META: A surrender in the battle for nice things

As a Moderator on one of the largest GM Camaro sites and as a former Admin/Mod on the largest Turbo Buick site I can relate to what you are feeling and are going through.

Sometimes things will drive you mad and other times you will do the same to others. Either way, life goes on and at some point you'll realize that none of this means much in the grand scheme of things.

Go Blue :)

Taking your talents to South Beach? /s Seriously though congrats Bisb on the baby. Good luck and hope to see you around. If people would follow the Golden Rule and treat others how they would like to be treated then lots of issues would be solved.

Goodbye BISB. You'll be missed.

Make sure you teach the MGoBaby about the good things in life. The Victors, the M Club Banner, Michigan Stadium, Brady Hoke, Bo Schembechler, ham sandwiches. Stuff like that.

 

I was drawn to this site because the level of discourse, general intelligence, and overall fairness far exceeded any other college board I've visited. And there's some excellent non-sports content posted as well.

I try to post and give a "different perspective" when possible and it seems like as long as I can back up what I say, with the exception of a few taboo topics, my opinion is generally respected. I've even had Michigan fans defend my opinion, you never see that on other boards.

I've been registered for 2 1/2 years, maybe things were better before then, but Michigan football went through a pretty tough transition (I can relate, some of the posts I've read here were identical to Nebraska's during our problems), I think that explains much of the bad behavior when it occurs.

Sure, there are bad days when too many people overreact and say crazy stuff, naturally people will vent at certain times, but you guys have a great board, the smart and thoughtful posts far outweigh the stupid ones. Most of the time you get it right.

Make me a MOD and I will clean this place up! 

Thank you for everything you've done here. I've always enjoyed your posts. Sorry to see you go. Why people refuse to understand that this is Brian's site and he can do what ever the hell he wants to (including deleting posts and comments he disagrees with, either himself or through the mods) is something I will never understand. It's his site. Don't like it? Find another site or start your own. I'm betting that the failure to understand that simple point contributes to 99% of the headaches you've had whole doing your job here. Good luck with the little one and hope to still see you around as "normal" poster.

I have been coming to mgoblog long enough, lurking for a couple years and joining a while back, to see posters and readers and protocol change significantly. There are many formerly active board members who have moved on, or who have made peace with just staying in the background. I understand, and have cut way back on posting myself.

It isn't easy being a moderator. Sometime, a long time ago, I posted a thankyou to ALL the mods who do such a good job. I don't think everyone here understands what a pain it must be to be a moderator. You guys have to read through every stinking post on every stinking thread. If you say anything in the least construed as negative, people get their shorts in a wad.

I've sometimes wondered about what makes mgoblog "good," and what would cause it to dengenerate. Of course, everyone has a different opinion. The points thing is a two edged sword. As Brian and mods have said, who really cares about points?

Having said that, I'm beginning to wonder if a return to "points" in the old days before the board melted down from some kind of attack would be a good thing. I don't completely like the "group think" aspect of points, but if the board community speaks, well, wouldn't that make things easier for moderators?

Maybe if the old system points came back, mods could focus on giving bonus chunks of points to thoughtful and well argued posts which espouse an unpopular position? I dunno.

I also think that more personal accountability is a good thing. When people have to stand behind what they say instead of this anonymous internet tough guy stuff, it makes people a bit more civil.

Regardless, thanks for your service to the board, your wit, your contributions. They will be missed.

I think the mods all work hard at an utterly thankless job. Sorry to see you go but I totally get it. As much as we all love MGoBlog, raising your kid(s) is fantastically more important, fun and rewarding. Like others, I agree that letting the MGoCommunity moderate this site will be effective. Power to the people and all that.

Good luck with Little BiSB.

I always appreciated your sense of humor, and your MOD work.  You will be missed.  Good luck with the baby.  I hope you at least pop in to say hello to the board once in a while, and deliver one of your nice quick-witted jabs.

No fanbase can treat a thrilling win worse than a loss like us. 

raise the points to post period...

Understandable especially since it seems you have much more important stuff going on. With that said, seems like a pretty childish way to go out

Sorry to see you go, BiSB.  It gets tough modding when so many unujustifiably assert that any moderation is "censorship of unpopular dieas" and "groupthink," but that's the internet for you.  I am of the opinion that everyone should be forced to be a discussion group moderator for a year somewhere, and no one should be asked to do it longer than that.

Thanks for your contributions, and I hjope you stay as an ex-mod.  You have paid your dues, and have more than earned your ex-mod-dom.

I'll even go through the verification process to post this!  :)

MGoBlog is different, and for the better.  Having said that, I do think the mods need to chill a bit and let people post.  As long as there is no obscenties or overt trolling/flamebaiting, let people post, man.

