63 replies to this topic

[Don]

I'm finding myself browsing around on two or three other message boards far more than I am here. Don't get me wrong, njdevs.com is still my homepage and this is where I go first thing in the morning and last before I go to bed... but it just seems different somehow. I had more fun coming here during the lockout!

And maybe I just miss they generally happy people that used to be here like ESB, Sheeps, poohbear, dallasdevil15.... there doesn't seem to be as many as their used to be. A lot of threads seem to be arguments more than discussions (I mean the hockey threads... in the politics threads I don't think actual discussion is possible). The difference is subtle but sometimes it amazes me just how much tone carries in text.

Maybe it's just me. Probably, it's just me. There just seems to be less traffic, less interesting threads, less funny sh!t, less comradery in general. I mean, aside from the drunken kind.

I'm gonna try some of the good ice-breaker threads that I've seen on some other boards and see what sticks. Like I said, it's quite possible that it's only me that has noticed this malaise, so I'm babbling about nothing.

Things that I notice lacking compared to other boards:
- Not enough users starting topics - we have the news articles, and game threads and such, but there seem to be less original threads.
- Make the OOT Scoreboards regular items, particularly on off nights and especially during the playoffs.
- More off-topic threads not dealing with obscene gestures

Anyone else finding the same thing? Any other suggestions?

[DevilMinder]

You are right about the obscene thing, I noticed that kills a lot of people who might have browsed the place during work. I created the new OT area earlier tonight with that in mind.

As for user created content, I agree it isn't as prolific as it used to be. People come and go in life and until others step in there will be voids where others left.

[RowdyFan42]

I agree about the mood thing. Question is, what do you do about it? Or do you simply accept it as part of life and move on? As DM said, people come and go, and everyone has a different temperament.

[CRASHER]

I agree about the mood thing. Question is, what do you do about it? Or do you simply accept it as part of life and move on? As DM said, people come and go, and everyone has a different temperament.

You know it could be a playoffs is coming thing... I always find myself gettting testier (as impossible as THAT is to believe ) come this time of year

and what happens alot more so with the younger posters... they move on to college and beyond and don't post online as much as they get swarmed with school and life (this happened in our email group big time too Don)

funny I find MORE of the talking down and poo pooing of people to be in the hell forum when it comes to the "how dare you disgaree with my vaunted opinon about player X sucking the yang" (hence why I enjoy OT much more)

sometimes these things do just come and go too....

[Elias26]

One of the reasons I haven't been frequenting as much is because the general maturity/politeness level has greatly decreased IMO. I'm not saying people can't have fun teasing each other but it just seems that respectful disagreement has gone out the window. Almost every time you post their is always some know it all who blasts you for having a different opinion.

[mddevsfan]

One of the reasons I haven't been frequenting as much is because the general maturity/politeness level has greatly decreased IMO. I'm not saying people can't have fun teasing each other but it just seems that respectful disagreement has gone out the window. Almost every time you post their is always some know it all who blasts you for having a different opinion.

I think part of the problem here is people aren't stating an opinion and accepting criticism - their first sentence is "Lou is an idiot, " for example. Making a statement that strongly is of course going to elicit strong responses.

If you want a respectful disagreement, then you need to respectfully state your opinion in the first place.

BTW, the "you" in the above statement isn't you, Elias26, but a general reference. I've seen a lot of arguements start this way lately. Some degree of restraint by the responders would help, too.

[poohbear]

Aww, shucks! Thanks, Don!
I keep meaning to break back onto the scene here and, you know, life just gets in the way. I do miss you guys.

[devilsrule33]

I've noticed this as well. Nothing was more exciting than this board during the 2003 season. That was as fun of a time as I remember following the team with the boards.

With that being said, a lot of good posters have left and the board has completely changed. We lost a lot of really smart posters and the overall IQ of the board has dropped. That is not a slap in the face of the current members but a compliment towards those former posters. Another thing is the board seems to be having a lot more younger posters posting than ever before. A few years ago, you could probably name about ten posters who were 20 or under and now there is a ton more.

I doubt we'll be able to recreate what the boards once were but we can still fix some things. I thought DM did a great job by making that after hours forum since a lot of threads were getting a little ridiculous. I like the idea of more talk about the rest of the NHL as well.

I am not sure what funny sh!t you are reffering to Don though.

[NJDevs4978]

I agree with dr about the After Hours forum, it is a good idea and should help Off-Topic.

There's no denying that Don's right about the posters in the main forum in general. While a big part of that is due to the people that left and younger, more immature posters taking their place - I also think part of it is just that the fanbase gets more spoiled and petty by the year. It's really grown obvious with all the reactions to this Julien thing - Devils fans have become like Kentucky basketball boosters or Alabama football alums, the kind of groups I always scorn because they assume it's their birthright to win a championship every year.

