I've been...hmmmm...how to put it...mildly horrifiedby the tenor of some of the discussions going on in the diaries the last few days. When I read annoying, unnecessary, extra-curricular sniping my stress level goes up and when my stress level goes up my banning finger gets itchy. Some reminders:
--Ad hominem, personal attacks are not welcome here. We've done a pretty good job of culling out the crass ones but this also includes the subtle ones which lately have included designating people "bandwagon fans" or "goofs" or "optimists/pessimists". The statement "You're a pessimist! Here are the stats..." stands just as strongly, and leads to more productive conversation, when you just say, "I see it this way. Here are the stats..." People can see things differently than you without being labeled for their trouble. That's just another way of trivializing another person's words and thoughts (sadly now common) and nobody likes to be trivialized.
--One of the founding tenets of my tenure at Blazersedge is that fans can think critically about (and sometimes criticize) their team and still be fans. The organization just came out from under a regime that didn't think that was so, much to the detriment of public relations. Those days are done. The snide nay-sayers did damage during those days. So did the "fans" who jumped all over anybody (however reasonable) that found anything to criticize. Analysis and speculation that's well reasoned, even if it's negative, is not bad for the team or this site.
--People are free to disagree with you.It's not a crime, nor is it in bad taste. There are legitimate reasons to disagree with nearly every assertion made in sports. Sorting through those is half the fun of being a fan. If you're going to feel awful when somebody thinks differently and you're going to respond in frustration and anger then maybe commenting here isn't the best thing for you. Many, MANY people calmly clarify when they feel they've been misunderstood and usually the misunderstanding people have the grace to apologize and clarify themselves. That's part of what makes this place special...we treat each other well. You don't have that opportunity a lot of places online. Be a good caretaker of it here.
When you comment here in ANY section you are not just representing yourself but the site. I've worked really hard to provide this place for everybody. Taking care of it and each other--and thus representing well--is important.
——Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
Loading comments...