 

I like BiSB.  I'm sure it has not helped with all the Notre Dame fans in South Bend driving him crazy.  They probably sent him over the edge.... 

That being said, as a Mom, I totally need to hear what kind of baby he has and what he names said baby.  At least let us know that....

 

Sorry to see that you are putting down the moderator's internet point thingy, I seldom found fault with your decisions, and that is amazing in and of itself.

As a former moderator of the site,I sympathize with and agree with what you say. But may I suggest, to any mod, that this thread get locked at this point? A 200 post thread debating the merits of BiSB, and the status of the boards devolution doesn't seem, to me, to serve any purpose. Best case is that it becomes a sort of obnoxious hagiography of BiSB and the more cynical posters can accuse him of martyring himself (I'm not saying this was his intent)

Honestly thank you for your mostly thankless job.  But also, I'm glad to see you moving on (not trying to be a dick, though I suppose I am being one).  I like a moderating hand, but not a controlling, snarky, its'about-me moderator - which at times I felt that you were.  I say that fully knowing that I could *not* do the job you have done.  I get that.  But I'm also being honest b/c I think this opinion is healthy for the board to discuss - how do we want our mods moderating?

I've always said I could care less about "points" and that BS. On phone and use the android app so can't see and don't care anyway. Other than "Ace" and "Brian", I have no idea who has what standing on this site despite being a viewer for years and a poster for a couple. My point of this reply is two fold: The first point being that having been a Scout Premium and (much longer) non-premium member, mods treat their title like knighthood and all eventually "step down" in this manner after they themselves act like clowns and dictators for a period of time. I guess having a tiny bit of internet authroity REALLY goes to the ego?!? Anyway, I've read this exact resignation a dozen times over there. Don't know if you acted like this as I never paid too much attention to you (didn't even know you were a mod) but mods "stepping down" on the scout board almost always followed jackass behavior for a long time. Their insistance of title equaling always being right, knowing more than others and censorship of honest fan opinions slowly builds a hatred toward them. I Technically still have an account there with over 3k posts but haven't posted in a while due to that as I always stood up for the right of ANY true Michigan fan (those clearly not trolls) to voice their opinion no matter how unliked. Most blow the mod and agree with their every thought and deed but I often butted heads with them standing up for the right to post an onbviously non-troll opinion of a fellow fan that they mocked, insulted or deleted. I truly hope you weren't that kind of guy (again, don't live on this site) and if not, best to you. I left scout for this blog to find that it is pretty much the same except this site has a "point" system that is, IMO, insane and childish. Second point being more of an overall bit of advice and opinion in that I think all of this crap on any site can be solved by simply letting true UM fans speak their mind and having mods to remove obvious trolls. If a UM fan says something you don't like, ignore it or politely state your opposing opinion. This site literally prides itself on who can "out snark" the other and random voting. Voting (not that it's even true voting here as much as snark and negging out of being a douche or bored) cannot determine fact from opinion. If a true UM fan truly thinks a healthy Denard should be anything but our QB (I don't), let them think that. Ignore it, agree with it or politely state why you disagree. It is SIMPLE. I'll leave saying that I agree with the resigned mod in that this blog was truly the cream of the crop years ago and has slowly but surely devolved into essentially what the paysites offer for free: A bunch of people walking on shells in hopes that the mighty untouchables do not dislike anything they say, for, if they do, the herd of pledge like chimps hoping to join their fraternity will attack with a tornado of snark and ferocity that often drive decent fans away. The job of a mod is not to be in that herd but protect the poster from them. That rarely happens. So, I hope you were a good mod that got sick of THAT rather than the other.

 

Please don't be like the dickhead dad after a divorce that just f-ing leaves. Come back and visit us once in a while...

It's what makes this site so tremendous when it's at it's best. And it's also what makes it so messy and divisive when it's at it's worst. Whether or not this is a good era for the blog or a bad one largely depends on your own personal opinions of those who are making the most noise, and their own attitudes, for better or worse. The blog is evolving again...
I am sure I will see you around, Blue, here or elsewhere... But thanks for a stellar job in the face of confusion.

For what it's worth, I don't know why you ever even cared. As a Mod, what you say is just the way it is. Thread not up to snuff? Get rid of it. Bad post? Get rid of it. Bad poster? do what you gotta do. They complain? Why would you care?

This is the predictable result of the elimination of Neg-Banging and the establishment of the current teethless voting system.  You want the clowns to go away, then bring back the A-Train to Bolivia.

I very rarely post here, but just wanted to say thanks for the effort and time.  I'm not really involved in the community but I quite enjoy the game day events, which can only happen because of vigilant mods.

GL with the kid.

How much does an MGOBLOG mod make?  Also, I am interested in becoming a mod here myself and I wondering if there is a page to apply in, assuming someone will take BiSB's place.

You're good people. Good sense of humor, good mod. Good gooder.