How famous are you on the DBR?

[Miles]

throatybeard, if you were merely lamenting the hostilities, perhaps you could've found a better way to convey that message. Instead, your post comes across like a cheap shot.

I too lament some of the comments made on this board regarding DBR, but I also empathize with my friends making the comments and have taken the time to try and understand from where they are coming. This is courtesy that many of us never received at DBR. Instead, I got the feeling that our voices were left unheard, and our opinions were cast aside by a few, biased moderators. If you sense hostility, you might want to figure out why those feelings still exist, rather than offer passive-aggressive insults.

[Very Duke Blue]

I don't mind y'all debating, just please be civil. This thread would get shut down on both sites if it turns into attacks.

I haven't even remotely attacked anyone. I was merely lamenting the hostility several folks here direct at the other site, even 6 months later.[/quote

I had trouble with my Blackberry some months back. When the problem was resolved, I was blocked from DBR & CTN. I was able to get back on CTN, using another email & user name. No such luck with DBR. I even wrote a note to them, which has been completley ignored. My user name on DBR was DukePA's Mom. I do still go over & read post, etc. I have giving up trying to get back on to post.

[throatybeard]

CTN reminds of the DBR way back when (minus post verification crap) when you could be stupid and silly and pointless because it was a much smaller place...where I 'knew' darn near all the posters...and they 'knew' me.

This really gets to the heart of the matter. Back in the day, DBR was much smaller, and there was one basic rule--don't piss off James. But as the site grew and grew in terms of pageviews, and after James left the site and Mike got too busy with being a Dean, I think Julian kind of decided that the boards were part of his brand and needed stricter control than there had been in the past. I hope people would understand that the site owners don't really want EarlJam posting about what color his poop is and the like all the time, or Colchar constantly screeching about how oppressive the site is. I don't think that's unreasonable in the least. It's a private site, not a public square.

The problem, which we've discussed a lot on the mod board, is that we simply don't have the manpower to exercise the degree of control the site owners would like. (Approximately 99.7% of all posts go unmoderated--Evans ran the stats). Which leads to an impossibility of consistency occurring. There really need to be about 40 mods to handle the traffic. The traffic is just nuts. There are 20, but a lot of us have burned out (I haven't really moderated in well over a year--the amount of verbal abuse people hurl at us is just exhausting, and the volume of posts is nearly impossible to read). I think if you had about 40, the mods would act as a stronger checks-and-balances on each other, and what happened in April--basically about 15 people getting in a fight with JBDuke is what it was--would be less likely to happen.

</talking about fight club>

[devildeac]

The amount of paranoia in this thread is amazing.

You'd think that six months later or whatever it is this sibling-rivalry style hatred directed towards the DBR would have subsided.

This is our board and we can talk about whatever the hell we want to talk about. Which is precisely why some of us (I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority here) don't post or visit DBR anymore. That isn't a pub, hell it's not even an our house our rules place, as the rules change and it does depend on which mod you tangle with.

I don't hate DBR, but I'll never go back. I tend to stay away from places that treat their clients with such hostility. I used the term clients as DBR asks for money. Funny how they want us to help fund it, but they don't want any input from us. You really shouldn't bite the hand that feeds.

We are a mature group of individuals who have formed a pub. We post threads when we need support. We post threads when we want to celebrate something. And, some of post threads for the sake of posting threads. And no one feels repressed.

Throaty, your paranoia is perceived. And, you're the only one who sees CTN and DBR as rivalries. Since you are the only person that feels that way, maybe it's you who has issues. I'm sure I can find someone with a couch in St. Louis to help you work out your issues.

Let's not make it personal and keep it civil. My reply to throaty follows. Thanks.

We are discussing and monitoring this thread. As long we all can be constructive, positive OR negative, it'll stay on the board.

[devildeac]

The amount of paranoia in this thread is amazing.

