Jumping the Shark: Why the MGoBoard is Unreadable
Everyone has their own special moments. You know, the moment the light bulb goes on and you say to yourself: "Self, the Board is absolutely unreadable now."
My special moment occurred yesterday morning when I just couldn't stop myself from checking the Board (dumb, I know). My instant reaction?
YEEEEEHAW! Doom, death, despair, Ignorance, insults, opinions galore!
(I know, I know. Cool story bro. But I'm getting there.)
Tell me, MGoPeoples, when was your "Jump the Shark" moment? Did it happen back during the post-Carr coaching search days? The Fire Rodriguez days? The Fire Borges days? After Akron? After UConn? After Penn State? This weekend?
Disclaimer: This is not to say that we will never visit the board. Its simply an open discussion so people can see why some regulars stop visiting the Board and adjust accordingly. And for those of you that say "Good, stop reading. You're a douche bag anyway," I say "Fine, I will!"
November 4th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^
The MGoBoard was a physical corkboard in South Quad. People used sticky notes. It was incredibly civil, other than the... anatomically correct drawings.
November 4th, 2013 at 3:41 PM ^
And those anatomically incorrect drawings. Followed by a few increasingly awkward sticky notes, used to explain "how things work".
November 4th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^
2013 for me.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:39 AM ^
nice.
November 4th, 2013 at 3:39 PM ^
When ProfitGoBlue went from being a mod to being CooperLily?
November 4th, 2013 at 11:07 AM ^
I've been an avid reader since the Carr days. There used to be a high rate of content and a moderate rate of opinion and OT posts. That's flipped. Too much regurgitated opinion. Also, the board has gotten very clique. A lot of inside jokes. When the "blank night" drinking threads get started? Why the posbangs? Let's keep this a place to talk Michigan sports. And if you have a complaint, propose a solution instead of being 100% negative.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:07 AM ^
Bring back the old system, voting on various posts. IMO that will solve quite a bit.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:13 AM ^
This is a big problem for Brian and Seth. They basically promised that they would return this summer but have yet to materialize. I am not criticising as I know nothing about netcode or websites but I humbly submit that the promise should not have been made or a statement should be made as to a timeline to temper expectations.
At this point, I'm assuming the self-moderation is not coming back and the Board is just going to be littered with neg-able (but not ban-able) comments that go unpunished.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:08 AM ^
I think what makes the blog unreadable is all the bitching about the blog. Especially the replies stating that this post has been posted before. Redundant posts are going to happen, get over it. Posts that you don't like are going to happen, get over it. All the carping about what you don't like about the board is useless and unnecessary.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
Pssssst! *whispering* This was supposed to be a fun break from the other crap threads. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
November 4th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
Haha, arguments about what is and is not OT are probably the most worthless exchanges on the board. Not whether or not the post is worthwhile, mind you, literally whether or not you should have put "OT" in your title.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:09 AM ^
....I can't be the only one here who misses the Haloscan days!
XD
November 4th, 2013 at 11:10 AM ^
At some point this year it jumped. There is just way too much hatred, vitriol, and personal attacks made against coaches and players. These are human beings that are out there giving their best (for the most part) and are trying to win for the University of Michigan. Sometimes their best just isn't enough and sometimes we may not agree with the strategy employed -- but that is no reason to lash out at a 18 - 22 yr old kid that pours his heart out for Michigan football. This doesn't mean that we can't advocate for firing / benching a coach or player, but there is just no need for personal attacks. I was disgusted to read all the awful comments during the last few weeks that suggest that our players are weak, lack toughness, aren't trying hard, etc.
We all need a general rule of thumb before posting that is as follows -- if you can't say it to someone's face, you shouldn't say it about them anonymously through the internet. (As an aside, we should all employ this strategy with respect to what we say to other drivers on the road -- think about it)
November 4th, 2013 at 11:11 AM ^
It ebbs and flows for me. This board gets angry and stupid a lot. There aren't single instances, I just realize (usually too late, after a couple of prolonged stupid arguments) that things haven gotten idiotic and it's time to abandon ship. I'll keep an eye on things and wade back into posting as things calm down a bit.
I'm guessing it's going to be more go than touch the rest of the season.
(How many mixed metaphors did I manage to squeeze in there? Like three in as many sentences?)
November 4th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^
Or does the Saban look like the Fonze.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:14 AM ^
For me it was in the aftermath of the Process, Part II. There was absolutely no tolerance for even a slightly different viewpoint / criticism valid or not was smothered with terrible rhetoric. Even good posters were serious assholes at that time. You can see it today.
Negbangs need to come back like whoa. I understand the need/desrie to limit their magnitude becuase some reasonable comments get sent to Bolivia for no reason other than the fact that they are not mainstream opinions.
Posbangs should be unlimited.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:15 AM ^
Some people on this board think its their own special, secret club. They forget that it's the internet, this blog is free, and this school has a ton of fans.
