META: A surrender in the battle for nice things
As I posted in the "Y IZ U SO FASCIST I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA" thread, I have reached my braeking point, and have informed Brian that I will no longer be able to serve as a mod. And by that I mean, "I am able, but can't deal with humanity anymore."
I was planning to take a step back when my wife gives birth to our first in a few weeks, but I couldn't last that long. Most of you seem like great people who come here for the conversation and the community, and I have no beef with majority of you. But I couldn't deal one more day with the complaining, the immaturity, and the inability to just be reasonable. People's continued insistance on acting like children has sapped a lot of the enjoyment from this board for me.
None of us mods enjoy being a babysitter. Nothing makes me happier than a bunch of insightful, rational discussions. But those are becoming rarer by the day; instead, the board has taken on a certain Drew Sharp-esque quality. And maybe part of it is my fault. I've been a rather involved figure around here, and lord knows I've got some rants under my belt. But for whatever reason, things have taken an MLive turn, and I can't take it anymore.
I'm not asking any of you to change your internet ways, because it's no longer my problem. But I would say that you can only pee in the pool for so long before you're just peeing in an in-ground urinal. And this is a pretty nice place we have here, so please think twice before you drop trou.
I wish Brian, Ace, Heiko, Seth, and everyone else here nothing but the best, and I apologize to the remaining mods for leaving you in the lurch. I would also like to thank the majority of you who allowed me to survive three years in South Bend without losing my mind, and for the many conversations, jokes, and cats. I would also like to thank the cats, but I don't speak their language.
/cool story bro
/TL;DR
November 11th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^
I hope that you become a martyr in the good fight for rational discussions. Your exit can help shed light on the immaturity so many of us exhibit.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^
Thanks for the work you put in. Hopefully you still post here, but I understand you will be busy now.
Hopefully we can find a good mod to replace you. If I were a mod, I would be giving out so many neg bombs.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^
Thanks for your service, BiSB. Congrats on the baby. I nominate LSA Class of 2000 for mod.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
I second that and will add that I couldn't think of a better nomination to replace BiSB.
Plus, I'm sure we could get some nice stats on all the posts he'd make in the mod thread, which could be fun.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:22 PM ^
500 to post
Posbangs don't add points and stay limited to five
Negbangs remove points and are unlimited.
This effectively kills trolls and prevents stuff like the posts from this afternoon.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:59 PM ^
Although this is a good idea, it could be exploited. Some posters have serial-negbangers—a person who downvotes them repeatedly no matter what, despite having generally high quality posts. This would then give a poster essentially the ability to silence someone they don't like, by removing a large chunk of their points, and if they are extremely persistent remove all their points and make them unable to start threads.
November 11th, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^
It could also kill dissenting voices on emotional topics, and that's not good. A bunch of riled-up mgobloggers could essentially silent a voice of reason.
I'm thinking about the Demar Dorsey situation as one example. There was a staggering amount of mis-information flying around and people were pretty heated up. I could easily imagine the Director of Admissions himself coming in to post useful, factual stuff (not that he would, but suspend disbelief for a moment) that would correct the prevailing view--and immediately being stripped of hundreds of points in the heat of the moment.
November 12th, 2012 at 9:31 AM ^
and I disagree. While both your and A2's points are very valid, they are the outlier scenarios I think. I know that people tend to pile on from time to time, however I don't think it has ever progressed to the point where it would destroy somebody's account. Here are a few thoughts:
- The most offensive threads usually get about 50-80 downvotes. This is perfect, because it will discourage someone from posting something stupid/offensive/inappropriate/misdirected after working so hard to accumulate 500 points.
- While there are people who make a concerted effort to downvote specific others whenever possible, the threshold of 500 would require someone to have been around for a long enough time to be able to vote. I would hope that this person would have learned to not be an asshole by that point. If not, mods could handle that type of situation on a one-off basis.
- In general, the long time posters (1,000 points+) have a good grasp on the rules. With the 500+ rule, these people would essentially do the moderating with their individual votes. This would essentially create a trusted user status as determined by your peers. If you are willing to spend the time to earn the points, they will know you well enough to trust you.
- In relation to your point about being the voice of reason and getting slammed by a group of trolls, that would likely not happen as much. Upon accumulating 500 points, most people have realized that this is not a place to come simply to bitch. The likelihood of multiple 500+ users getting cranky and piling on is slim and with the reduced number of people eligible to vote, the damage would be much less.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^
Nah...just kidding. Seriously, good luck with the new addition to your family.
November 11th, 2012 at 10:30 PM ^
I think kevin holt would be a great nomination.
Just kidding, I actually endorse this. Or Herm. Or that one rational OSU fan just for giggles.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^
Thanks for sharing...
November 11th, 2012 at 3:49 PM ^
I'm a mod unleashed. That makes for a very dangerous man.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:51 PM ^
Shows you shouldn't be one. Good thing it's too much for you to handle.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:56 PM ^
It's you.