You'd think that six months later or whatever it is this sibling-rivalry style hatred directed towards the DBR would have subsided.

paranoia-1. a form of psychosis in which a person imagines that he is being persecuted or that he is very great or important. 2.an irrational distrust of others; complex of persecution

Care to try another word? I am not aware of anyone here having any psychoses or that many of our thoughts about our "exit" from DBR was an imagination of being persecuted, which may be a bit strong of a word. The "exodus" started when a couple of the mods insulted several of the posters, either publicly on the board or via PM, or both. It was about that time that some of the members here became tired of the double standard and found another board to visit. It has also been discussed here and among ourselves and I'd find our our discussions to be FAR from irrational but would agree there is some degree of distrust.

A few folks have expressed significant disdain about DBR but I think it rather far-fetched to call it hatred. A number of posters still visit DBR and a smaller number still post there. Most of us feel/believe it's just not fun anymore, one is always walking on egg shells with our comments and the hypocrisy became too much.

I am not an English/communications major and I have tried very carefully to construct this response in a level, rational manner. I would hope that you would do the same and refrain from snippy replies like the one you made to Tilly, and, if you wish to discuss it further, perhaps try to appreciate her perspective and discuss it logically and civilly.

Thanks.

[devildeac]

I really don't think that Colchar's (for example) attitude could be categorized by any reasonable person as anything other than hostility.

And the less said about you ordering me to go get psychiatric help, the better. (And I really don't see what the city I live in has to do with anything).

1. Hostility, yes. Hatred, I doubt it.
2. You are correct. See my response later in the thread.

[devildeac]

Jeez, Tilly, hostility much?

This is our board and we can talk about whatever the hell we want to talk about.

No one suggested otherwise, certainly not me.

And, you're the only one who sees CTN and DBR as rivalries.

This couldn't be further from the truth. Y'all bitch about DBR all the time. I see what's in front of me. CT literally never comes up there.*


* -- well there was that one time some undergrads started a similarly-named URL, but that was it.

Rivalry? Hardly. I doubt anyone here looks at advertising $$, "hits," or "scoops" or wins or losses here when examining/visiting both sites.
1. "...all the time." Exaggerate much? bitch occasionally? You bet. Poke fun at? You bet. I'm not going to count posts and total percentages but I think those comments are not very common.

[TillyGalore]

The amount of paranoia in this thread is amazing.

You'd think that six months later or whatever it is this sibling-rivalry style hatred directed towards the DBR would have subsided.

This is our board and we can talk about whatever the hell we want to talk about. Which is precisely why some of us (I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority here) don't post or visit DBR anymore. That isn't a pub, hell it's not even an our house our rules place, as the rules change and it does depend on which mod you tangle with.

I don't hate DBR, but I'll never go back. I tend to stay away from places that treat their clients with such hostility. I used the term clients as DBR asks for money. Funny how they want us to help fund it, but they don't want any input from us. You really shouldn't bite the hand that feeds.

We are a mature group of individuals who have formed a pub. We post threads when we need support. We post threads when we want to celebrate something. And, some of post threads for the sake of posting threads. And no one feels repressed.

Throaty, your paranoia is perceived. And, you're the only one who sees CTN and DBR as rivalries. Since you are the only person that feels that way, maybe it's you who has issues. I'm sure I can find someone with a couch in St. Louis to help you work out your issues.

Let's not make it personal and keep it civil. My reply to throaty follows. Thanks.

We are discussing and monitoring this thread. As long we all can be constructive, positive OR negative, it'll stay on the board.

Part of my post was a over the top. For that, I apologize throaty.

I do really want to know why you felt it important to bring this thread back to the top as it was at the very least at the bottom of page 2 if not on page 3.

So what if people still harbor bad feelings about DBR. They've earned it based on their experiences. Colchar is right, it is repressive over there, those may not be his words, but I believe it is his sentiment. That is his opinion, and whether or not any of us agree with it shouldn't matter, we should respect it. It seems that some people at DBR didn't feel that way, yet we were expected to respect them. It's the hypocrisy that thrives over that drove many of us to leave and create this site.

