Question About the Post-Game Snowflake Threads
Mates,
I'm curious about what you/we think of the 'Snowflake' threads that LSA puts up (thank you, LSA) as the final whistle is blown on our football games. In general, I think they are a very good idea and an excellent way to organize relevant discussion. That said, I do have a couple of questions/reasons for the questions, both of which relate to the limited space on the Message Board part of the blog and how the snowflakes occupy so much of it and for how long they stay pinned to the top.
1. Do you think we should maybe combine the Snowflakes, e.g., fold them into two threads instead of four. For instance, combine Defense/Special Teams into one, Offense/Coaching into another?
2. I note that last week's threads were pinned to the top until noon on Sunday. Do they need to be there for that long, especially in the absence of some extraordinary event on one side of the ball or the other?
I mention all of this because it only takes a couple of our brothers/sisters after the game to post their super special 'I had a unique thought' threads or 'Aunt Bessie's cow got out' thread and there goes any other discussion about relevant football topics, most importantly afternoon and evening game threads, which tend to generate thousands of posts.
Restating the two questions:
1. Combine Snowflake threads in some fashion?
2. Shorten the time on how long they are 'pinned' on the board, particularly in the absence of some unique/amazing occurrence during the game?
Thank you for your input, and thanks again to LSA for putting those threads up.
XM
September 26th, 2023 at 8:14 AM ^
I would be happy if they were all combined into a single Snowflakes thread
September 26th, 2023 at 9:26 AM ^
After reading all the comments so far, this one snowflake recommendation sounds the best. That will suck in all the hot takes and snowflakes and leave the board less cluttered. With only one snowflakes thread, you can probably leave it up a couple days to make sure the board stays uncluttered.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
I don't mind there being different ones for offense vs. defense since those are distinct topics but I feel like the ones for ST and Coaching are rarely that popular and just clutter up the board. Especially now unless you have some crazy ST breakdown or performance that's going to have 15-20 posts mostly talking about a long punt.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:32 AM ^
Too much clutter and they should not be pinned to the top after a few hours. On a typical Saturday there are an awful lot of things going on in college football that get lost because some of us (me) don't look much beyond the front page of threads.
I also thought that the snowflake threads were for chaos mitigation or something like that to prevent large numbers of threads when Michigan loses.
September 26th, 2023 at 10:43 PM ^
You don't need a thread for special teams and probably don't need one for coaching, since coaching always factors into both the offense and defense threads.
September 26th, 2023 at 4:55 PM ^
Agreed, I don't like them, I never read them, smush them all into one.
September 26th, 2023 at 5:39 PM ^
I would vote for a single snowflake thread.
Question for LSA - would a single snowflake thread make your "status of open threads" analysis more or less difficult?
September 26th, 2023 at 3:42 PM ^
I agree with this eloquent statement from the Senator from Michigan.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:17 AM ^
The pinning question was one I wrestled with when I revised the format last - I've was initially going with 10-12 hours for wins, 16-18 for losses only because that caught at least some of the "feelingsball" stuff and mitigated its proliferation, if you will. This year, I've admittedly been keeping them at the top longer for the first few games, but the overnight traffic hasn't materialized because, well, we're 4-0. To that end, I actually plan on going back to the initial plan for these. In fact, I might even shorten it some - 8 hours for wins, probably 12 for losses in the future.
Combination threads? I am willing to experiment with it for the Nebraska game, if people would like. I think that, ultimately, it may depend on the game. Later in the season, four might be a better idea, but early on, they've been fairly light and combined threads are certainly more space-efficient (unless you have a link to the thread listings rather than the front page, in which case, four doesn't make too much of a dent).
September 26th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
thanks for weighing in, LSA.
EDIT: looking at saturday's snowflakes, the vast majority of posts were within an hour, maybe two at the most. by way of example, the offense had 171 posts in total and up until about 160, they were all made within an hour of pinning at 3:00*
coaching had most all of them before the 3 hr mark. same with defense.
