Thinning the herd.
 

Hey Guys,

I'm here because this may be my goodbye thread to TheWarpath.net. As of late I've been extremely disappointed with the content on the site. A lot of new members join up and spout a lot of trash which makes this board both difficult to read and full of the same old stuff thread after thread. I want to look back on TheWarpath.net as a rare place on the internet where intelligent discussions took place. That didn't mean you had to be a football expert, I came here knowing very little about football, but I could ask a question and get serious responses. I learned from the discussions and I enjoyed them immensely.

That said, there's a reason this place got so popular. It was, and still is the best Redskins forum on the internet. The list of people to thank and say I'll remember is a bit too long, and I'm sure I'll still prowl from time to time to see if it's still around.

Maybe if it calms down around here I'll come back to reading it 15+ times a day, but as of now I just can't. You could be critical and still be a fan. You could be optimistic without being a yes man. It's just lost that feeling to me here. If you don't agree, you're 'stupid' or you 'Hate Gibbs' if you disagree with a decision, and that's not how it should be.

If you want to keep in contact with me I'm often on AIM and Ill give out my E-Mail. Just send me a PM if you want any of these things.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Sorry to hear that you are leaving and disappointed in the site. But, knowing how much you love the Skins, I doubt you will be gone for too long.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Go to 4:34 into this clip and watch for a mintue for my thoughts on this

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iglisrh8Lec]YouTube - South Park-Smug Alert[/url]


;)

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

heh sorry to hear that i enjoyed reading your posts more then most becuase they were better then mine

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

this site is getting kind of sloppy though...maybe there should be a test to get on...perhaps feats of strength?

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Daseal, tell me who you want banned. They're gone!

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

So what do people (including Daseal) want? Should be ban more people? Should we close more threads? It seems like whenever we clamp down on things, people complain and when we don't clamp down people complain.

We've discussed some sort of test for admission, but shot it down. Any other suggestions?

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Your not a fan. Your just a yes man that hates gibbs, and you're stupid.

:)

You know, the world's a bad place, but I don't stay in my house all day. I'd like to think the good of the site far outweighs the bad. I like your opinions, and look foward to reading them in the future. Hope you change your mind, but if not, godspeed.

Quick random un-related question. Whatever happened to the screen pass. We sort of stopped running it all together.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

The Warpath is a puppy and Daseal just kicked it :(

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

[quote=Sheriff Gonna Getcha;256409]So what do people (including Daseal) want? Should be ban more people? Should we close more threads? It seems like whenever we clamp down on things, people complain and when we don't clamp down people complain.

We've discussed some sort of test for admission, but shot it down. Any other suggestions?[/quote]
Is it possible for a "members only forum"...

A special section where only paid members can discuss, and all can view. Saying as how I'm not a paid member (will be once buisness at Hard Times cafe starts to pick up) it would encourage me to join up.

I think the people that like to come on and heckle and what not generally aren't making positive contributions, both here on the board, and monetarily. They usually won't pay to heckle. Just a thought.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

daseal you still our boy.

I think I owe you smilies though. Its not because of the smilies is it?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

if it's not in the rules yet, what about limiting the amount of posts people can have per day or atleast within a certain period of time? that would cut down on a lot of the fluff posts and would require people who r coming here for serious skins talk to actually make the most of their posts. I'm with Daseal in the respect that sometimes I log on after getting home from work and it's 700+ new posts with a few hundred at times being posts of people taking differing opinions personally or just completely pointless posts rehashing what's been said in another thread. I know I've made some pointless posts in the past in the parking lot forums as we all at some time or another have, but when actually talking about the skins I take my time and try to sum up my thoughts in just one or 2 posts. I'll still keep coming here and making a post occasionally unlike how I used to be pretty talkative when the site got redesigned, but I agree to an extent with Daseal that it sometimes doesn't feel the same coming to the site.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Daseal, I hope you stick around if only as a lurker. I completely understand where you're coming from, lately I haven't had either the time or desire to read most of the 150 new posts in a day since they say the same things. I guess I think it gets this way in season and then in the offseason most of the flush posters fade away.

