Pour it on
- Thread starter urfan1
- Start date
I would have no problem with the "offenders" being messaged or otherwise warned offline for attacks of a personal nature on players, coaches, parents, or even other posters. But deleting or locking threads because of possible "negativity" or "hurt feelings" is quite another thing (i.e. censorship).
On another note, I'm not sure I would want a player who is so sensitive and/or thin-skinned that he would let the sorts of commentary we have on this board - which is infinitely more civil than what I read on most other forums - color his decision whether to play basketball or any other sport for our school. Criticism and negative commentary is part and parcel of big time college sports (and real life for that matter).
On another note, I'm not sure I would want a player who is so sensitive and/or thin-skinned that he would let the sorts of commentary we have on this board - which is infinitely more civil than what I read on most other forums - color his decision whether to play basketball or any other sport for our school. Criticism and negative commentary is part and parcel of big time college sports (and real life for that matter).
I think this really goes to the purpose of the board - - about which there seems to be a whole lot of uncertainty. If the Board exists as a place to talk, comment, review, analyze and, most importantly, express opinions, then no degree of censorship should be acceptable short of libel. If the Board exists to promote UR and its sports programs, then removing things that cross over some undefined line are certainly appropriate (and its fine to let a "moderator" or other decide where the line is).
By thought and quite frankly my hope is that we are the former and not the later. I fear now we are the later which is far less interesting to me. I love UR and I support it in many ways, but what I want from a board is a forum to express myself, free of censorship and dampening effects. If someone wants to call me names because they disagree with me - - that's not only fine, its encouraged. It makes the site relevant and and validates that the forum is a place to vet thoughts and get feedback and dissenting opinions. If we all post good things about UR etc. and we all say "great job" to each other about what we all post, what really is the point?
While not angry, I am certainly disappointed that the thread (or any thread) was removed. I honestly (but respectfully) believe that the Moderator has overstepped his bounds in this case.
I will also respond to JCabrey and others who mentioned impact on recruiting. I will do so while noting that since I believe this board is for discussion and opinion and not as "support" to UR and ts teams, I don't think its even relevant whether recruiting is or is not impacted by the boards. I am an AAU coach (as JCabrey said one should ask about social media impact on recruiting.) Here is my take. Kids devour social media of all types and basketball players are no different. I have no doubt that virtually every player we recruit (whether he comes to UR or not) finds his way to these boards and reads a lot of it. That activity, however, should not be confused with impact. Kids are also much more social media savvy these days as the "truth" about the internet catches up. Most kids now know enough to really discount almost anything they see on a board. Kids consider so many things in recruiting - - much of it in my view heroically misguided - - - something they read on the internet on a board is well down the list. What I believe does happen is that kids will cite something they read to justify a decision they made to eliminate a school or pick another school because they know their parent or coach won't like the real reason they have made the decision they have made and the board comment gives them some "cover". But that not really impacting the recruiting process and decisions- - just the story the kid is telling.
By thought and quite frankly my hope is that we are the former and not the later. I fear now we are the later which is far less interesting to me. I love UR and I support it in many ways, but what I want from a board is a forum to express myself, free of censorship and dampening effects. If someone wants to call me names because they disagree with me - - that's not only fine, its encouraged. It makes the site relevant and and validates that the forum is a place to vet thoughts and get feedback and dissenting opinions. If we all post good things about UR etc. and we all say "great job" to each other about what we all post, what really is the point?
While not angry, I am certainly disappointed that the thread (or any thread) was removed. I honestly (but respectfully) believe that the Moderator has overstepped his bounds in this case.
I will also respond to JCabrey and others who mentioned impact on recruiting. I will do so while noting that since I believe this board is for discussion and opinion and not as "support" to UR and ts teams, I don't think its even relevant whether recruiting is or is not impacted by the boards. I am an AAU coach (as JCabrey said one should ask about social media impact on recruiting.) Here is my take. Kids devour social media of all types and basketball players are no different. I have no doubt that virtually every player we recruit (whether he comes to UR or not) finds his way to these boards and reads a lot of it. That activity, however, should not be confused with impact. Kids are also much more social media savvy these days as the "truth" about the internet catches up. Most kids now know enough to really discount almost anything they see on a board. Kids consider so many things in recruiting - - much of it in my view heroically misguided - - - something they read on the internet on a board is well down the list. What I believe does happen is that kids will cite something they read to justify a decision they made to eliminate a school or pick another school because they know their parent or coach won't like the real reason they have made the decision they have made and the board comment gives them some "cover". But that not really impacting the recruiting process and decisions- - just the story the kid is telling.
If your goal on this board is to sound like a Grade A jacka$$, you are doing a superb job.
I can tell you what offends me- your holier than thou attitude.
Let's just all promise to be as kind, positive, and cheerful as we possibly can on this forum. I hear that rainbows and unicorns are very attractive to the McDonald's All American-caliber recruits.