*there are of course some replies that are later, but again the vast majority are within that hour or two.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:44 AM ^
Losses? That sort of defeatist attitude will not be tolerated.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
Relax. Losses are in the rear view mirror now.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:05 AM ^
LSA, we appreciate you listening to the will of the people.
FWIW, this person likes having four snowflake threads. Keeps the discussion targeted...and ensures that the number of posts in each thread doesn't become unmanageable.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:07 AM ^
If any changes are made, i would only combine special teams and coaching into a single thread. The defense and the offense deserve their own singularly dedicated snowflake threads.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
This ^^^
September 26th, 2023 at 12:47 PM ^
This feels like it makes the most sense. I dont think special teams usually warrants its own thread, but a "Coaching/Special Teams/Misc" is probably needed as a catch-all for sundry hot-takes.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:46 AM ^
Yeah, I like the shorter timeframe and maybe combining the coaches+ST ones unless there's some huge breakdown worth discussing. Offense and defense are broad enough you may want separate threads to keep some consistency but "that was a long punt" and "Harbaugh should have maybe put in player X ahead of player Y" tend to populate the latter two threads at least during wins.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:52 AM ^
LSA, please don't take our comments personally as being a mod is a situation where no good deed goes unpunished.
What bothers me more than the space the snowflake threads take up is that it seems the purpose of the snowflake threads is to protect us from ourselves. What is the worse thing that can happen? A few childish threads? I suspect some of this comes from days of yore when Brian felt that there were ways to regulate a hyperemotional fanbase. That doesn't seem to work.
September 26th, 2023 at 12:25 PM ^
Oh, I don't take any of it personally, although this blog has come up in therapy before - I don't mind saying that. 99.99% of you don't know me personally. A handful of people here have actually known me at various points in my life, up to and including the present. Hard to take any of it personally.
As for the rest, I try to work smart, not hard. Combining threads sounds like a popular move, so I might tinker with it a bit, which will very likely open the valve on such threads a bit. We shall see how it goes, and the opponent and overall tenor of the board will be part of the equation.
September 26th, 2023 at 2:26 PM ^
Outside of when a FG kicker misses a game winning kick I don't know much traffic special teams will really ever get.
September 26th, 2023 at 3:52 PM ^
Yeah we aren't Iowa. We don't need a special teams thread, nor a Wolvewatch.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:21 AM ^
special teams / coaching
defense
offense
September 26th, 2023 at 8:24 AM ^
Perhaps we should change it from snowflake to Ryan Day
September 26th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
he's very tough. just ask him.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:37 AM ^
Gotta be tough when you coach in Ohio and the entire world is against you.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:41 AM ^
AND against the whole state of Ohio!
... said the leader of the football program that demonizes the state of Michigan AND the letter "M."
Poor baby.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:53 AM ^
That would be a 'tough as nails' thread. Would we all get around and flex on each other?
September 26th, 2023 at 10:13 AM ^
ARE U I❌PLYING THAT I A❌ SOME KIND OF SNOWFLAKE U BETA
I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I A❌ A ❌AN!!!
WHY DONT U CO❌E OUT FROM BEHIND UR BLUE WALL AND CALL ME SOFT TO MY FACE
I BET U WONT DO THAT CUZ U ARNT AS TOUGH AS ❌E
September 26th, 2023 at 12:02 PM ^
Excellent. Right down to missing at least two Ms
September 26th, 2023 at 12:31 PM ^
W H A [x]
Hmm, it' could be "wham" but it could also be a baby crying [whaa].
September 26th, 2023 at 8:30 AM ^
I'd rather have combined threads. The less times you have to click on different threads the better with all the full page ads popping up and general slowness of the site.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:37 AM ^
I would basically echo what XM wrote. I think part of this is left over from the endless years of BPONE. I also believe that most of us don't really need all of them and those that do are going to post their extra special threads regardless. I don't think there needs to be a hard and fast rule, if for example the officiating goes beyond the refs being blind there could or should be a Snowflake post to capture the comments.