Some people don't enjoy jokes, so that's cool. Your points (which don't do anything) have been returned. May you live forever.
November 12th, 2012 at 6:17 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:47 PM ^
BiSB, you became my favorite mod in your time here. I personally will miss you greatly.
Best of luck with fatherhood.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:47 PM ^
Will you give me a pile of unearned points? Think of it like a Presidential pardon. Yeah, those guys are totally guilty but they gave a bunch of money to the campaign and you aren't running again anyway.
PS. Bringing back the old point system might prevent a future moderator meltdown. Let us police each other. We won't abuse it...I swear.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:49 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
This wouldn't have happened if Rich Rod were still the coach...
seriously though, thanks for everything. Always enjoyed you're mod'ing. good luck with the little one.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
Good luck with the baby. Sorry and thanks for the crap you had to put up with to make it a better experience for us.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:50 PM ^
I'm sorry, but things have not enough come close to taking an MLive turn.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:55 PM ^
But it's heading more toward MLive Mountain than away from it. Things are almost as bad as it was in late 2010, and things are going WELL now.
I pray only for sanity.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^
Maybe it's not the board. Maybe it's living in South Bend. I can't imagine being there this season is easy. Also, maybe you're experiencing a sympathy hormone surge from your wife's pregnancy. In any event, best of luck on the birth, and hopefully your reasonable ways will be back after the baby is sleeping through the night. You're going to need an escape. Trust me.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:07 PM ^
But I'm pretty sure it's not sympathy hormones. My wife can attest to the fact that I am remarkably un-sympathetic.
I have, however, put on plenty of sympathy weight. So there's that.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:28 PM ^
So you're saying you don't expect to see him until sometime after March Madness, when the baby weighs about 12 lbs (give or take)? Personally, I suspect it will be much earlier ... Like during those 3 AM feedings when his choices for entertainment are either MGoBlog or TV ads for Extenze.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:01 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:53 PM ^
As mgoblog becomes more popular, you have to expect more idiots to register and post. Obviously it's annoying as shit, especially after games, but that is the beauty of the forum. I kind of enjoy stupid posts and their OPs getting ripped to shreds. It deters future stupid posts. (You would think, right?) So my question is why do those posts get locked? Do they consume way too much bandwidth for a very unnecessary reason?
Whatever the case, thank you for your moderating and wish you the best.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:54 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
I admittedly neg an awful lot of your posts, but I'd +200 this if I could.
I would say it's because bending over backwards like this is what makes us the 25%. If we didn't, we'd be part of the 75%.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:06 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 4:31 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:54 PM ^
Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to shamelessly plug my Ultra-MGoBoard Chrome Extension. It's linked in my signature, and will let you hide any posters you want so you never have to see their ridiculous comments. Works pretty well if I do say so myself, I haven't seen anything from about 30 posters for quite a while.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 4:01 PM ^
Welcome to the MGoBoard, Jeremy Gallon!
November 11th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
How does he mod the LiveBlog if he's on the field???
November 11th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^
+1 and newletter subscribed to.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^
Thanks BlockM. I like it. It also gives a nice double entendre to your name.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
Took me a while to figure out where the Options link is found, but once I did, I found it works really well. Go ahead and ask BiSB for a nice, parting gift of +10,000,000 points, but don't spend it all in one place.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:54 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 3:56 PM ^
Don't blame you.
I've started visiting less and less over the season. But that's equal part other members and Brian worried about music, matching away jerseys, and the "why don't we try Bellomy" meme early in the season.
It's Brady's second season and he's 18-5. I'll take that without all the bitching.
November 11th, 2012 at 8:38 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 4:03 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 5:17 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 4:00 PM ^
Congrats on the kid. Sorry to see you go. The mods in general do a fantastic job. I don't think the board is what it used to be, but it still sure beats the Scout free board.
November 11th, 2012 at 3:58 PM ^
It looks like you picked the wrong week to stop sniffin glue. .
November 11th, 2012 at 4:01 PM ^
You fought the good fight, BiSB. Thanks for your efforts.
November 11th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^
To be honest I am a new member so I have no clue who you are. But, I really enjoy being on this board and having the chance to communicate with other Michigan fans. It sucks being a UM fan living in CT....all I hear about are the Jets, Giants, and Patriots...they don't even like the college version here...it's awful. Anyways, I hate to see anyone go because of the negative attitudes of the board. One the one hand, it's terribly difficult to watch the team you love struggle repeatedly and not voice that frustration. It takes a lot of patience and maturity not to let your emotions speak. However, I like most, have allowed that to happen many times. I can only imagine that has taken place more in the last 5 years than in the previous 20 (not sure how long this board has been up). But, I would just ask that you try to have a positive attitude while remembering that often times when people do stupid stuff, it's often the same thing we'd do in their situation. That doesn't make it any better, but it does make us human. We all show love, pride, and support as well as frustration, dissapointment, and hatred.