I don't think anyone one here hates DBR, but there are a number of people we can't stand and don't miss.

[devildeac]

CTN reminds of the DBR way back when (minus post verification crap) when you could be stupid and silly and pointless because it was a much smaller place...where I 'knew' darn near all the posters...and they 'knew' me.

This really gets to the heart of the matter. Back in the day, DBR was much smaller, and there was one basic rule--don't piss off James. But as the site grew and grew in terms of pageviews, and after James left the site and Mike got too busy with being a Dean, I think Julian kind of decided that the boards were part of his brand and needed stricter control than there had been in the past. I hope people would understand that the site owners don't really want EarlJam posting about what color his poop is and the like all the time, or Colchar constantly screeching about how oppressive the site is. I don't think that's unreasonable in the least. It's a private site, not a public square.

The problem, which we've discussed a lot on the mod board, is that we simply don't have the manpower to exercise the degree of control the site owners would like. (Approximately 99.7% of all posts go unmoderated--Evans ran the stats). Which leads to an impossibility of consistency occurring. There really need to be about 40 mods to handle the traffic. The traffic is just nuts. There are 20, but a lot of us have burned out (I haven't really moderated in well over a year--the amount of verbal abuse people hurl at us is just exhausting, and the volume of posts is nearly impossible to read). I think if you had about 40, the mods would act as a stronger checks-and-balances on each other, and what happened in April--basically about 15 people getting in a fight with JBDuke is what it was--would be less likely to happen.

</talking about fight club>

Much better. Thanks.

[throatybeard]

Devildeac: maybe I chose a word poorly.

I used the word paranoia, perhaps too strong, to refer to the idea that the popularity poll was taken down in order to protect moderators from being outed as unpopular. To assert such really takes a lot of conspiracy-theorizing about moderators who are volunteering their time to help make the site the way the guy who owns it wants it. I don't understand why, six months on, DBR is still an issue at all here. Six months! CT certainly isn't an issue at DBR. I find it sad that the actions of a couple moderators are used to characterize the entire site, and sad that every time I pop in here to say hi, about monthly, there's at least one thread in the first couple pages that includes DBR-bashing. The level of vitriol from Tilly and Colchar in particular is a little frightening, actually.

[throatybeard]

I do really want to know why you felt it important to bring this thread back to the top as it was at the very least at the bottom of page 2 if not on page 3.

I only hit this site every 3-4-5 weeks or so. So I browse the top 2 or 3 pages instead of the top 5 threads, coz I miss a lot. Perhaps you'll tell me whatever unwritten rules you have governing how long a thread must be off page one before I am allowed to comment on it.

[Miles]

Devildeac: maybe I chose a word poorly.

I used the word paranoia, perhaps too strong, to refer to the idea that the popularity poll was taken down in order to protect moderators from being outed as unpopular. To assert such really takes a lot of conspiracy-theorizing about moderators who are volunteering their time to help make the site the way the guy who owns it wants it. I don't understand why, six months on, DBR is still an issue at all here. Six months! CT certainly isn't an issue at DBR. I find it sad that the actions of a couple moderators are used to characterize the entire site, and sad that every time I pop in here to say hi, about monthly, there's at least one thread in the first couple pages that includes DBR-bashing. The level of vitriol from Tilly and Colchar in particular is a little frightening, actually.

Duuuuuuude, don't be frightened of them. Tilly is a sweetheart with a great giggle. You cannot help but laugh and be happy when you're around her. And Colchar, well I haven't hung out with him in person but I'd really like to. Hell, just buy him a beer or fix his car or something. He's a good guy too. Probably not as cute as Tilly though.

[devildeac]

Devildeac: maybe I chose a word poorly.