I'll echo the thanks to LSA for his fine job of herding the unruly masses for all this time.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:17 AM ^
I am curious. Are those snowflake people actually posting in the snowflake threads or are they just so darn special they make their own thread anyway. I usually read the pinned threads a few times until they get too big. Which is my biggest concern. 150 posts or so and that's a hard pass.
I usually just avoid this toxic waste dump after a loss for a couple days, so changing timing for a win loss isn't relevant.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:45 AM ^
Don't worry about Aunt Bessie's cow. It won't be getting out no more (if you know what I mean).
September 26th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
you heartless ba&^#rd, how could you? aunt bessie is going to have to sell her teeth now to feed herself, and it'll have to be soup.
September 26th, 2023 at 2:44 PM ^
She shouldn't have let the cow keep getting out. It's really her own fault if you think about it.
In any event, maybe I'll share the bones for her to make a good stock.
September 26th, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
That is one fine, aged, marbled t-bone, with a good sized tenderloin.
<drooling>
Time to 🔥 up the grill. I don’t think I need to tenderize, it only looks OSU tough.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^
We don't need to give him that much recognition.... I'm not for replacing the word "snowflake" with "ryan day"... but "snowflake" could be retitled "RD" or "Eddie Munster" has the same affect without putting Coach 3rd Base's name in the blog repeatedly.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
1. No
2. No
September 26th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
I think combining the threads can be up to staff discretion. If nothing stands out with ST, why not combine it with the Defense thread. Or if the coaching is ho-hum, let the offensive/defensive coaching comments live in the Offense or Defense threads.
I'm good with how things are done, but these are my thoughts if there was to be another direction considered.
September 26th, 2023 at 9:40 AM ^
That's true. LSA can probably assess prior to posting if there were a lot of coaching or special teams events that may lead to more or less posts and combine the two. I imagine offense and defense will always be separate.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
While we are talking about Board space there are a lot of stickiest that have become largely white noise.
New version bugs
How to post a link
addiction thread
At minimum could go and bring them back as needed.
End of OT could also be gone IMO. We are 1/4 the way through the season.
anywho not big deal but since we are talking about board space and house cleaning.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:54 AM ^
While we are talking about Croats space...
Why'd you have to bring Croats into it? What did they ever do to you? 😊
September 26th, 2023 at 8:57 AM ^
Between Siri thinking she is so smart and my fat/lazy text fingers. Let’s just I’ve brought up a lot of subjects lately I’ve had no intentions of talking about.
😂
September 26th, 2023 at 9:20 AM ^
I would definitely be against unsticking the "How to Post a Link" thread. We've been getting our annual football season uptick in new accounts. I think we really do benefit from having a 'tutorial' thread available for the newbies.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:52 AM ^
like 'em the way they are
September 26th, 2023 at 8:53 AM ^
Personally I love the snowflake threads for the simple reason that they act as a deterrent against the seemingly endless threads that are created post-game (win or lose BTW) that exist for the sole purpose of giving the OP a platform to broadcast their very special thoughts on the game.
Yes, pinning the snowflakes does push other content down and off the front page quicker but not nearly as quick as the creation of a slew of threads like:
- The bad plays. Why do we keeping calling them?
- The good plays - we should call those much more often
- Fire <fill in the blank coordinator>
- Why doesnt player X get more playing time? I think he's really good
- Why does player X get so much playing time? I think he sucks
Either way creating a thread immediately after a game ends is a fools errand if you want people to see if for more than 10 minutes or so. And hey, by having the snowflake threads up we minimize the chances of somebody ending up on one of those message board idiots sites on Sunday.
September 26th, 2023 at 11:01 AM ^
Agreed, snowflake threads to me are beneficial for multiple reasons. Last week felt like an anomaly with all the great games being played after ours ended, and burying a lot of threads that day.
September 26th, 2023 at 8:58 AM ^
Yes - combine them into one or two threads, and stop pinning them for so long. Especially after innocuous games like Rutger. Also, don't ever pin the game thread - when the game is over, the game thread can go away. It's filled with one-liner hot takes about a particular play with no time stamps or other relevance. And at over ~2000 posts, nobody is going back into it. Please, PLEASE, stop pinning the game thread!