As a fun poll question (and possibly a service to BigSoccer administrators/moderators), I was wondering where people think the problem of trolling is the most epidemic on this widely-used message board. Personally, I've seen some of the alternatively funniest and yet most blatantly vulgar stuff on MLS: Fan Rivalries. I thought personal attacks were against the Terms of Service?
Case in point today. My yellow card. Others violate TOS. They never see yellow cards. I point out to others that they are acting like jackasses, and I see yellow. Nice.
I would be extremely interested to hear this "infinitely broader" explanation of my yellow card. All I got was a terse sentence in my PM box. Meanwhile, those who truly make life miserable for others on BigSoccer, and those who blatantly violate the rules that YOU set down, have carte blanche, and now the inmates run the asylum. Huss, as far as I'm concerned, the Terms of Service don't exist, because they certainly are not enforced. Something is obviously wrong here.
1) The initiator here misses the point. MLS Rivalries exists as a kind of flypaper. It provides an outlet for blatant troling which WOULD be sanctioned if done elsewhere. The rules there are different, and rightly so. BS provides different atmospheres for different tastes. Most good folks have the great good sense to steer clear. If you wander in, you can't say you weren't warned. Put it his way: if you're opposed to nudity, stay out of strip joints. Just don't tell the rest of us we can't stock up on dollar bills and write "sucker" on our foreheads if we want to. 2) Goodbye Andy. You never learned that simply being a pain in the ass does not mean you're a Crusader for the right. Sometimes it just means that you're a pain in the ass. And eventually, everybody just gets tired of you.
I think flaming and trolling are two different issues. Like Bill said, flaming in MLS:R is done there instead of it happening on either the regular MLS boards. One could say the same about World Rivalries. True trolling, from what I can tell, is dealt with pretty quickly on the boards I frequent. As for flaming on the Politics board, even that doesn't always get in the way of the purpose of the board itself. But I could be wrong.
Seems appropriate, considering flaming has been the essence of republican (with a small 'r') politics since beginning of time, no? And yeah, I like that we have Rivalries forums where posters can smack, troll and flame to their heart's content so that it doesn't affect real soccer discussions. I used to frequent the Politics forum but I stopped after I realized certain posters were always going to piss me off. I enjoy reading and joining politics discussions and many of the threads were quite informative, but you have to weigh the benefits against the costs. Yeah, jumping off tall buildings is a rush like none other, but if you don't like breaking your bones in 20 different places, it's probably not worth it.
Announcer VO: "It's morning again in the Valley of the Great Wolf. A place where you young can frolic without fear of being snatched away by predators. Where your mate can safely go and gather berries. Where the fire of our clan burns brightly and without end. But not if Crag gets his way. Crag wants to take away your clubs and slingshots. Crag wants you to give more of your meat to the rest of the tribe, whether they earned it or not. Crag wants the clan to be weak so they can be overtaken by the Ape People of the Hills. So vote to re-elect Grog. Because without him, the Great Ball of Fire In the Sky will go out forever." Paid for by the Committee to Re-elect Grog.