JCabrey, Thanks much for your thoughtful post, and for providing the perspective of another board moderator. Whether we like it or not, recruits, players and coaches do read this message board. And, it is frankly difficult to read personal attacks and not be affected by them, even if they are rantings and are "alcohol-influenced." They still hurt, if you are on the receiving end. I believe it is in our best interests, if we are Spider fans, to keep extreme personal attacks off the board. I can tell you that I was personally embarrassed by the thread in question, for the school, for the players, and for the coaches. Thanks for pointing out that "extreme personal attacks" (or words to that effect) do qualify for legitimate deletion of an entry or complete thread. I feel much better about continuing to read this board if I know that it will be kept at least marginally "respectful." Thanks!
As I remember it, the only name calling on the deleted thread was posters bashing other posters. I got a lot of chuckles over the whole thing, and I think many 16-17 year olds might have found it entertaining reading a bunch of old timers going at each other.
This is not to imply that some posts don't go over the line. We all can get passionate and heated, including myself. But I do try to balance it out with positive remarks. Fatherspider, maybe others would be more tolerant of your posts it you try to balance things with a few positive comments once in a while.
As for potential recruits, look at all the great threads we have on our board right now that praise the talents and personalities of these young men.
This is not to imply that some posts don't go over the line. We all can get passionate and heated, including myself. But I do try to balance it out with positive remarks. Fatherspider, maybe others would be more tolerant of your posts it you try to balance things with a few positive comments once in a while.
As for potential recruits, look at all the great threads we have on our board right now that praise the talents and personalities of these young men.
Do you enjoy posting to yourself, troll? A lot of these posts of people's differing opinions are well thought with good content.but yours are just whiny responses to what other people say you little whiny baby.
fwiw Fan1 thank you for the maintenance and monitoring of this message board.
Made a few early during game posts(don't believe nasty) and came back next day to see thread gone. Personal attacks I don't believe are right if that was the case. Fan1 I joke around a lot and if anything I post is inappropriate please PM me ASAP.
I'm too old to put myself in a recruit's shoes, but I can relate to the parents of a recruit. It wouldn't bother me at all to read some douchebag poster blasting the team after a loss. That's going to happen. Or someone criticizing the coach for his game plan or recruiting. No big deal. I'd figure they don't know much anyway.
The one thing that would bother me is if chatter about replacing the head coach becomes widespread. My son and I would be in the process of building relationships with coaches, trying to decide where to be for 4 years. Hands down the most important factor to me is finding a good coach that I respect as a man and who I believe will be there for my son.
We haven't gotten that far. As a father of a recruit, I'd feel pretty good about the contract he has and while I'd understand the clock is ticking I'd feel ok that success will keep him here.
The one thing that would bother me is if chatter about replacing the head coach becomes widespread. My son and I would be in the process of building relationships with coaches, trying to decide where to be for 4 years. Hands down the most important factor to me is finding a good coach that I respect as a man and who I believe will be there for my son.
We haven't gotten that far. As a father of a recruit, I'd feel pretty good about the contract he has and while I'd understand the clock is ticking I'd feel ok that success will keep him here.
At the end of the day, I only see 3 ways that CM leaves before his contract is up:
1.) We have an amazing season and Sweet 16 type of run, and he leaves for a BCS job.
2.) He has some sort of scandal or health crisis that requires him to step down.
3.) An alum/donor with Quealyesque (or PQ himself) financial resources gets pissed off enough to force the school into a firing/forced resignation scenario and the "buying out" of CM's contract.
To my thinking, none of these possibilities are anywhere even close to becoming reality.
Other than that, CM will be steering the UR basketball schooner for the next five seasons, and no matter what we say about him on this board, recruits can feel very safe that CM will be here until 2021.
1.) We have an amazing season and Sweet 16 type of run, and he leaves for a BCS job.
2.) He has some sort of scandal or health crisis that requires him to step down.
3.) An alum/donor with Quealyesque (or PQ himself) financial resources gets pissed off enough to force the school into a firing/forced resignation scenario and the "buying out" of CM's contract.
To my thinking, none of these possibilities are anywhere even close to becoming reality.
Other than that, CM will be steering the UR basketball schooner for the next five seasons, and no matter what we say about him on this board, recruits can feel very safe that CM will be here until 2021.
I also happen to have a son who is a 17 year-old elite athlete (soccer) and will be looking at schools where he believes he can get an outstanding educational experience as well as play collegiate soccer (he will not be considering Richmond, obviously). While the coach is a factor in the overall calculus, it is way down on the list of the truly important things such as whether or not the school itself is a place where he can see himself being happy and academically challenged if he can't play soccer (I always tell him that his athletic career could end in a split second).
I would imagine that the more astute parents and players considering UR would have a similar perspective. It would seem silly and short-sighted to put a majority of your college decision eggs in the coach basket, especially given the waivers that players can get if a coach leaves, and the opportunistic nature of the transfer system as it exists today in college athletics.
Hence, I would venture to say that chit chat on this board that speculates on CM's future as our coach would have a negligible impact, if any at all, on a potential recruit's decision to come to UR.
