The Competition With the ES Board

[Huddle]

The main reason that we are all NFL football fans is the we are all competitive by nature and, short of war, the NFL offers the ultimate competitive game.

This board is in a competition with the Extremeskins site for membership and is losing the battle. In order to first survive and then eventually turn that around, you need a turnaround strategy. Luckily, the ES mods have left an opening. It's their Achilles Heel. Within certain extreme limits, personal attacks are permitted and even encouraged, with mods participating, depending upon the opinion expressed.

The ES policy favors those espousing the currently popular opinion whatever it might be; and since the homers outnumber the realistic fans in all NFL cities, ES is a site favoring homers.

When it comes to their football team, the homers are manic. When winning, their hopes go unrealistically high. When losing, they sink into anger and harsh criticism. Their opinions will always conflict with those of the realistic fan. The case of Mark Brunell is instructive. To the homer, Mark Brunell went from being completely washed up in 2004 to an All-Pro in 2005. To the realist, Mark took too much blame from the homers in 2004 and is getting too much credit for the 2005 turnaround.

This natural conflict between the homers versus the realists presents the opportunity for this site to increase its membership by promoting a higher level debate between the two groups.

Threads that preach to the homer choir are boring. Their authors are seeking praise and usually get it. The debate threads are what people want to read and participate in because, as being football fans attests, we are competitors by nature.

On long-running internet debate boards there's a simple rule: argue the topic. Ridicule and other personal attacks are not only considered rude and gutless, they are seen as signals that the aggressor is devoid of sound, logical points.

It's too much to ask that posters turn the other cheek when attacked; but since our posts provide a written record, it's easy for moderators to nail the aggressor, the poster who took the first shot. I suggest a hardline policy on this board to do just that and do it fairly. The moderator's opinion on the topic should not influence his judgment either way.

A mod recently told me here that this board didn't want "controversy for the sake of controversy." Well, who decides when the original poster is creating controversy for controversy's sake...a moderator who disagrees with the poster's opinion?

A weak position by a discussion board on arrogant, personal attacks results in promoting the currently popular opinion and stifling the unpopular. It's a not-so-subtle form of censorship that degrades the debate. This is what they are doing over at Extremeskins...and this is the weakness that this board can exploit.

The LaVar debate, the Ramsey-Brunell debate, the Brunell-Campbell debate, the pros and cons of the major personnel moves...controversy...this is what Redskins fans want to read about and discuss. The number of responses and reviews on such threads are evidence of this. Give the fans what they want but do it better than they do over at the ES board. Do it by a rigid policy of stifling the personal attacks on people who post unpopular opinions.

In the ES board, you are facing a bigger opponent. Offering the same kind of posts with fewer participants isn't going to beat them. You need to do something very different.

[FRPLG]

ugh.

[cpayne5]

Why do you think we're competing w/ ES? I couldn't care less about what they're doing.

This is not a business venture, it's a hobby.

Since you have some really good ideas why don't you go start a board that will cater to people like you?

[Redskins_P]

yawn....

[Redskins_P]

Oh yeah.......please let me know when this so called "competition" started. I've been here for 2 years and I never knew we were competing w/ ES.

If you're not happy w/ the warpath, then feel free to go to ES if it caters more to your likings. We have a good family of fans here that appreciate the site and that come here because they enjoy it. Not because we're trying to compete w/ other message boards.

This is one of the most ridiculous posts I've ever seen I must say.

[Sammy Baugh Fan]

cpayne ain't a people person is he?

lol

[Redskins_P]

Originally Posted by Sammy Baugh Fan

cpayne ain't a people person is he?

lol

Nah...he just keeps it real.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by Sammy Baugh Fan

cpayne ain't a people person is he?

lol

I like people just fine. It's morons that I don't care for.

[Huddle]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

I like people just fine. It's morons that I don't care for.

I understand your objection.

Prohibiting posters from making gutless personal attacks from the safety of your keyboard would cramp your style...wouldn't it?

I can also understand why you and the others are unconcerned about the membership numbers. None of you are identified as contributors. You take but you don't pay for the privilege.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Huddle

I understand your objection.

Prohibiting posters from making gutless personal attacks from the safety of your keyboard would cramp your style...wouldn't it?

I can also understand why you and the others are unconcerned about the membership numbers. None of you are identified as contributors. You take but you don't pay for the privilege.

Actually, we pass the hat every so often here to help pay for the server costs and many, many people have been VERY generous.

When I upgraded the forum software a few weeks ago the "donator" status that used to show under members' names went away, I need to upgrade our paypal payments add-on to get that back.

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by Huddle

I understand your objection.

Prohibiting posters from making gutless personal attacks from the safety of your keyboard would cramp your style...wouldn't it?

I can also understand why you and the others are unconcerned about the membership numbers. None of you are identified as contributors. You take but you don't pay for the privilege.

Huddle, I wouldn't worry about this stuff too much. Personally when someone attacks me or makes fun of what I post - it's no skin off my back. The same safety that allows people to attack another with anonimity (sp ?) here is also the same safe anonimity that allows me to also post my honest opinion. I try to steer anyway from attacking anyone on here and try to not engage in that behavior if someone attacks me. That doesn't excuse anyone's rude behavior on here, but taking things too seriously on any discussion board will eat at you.

And personally I have learned to consciously be aware when someone attacks me in any manner, and not let it affect me in a negative way. It doesn't mean I have to ignore it in all cases, I just choose to try to react to it differently from the way the attacker did.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Huddle

I understand your objection.

Prohibiting posters from making gutless personal attacks from the safety of your keyboard would cramp your style...wouldn't it?

I can also understand why you and the others are unconcerned about the membership numbers. None of you are identified as contributors. You take but you don't pay for the privilege.

Did you just say Cpayne5 isn't a contributor? I know you couldn't have just said that. Cpayne5 is one our top contributors-he gives us monetary donations, he offers up his own server space, he compresses video and audio files for us. So don't go say that he doesn't pay for this privilege. He contributes greatly to it in many many ways.

This site prides itself on the quality its members, not the quantity. And Cpayne5 is one our top members. There is no question about that at all (Cpayne, the check's in the mail right)

[Sammy Baugh Fan]

Ahhhh.. You don't "suffer fools very well" then is an old term that seems to fit.

peace

[MTK]

Thanks for the suggestions Huddle.

I don't consider us to be in competition with ES, or with any of the other Skins sites either for that matter. If membership is what matters, hell I could just artificially inflate our membership total until we topped everyone.

Each site has their own flavor and appeal. I recommend that everyone check out all the Redskins sites and find one that best suits them. I frequent other Skins boards myself.

I understand what you're saying regarding cutting down on the personal attacks, but I think we are pretty tame in comparison to other sites. It's a very fine line to walk between being aggressive in weeding out the less desirables, and running the site with an iron fist.

[Huddle]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Thanks for the suggestions Huddle.

I don't consider us to be in competition with ES, or with any of the other Skins sites either for that matter. If membership is what matters, hell I could just artificially inflate our membership total until we topped everyone.

Each site has their own flavor and appeal. I recommend that everyone check out all the Redskins sites and find one that best suits them. I frequent other Skins boards myself.

I understand what you're saying regarding cutting down on the personal attacks, but I think we are pretty tame in comparison to other sites. It's a very fine line to walk between being aggressive in weeding out the less desirables, and running the site with an iron fist.

Okay, Matty.

You're right. Compared to ES, this place is pretty tame. But, coming from me, that's damning with faint praise.

In any case, I appreciate the respectful reply.

Take it easy.