It's disconcerting to me that when the team's 23 games above .500 people are talking about the margin of victory in games. I honestly don't know what to tell people who aren't hockey fans or who are fans but follow it only casually when they ask me - as many have the past couple of days - what the hell is going on here and why would a coach get canned with that record?

I was trying to put a finger on why I was a bit annoyed with what happened in spite of the fact that I do believe Lou had cause and wouldn't do something for ego, and I do believe Lou will be an upgrade obviously.

What I finally came up with was this: It's seriously gotten to the point here - and to some extent with the Devils themselves - where winning's no longer good enough anymore.

Edited by Hasan4978, 03 April 2007 - 11:59 PM.

[Pepperkorn]

There are always satalite groups and people who will enjoy some topics others dont. DM took care of that well I think.

I have no problem with being ignored and I'm happy with happy groups, nice groups, mean groups, crude groups -- I just enjoy communication of all kinds. I can join in the crowd ganging up on someone and I can take being ganged up on... mass thought generally is making a valid point whether we like it or not

I dont spend much time on the hockey board section any more because I'm not on line when a lot of the game talk happens and by the time I may have something to add, it's already been said... and said and said...which leads me to my observation: No one here has any conversation anymore. There are arguments - and everyone says the same thing over and over without reading what someone before them has written. I can read one poster say something brilliant -- another say the EXACT same thing and 5 posters after that say how great the second poster was... and you look at time stamps and these posts are made hours apart sometimes... no one reads what comes before -- but of course if you DO read then there's no reason to say anything - because it's all been said and no one likes to read anyone elses posts anyhow, or so it feels. I know some were driven away because of this... I tried but I personally couldn't support all the great posters who need feed back fast enough. I mean if some of you are indeed visiting other boards you know sammy has a pretty good head for hockey... you'd never know it to see him here

I dont know how to fix that. Like with you Don -- i love your posts and I feel very warmly towards you but it feels like any time I post anything it's got that negative undertone because it's not in hockey it's in politics or something where we historically amiably disagree on. We never happily agree anywhere anymore... i LOOK for your hockey posts - and I guess when I agree I just think Yeah! and forget to post because I'm posting nothing inthat thread because someone else has irked me somehow so I feel like it's not worth it.

Basically I guess we have to take the board back and have pleasant conversations. But I know you all have tuned me out - you know me and my style and my hockey opinions and you skim... we all know when we've been tuned out and we all have tuned each other out - we're all posting in a vacuum - I'm as guilty as everyone in this thread and on the board. It just takes some effort.

I will NOT start fresh on another board. I made a commitment to this one As silly as it sounds I feel that way. If I've fouled my nest it's my job to fix it not fly elsewhere to see a nice fresh shiny reflection of myself, you know? But thing of it is -- the whole thing about message boarding - the allure is that you can always be your most adorable, brilliant self as long as someone is telling you so... well I like to hear I'm ing all over the place because it's real. Myhumor gets old and I'm really - obtuse, and stale and whiney and moany... I loved when people here nominated me as one of the nicest... because as you've all learned - I'm not so nice... I'm a big fat a$$*ole.

DM, msweet, red -- you know they really do have conversations still -- they haven't changed one iota. Everyone else just needs to have that kind of committment. Is it worth it to you to work and tolerate frustrating times and posters? Communicate with crappy posters in a positive way It's not one single persons job - but everyone has a part to play in how things feel here. You want a supportive encouraging board post supportive encouraging posts to other posters -- nto about the team... but about other people. Let them know they're valuable. Adn read everyone's posts - find a valuable thing and tell them about it.

This is a hurtful thread - but I understand it's intent and I agree with the gist and I dont think fingers are meant to be pointed. But you knwo someof our most vile posters have flat out said TELL ME I MATTER OR I'LL JUST TELL YOU I DO LOUDER! Myfirst impulse is to say hell you do -- earn your place here... but that's not very inviting or conducive to the kind of board we'd like to have, right?

Edited by Pepperkorn, 04 April 2007 - 03:21 PM.

[sykkie15]

I thought I'd throw my two cents into this...

Basically, there are a few reasons why I don't frequent the board anymore, or, well, honestly, find the time to log on.

This board has been around a long time, and since the begining of the actual NJDEVS, I've been on board. I grew a lot in the time I was on this board, and I kinda feel like I grew up ON this board.

DM was great in giving me the opportunity to become a News Editor, and subsequently, Admin powers. I really was only like 17 or 18 in the begining, and I never wanted to admit my age on the board because there used to be this awful problem here -- when some posters found out that you were under the age of 21, they often found you to merely be a child and not know what you're talking about. If anyone ever asked my age ON the board, I would not admit it, off the board? I'd say, but I would make sure it didn't spill onto the board.

