By the way, I really dig the alternate thread idea.
Won't work anymore than the supporters sub forum worked. Too many potential good moths will be drawn to the flaming version and consumed by it. Just like they and a lot of gawkers were drawn to this place during the NEM chronicles. It's human nature to gravitate to the train wreck.
When the game day threads first started they were seen as a means for those who could watch the game to impart to those who were stuck following online to gain some insight into what was happening. The were the rational alternative to game day chat which was overrun with trolls and negative kneekerks intent on venting or hijacking those chats into troll bashing vendettas. Then chat had issues and wasn't working as I recall and all the flotsum and jetsum discovered there was a thread they hadn't yet ruined, so they gravitated to it.
I get a kick out of the free speech crowd who rise up to defend their right to say or do whatever they please here and tell the rest of us to either live with it or get a life or find some other outlet. This board hasn't been this fractured or contentious since NEM last set foot in the place. I have a theory that because of the tortured way that all unfolded and the time it took to do something about it just opened the floodgates for every malcontent one note on the internet to locate and migrate to this place. KFFL refugees and Planet assclowns and ESPN board patsfans who wanted vent ugly thoughts about this team that was no longer winning it all and ruining their experience in a mixed setting just flocked here because Ian and his mods struggled so with the concept of moderation this place became easy pickings. The numbers went through the roof, killing one server after another. But that was OK because Ian convinced the core group here to pay for the pleasure of being marginalized - which is what the forum supporters sub forum attempted to do - in an effort to accommodate all comers on the main forum. And in the process it became increasingly impossible for this place to self moderate as it largely had in the past.
Every now and again Ian attempts to engage this group and suggest that it modify behavior in an effort to make the experience better for the majority. Last attempt was the consolidation of the post game venting experience into one massive thread. That seems to have gone by the boards until this week, as do most of his directives because his mods and he (not to mention each other) don't ever seem to be on the same page philosophically about what this place of his should be or how to maintain or manage it.
I'm frankly surprised this thread has managed to last this long without being locked. We have a habit of not discussing issues publicly here that smacks more of censure than anything else that ever happens here...
Good luck to all you windmill tilters. Including the new mod on the block. That's how pats1 started his tenure here. Now he seldom even posts...kinda like Miguel. Andy still attempts to put up the good fight here and there, but he usually ends up in conflict with mg...or like everyone else DI...Shmessy can be counted on to enter the fray if it's a troll you want to engage rather than remove. Nut weights in occasionally and warns everyone to behave themselves or else, knowing here or else is a hollow threat. Some mods here started out having limited moderating powers confined to specific sub forums. Not sure if that is still the case. Chick kept her draft forum pretty neat. Patters no so much...
Ian has ways of imposing tough love on posters short of bans or even suspensions. There is even one that confuses them for a time into thinking they are being ignored by everyone. He should use that more often. I'll probably be his second test target after this...
