To whom it may concern:
I'm not here to rock the boat. I've loved RedsZone for the past seven years and have posted over 4,000 times now. I've always enjoyed the camaraderie, mutual respect and knowledge of the posting population here, and I'm more than open to a good difference of opinion (though I'll do my darnedest to convince you of my point of view in a respectful way). Even more, this forum has given me confidence in my writing beyond sports -- offering a much needed break from academic writing on pretty much a daily basis since 2006.
So here's the thing. I've been really disappointed by the quality of some of the recent posts on the ORG. I know the site just underwent a massive change for posting requirements and that this may be part of why so many new sorts of posts are showing up. Without mentioning individual posters by name, it seems to me that there has to be some better way to regulate the site for quality. This has to do with both newbies who throw up unexamined, redundant or unclear topics AND with more experienced posters who set a bad example for the unititiated by writing cavalier thread titles and/or snarky responses which are based on their earned posting reputations.
Mostly, since I've found myself writing on this issue continually lately, I decided to bring the discussion to this forum rather than to continually hijack threads over there. For the record, while I believe in democratic speech, I also think that intelligent regulation can often lead to a better, more free exchange of ideas. RedsZone has long been a model of that for sports forums on the internet, and I'm worried that we're losing that.
I'm curious what the mods think and what others think, and if there is any way at all of addressing this concern. If nothing else, though, I've removed my griping from the ORG.
Thanks for your thoughts, everyone.
RedEye