Keep in touch.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

pull up contest

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

hey man, i hope you don't stay away for too long... opposing view points are what make forums worth reading and you certainly have strong opinions.

in terms of the forum, i like it the way it is... you don't want to censor anything (unless it's too extreme) and the mods do a good job of keeping the site clutter-free. there's nothing worse than a constricted board. you've just gotta bear with the repetitive themes, especially during losing seasons.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Sorry Daseal, resignation not accepted. It's vets like yourself that help drive the site. Newbies come and go, but it's the vets that are the foundation.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

COme on, Man! Stick it out! Ignore the crap, contribute where it matters, and don't get caught up in the nonesense. There's lots of good stuff on the site, and lots of good posters. If you go, you abandon the rest of us!

Things suck in redskins land right now, but the worm will turn. WHen we lose, everything sucks, tempers flare, and morons yell and scream. But it'll get better. Take a holiday. Then come back--we'll still be here, and the morons will be back under their rocks.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

seeya after the next skins win

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I agree with some of daseals thoughts. I too have not been able to read much on the site these days. We all know what made this a great site. Ive only been a member for a short while, but ive been visiting for almost 4 yrs. You know opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one, and some days there are alot of both here. It seems some new members are in a mad race to 'up' their post count. Which creates alot of worthless and/or repeat threads and post. Some of that may be from some members with higher post counts can be real disrespectful to some of the newbies. And some deserve it, but I think some new members feel they have to raise their #'s to be taken seriously. Anyway,daseal I have enjoyed alot of your post, and like you hope sometime soon, maybe the offseason, will bring back more thoughtful, meaningful and insult and bullsh!t free discussions.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

It would be a shame to lose such a veteran Skins fan like Deasel. I have not been a memeber on this site long, but I am a DC native and have burgundy and gold in my blood. When I was born at Georgetown Univ. Hospital, my hand were so large that one of the nurses told my mom that I was gonna play offensive line for the Redskins (too bad that didn't happen). Some of my first memories of football were the '87 season when Doug Williams and Timmy Smith led us to Super Bowl glory. Too sum it up, I've been a Redskins fan from day 1 on this planet. And I get as frustrated as anyone with this team. With all the expectations coming into this season, I have seen a lot of anger on this site. And for the most part rightfully so. I read waaaay more on this site than I do post. And I have also noticed that for the most part, the most well stated, intelligent opinions come from veteran members. That's part of the reason I don't just regergitate every random Skins thought that goes through my head. When I do speak I just try to make it as intelligent as possible, and my bashing usually starts with the front office, or lack there of. When I see threads started by guys like Sherriff, MattyK, Tafkas, Deasal, and other vets, those usually end up being the most solid of the discussions. And on the flip there are plenty of doo doo, repetitive threads as well. So I say quality over quantity everyone, and hang tough Deasel. At least we're all Skins fans here, and bearing the same heavy cross...

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I feel your pain bro. At the same time I do not support censorship whatsoever. Maybe it is just because I am in college, and therefore I feel the need to insanly liberal. But I think it is good to see all opinions on an issue, because when you see all sides, no matter how ridiculous it helps you solidify position. If someone has a crazy opinion, we are grown men and we know it is soo wrong, so we will not take that position.

I do support what the Mods are doing so far though, because it is very hard to keep the board clean and uncensored at the same time. It is easy for us to say stuff since we are not in their shoes.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Hey man, hope you stick around. Maybe you can just take a hiatus til next year and start fresh in training camp. Either way, Dallas Sucks.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Daseal, I'm sorry to see you go (even though I haven't always agreed with you.) But as someone says above, a lot of the best threads are started by vets. So lets make this a good one.

I have to agree with what Daseal is saying. In that regard, I want to throw out some ideas and see what people think. (I'm a newbie so I'm not going to try to tell people how to do things here.) In addition, I'm sure that the coaches (moderators) have far more experience and information than I do, but perhaps something might work.

(In the following a CN is a combative newbie.)

My first question goes to the moderators and is:
Are some of the CNs people who use multiple IDs on the site? If so, would it be possible to limit them to one ID? (Sort of a "soft" ban.)