If I could change one thing on this board it would be to ban people who write on this board for the sole purpose of saying that the board sucks or that whatever post they are replying to sucks, or to correct spelling or grammer, etc... This is a college football blog, not the Skull and Bones. It's amazing how many people post on this board to say how bad it is or to chastise someone's post for not being up to their standards. If MGoBlog is so terrible, go start your own blog and run it however you want. Clearly, it would be better than this.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
True? OR people could stop expressing their sh-tty opinions and avoid getting chastised for having/posting that sh-tty opinion. Just another way of looking at it.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:36 AM ^
Things have not been great this season and I take solace in the fact that other people share my pain. I often watch the game with the MGoCommunity (via MGoBlog) and it makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only person who wants to fist fight Al Borges during the game or that other people's heads are also about to explode. I don't post these things for fear of regretting it later, but I enjoy it that some people do. You may not agree with this, but that's like, your opinion, man. And that's okay, too.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:50 AM ^
See, by your statement you are the exact kind of poster that used to make the Board comments valuable. However, for every 1 of you there are 3 that choose to post their fist-fight Borges opinions which like, suck, man.
November 4th, 2013 at 12:15 PM ^
When I'm watching that game, swearing up a storm and thinking about throwing my TV through the window, I like seeing random, angry comments from people thinking the same thing. It's really only during the game and right after, when everyone is still on their emotional rush that things get crazy, and that's exactly why I love watching college football.
I guess my point is that some people take this blog too seriously. I'm on MGoBlog several times a day and admit that my GF thinks I'm a little too involved, but I am just looking for new content regarding my favorite team. Sometimes it's a little dumb, but so are a lot of things I discuss with friends at work just to get through the day. For instance, name three 80's sitcom characters that you'd like to date: in order of most desirable to least and give an explanation for each. Or, who would you rather fight, Clubber Lang (Rocky III) or Ivan Drago (Rocky IV) and why. I Dream of Genie or Bewitched? Perhaps, I'm just not as smart as everyone else on this board. Maybe, I'm just a child. Or maybe some people on here are a little too invested in this.
This blog is my entertainment. Sometimes I learn things from it, and that's cool. Other times, I just use it to get my mind off of real life and just want to read about my team in some capacity. I doubt anyone on here is getting paid for their statistical analysis of each game. I don't work for Sports Center. I don't want to be criticized because I spelled a word wrong or didn't indent my paragraph. I graduated from LS&A and wasn't as worried about my writing and grammer skills during college as I am writing on this free football blog. Something is really wrong with that.
November 4th, 2013 at 1:36 PM ^
In general, bitching can be annoying, but bitching about bitching usually grinds my gears even harder. Then again, I guess that means I'm bitching about bitching about bitching, so what the hell do I know?
November 4th, 2013 at 2:06 PM ^
I appreciate your compliment as well as your random and excellent use of that phrase.
But amIright?!
November 4th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^
So.....who are the 80's sitcom stars to make you list?
November 4th, 2013 at 11:04 PM ^
This sitcom would have to be one that you actually watched in the 80's, you can't just pick someone that is hot now. Also, you'd be dating them in their prime in the 80's and you would be an appropriate age to theirs.
My top three (at least this week):
Lori Loughlin - Full House
Markie Post - Night Court
Lisa Bonet - The Cosby Show
What's your top three?
November 4th, 2013 at 11:21 AM ^
i really don't know what i expect from the commentors coming here. a few posters bring good solid analysis, a few bring a light hearted, irreverant or emotional light to things, some people have relevant stories from their days as a student or player. currently, it seems like there is an over-abudance of commenters who are here only to throw around bombastic statements with no room for grey areas, any pause or contemplation gets a scree of definitive comments.
i know that it is frustrating when our team does poorly, it is almost worse than it is good when they do well. but there is no way that venting and ranting here on the internet with a bunch of strangers is going to do. i think a little perspective would help a lot of posters, i also thing a stronger, user-based moderation system would push down on a lot of strife and possibly make the mods' jobs a bit easier.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:26 AM ^
Right now MGoBlog is like Detroit with a police force—mods—the size of Saline's police department, with about the same temperament to boot.
Once the general populace was disarmed by taking away negbangs, their is literally no brake on criminal posting activity.
Once you outlaw negbanging of comments by idiots, eventually only idiots will be commenting. It's really an iron law of the internet. Websites that don't have either heavy moderation of comments or don't enable strong self-policing by commenters are literally online versions of Mad Max. I know that there were some technical reasons for not bringing back negbanging, but it's not clear to me that Brian truly thinks there's any problem.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
That I've spoken to Brian and Seth about it, and they are aware that it is a problem.
November 4th, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^
Have they thought about adding more mods? Maybe opening it up to most people with over 10,000 points, or something like that? It might not make things perfect, but it would likely improve things and lighten the load a lot for the beleaguered mods. Having, say 20-30 "part time" mods, would be a lot easier on the mods on the whole than having like 5 main mods.
