I view the game.

Besides, most people seem to follow the rules of conduct in the threads, as far as personal attacks and so forth. Unless there is a new rule that posters shouldn't be allowed to criticize any aspect of the team, and especially Brady or Belichick, until a game is officially over.

 

[Nikolai]

I'm open to suggestions.

More than any other event, the game day thread opens itself up to knee jerk reactions - play after play. At some point "Yessss!" or "Noooo!" becomes ' cut this guy right now' and much, much worse. Where do you draw the line, beyond the obvious such as abusive language?

Some people are posting comments that they know will rile up the normal fans, and just keep at it. Generally speaking, those people draw attention away from game commentary by shining the spotlight on themselves with their over-the-top foolish statements.

The other thing is that I want to watch the game, as every other moderator obviously does as well. I don't really want to be critiquing 1600 comments Sunday afternoon; I want to watch the game! I suppose one of us could each be 'assigned' to a different game, but it seems pretty sad to me that things would reach that point.

That's the surgical approach, but it requires a lot of staffing to do it. It's probably the most friendly to your average poster, or the newb who hasn't figured out that they're not the first person to flip out during a game and suggest that BB should be fired.

Perhaps I should go back to the previous game threads and see who the worst offenders are, and go from there. Based on that perhaps certain people should be suspended from posting on Sundays?

It's kind of the "shoot em all and let god sort em out" approach, but in almost every way, it's the easiest on the moderators. I took a look at some of posting history of some of the worst offenders, and a lot of them show up exclusively on gameday to trash the team and then disappear during the week.

I don't know what the answer is, but if anybody has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them and talk about them.

From what I see, the idea is either to identify the major offenders and suspend posting privileges or increase the number of moderators on gameday to deal with the garbage. The former is probably the easiest, but potentially one that could be perceived as draconian.

 

[Nikolai]

So have you actually been on the gameday thread and seen someone call for Belichick's head because a player drops a pass or are you stretching the truth just a little.

I'm sure I've seen it, and that's why I used that example. If I wanted to dig, I'm sure I could find that post and other ridiculous posts like it.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Turn the computer off and watch the game and quit worrying what random strangers are typing into their computers. I can't imagine why someone would want to that in the first place. I want to eliminate distractions as much as possible when watching the game.

 

[andrewgarrr]

How do adults repetitively allow "three year olds" to ruin their game-experience via an online forum? If there is a poster that is posting things just to get a rise out of the community than ignore his posts physically or electronically. It is not that difficult. People will share their emotions and vent in a game-day type thread because they watch their games alone and want to talk to somebody.

Is it annoying? Probably. Is it really easy to ignore? Yes. Do threads like these acknowledge and further entice said posters to continue? Yes.

Does it really hurt you to know that there are people in Pats Nations, that you've never met in your life - for the most part, that are not the "best" fans? And does it really bother you that you can't sit on your computer and enjoy a good thread while watching a football game? Seriously?

 

[Nikolai]

Turn the computer off and watch the game and quit worrying what random strangers are typing into their computers. I can't imagine why someone would want to that in the first place. I want to eliminate distractions as much as possible when watching the game.

I've probably only been on the forum a few times during gameday, mostly because I am watching the game with friends/family without the distraction of the forum. Though, if I'm just hanging out by myself watching the game, it's theoretically pretty cool to be able to go online and chat with people about the game. I guess I have a higher standard for what constitutes good discourse. :confused2:

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Besides, most people seem to follow the rules of conduct in the threads, as far as personal attacks and so forth. Unless there is a new rule that posters shouldn't be allowed to criticize any aspect of the team, and especially Brady or Belichick, until a game is officially over.

Your missing the point, its the ridiculous over the top stuff hes referring to, Brady sucks and has sucked since hes married Giselle, BB's lost it, fire the OC, fire BB, this team wont win another game this year, stuff like that instead of disussing why that particular play was a bad call or who may have missed his assignment or was out of position.
I like to discuss various plays throughout the game rationally but you gets pages of posts of silliness that adds nothing to the discussion and clutters the board, I thought we had a pretty intelligent fan base and throughout the week theres a lot of good discussion but the game thread is horrible.

 

[Brady2Welker]

There's no problem with watching the game and wanting to chat online with other fans of the team, especially if you have no one to watch the game with based on the region (for example I know one Patriots fan in my area). That said, I avoid this website at all costs during game time, or in the next 24 hours after the game unless I'm looking for something hilarious to read.

