I know that some of us (myself included) were probably not as welcoming as we could have been toward Sode 10 because he had some ideas that had already been talked about or he was late to the game or whatever. Hopefully he's still reading this and he can give some input on it. But I think we're bound to get more posters like him in the future as news about an MLS team grows, and we need to have a better plan, so that we don't scare people like him away. On some of the other forums, the longtime posters may get annoyed when new people come on and ask the same questions over and over without addidng anything new to the discussion. But I think one of the goals of the St. Louis forum should be to try to grow, so that our supporters group can be as large and active as possible. Maybe a sticky thread for new members to introduce themselves like the main one for Bigsoccer, but on the St. Louis forum. Any other ideas?
SA, good thinking. The thing is though, an FAQ thread won't help someone who refuses help. Most boards break in their new posters nicely with gentle reminders that they aren't breaking new ground, but when the new posters lash back, things can devolve quickly.
I originally started this thread thinking that Sode10 left by choice. Apparently that was not the case. He sent me this message and asked me to post it, because his posting priveleges were taken away. I guess if he was sending nasty messages, maybe his ban was warranted, but I still think his note may be of some use to this forum, because we are going to be getting an awful lot of new people if/when we get a team. Unless we want to confine ourselves to the people who are currently posting (which I would guess is well under 100, maybe 20 or so), maybe we can make more of an effort to welcome them, even if (maybe especially if) their ideas are not original. Here is the message: Silent Assassin, Since I have had my posting privileges taken away, I thought I would send you a message in response to your post. Yes, I have felt unwelcome and it is a shame that new posters are treated like this for expressing their opinions, thoughts, and ideas. I never meant to be rude or disrespectful, but I feel like if you disagree or post something that Sport Billy, Dill0n, or Bryan76 oppose, they huddle together and try to smash you. They’re moderators for heavens sake. I think was evident in their responses to my posts, and apparently you somewhat agree. And to be honest, who really wants to be a part of a supporter group when everyone does the opposite? It seems a little bit silly and I now understand why they’re very few posters on this specific forum. To be honest and fair, I did send a nasty PRIVATE message to Sport Billy, however the rules never stated I was wasn’t allowed to do so. So, I am still waiting to hear why I have been kicked off this forum. I wish you and your friends on this forum the best of luck with Eads Brigade because in my opinion you’ll need it. I would be most appreciative if you would post this. It might help you with future newcomers. Respectfully, Sode10
I respectfully disagree with his assessment. However, if anyone shares the assessment that mods are heavy handed and out to get everyone, please share examples and I can forward them to our supervisors. Like you, we are doing this for free or paying for it. We are mods because we want our fellow fans to have a welcoming place to discuss the game we all like. When posters use tones or posting patterns that show disregard for others, it is our job to try to amend that. Normally posters who practice decency are shown decency in return by their board mates.
I wasn't going to say anything, but since Sode10 has made it public knowledge, I feel it necessary to post. When a new poster ignores the TOS, ignores warnings, and then responds with vulgarities, I'm not going to respect him. I want this forum to grow, we were all new posters once. But is it too much to ask that new posters read and follow the terms of service and maybe take a look around at some previous posts before posting? SA, I like your suggestion of an intro thread. I'll start one.
The fact of the matter is, there are guidelines for new posters. It comes in the form of all of the threads. If a new poster doesn't want to go through all of that, there's also the search feature. If someone comes on here and isn't going to use either of those resources, they probably aren't going to read an FAQ section either. Also, I don't think that new posters are treated especially harshly. Everyone who posts here has had an idea shot down. The fact is, none of us would be posting at BigSoccer if we weren't passionate about the sport. It's the nature of the beast. Whether discussing our possibilities for a team, or what formation the US should use in the England friendly, or opinions on the new Qatar national team kit, emotions run high, and people say some harsh things. Pretty much everyone knows not to take it personally. I know I've had ideas shot down by other posters, including mods. I also know that we've agreed on things, and that them shooting down my idea isn't a statement as to how they might view me as a person. If new posters have a problem with this, then they probably aren't going to stick around. I mean, when do we draw the line? When would someone no longer be a "new" poster, so that we can treat them like we treat each other? With regard to Sode10, I don't think it was a matter of Mods ganging up on him to squash him. When he first arrived, he posted the same thing in several threads. When someone pointed out that it was probably a little late for that, his response was "at least i'm trying to do something to bring an MLS team, what are you doing?" This was not only an aggressive post on his behalf, it was also incredibly uninformed. When other posters responded that he should look up, trying to direct him to the Eads Brigade subforum, he still didn't catch on, and continued to antagonize posters. During his brief time here, he pretty much tried to bait any poster who disagreed with him, failed to do any homework, for lack of a better term, and told several posters (including a moderator) they were incorrect, without offering any proof of his assertion. He also brought up a 2 month article, that had already been discussed ad nauseum (which he would have done had he taken some time to look at what had been posted) and when someone pointed this out to him, he basically told them he didn't care if it had been posted and discussed before, because he found it interesting. Basically, he felt that the forum should essentially "start over" for him. That's not how it works. Pretty much all posters are welcome here. At the same time, they have to take the responsibility upon themselves to know whats going on when they join.
God I hate whiners. Bryan and I started off rough, but we got over it immediately, and now all is happy and fuzzy. Seems to me like this plonker just wanted to get attention, and not offer anything constructive. Good riddance. Frustration at our continuing lack of a team, will no doubt produce some friction in the ranks, and we already have supporters from other teams coming in here with nothing worthwhile to read...this happens. But cross posting is something you get from attention whores. Nice has its limits. Scott
One of my very first posts was about a potential name for the supporters' group. It was instantly shot (rightly so in retrospect), but I continued to post here. SB was cool about it and I eventually met several of the guys at the SIUE-Rapids game. I felt very welcome, despite coming in almost 2 years late.
I didn't mean to imply that I agreed with everything in Sode10's message, I just posted it because it was an example of a new poster who did not feel welcome. After hearing the rest of the story, it sounds like the mods acted appropriately. I just wanted to brainstorm some ideas about how we could make new posters welcome. Obviously, those of us who are still here have continued to post and have not left, but maybe there are others who have left and not come back. Thanks SB for starting the introduction thread. I think that will help.
The introductions thread is a great idea. I think new posters who act like reasonable adults have no problems fitting in here. Jerks who lash out at others, spam the boards, and send insulting, obscene messages to the mods SHOULD have trouble fitting in here. I've done some forum moderating elsewhere (not on BS) as part of my job, and you just have to squash trolls like that right away before they ruin it for the rest of us. It just takes a couple of sode10 types, left unchecked, to make the whole board very unwelcoming for everybody else.