Unwritten Rules of the MGoBoard
Some of the comments on Ben Mason's Hello post kind of bothered me, because I always thought it was customary not to criticize recruits in their Hello posts. Of course, one problem with doing things by custom and other informal mechanisms is that new or infrequent posters may not always be aware of those things. So, I decided to collect some of the various "unwritten rules" I've observed for the Board over time, and post them here. I have probably missed some, so please point out others in the comments.
Unwritten (not counting now) Rules of the MGoBoard
1) Do not criticize recruits in their Hello posts. The comments in Hello posts should be celebratory, congratulatory, and welcoming, so that if the recruit himself or his family and friends read the post, they get nothing but good feels. There are plenty of other opportunities to debate the merits of particular prospects, so if you have a problem with a guy, save it for later.
2) Don’t refer to opposing teams using juvenile terms such as “O$U,” “Suckeyes,” “Spartina,” etc. We are not RCMB or MLive and intend to stay that way.
3) Speculation regarding players being denied a fifth year, encouraged to transfer, urged not to enroll despite having committed to M, or anything else of this nature—though not strictly taboo—is frowned upon. If you are going to engage in this kind of speculation, please do your best to avoid naming names, be cognizant of timing and context, and absolutely support your assertion with strong evidence and cogent arguments.
4) Do not make up a fake profile and pretend to be an Alabama fan with deep knowledge of the Michigan program and troll the board for weeks using that fake profile.
5) No links to Chat Sports or Bleacher Report. Do not link to the Freep unless (i) you have a good reason and (ii) the same content is not available elsewhere. That guy in Pittsburgh is okay, I think--but we're still suspicious.
6) Be reasonable with paywalled content. Giving a few bullet points or the gist of an article is generally okay; block-quoting multiple paragraphs is usually not.
7) If there happens to be a front-page photo of a high school prospect who looks uncommonly young for his age, don’t say a damn thing about it. (Actually, I think this is more of an official “written” rule).
8) Do not talk about your mgopoints, unless you don’t mind not having any.
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You're the best! Did we just become best friends?!
check one
yes____ no____
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No biggie, everyone has dimmed their reflection once or twice
Cum on the mirror?
Must wear jorts.
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Like this?
Things on the internet are not forever!!!
To the end.
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I think there is room to be critical of someone's game in an evaluation since, but that must also include things they do well. It's not so much of questioning why they were recruited or offered by Michigan rather than just having a personal evaluation of someone.
I don't mind if someone says "he doesn't look like he has great speed", as long as it isn't "this guy is too fucking slow to play football for michigan and will never get off the bench". There is a difference between thoughtful criticism and being a dick in a hello post, IMO.
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Amen, there is a difference between making evaluations of a commits game, and straight up saying he isn't good enough to have a Michigan offer.
10) Threads that are META should be labeled META. Threads that are OT should be labeled OT.
Example: This thread should be META.
Never rub another man's rhubarb. Never stare directly into the sun. Volunteer to sleep in the wet spot. And for the love of sweet baby Jesus, no, her ass does NOT look fat in those jeans...
Don't post OT things like soccer and non-Michigan athletes. Only drinking, cars, and game of thrones is allowed.
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The overuse and continued use of tired jokes is a must around here. Original jokes and comments should be looked down upon as not toeing the line. Brady Hoke clapping. Kork Koupons. [Recruit that once favored Michigan] committing to Michigan. Jorts. All tired jokes that are required to be a certified mgoblog user. I'm sure others can add to this list of required jokes that must be made before you should be allowed to even watch Michigan sports.
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If you are to fail, fail epically (see jersey sales, RDT reveal, Mike Jones)
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What about trying to get the picture for a friend?
I don't have enough MGOpoints to post. It's hard to threaten a man who has nothing to lose. I suggest you load me up with a ridiculous amout of points and make me feel victorious for a day or so and then wipe me clean. I will post my reaction afterwards.
Make certain to comment at least once in the chain below - so people can neg the Hell out of you.
When Space Coyote talks, it is the truth. Just let him believe that. Don't try to debate him. He'll debate you back. It will be long winded. It will be laborious. It will be overly thorough. And he'll just continue doing it. And it will annoy everyone. He's like the movie Avatar. Sure, everyone was kind of impressed at first, it looked nice and legit, but as time went by, people just got more and more annoyed with it until it became a bit of a joke. But don't worry, there will be four sequels. This is his "avatar". So just let him live in his own little world where he performs his own little amateur breakdowns of football and occassionally has some people make fun of him because he does that.
Also, if you bring up Al Borges, prepare thyself. Space Coyote will go all Liam Neeson quote from Taken on you for some reason, probably because he is Al Borges.
Also, he is probably just another WD account. This whole place is actually all WD accounts. WD is in the Matrix, the Matrix is mgoblog, mgoblog is WD. All of it. Except you. You're on the Truman Show, except this version is set in the Matrix, aka mgoblog, aka WD. You have just entered the fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow... It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.
\movie_references
That's where you're wrong McSomething. Let me breakdown the film to show you why...
It all makes sense now.
Regarding the first rule, that is a line that definitely needs to be made clear from time to time, and not just with recruits, but with current players and coaches, and while we're at it, with people in general, athlete or not.
Feel free to be as critical of content as you wish - criticize game film, crticize strategy and use and the elements of play. Feel free to criticize arguments if you deem it necessary. Do not let it devolve into personal abuse. Worse, and there are people on this blog guilty of this, do not let it START with personal abuse. For those things, there are some consequences.
As for the fourth rule regarding being an impostor, I think the lesson here is bow out gracefully once discovered. I think RDT just quit posting under both that account and his actual MGoAccount, so we never really got closure there, not even an "...and I would have gotten away with it too if it hadn't been for you meddling kids!". I think we deserved that much.
Don't post every piece of news that comes out about MSU or OSU. This board is for Michigan fans to talk about Michigan sports, not for folks who are obsessed with their programs (they way they seem to be obsessed with us).