 

[sbpatfan]

Sadly, I don't think it's possible to stop the bipolar, knee jerk reactions to team play during game day. Every Sunday this board turns into a bunch of unstable and overemotional teen girls.

 

[Patjew]

I would like to watch a game with Patspsycho so he could tell me about all the things that I don't get, and all the things that I don't get that I don't get. So I wish there was a game-day thread for people like him with huge football IQs that the rest of us could just read to understand what the hell is really going on. You know, something very technical and basically bjective but still coming from a Pats fan.

That probably sounds sarcastic but I swear it's sincere.

 

[resdubwhite]

THink I got most of the people I want to ignore on the ignore list last weekend.

Really though. Whether people are being accused of being a homer or not There are constructive ways to criticise the team when not playing well. You'd swear this was a jets message board with the hatred that plays out here during games.

really think that people need to take it into consideration.

 

[Phoenix111]

I'm sure no one wants to here from me, seeing as I was one of the posters called out in the thread that was deleted, but I'm going to throw out my opinion anyway. I can't speak for everyone, but I think most of us get very emotionally vested in the games. Have I said some ridiculous, and probably even regrettable things on here during gameday? Hell yes. I think some of the problem comes from the fact that if you do not watch the games with other Pats fans you like the board to see what everyone else thinks. Some just have more knee jerk reactions than others.

Again, I won't speak for all of the people called out for what they posted, but after the fact it was.definitely apparent to me that blurting (or typing) out emotional thoughts does drag some people down, and that is never my intent. I personally, am going to make a serious effort to hold back on derogatory rants aimed at pats plays that I am displeased with going forward. I will agree with one poster above in that it could be worse because I have still not seen anyone root for death or injury.

Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that 1) as one of the more egregious offenders from last week, I'm going to hold my tongue, or fingers, as best I can. Afterall, the gamethreads are enjoyable, especially for those of us that live out of the area and far away from other pats fans. And 2) If there are still problems in the gamethread, maybe we can have two of them, with the second one being for those more....uh...colorful posters.

 

[neuronet]

I think this is a subject worth discussing because I've noticed how sour the atmosphere in the game-day threads can turn when a few posters start jumping off virtual cliffs.

The problem with that is those cliffs are virtual, and unfortunately not real- so those posters jumping off cliffs keep coming back to jump off some more, and their negative attitude becomes the proverbial rotten apple in the barrel.

I think that there has got to be a way that those game-day threads are moderated better and more closely. There has got to be a way, some kind of uniform criteria that can be applied to screen out posters who ruin the experience for everyone else.

Having been a Boston sports fan for my entire life, I not only expect but enjoy the frequent overreaction. It is definitional of the Boston fan. We are an emotional, fickle, irrational bunch. This is especially true of Patriots fans, as we lived through Plunkett, Grogan, Bledsoe raising our hopes only to dash them and be disappointed. Those of us older than 40 are scarred for life because of this, and are still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

That said, it crossed the line for me was one jacknut saying he was going to root for the Browns to "teach the Patriots a lesson." That idiot gave up his privilege of calling himself a Patriots fan, and is on my permanent no fly list.

On the left colum of your control panel (User CP) there is a link 'Edit Ignore List.' Edit out the people that piss you off. THat way once they jump off the cliff once, they have jumped off for good.

 

[borg]

How dare any PatsFans.com member have impure thoughts about their beloved Patriots. The moderators should list proper topics and responses so we know better and not upset our leaders. We must adapt the Russian model.....where journalists are assassinated for daring to print antigovernment slander. This is the only fare way.

Here are some proper responses to gameday situations:

When a Brady pass bounces 20 feet short of target.....correct response: Brady is a champion and impregnates starlets.
When the team cuts every player from the 2006 and 2007 drafts except the kicker...proper response: Comrade Belichick has more football knowledge in a single stool dropping than you will ever have in your pathetic life.
When Herr Kraft raises ticket prices again and parking costs to $60...proper response: His wealth will be redistributed to players, gardners, and private jet fuel. And President Putin wants a new ring also, with plenty of shizzle.
When the Patriots fail on 4th and 1 again...proper response: Comrade Belichick was showing kindness and humanity to an inferior subspecies