Thing is, age doesn't seem to matter here anymore -- it's either known that you are quite the knowledgeable fan who only comes here to talk hockey (like a Triumph of MantaRay), a poster who is knowledgeable and still likes to have fun, or a poster who, who cares if there's hockey on -- they wanna just spend the day talking about inside jokes and questionable subject manner for what was known as a "family board." Back in the begining, there was no division. You either knew what you were talking about, or you were just wasting everyone's time. I think it's *great* that it isn't how it used to be anymore, but at the same time, there seem to be some kinks in the transition.

I decided to come back to the board for a bit because I missed it a lot still, and I wanted to come back with a drastically diminished edge where people didn't think I was coming off as the "all high and mighty RD," but it seemed to backfire. I got tons of support from the posters I'd expect to hear from, but aside from that, I felt entirely out of the loop and really felt no need to post anymore, because, hey, it always got lost in the "I GOT DRUNK LASSSST NIGHT@#@!@@" and "LET'S POST PICTURES OF PEOPLE GIVING THE FINGER~@!!!" threads, along with the large number of threads going way offtopic -- what's the point in trying to throw your opinion in when it's going to get thrown into inside jokes with a group of posters or something of the like?

Nothing wrong with it, but it's not my style at all. I don't care that I'm not part of that group, but I do care that I can't really voice my opinion anymore. And in the chance opporunity that the above doesn't happen, like previously mentioned, posters will get flamed by others for disagreement. I *do* remember a time when we could all discuss and disagree respectfully without all the namecalling and middleschool behavior. The internet tough guy thing was never all that fun to begin with when it started, why continue it? Proves nothing, and will just make the situation worse.

There are other internal reasons why I don't post anymore, and I know DM and msweet in particular know those reasons, but I won't get into them.

Board dynamic will change over the years. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not so much. I personally hate the direction this board has went in, but maybe it'll get better with a new crop of posters. I don't want to offend the current posters by any stretch, but it's hard not to write something like that in a way where it wouldn't offend someone.

Hey, it's just my opinion though. My opinion holds no weight whatsoever upon this board anymore, though, so maybe this post will simply get lost in the mix, or maybe I'll get people pissed at me for speaking my mind...go for it -- it's fine with me whatever you might think. I'll respect it.

[Masked Fan]

And now, a sincere moment from MF. (which stands for things other than Masked Fan apparently )


I'm sure my humor has upset a few of youz ideas of what this board "used to be".

And I am also sure a couple of my posts haven't been family friendly.

Sorry to those who had their world turned over, I never meant to piss anyone off or ruin anyones day/board.

Sorry for adding any grief or extra work to your board DM. I was just funnin.

But, as always, if anyone has any problem with anything I throw or have thrown out there, I'll take yer feedback at any time, private or public.

It isn't possible to insult me, so feel free to be candid.

[redruM]

Hopefully with the playoofs here, some of the old regulars will resurface a bit more ( olp, M. where are you???)

for me I just cannot find a player to hate right now, and my best posts come from anger...

I'll try to get my game to the next level for the playoffs...

[NJD Jester]

Just came across this thread, and I have to agree with a lot of it. The general hockey IQ of these boards has dropped for some reason over the season.

Perhaps it's due to the troll (or two) who finds it necessary to flame those of us who put out our real names on the Web while he/she hides behind their keyboard...

<JESTER>

[Masked Fan]

Perhaps it's due to the troll (or two) who finds it necessary to flame those of us who put out our real names on the Web while he/she hides behind their keyboard...

<JESTER>

Are all trolls He/She's or are you working on a hunch??

[LA03]

I'm sure my humor has upset a few of youz ideas of what this board "used to be".

And I am also sure a couple of my posts haven't been family friendly.

Sorry to those who had their world turned over, I never meant to piss anyone off or ruin anyones day/board.

Sorry for adding any grief or extra work to your board DM. I was just funnin.

But, as always, if anyone has any problem with anything I throw or have thrown out there, I'll take yer feedback at any time, private or public.

I was going to respond with my own little message, but you pretty much summed up anything I would have had to say. (Well of course, knowing me, I would have rambled.) So, yes, ditto.

[CRASHER]

heh
you guys thought the board was moody three months ago

[Don]

Well, I haven't noticed any OfficerFarva-esque yelling and screaming. And there has been less personal insults than there were 3 months ago.

I think, looking at our line-up as it exists right now, is enough to make any fan lack confidence. So I would expect rants like Reds to be prevelant.

[Belizarius]

I can't give a good point of view on this topic... because I haven't been a lot here the last few months. It's difficult for me to watch NHL games several hours after (or days), and going here would give me the results
I'm also browsing a lot of boards, and it's easier in French for me
Still an eye here though... maybe I should post more this offseason...

[Derek21]

Well, I haven't noticed any OfficerFarva-esque yelling and screaming. And there has been less personal insults than there were 3 months ago.

I think, looking at our line-up as it exists right now, is enough to make any fan lack confidence. So I would expect rants like Reds to be prevelant.

What are you talking about? Officer knew all and was a great poster!!!!!!!!!!!!