meta: Officially ON topic season

Submitted by Geaux_Blue on

This means that only topics relating to Michigan sports and the college itself are considered "on topic." OT will include college sports at large. However, things relating to professional sports, wacky squirrels on water skis or the latest greatest police car chase will be removed. Many of you noticed this has been going on all week but a post explaining this can always be helpful. 

Go Michigan, Beat UConn!

Edit: Gameday threads for Lions, general NFL (2 threads on Sunday) are okay, as are ones for major breaking news for Detroit sports. Within reason, subject to change, don't be an idiot.

Sambojangles

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^

Well, I just don't want to talk to anybody about different things, I often want to talk to Michigan fans about the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings, Pistons, or whatever. I'm familiar with these people, enjoy their input, and know that it is high-quality because the rest of this board is well above average. I could join another site, but this is my favorite on all of the internetz, and none other comes close.

maizenbluedevil

September 2nd, 2010 at 6:34 PM ^

Fair enough.  And I just saw your post below that this was handed down from management, not a moderator decision, and was about to edit my comment about 'over-zealous moderation,' but you had already replied.

I do want to make my disapointment with this known though...  As I said above, as a displaced Michigander, I value the opportunity this board presents to have quality discussions with other Michiganders about the Detroit pro-sports teams.  

I think BlockM's suggestion below for an off-topic board is a good one, and hopefully a solution that management will consider.

Geaux_Blue

September 2nd, 2010 at 6:38 PM ^

as a formerly displaced Michigander for the past three years, i can definitely relate to the lifeline this site can offer regarding sports and the like. my passion for UM sports actually increased due to how much i relied on this site for info and i just recently moved back. it will be odd not being in a raucous bar (Shout out to Cooter Browns!) for the game and instead, you know, being there. 

another board is definitely something that's been thrown out there. however there's a lot that goes into even the slightest change on here and Brian deserves (not saying you weren't giving such) a lot of credit for the time and effort he puts into content like the season preview and site modifications. 

maizenbluedevil

September 2nd, 2010 at 6:56 PM ^

Yeah, I agree that a lot goes into the site and I'm grateful for the great free content that Brian provides.  The previews this week have been absolutely phenomenal, so, thanks Brian for the great content, I wasn't trying to sound like a whiny b%^&* with my previous posts in this thread.

I do understand a lot goes into changing the site....  such as a possible OT board...  but, in the meantime, if there is no venue specifically for OT discussion, and it's not allowed on the main board, I think it diminishes a key aspect of the sense of community that exists on this board.  Plus, as M-Wolverine says below, how many times can the same topics be discussed before it gets to the point of beating a dead horse?  OT discussion helps mix things up.

I understand this isn't a democracy.  But, I do hope that an OT board will be considered as a solution, and, in the meantime, until one exists that a certain amount of latitude will be given for *some* OT discussion for example, as FA mentions below, allowing one Lions game thread, or, if there's a very significant story breaking in Detroit sports.

StephenRKass

September 3rd, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^

I don't mind links to stuff on Henne, Brady, Woodson, etc. But I support the mods 100% in thinning down posts about the Red Wings, Lions, Tigers, Pistons, et. al. There's got to be Detroit pro team websites out there if that is what you're looking for. This is a University of Michigan site, about Michigan sports, largely for University of Michigan fans. Not being from Detroit, I don't particularly care how the Lions are doing. When I'm interested in the doings of my favorite MLB team, I don't come to mgoblog for news and discussion.

Geaux_Blue

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^

while trying to find something on this site using the Google:

MGoBlog is ranked 50,477 on the Internet in page views.

For the sake of comparison, EDSBS is ranked in the 120,000s, BurntOrangeNation is beyond 375,000, The Only Colors in the 440,000s, Bucknuts is at 113,000ish and MGOBLUE at 95,514.

what does this tell us? otters get clicks.

 

Further, the site is ranked only 308 spots behind SpartanTailgate despite their ESPN affiliation, message board focus, years of operation, bikini-clad posting, etc. that's crazy

formerlyanonymous

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^

I might personally be slow deleting "Opening Night"s or championships. So the opening day of the Lions/NFL and the World Series may get ONE thread only. Or at least until another mod deletes it. But other than that initial thread, I'd be vigilant on the others.

