On the declining quality of the ORG

[Larry Schuler]

I've found that ignoring users significantly upgrades the quality of discussion. For example, all three posts in this thread are sensible, astounding, and worthy of acclaim.

[kaldaniels]

Right, sure. I agree with this. But you can't expect others just to ignore it because it is "your opinion" either. If you are posting it on a message board, it means you must want to share it with others. Therefore, you are by definition opening it up to all kinds of possible responses -- some critical, others not. I guess I just feel like it's a little weird when someone writes something in a community forum, gets responses, and then gets up in arms and says "Hey, guys, stop being so analytical!" For some of us, that's just who we are. It's nothing personal if we take your thoughts seriously -- it is our way of complimenting you!

Totally valid. Speaking for myself, sometimes I just throw something out there that is in my mind...just to show where I am coming from. Whenever the original thought is my own, I usually try to add a touch of humbleness to it, because believe me, I don't know it all. However, sometimes a stream of consciousness remark is met with knives and razorblades and on occasion it devolves into a mess. (I'm sure I'm not the only one this happens to) There is a way to make a point and/or counterpoint without projecting a know-it-all attitude or slinging a personal (though sometimes people love to launch a zinger and act as if it is not personal) jab.

Blah,blah,blah, long story short - Sometimes it is just best if one person says their piece, the other says theirs, and the issue is dropped. Learn to let it go. Going out of one's way to give a compliment every now and then doesn't hurt either.

[Raisor]

If someone posts that player x is the MVP because of y and I think y isn't a reason why someone should be MVP I'm going to a: tell that person I disagree and b: try to explain why I disagree. Sometimes this might take multiple posts of back and forth to accomplish.

If I can prove why z is more important than y it ain't an opinion, its a fact.

Seacrest out.

[LoganBuck]

How do you define "monkey crap throwing" (and am I doing it right now)? I guess if you are ignoring me, I won't get an answer.

You would be a target if I didn't agree with your opinion. Consider yourself blessed.

[TOBTTReds]

So I read through the first 7 pages or so. I will say I agree with almost everyone (oddly enough, even those disagreeing with each other).

This message board was my haven for intelligent baseball discussion. Not patting myself on the back, but I know more about baseball than 99% of the people I converse with on a daily basis. I came here, and felt like I was on equal ground, and even found many that know more than me.

I was uber proud of the fact that this board has extremely intelligent baseball discussion. The quality has plummeted since the merger. It's disappointing, frustrating, and leaves a hole in my daily/weekly baseball discussions. I'll be honest, I start my least educated thread this week, not sure why, but I disappointed myself now.

I used to tell people about this message board that they should come here for great Reds/baseball conversation. I don't feel that way anymore. But I'm going to stick it out and hope that it turns around soon.

[nate]

To be fair to him, he can't. He can't start threads in the Sun Deck.

Then start it on ORG.

The point is this: if more of discussion "X" is desired, start a new thread already (or "SANTA" for short.)

If people want to talk about it, they will.

If one doesn't like the flavor of discussion, then either this isn't the forum for them or they have to change the discussion here.

I guess the latter is a bit of an uphill battle.

[RedEye]

You would be a target if I didn't agree with your opinion. Consider yourself blessed.

Thanks! Wait... thanks?

[RedTeamGo!]

A little perspective:

Usually before a series against a team the Reds do not play often, like the A's, I will google "Oakland A's fan forum" and check out what the fanbase has to say about the current state of affairs for their team and try to learn about lesser known players on the squad. I tried for a good 20 minutes and could not find much other than the forums on ESPN.com and MLB.com. I did find the following forum, but as you can see they do not have many posters:

http://www.athleticsclubhouse.com/phpBB3/


This forum has 1 game thread FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON, and that thread is currently at 48 pages. We have had game threads on redszone that have topped that in one evening. There are threads on their opening page that have not been posted in since early May. On redszone our front page basically goes back a day or two.

I think us redszoners should realize how lucky we are to have such a strong, large, and active community. You may not like everything you read on here and may be downright offended by the posts of some, but with a larger community you have to expect the negative aspects that come with it. I for one love how redszone currently is and do not think it is declining, just changing as a result of a larger sample size of human beings.

/rant off

[dougdirt]

A little perspective:

Usually before a series against a team the Reds do not play often, like the A's, I will google "Oakland A's fan forum" and check out what the fanbase has to say about the current state of affairs for their team and try to learn about lesser known players on the squad. I tried for a good 20 minutes and could not find much other than the forums on ESPN.com and MLB.com. I did find the following forum, but as you can see they do not have many posters:

http://www.athleticsclubhouse.com/phpBB3/


This forum has 1 game thread FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON, and that thread is currently at 48 pages. We have had game threads on redszone that have topped that in one evening. There are threads on their opening page that have not been posted in since early May. On redszone our front page basically goes back a day or two.

I think us redszoners should realize how lucky we are to have such a strong, large, and active community. You may not like everything you read on here and may be downright offended by the posts of some, but with a larger community you have to expect the negative aspects that come with it. I for one love how redszone currently is and do not think it is declining, just changing as a result of a larger sample size of human beings.

/rant off

Athletics Nation isn't exactly a message board, but it is a great community. http://www.athleticsnation.com/

[RedTeamGo!]

I saw that website, but I thought SB Nation was a general sports website

[dougdirt]

I saw that website, but I thought SB Nation was a general sports website

SB Nation is just a collection of individual team themed sites with a handful of sports specific sites mixed in as well. In total there are over 300 individually themed sites catered to specific teams/schools.

[RedEye]

I'm hoping that "discussions" like those on the Yadier Molina and Brandon Phillips threads will be mitigated -- or at least relegated to other forums -- very soon. They should probably go in a "Lifestyle" or "Celebrity Gossip" forum instead of the ORG at this point.

[Unassisted]

I'm hoping that "discussions" like those on the Yadier Molina and Brandon Phillips threads will be mitigated -- or at least relegated to other forums -- very soon. They should probably go in a "Lifestyle" or "Celebrity Gossip" forum instead of the ORG at this point.

Is your opinion predicated on the notion that nothing about MLB matters that doesn't happen on the field of play? Baseball isn't played by robots, it's played by humans. The types of post you don't like are often the best answer to "why" questions.

"Why is Player X performing well, when he didn't last year?"

"Why is Player Y performing poorly when he was POM last month?"

If you don't care about "why" questions, maybe you need to accept that other people do, rather than dismissing those external factors as tabloid trash? There is no sports journalism anymore that doesn't take those factors into account. Those external factors are usually the lead on Sportscenter now. Whether that's a good thing is debatable, but whether it's reality is not.

[RedTeamGo!]

If this were PatriotsZone would it be ok to talk about Aaron Hernandez's murder charge/trial?

[RedEye]

Is your opinion predicated on the notion that nothing about MLB matters that doesn't happen on the field of play? Baseball isn't played by robots, it's played by humans. The types of post you don't like are often the best answer to "why" questions.

"Why is Player X performing well, when he didn't last year?"

"Why is Player Y performing poorly when he was POM last month?"

If you don't care about "why" questions, maybe you need to accept that other people do, rather than dismissing those external factors as tabloid trash? There is no sports journalism anymore that doesn't take those factors into account. Those external factors are usually the lead on Sportscenter now. Whether that's a good thing is debatable, but whether it's reality is not.

I absolutely care about "why" questions. I don't care for idle speculation and baseless accusations used to answer those questions. There is a difference.