Yes. A tyrannical and abusive one. We created MLS Rivalries to have a place for those of us to engage in smacktalk and give the mods a place to put such banter when it erupted in the MLS Gen/N&A until the clueless learned that it wasn't welcome in the upper forums. Women's Rivalries & World Rivalries followed shortly thereafter. Sadly, my workload & responsibilities increased and I didn't have time any more to do anything other than "help" in the numerous MLS stadium discussions and well, troll, which was frowned upon at the time for mods.
That's pretty funny...and scary. That must've been a long time ago because the rivalry section was always there to my knowledge and I joined in 2002.
Late 2000 is when it was started. There were a couple of server crashes that erased alot of the early brilliance in those forums before Huss decided to get a backup thumb drive
In reality, it's more of a bar where you go and everyone has different loyalties and everyone just tweaks the guy who's team did the worst that week. The only time it gets nasty is when some dope takes it serious. Well, it's really not "off-topic". The mods have a hard enough time without assholes like me poking people with a sharp stick. This place has gotten really big. The relatively lax enforcement of the TOS for regulars of some forums and heavy handed enforcement of others in the same fora creates a problem when those "regulars" go trotting out to places like USMen. It's a big place and even with 4 mods, a super and an Admin pretty much scoping every US game thread, stuff is going to get missed. Plus, they like to watch the game to, not have to crack skulls on every borderline to obvious xenophobic/racist crack from US fans every time we play Mexico/CA team or have a Mexican/CA ref to the obvious responses from the idiots from the opposite side of the fence. If there is junk, report it. Think about what you're reporting. But still report it.
Thirded. I've gotten sucked into contributing to that thread a couple times, and I always wonder a) what on earth I was thinking and b) why it exists. If it must exist, put it in World Rivalries.
Dude have you been to the River Plate Relegated thread in the MLS forum? That's pretty bad considering everyone is serious there LOL
I would told to ask you questions, so here I go: 1. I was told there is no rule book for the threads, is that true? 2. How long do you carry a yellow card, red card, etc.? 3. I received my yellow card in a Mexico Room, when it happened I didn't even know the difference because there is no rules. The Moderator himself made strand that was offensive to me, then harassed me...when I stuck up for the US. He dropped the yellow on me. Now I cannot report abuse or even start strands. Bundagari, gave me advice about ignore list, usa strands, but cannot give me answers about all me questions. Can you please help me with this...
Look at Mr. Warmth's recent posting history and tell me how in the world that sort of thing should be allowed. Personal attacks, insults, non-soccer related, provoking, etc etc. Its one thing to think someone is posting nonsense about soccer- ok, tell them its nonsense (once and in a fair way) and list some facts. This is a place where people go to speak about soccer, not to be insulted. You may not like their opinion, you may find them boring...whatever....we are all different. But to only post one and 2 liners and barrages of insults continuously (like Warmth does) because you have something personal against posters or want to be the smart-ass? That's what we allow for him (and not others) Same old BS here. Double standard. Certain posters get away with posting about USMNT on Yanks Abroad continuous, and others get a hook right away. But at least in those cases, its soccer related. What Warmth does has nothing to do with soccer and lowers the value of being here. It needs to stop.
I agree with you fully that is why Mr. Warmth is in my ignore list. A moderator told me in an email that "Frankly if you argue with Mr. Warmth...you'll be arguing for a long time." Trust me the dude is not worth it...Just ignore him.
I've seen too many posters issue personal attacks that simply have no rational thought behind them. Over the past few weeks I've made general statements that people interpret completely incorrectly and basically put words into my mouth. I don't mind personal attacks if the reader shows that they understand my views on the issue, but all the idiots who think that they're adept at mind reading need to be put in their place. I far to often feel like I'm arguing with uneducated high school age individuals on this forum. Here is an example of what I mean: Taken from a thread where I asked if Shea could be used as an inverted winger. I never claimed that he's better than Chandler or Gatt, or even brought them up in the thread. His post was an irrational personal attack that didn't even address the purpose of the thread.
Russ, I'm guessing your comment was towards Mr. Warmth, he is in my ignore list so I am not sure. Just a shot in the dark
2 questions -1) are personal attacks okay if they have rational thought behind them and 2) where's the personal attack in that quote?
Dark Knight, I applaud your approach to regulating these message boards. But the problem isn't so much this example of person attacks. It is the Mexican Trolls that come into the USA forums... cut and paste quotes from our strands and then directly insult us in there Forums. AND NOBODY DOES ANYTHING!!! Most of these Trolls are Moderators. If you start by banning them, everything else get's better. I can go to numerous racist strands in the Americas Forum and cut and past these examples. If US Fans even say we don't like Mexico we get yellow carded or the strand gets locked down, yet they can inflect person attacks and nobody says anything. It really is like watching a USA VS Mexico Soccer Match, (which ALWAYS has a Latino ref) and the US doesn't get any calls.
Russ, Criso9 is in my ignore list but I am guessing he said something supporting Mexico as usual. I know Mexico is hated by El Salvador, Honduras, etc; however all the games I watch for some reason or another Mexico gets calls...Maybe they are intimidated, scared, I do not know but I know this...Today, the red card given to Poland for a Mexican dive is standard in their games and the goal that reflected off a defense-man leg is also a standard type goal that Chichirito scores. That team is a shell of what they were when they beat the US in the Gold Cup.