The A10 Board

[waggy]

Is in some form of meltdown due mostly to ineffective moderation. Off the top of my head I can't think of a tougher mod job, so I sympathize. On the other hand, I don't think it's impossible if those doing the mod-ing are known posters and A10 fans.

The purpose of this thread is to give fans (of all schools) a location to place their thoughts, especially with regards to any ideas on a new location. I doubt this forum is a suitable longterm solution, but I'm sure Muskie wouldn't mind the increased traffic, however temporary.

[Xpectations]

Just went over there for the first time this year. Is this because of Snipe's banning?

I would dearly LOVE to see the post that resulted in his banning. I'll bet it was epic and then some.

[AdamtheFlyer]

Snipe's post had something to do with an "administrator" liking , uh, marital relations in a very uncomfortable place.

The whole thing is just stupid. Snipe's gonna play to his persona and rally the masses in some watered down version of Glenn Beck's rally, but in the end he said something stupid and got run for a few days. Not from somewhere important, but from a message board. True, the mods and admins are kinda ridiculous, but that's what people wanted, and they got it. Now they hate it and want to rebel, some even start a new board/nation. Just stupid.

[X-band '01]

We've seen this song and dance before - the Musketeer Madness/Xavier Hoops schism. It's old hat to us, just with a different cast and theater.

[Snipe]

Just went over there for the first time this year. Is this because of Snipe's banning?

I would dearly LOVE to see the post that resulted in his banning. I'll bet it was epic and then some.

It wasn't really epic at all, sorry to disappoint.

After the Miami game a new UC Bearcat troll was trolling the board. His name is Voodoo. He had been registered for about 24 hours and already had 43+ posts going on 50 (I have no idea just how many of his posts were deleted). He had ripped Dayton after Cincy killed them. He ripped us after the Miami game, and he was ripping other A-10 programs. I just exposed him as a poser troll. At first he pretended to be an "objective" X fan, but it didn't take long for him to be saying "All Xavier fans are whiny bytches!"

In my extensive experience with wasting my time on message boards it was clear to me he was a Bearcat fan and you could tell that from his posts. And the sheer number of posts is indicative of a spam campaign. You can dominate a board by sheer volume. Averaging 50 posts a day would be the equivalent to 18,000 in a year. Since this board began three years ago the most prolific posters like me are barely over 5,000. That gives you an idea about the size and scale of his postings right off the bat. He was clearly there to disrupt, dominate and annoy.

It did remind me of how much I dislike UC trolls. Even after all their years of irrelevance it doesn't take much to bring back that lovin feeling. So I was going tit for tat with a UC Troll when an administrator from another board on the site stops by to officiate. He stepped in and called himself the "Bearcat Moderator". I didn’t take kindly to the “Bearcat Moderator”, and I thought he was protecting the Bearcat troll.

The offending conversation in question went like this:


Me: Who is the Bearcat Moderator?

Him : I am.

I then edited my above post to say:


Edited Me: "Who is the gay guy that likes to take it in the rear?"

Him: I am.


This is all very silly stuff. My post wasn't epic, interesting or exciting in any way. I did in fact clearly violate their terms of service and the "Bearcat Moderator" suspended my posting privileges.

I think that Waggy was around that night. If he has an independent opinion that is different from my version of events I will respect what he has to say.

That was the offensive post that the moderators keep sighting on the A-10 boards. A minor quibble is that one administrator said it was actually "Who's the administrator that likes to get ****ed in the ass" which is a little harsher semantically than what I actually said. "Take it in the rear" is a little gentler than "****ed in the ass". I don't know why they paraphrase me and talk incessantly about the incident instead of just quoting what I said. I wonder why they felt the need to talk about it at all. Another minor quibble is that they said they suspended me for “editing over an Administrator's edit”, which I clearly didn't. I edited my own post, which had never been edited in order to make a silly joke about the "Bearcat Moderator". If an Administrator had edited my post that would act as a warning, and if I went back to put in the things he just edited out that would be a clear violation. I already had a violation as you can see what I posted, but it wasn't editing over an administrators edit. The moderators who came on the thread that claimed that clearly didn't know what they were talking about. I wonder why they were there talking about me.