Second: I have noticed that a lot of these threads are started and "pushed" by one CN. By this I mean that if they would just (kindly) turn off their computer the thread would die, because the only reason it continues is due to an escalating anger by posters, all driven by the CN. Is it possible to limit the proportion or frequency of posts made by an individual in these threads? Perhaps limits should be more stringent for the CN who initiates the thread? Another possibility is that we can have some signal (I nominate "answer 3" ;-)) to indicate that it would be better for everyone to stop responding to the "flamethrower".
Once someone is namecalling it is clear that they have made their mind up that they are better than the other(s) in the discussion. At this point rational thought on their part is minimal and it is pointless to try to have a rational debate with them.

Third: Can we overcome our anger and hold ourselves to the same behavior standards that Gibbs has for the team (and which is supposed to be respected on this board)? Don't try to win a flame war with a CN (or anybody else.) Who knows, maybe they're fans of some other team and they're just trying to mess with the board. Let's remember we're on the same side here. We will disagree as to how to improve the Redskins, but we all agree that we want them to improve. I recall reading that "arguments among friends are the devil's work." So no more "idiot", "retarded",... comments please. (And "retarted" should get one excommunicated from the board;-) As someone said, it only applies if Smoot holds "Love Boat II".)

Other ideas (alternatives to the above):
Can the mods indicate which are contentious threads of this type? And if so, can they indicate how much to read to get the meaningful content of the thread? (It may be better to open this up to the members via a poll for these threads.)

I cannot recall a single instance where even a well-thought-out idea changed the mind of someone who was "passionate" about their position. (See the old Brunell-Campbell threads.) So I think we can hope to express our arguments to explain our position, but I don't think we should expect to change someone else's mind. (Many women try to change their husbands with limited success; how can we expect to do much better on this board?) If we keep this in mind we may be able to improve the "vibe" of this board.

Can we remember that this is a game and entertainment? (Even if it does impact our mood from Sunday until ...) Does it make sense that we feel down after a game and so we go out and kick ... other Redskin fans?

Can the mods talk to mods of other fan boards (especially of losing teams) to see if they've uncovered some techniques to handle the negative situations we run into on this board?

I hope this gives some food for thought and helps spawn some ideas to mitigate the problems which are currently plaguing the board.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I'm sorry to hear that you're leaving Daseal. You were always one of the better members on the Warpath, and i wish it didn't have to be this way. Hopefully I'll see you lurking around the boards in the future.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Daseal was the original contrarian on this site. Never worrying about what the popular view point was (dig up some of his posts on Spurrier) he always offered a unique position and backed his analyses up with evidence and strong argumentation. He will be missed.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Hope you don't stay away too long.
I've always enjoyed reading your posts.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I'd like to see you stay.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

If you quit, they win!

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I feel the same way as Daseal about TheWarpath. It used to be a fun place to read and be a part of. Not anymore. It's a shame, really.

The worst part is that I don't think it can really be fixed. What has happened to it has happened and there's no turning back.

Daseal and I discussed this a few days ago, realizing that we each had come to this conclusion on our own. At the time, I mentioned the irony in the logo not containing the slogan "Redskins Discussion For The [B]Knowledgeable[/B] Fan" anymore. Kinda sums it up for me.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I'm a long-time lurker but rarely post. That doesn't mean that I don't read this site everyday and haven't enjoyed the opinions and open discussion.

I really sympathize with Daseal and others who've made the same comment - when I first came here there was a real feeling that even though folks might disagree, everyone tolerated the opinions of others and everyone loved the 'Skins for better or worse. Most folks also seemed to be well-informed and knowledgeable, which made their opinions both interesting and worthwhile. Recently, however, it seems as if I'm seeing a lot more foul-mouthed diatribes and random venting than reasoned opinions.

If Matty wants to institute a paid members-only section of the site to bring back the old days of good, knowledgeable discussion and friendly argument, I'd pay just to be able to lurk and read.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

[quote=skinsfanthru&thru;256420]if it's not in the rules yet, what about limiting the amount of posts people can have per day or atleast within a certain period of time? that would cut down on a lot of the fluff posts and would require people who r coming here for serious skins talk to actually make the most of their posts.[/quote]

That's the best idea I've heard yet. There's no reason anybody new to the board needs to make more than 5 posts a day (probably less) before they've been around for a while to get a feel for how things work.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