November 4th, 2013 at 10:48 PM ^
and getting no information from the pilot. Nothing is more annoying.
Why doesn't Brian address this issue publically?
November 4th, 2013 at 11:35 AM ^
There hasn't been a reason to click on topics since the the WLA stopped posting regularly.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:37 AM ^
The lack of self-moderation towards the end of the summer was the tipping point, since you can't just automatically hide the stupid comments and the trolling anymore. Being able to scroll past a hidden comment that had been negged got rid of a lot of the stuff that bums most people out. Now, that stuff stays up and instead of quickly goind away, it inspires its own line of discussion that is almost always just people flaming back and forth. It turns what was once easy to ignore into an echo chamber of negativity. It's Reddit versus 4chan. The former is hardly perfect, but the latter is a horror show. That's largely due to users being able to self-moderate.
I've also thought as time has gone on that the whole points system (when it was functional) needs an overhaul. The points threshhold for posting board topics is way too low (it's what, 50?), all once has to do is comment a few times and then you can fill the board up with all the inane crap you want until the mods send you to a landlocked South American country. That needs to be a couple hundred at least.
tl;dr We need the mod system back, and when it's back it needs further improvements.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:49 AM ^
but my posts are perfect, the zenith of e-posting. Everyone elses posts wither in comparison and everyone should stop because your posts are humbled mightily in the presence of my e-genius
November 4th, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^
I was previously a poster since 2008 who had a good number of points, primarily due to user moderation, but due to a falling out with some posters I changed everything up so that I could contribute constructively without immediately provoking a flaming response. Then, after doing that, I realized that I had very little interest in posting any longer. Now, I rarely visit and/or post. In fact, I have only been checking lately to see if Hoke is going to enact any personnel changes post MSU.
I think a lot of the problems here are, as posters have noted, typical to many other forms of social media and not necessarily an Mgoblog issuer per se. I was sick of the personas of various users and their predictable rants. I was sick of the smugness of others. I really was not feeling the mods and as a grown man in a management position it was hard to take the periodic individualized and mass scoldings that occur. I guess I just got sick of it. I also miss some of the old posters who really made this place feel like home.
I realize this is all very vague, but I am trying to avoid a flame war. Just my $.02 as to why I don't really enjoy this place as much as I used to about 2 or three years ago.
November 4th, 2013 at 11:53 AM ^
anymore. Logging on to the board used to be fun and entertaining but the general influx of terrible posters has made me much less inclined to participate.
November 4th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^
Shut up! The board has never been better!
Fire Mary Sue!
November 4th, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^
I like the MGoBoard a lot more in the offseason/OT-season. Most of the reactionist "FIRE BOARGES FIRE HOEK FIRE EVERYONE" posters with 15 MGoPoints and far too many obnoxious opinions are gone, and its usually just the "core" mgoposters. Which tends to make things better. That being said, I think the board peaked a couple years ago, and has been in decline since then.
November 4th, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 12:03 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 12:04 PM ^
I will retroactively drop the Hammer of Thor on anyone callous enough to do that.
November 4th, 2013 at 12:08 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 12:12 PM ^
There is a time for sarcasm and a time for BE A HUMAN BEING FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY. People who don't understand that line... well, they suck.
November 4th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^
My wife is also going through a battle with cancer, that was unbelievable - especially in the comparatively zero-importance of a collge sports website.
Good luck, be strong, never give up.
November 4th, 2013 at 12:52 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
After a quick googling, this was the thread:
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-oregon-wear-pink-helmetsuniformz
Probably my least favorite thread in MGoBlog history. I mean, yeah, pinkwashing is probably a thing, but the anti-breast-cancer-awareness circlejerk was insane. It was honestly my "jumping the shark" moment for the board.
November 4th, 2013 at 3:00 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
That discussion stood out as the nadir of commentary on this board. (Although some nasty posts on a young woman who had just committed to Michigan came a close second.) The level of coarse, crude and sexist posts also seems to have been on the rise. My perception is this may be due to the influx of posters all of whom seem to be young men/boys lacking in any sort of real life experience. My heart bled for you (and all of us) that day.
I am also of a certain age, who remembers the actual Bo Schembechler years -- where we perennially lost games that we shouldn't, got screwed by the Big 10 and were disappointed by Bowl games when we finally got to go. Having a long view helps keep things in perspective.
I almost never post, and then only if I feel I have something unique to add. I am doing so now to say that I always regretted not posting back then to support you.
November 4th, 2013 at 3:17 PM ^
November 4th, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^
Good Luck to you.
November 6th, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
all the best. The phase three trial sounds promising. God bless those people who are willing to participate in such things for the good of the rest of us.
I thank you for your wishing I would post more. I hate to chime in where it would be dated (when I'm catching up to things on the board), or would be repeating what others have said already. I can hold my own in most sports conversations, particularly when it comes to Michigan, so I'm not too concerned about being attacked for my sports opinion, even as a woman. I do worry about coming across as the scolding oldster when I see some of the nonsense on here.