But that might just be too nice.

DubbaEwwTeeEff

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^

What about the creation of an OT board?  Obviously it'd either have its own MGoBoard tab or just not show up on the sidebar at all, so it wouldn't down the worthy content.

I know this is a CFB-specific site, and therefore has CFB-specific talk, but I don't see anything wrong with adding a spot for random topics, as long as they're kept to that specific spot.

Don

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^

will be highly dependent on whether we win games. If we stink up the joint against UConn and ND, the level of disgruntlement and pissed-offedness is going to be so high around here that the mods will have absolutely no patience whatsoever for OT stuff and will root it out ruthlessly and immediately, since they're already going to have to moderate about 175 threads per day of "fire RR" or "When is DB going to fire RR" or "Can we buy Jimmy Hairball out of his contract?"

If we beat UConn and ND, the MGoBlog euphoria will be as thick as the smoke in a Shanghai opium den, and people might be a little more relaxed.

mgokev

September 2nd, 2010 at 5:56 PM ^

What? No more OT? Damn.  In all seriousness though, my lizard has started growing hair out of its anus.  Does this make him a mammal?  If so, then the ass sprout is very telling.

burntorangeblue

September 2nd, 2010 at 6:13 PM ^

Could we maybe implement some sort of "sticky" thread system, where posts like these stay at the top of the board for a couple days?  Some of the meta mod-generated stuff (which everyone should read) gets pushed off the board pretty quickly due to the rate of new topic posts.  Maybe it's been covered, but just a thought.

M-Wolverine

September 2nd, 2010 at 6:30 PM ^

And no pro sports at all?

Does Brian have something against making money? I admire the "dream blog scenario" he mentioned in his SixZero interview, but really....isn't this going to cut traffic down quite a bit? Because really, how many "who's the QB, how many wins, is he going to get fired, let's beat, analyze, how much do we hate X opponent, I've come up with some tables that go on for pages analyzing everything but revealing nothing, did you hear what Y media person said, what's the weather going to be and where do I park, what will happen if Z happens" posts can there be before people just start going...eh...can skip all that...wow, done with MGoBlog in 20 minutes...what's on tv? Especially on the weekends, with no new content from Brian.  I'd rather there be a "oh, this is funny...or since we lost..how about we talk about video games" thread than board lockdown/meltdown crickets because every post wants to make you blow your brains out.  Unless Brian's starting to think about posting on the weekends, and making it possible for there to be some real content. I mean, if you looked at the most popular threads here (back when you could), probably well over half of them would now be OT content.  Like other bowl games.  And the Super Bowl. This mean we're live blogging every week?

I don't understand the logic of cutting pageviews, and thus, money, but hey, who would have thunk that this would be the last bastion of morals over money in college athletics.

M-Wolverine

September 2nd, 2010 at 7:02 PM ^

This means that only topics relating to Michigan sports and the college itself are considered "on topic." OT will include college sports at large. However, things relating to professional sports, wacky squirrels on water skis or the latest greatest police car chase will be removed. Many of you noticed this has been going on all week but a post explaining this can always be helpful.

So other college sports are off topic, but permissible. Though the idea that other college FOOTBALL is off-topic, is kinda silly, unless we're talking Division 3 or something, because most major programs are part of something that manages to interact with Michigan (polls, etc). And the rest says that anything else, Pro Sports, non-Michigan stuff, WILL BE REMOVED...whether labeled on or off topic.

So, uhm, no, you couldn't be more completely wrong.

But I don't hold this against the mods. Really, I don't hold it against anyone. It's not my site. I can follow the rules. I'm just saying it doesn't seem well thought out as a business model. Some tightening during the season of repetitive stuff (Whether Michigan related or not) would probably better serve the site than just blanket deleting. (I mean, this goes further than Brian's original point a couple of weeks ago...that would allow for Korean in-laws, whereas this wouldn't). Heck, I think policing trolls from other schools is time better spent by mods than this stuff.

But again, it's not my site, my time spent policing it, or my money that goes up or down by right/wrong decisions. I can only recommend....and everyone can take it for what it's worth, because there are as many opinions as users on the site.