I felt like they were making an example out of me for that post. I do not appreciate that. After I was banned a moderator came on board to talk about my "vacation" on how it should be a lesson to everyone on the board to follow the rules. It was my first suspension that I can think of while at that forum. I didn't think that I needed to be made an example of. I didn't tell anyone that I was banned. I didn't post here or anywhere about it or try to rally anyone to the cause. I didn't instigate a rebellion or ask anyone to post on my behalf.

What I did was against the rules. I was wrong. It violates their terms of service. I deserved what I got. Their board, their rules. If they want to strictly enforce those terms that is their prerogative. I have moderated message boards and made judgment calls. It isn't easy and it is a thankless job. I don't object to the suspension. Just let me do my time. I had my liquid courage, I was confronting a Bearcat troll and a "Bearcat Moderator", and I was ticked off after our loss to Miami. These things happen. I apologize.

Since I was suspended I was unable to post on the forum. Moderators posted about my ban on three different threads and they brought it up first. That is clearly making an example out of me. Then the talk is of “attacking an Administrator”, “kicking sand in their faces”, as well as homophobia and bigotry. You can read the offending post above. If anyone is blowing this out of proportion it isn’t me. I haven’t even been allowed to post on the A-10 board at all, much less bring up the subject of my suspension. I get to read that I am a homophobic bigot. A phobia is an irrational fear. I don’t think that I have a mental condition, though that could be debatable among my friends.

Those administrators talk about the need to handle things through PMs (Private messages) and keep disputes off of the board. Once I gained my first suspension however I got a very public lecture. My offending comments were misrepresented, taken out of context and blown out of proportion. None of that mitigates the fact that I was wrong and I broke the rules. I will accept the personal blame and the guilt. What I could do without is the very public lecture. You can read the exchange above. What I did was wrong, but it also was quite silly. It doesn’t need to be prosecuted as a capital case. I resent that. Nobody was asking for clarity or questioned why I was banned until after they made an example out of me. Nobody even knew I was banned. Another thing I didn’t like is that the public announcement lets the Bearcat Troll know he succeeded in getting me banned and causing trouble and I regret that he got the win. Kind of pisses me off.

On the topic of the “current meltdown” about moderation policies on the A-10 board, I will say again that I didn’t contact one poster on the board after my ban. AOX sent me a message yesterday asking if I got the can and I told him the same story I am telling you today. I didn’t ask him to post on my behalf, and I didn’t ask anyone else to post on my behalf. People that are posting are doing it of their own volition, and I think the topic is broader than just my silly remarks. Some people seem to draw a line between the A-10 moderators who are well known and liked vs. the outside moderators who can intrude and even disrupt the flow in some people’s estimation. I didn’t cause the current meltdown and I am not asking for the drama. I would have preferred just to “do my time” in all honesty without any of the drama or the public lecture.

It is all stupid and silly message board drama. I can do without it.

[XULucho27]

The offending conversation in question went like this:


Me: Who is the Bearcat Moderator?

Him : I am.

I then edited my above post to say:


Edited Me: "Who is the gay guy that likes to take it in the rear?"

Him: I am.


Hahaha! I actually think that's pretty f-ing hysterical!

[JimmyTwoTimes37]

Snipe,

If you do leave that board, I think you went out in style and on your own terms. Think of it like the George Costanza episode where he always leaves on a high note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O27RzZEOkeA

They will be talking about you for many years after you are gone

[xubrew]

i used to moderate that board about a decade ago. it's part of an entire network where there are message boards for every conference, every nba team, nfl team, and several others, so there are dozens upon dozens of moderators.

collectively, i'd say that they feel a need to validate their own existence, and what happened with snipe was an opportunity for everyone to weigh in and do that. there was even a forum just for moderators where they discuss what they consider major issues to be.

it got old fast. for a while i really did like it because it was a neutral ground for all atlantic ten fanbases. that had nothing to do with me or anything i was doing. it was just that coincidentally, that is what it was like when it first began. i think i've been there once in the past 300 days, or something like that. every time you log in it tells you the last time you were there. for me, it's been a minute.

i never did take advantage of the opportunity of banning snipe, though. talk about a missed opportunity.

[waggy]

There was never a legitimate reason to edit any of Snipes posts that I can remember. The Bearcat mod only edited them because the truth cut a little too deep for his liking, not because they actually broke any rules. The "We own that shit" sent him over the edge. The troll was reduced to calling Snipe a troll. So he had nothing, and the bearcat mod obviously had nothing (except the delete and ban buttons). The editing prompted Snipe to ask who was responsible, which is a totally reasonable question. So Snipe broke a rule, but only after having posts that didn't break any rules edited or wiped out completely. There was some great stuff there, and I'm sorry it's gone, but the bearcat mod just couldn't handle the truth.

