01-23-2023, 05:28 PM
(01-23-2023, 04:57 PM)The Gooney Rule Wrote: I rarely post, but have been reading and enjoying the regular content here for years, for which I thank you all.
I can't get support losing Fred's take for good on here. Opposing views, challenges, devil's advocate and nuance are what makes for robust debate, broader consideration and fuller substance.
Can't get behind any sort of permanent ban for someone who contributed as much as he did. I know I appreciated the time it took for him to research stats and frame them in an interesting perspective while starting a lot of new threads or engaging in others, which is pretty much the point of a message board.
To hear it told, there's an ignore feature if anyone feels threatened by an a contrary voice and dissenting opinion if someone wants to create their own personal shadow ban.
In a world where there's a growing trend to remove the opposition from a platform, do we really need to extend that to a football message board for people who are, by definition, fanatics?
Would like to think it's possible to consider something you don't agree with and either raise your level of debate, patience, and/or understanding or let it go and move on before silencing someone else permanently.
Not for nothing, and I don't know if it's a similar situation as a ban, but the amount of abuse some other regular poster took (can't think of his name but feel he had a crackhead dave chappelle in his profile pic) was pretty bad, often for having what I considered a nuanced and interesting minority take on threads. Don't know where he's gone, but I'm sure the regular welcome here wasn't that warm, and if the board keeps losing those different voices, it'll be a boring race to the mediocre in a muted echo chamber.
It's been surreal to be living in this world where our Bengals are suddenly relevant and it's somehow become almost expected in a way. (Trying to still live in the moment and not take it for granted.) Everyone on here is like an extended and cherished part of this football family and it takes all stripes. Should be a place and time for us all to shine on this wild ride.
You don't understand.
It's always easier to have moderation cater to one's pathethic sensibilities and remove someone from a platform entirely than it is to utilize the feature that you, me, and MANY others have pointed out.
Get with the times.