I used the word paranoia, perhaps too strong, to refer to the idea that the popularity poll was taken down in order to protect moderators from being outed as unpopular. To assert such really takes a lot of conspiracy-theorizing about moderators who are volunteering their time to help make the site the way the guy who owns it wants it. I don't understand why, six months on, DBR is still an issue at all here. Six months! CT certainly isn't an issue at DBR. I find it sad that the actions of a couple moderators are used to characterize the entire site, and sad that every time I pop in here to say hi, about monthly, there's at least one thread in the first couple pages that includes DBR-bashing. The level of vitriol from Tilly and Colchar in particular is a little frightening, actually.

1. I looked at that poll and thought, "this won't be up long' and it wasn't and appropriately so (or not so ;) ).
2. I would characterize it as a minor issue, on not-too-common occasions, with a couple or three folks (out of about 75-80 posters) who have much stronger feelings than others. The administrator of this site did not set it up to be a constant source of DBR-bashing and has discouraged that on several occasions. The comments/criticisms are allowed to stand as long as they are civil. Most of the comments are more flippant and cynical as opposed to hateful. Those same percentages apply roughly to # of threads also if you figure 1-2 out of about 50 threads based on 25 threads/page. That's really a small number and the number of posts are generally limited and some of those are just historical and/or even defensive of the DBR.

[throatybeard]

Colchar is right, it is repressive over there, those may not be his words, but I believe it is his sentiment. That is his opinion, and whether or not any of us agree with it shouldn't matter, we should respect it.

Let me reiterate. Depending on the month, between 99.6% and 99.8 % of all posts go unmoderated. If that's "repressive," I'd hate to see a free-for-all.

Colchar compared us to the Stasi. I don't see how that's an opinion worthy of any respect.

[devildeac]

Colchar is right, it is repressive over there, those may not be his words, but I believe it is his sentiment. That is his opinion, and whether or not any of us agree with it shouldn't matter, we should respect it.

Let me reiterate. Depending on the month, between 99.6% and 99.8 % of all posts go unmoderated. If that's "repressive," I'd hate to see a free-for-all.

Colchar compared us to the Stasi. I don't see how that's an opinion worthy of any respect.

That's why he left/was banned, I don't know the entire story. The two parties disagreed/argued and he moved on. Same with EarlJam. I think most of us realize the hot issues. A couple/three of the DBR mods also need to recognize their arrogance/hypocrisy and some of the personal insults that were made to a number of posters here and think about what issues made a number of other posters seek another pub or living room. It works both ways.

[devildeac]

I am gonna disappear for several hours as I am on call and we have a couple dance lessons/classes to attend. I am already grumpy because I missed my nap to intercede in the fray . It's my job as long as the administrator allows me to wear the green jacket and recline in my Lazy Boy. It's also dinner time. I am not able to have one (or two) of my favorite beverages tonight. That makes me double grumpy so try and be civil this evening. Thanks again.

Speaking of rivalry, it really is better over here 'cuz we have more smilies...

[CameronBornAndBred]

Speaking of rivalry, it really is better over here 'cuz we have more smilies...

Ahhhhh...happy thoughts.

[TillyGalore]

I do really want to know why you felt it important to bring this thread back to the top as it was at the very least at the bottom of page 2 if not on page 3.

I only hit this site every 3-4-5 weeks or so. So I browse the top 2 or 3 pages instead of the top 5 threads, coz I miss a lot. Perhaps you'll tell me whatever unwritten rules you have governing how long a thread must be off page one before I am allowed to comment on it.

The point I was trying to make is the thread was so far back, what was the point of bringing it to the top?

As far as my "vitriol", you attacked us. I'm going to defend us.

[throatybeard]

I did not attack anyone.

[CameronBornAndBred]

There has been a very healthy debate in this thread, and I encourage anyone to read it in its entirety. Both sides have provided good arguments for their case, and have been allowed to speak their piece.
This thread is NOT being closed to shut any voices down, it is being closed due to being extremely off topic for an extended period. If you wish to continue your debate, start a new thread. It will be watched closely, and I'll be happy enough if it's not started. I think both sides stated their case very well here.

If nothing else, this thread gave birth to "aglitteration". Thanks EJ

One last thought...I do appreciate the irony that a thread which was started because another thread was closed is now itself closed.