I would imagine that the more astute parents and players considering UR would have a similar perspective. It would seem silly and short-sighted to put a majority of your college decision eggs in the coach basket, especially given the waivers that players can get if a coach leaves, and the opportunistic nature of the transfer system as it exists today in college athletics.
Hence, I would venture to say that chit chat on this board that speculates on CM's future as our coach would have a negligible impact, if any at all, on a potential recruit's decision to come to UR.
Did you read his condescending post after me making a point disagreeing w his winded explanation about his expertise? He obviously expected all to bow to his superior knowledge of the subject. I disagreed and he got pissy. I see know it alls everyday and this guy fits the bill. He even claimed he was leaving the discussion as some sort of revolt yet keeps lurking w "likes".
And I personally don't care what you or anyone else thinks of my posts. It's a message board, I express my opinions and only call someone out if they try to suppress that opinion. Urfan1 deleting a post is incredibly suppressing of free thought flowing discussion. Everyone doesn't express themselves the same way (or is that the case at the University of Richmond)
Keefusb,
there are a ton of good schools out there and way more than one that fits any student. basketball players spend an insane amount of time together with teammates and coaches. it's definitely a subculture of the school. those teammates and the coaches would be a big part of the decision to me. I agree that I wouldn't worry in our case.
there are a ton of good schools out there and way more than one that fits any student. basketball players spend an insane amount of time together with teammates and coaches. it's definitely a subculture of the school. those teammates and the coaches would be a big part of the decision to me. I agree that I wouldn't worry in our case.
I have been trying to stay out of the chaos on the board but I have a serious question for you. I genuinely don't mean this as an attack on you but am wondering: If you don't care what other people think of your posts why post at all? I like to discuss things on this board, and part of discussion is having people respond, engaging in a dialogue. If you don't care about what other people think, which I assume includes (perhaps incorrectly) not caring about what other people post (aka their thoughts), why post at all? I realize people use these forums for different reasons and I am trying to understand your perspective. Perhaps I am misunderstanding you.
Also Urfan1 said to pour it on so i poured it on. But I am not for this board which I think many of you will be happy about. I will still root for the spiders for my daughters sake but will keep my postings to the deac board. Too serious and politically correct for me. Adios.
Also I feel really out of the loop in regards to political correctness, it has come up a couple times on this board. Has the term changed meaning? My understanding is that it refers to changing language that is offensive with regards to race, gender, sexual orientation and similar classes. Does it now refer to all offensive language or offending people in general?
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No matter what the sport, college athletes spend a great deal of time with their teammates and coaches. For soccer, there is actually an NCAA-sanctioned spring season, so even soccer players probably spend a similar amount of time together as basketball and football players.
My point is that the coach should not be one of the top decision factors. Coaches come and go, you need to pick the right school, and if the coach leaves, you have options. What we say on this board with respect to speculation about CM's tenure as coach should be of infinitesimal importance in the decision-making process for recruits. Kids considering our school need to look at the big picture beyond who is coaching our sports teams. It's not like the NBA is waiting after they graduate.
Guess we look at it differently. I enjoyed UR, but I certainly don't think it was the only school I could have gone to and been happy/successful. I think I'd have done fine at any of my top choices, and a bunch I didn't even consider. So I'm not sure what "the right school" is. A coach and the overall quality of a program is high on my list of deciding factors, all else being relatively even.
This is spot on, Keef. Given your numbers 1 through 3, you have to wonder why we continue to engage in the self destructive dialogue after every loss, particularly a loss against a good team like Saint Joes.
Did you see some of Boy Wonder's quotes about Saint Joe's today? I'm nearly as intrigued by that matchup tomorrow night as I am in our own. Big night.
I'm with you, but on a national level, some people have adopted "political correctness" as a catch-phrase for anything and everything about which they think others should not be offended. That attitude basically is "Hey, if you think [whatever] is offensive, stop being so politically correct and just get over it."
Not really sure how that helps anything. I agree that some people invent reasons to be offended by things, but denigrating those who legitimately take offense to certain things is wrong, IMO.
There's a quote I like in situations like this: "If someone tells you he is offended by something, you can't tell him that he's not."
I think Mooney is pretty healthy, so that's out. Mooney is a pretty straight shooter, so any scandal would have to come with the assistants. Mooney is a man of the people. He doesn't try to big shot himself into any situation, imo.
As far as Queally goes, does he even like basketball? He seems to want to build mens lacrosse into another Syracuse. Don't know if he feels the same way about hoops.
Mo, could you be so kind as to share some of Boy Wonder's quotes for those of us without access? Thanks! OSC
Right here. You want an autograph or something ? You seem more obsessed with the posters on this board then most trolls.
Wish stj crapped the bed like that against us but was a good win for the Rams.
Since you care so much about where our posters went to school. I never went to vcu like some other poster you call out here for, thankfully. It's called two diplomas. Have you ever heard of graduate school?
Below the belt comments? I imagine if I trolled lambnation I'd find stuff just as bad by many more. I suppose you have that kind of time on your hands. Sorry I hurt your feelings. Stay on your own board and mind your own business if you don't like what you read, troll.
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