For all you computer-savvy folks out there, I just got the following response as I tried to refresh the page several times a few minutes ago.  What does this mean?  Did it happen because Brian was in the process of posting new front page content?  Or is it something with my computer?  Or is it some kind of statement with respect to my mental capacity having been overloaded this Tuesday afternoon?

Error 503 Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable

Guru Meditation:

XID: 1005852184

How can I be expected to fulfill my duties if I can't access the site?   #modhumor

So I was thinking, now that Martavious Odoms has become an occasional contributor to the forums, and we have also seen posts from the Zoltan Mesko Foundation on here as well, I had a thought for a site improvement for the offseason.  Twitter has a process where they flag an account as a "verified" account to show that the celebrity is truly who they claim to be on Twitter and not an imposter.  Maybe there can be a way we can do this for the blog for those types of users?  Who knows, maybe some other former players will come forward and start contributing to the blog as well?

Thoughts?  Is this a waste of time because there are so few former players on here?  Or will this maybe encourage more past players to show up and be on here?

As you may have noticed, the season is around the corner. Thank you, sweet 6 pound 8 ounce baby Jesus, the season is almost here. But with that said, might be time to refresh some people on the changes with in-season rules for the board.

During the season, there are no OT threads. Threads about pet issues, tv show discussions, or musical groups coming to the Palace will be deleted with extreme prejudice. There are exceptions, of course; stuff involving other college football teams are generally acceptable, as are Lions-related threads and a Sunday NFL open thread. If we kill Bin Laden again, that's fair game. It's a case-by-case thing.

I know. I likewise thought this was America

This horrible infringement on your First Amendment rights goes into effect one week before the start of the season, or a week from this Saturday. Also, be advised that Brian occasionally has to change the posting privileges in-season to prevent absolute chaos. So, if you have 101 points and try to post a "WTF WAS THAT????11??" thread after a loss and you can't, there's probably a reason. In Soviet Russia, board posts you.

Beyond that, a few season-related things to remember:

• The trolls will come. Most of them will breathe primarily from their mouths. And most of them will be from Michigan State. Resist the urge to feed the trolls. You can inform the mods in the Moderator Action Sticky thread, and we will take care of it.
• Consider your threads carefully, and ask yourself if it's really new. After a loss, you will see three or four straight threads titled, "well that sucked," or "why did we suck?" or "I'm disappointed" or "that was disappointingly sucky." Your opinion is like a snowflake; it's unique, just like everyone else's. If you can insert your opinion in an existing thread, that is encouraged.
• Personal attacks on players will not be tolerated. "Should Kalis be getting more reps than Mealer" is fine. "Mealer sucks, get his ass out of there" is not.
• There is an influx of newbies when the season begins. Resist the urge to start flame wars with all of them.
• Muppets are for BIG THINGS only. Beating Alabama is a muppets thing. Beating UMass is not.
• Denard.

Hoke Uber Alles.