[waggy]

Snipe's post had something to do with an "administrator" liking , uh, marital relations in a very uncomfortable place.

The whole thing is just stupid. Snipe's gonna play to his persona and rally the masses in some watered down version of Glenn Beck's rally, but in the end he said something stupid and got run for a few days. Not from somewhere important, but from a message board. True, the mods and admins are kinda ridiculous, but that's what people wanted, and they got it. Now they hate it and want to rebel, some even start a new board/nation. Just stupid.

So after getting clarification, you still hold this position?

[BandAid]

Snipe's post had something to do with an "administrator" liking , uh, marital relations in a very uncomfortable place.


Dude, sex is far from a marital relation. We've been liberated from those restrictions for years...Yay casual sex! And if you swing that way: Yay gay sex!

(I feel like I just had a Guy Fawkes moment! As in: a ridiculous stance that could stir the pot, but i don't really plan on defending.)

[AdamtheFlyer]

So after getting clarification, you still hold this position?

I'm very sorry. I was totally wrong.

[Titanxman04]

I'm very sorry. I was totally wrong.

I'm glad that you finally were able to admit something that everyone else knew all along. Dayton fans are wrong. Is that mass stereotyping? Sure. But I embrace it. You embrace it. So where's the harm? :D


For the record, Adam...I've always enjoyed the fact that you can come on here and post objectively. I wish certain fans of a certain Indiana based school could come on here and do that as well sometimes. Go X.

:logo::shield::sword:

[X-band '01]

AOXOMOXOA also posted a link to the old Voy board link (which has since been taken down by their moderators):

Old Voy A-10 Board (http://www.voy.com/14222/)

Apparently one of the guys also said posting opposing links could be considered a banable offense.

[PM Thor]

It would be really funny if Snipe got banned for awhile from here right now....

I HATE dayton.

[GoMuskies]

I was totally wrong.

This is a consistent theme with ATF posts.

[Masterofreality]

AOXOMOXOA also posted a link to the old Voy board link (which has since been taken down by their moderators):

Old Voy A-10 Board (http://www.voy.com/14222/)

Apparently one of the guys also said posting opposing links could be considered a banable offense.

Voy Board? Snipe?

I think this is the only true Voy Snipe Board.

Snipes House of Self Love (http://www.voy.com/190807/)

[X-band '01]

That board worked a lot better with the song "I'm too sexy for my shirt" in the background.

[Xpectations]

After reading Snipe's recount, I'm disappointed because I thought there was a rant of historic proporation at the bottom of all this--complete with sailor-worthy language, etc.

Sounds like Bearchatter found the A-10 board.

[Bona84]

Snipe,

I was sorry to hear of your ban, and public scolding. Wish I was online the night it happened though. While not epic, as you say, it would have been entertaining.

Regarding your concerns about causing the meltdown, I don't think you caused it. My read is that there were plenty of instances of over-moderation over the past few weeks, and the issues with VooDoo simply brought things to a head. My concern was that the increased moderation, which I didn't see a real need for to begin with, would start to drive members away. Don't know that it will or won't. We'll see.

All the attention by the Site-wide moderators, administrators, owners, and whatever else they are is both comical and disturbing all at once. It is a shame that it is disrupting all the time we waste on these message boards.

Cheers, and hope to hear from you again.

Bona84

[bobbiemcgee]

Nice win vs St. John's Bona.

As for the A-10 board, too many mods, sometimes as many as the posters.

[Bona84]

I know bobbie. Where the hell did they all come from over there? They are trying there best to shoo everybody away.

As for the St. John's game, I was able to attend. Way to many stupid turnovers by the Bonnies, and Nicholson didn't see the ball too much in the first half as he managed only 2 points. But, the Bonnies rebounded and played pretty good D, and all the attention on Nicholson opened up the outside and Ogo and Davenport were able to convert some 3s, which kept them in the game. Nicholson took over the second half.

Turnovers need to be addressed, and depth could come back to haunt the Bonnies down the road. But, play has been looking up.

[bobbiemcgee]

Was very impressed with Nicholson in last year's game against X. Plays HARD. Tough kid. Not afraid of anybody.