[quote=Mattyk72;256427]Sorry Daseal, resignation not accepted. It's vets like yourself that help drive the site. Newbies come and go, but it's the vets that are the foundation.[/quote]
You're right and it's vets like Daseal (among many others) that keep [I]me[/I] coming back to The WP.
Daseal, don't let the "homers" force you to stop sharing your opinion, knowledge, and passion for the 'Skins, with the rest of us. I'm a "newbie" and I do agree it's frustrating to sort through the WP slop on a daily basis, but the frustration is worth it in the end, because at least I know I've exposed myself to the widest scope of opinions, ranging from the highly intelligent to the flat out retarded. Your's falls in the former and is an opinion and insight that will be missed.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

[quote=onlydarksets;256476]That's the best idea I've heard yet. There's no reason anybody new to the board needs to make more than 5 posts a day (probably less) before they've been around for a while to get a feel for how things work.[/quote]

"The longer your here, the higher you can post per day.
Once your here a certain amount of time, you can post away!"

but seriously... Once your here for X amount of months, then you could get more posting privelages. It would definitly increase the severity of a "ban" from the moderators, since they would be forced to start over at a limited amount of posts per day. There would be no more kidwells. Not a bad idea.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

This would seem to be a good policy:
1 post per day for every month you've been a member
No limit after 1 year
Getting banned resets the "counter"

Even better, the posting limit would not apply to the non-Locker Room forums. I'm not sure if any of this is even possible, but it seems like it would control the chatter a bit.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

I have been around here for a good bit. Daseal is one of the best posters on this site and it would be a loss if he decides to go. I sure hope he sticks it out and[B] HELPS [/B]in making this a better site rather than leaving it stranded by turning his back and walking out because he does contribute good insight that drives this site everyday.

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

It's a shame that's come down to this. Daseal, you will be missed, and I hope that once the offseason comes around, and content dies down some, you can come back with a renewed vigor, and be able to contribute once again.

Daseal - here's to you.
[kicks puppy]

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Ok, Daseal's post really bothered me as well as the responses. Believe me, this is something the entire mod staff as been concerned about for some time. It's very hard to strike that balance between keeping the discussions here civil and informative while also bringing in new blood to the forums.

This isn't meant as a slam to newbies, some are great and become valued members of the board. Others come on and just post, post and post away with no regard to what's already being discussed. To me that's just poor forum etiquette. But hey, you can't educate everyone who comes through the door. I think we're all guilty of jumping on newbies at times, and that's not good either.

I've searched high and low for some solutions and I have FINALLY found something. I installed a modification today that won't allow new members to create new threads until they have 10 replies to existing threads. I'm hoping this will help with spammers as well as easing newbies into the board. I can adjust that number as we see fit.

Let's see how this goes. I also encourage everyone, including myself, to be more aware of newbies and try to help them out when possible.

Thanks guys

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

The mods do have a system in place which controls members' ability to post new threads. We just need to do a better job activating it. Right Matty?

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72;256503]Ok, Daseal's post really bothered me as well as the responses. Believe me, this is something the entire mod staff as been concerned about for some time. It's very hard to strike that balance between keeping the discussions here civil and informative while also bringing in new blood to the forums.

This isn't meant as a slam to newbies, some are great and become valued members of the board. Others come on and just post, post and post away with no regard to what's already being discussed. To me that's just poor forum etiquette. But hey, you can't educate everyone who comes through the door. I think we're all guilty of jumping on newbies at times, and that's not good either.

I've searched high and low for some solutions and I have FINALLY found something. I installed a modification today that won't allow new members to create new threads until they have 10 replies to existing threads. I'm hoping this will help with spammers as well as easing newbies into the board. I can adjust that number as we see fit.

Let's see how this goes. I also encourage everyone, including myself, to be more aware of newbies and try to help them out when possible.

Thanks guys[/QUOTE]

Well there you go

Re: Thinning the herd.
 

Daseal has said he doesn't want to stay, so shouldn't we try to get something for him in a trade? ... I mean, he's leaving anyways. j/k

I have less experience on this site than most, but I have noticed some of the same things. I don't let it get to me. I usually just avoid those threads, and hang-out in the parking lot. There is hardly any "crap" in the parking lot -- why is that?

Anyways, Daseal I made you a puppy kicking avatar -- you can't leave!