Ryan Clark- 'I Know Guys On My Team Who Smoke Pot'

This thread grew fast. My random comments:

And this is a surprise why?

Even though it can be assumed so, Clark should have avoided implicating teammates. I do understand why he dropped it, and I don't believe it was malicious.

This topic is a dark gray area for the board's rules. It's ok to talk about pros/cons. Let's try to avoid politics/religion/personal remarks.

 

Troy does it, that hawaiian mofo is definitely toking up back on the islands

 

I was joking but it wouldn't surprise me if he did. Theres no one that would surprise me except maybe Heath.

 

Chill out, bro. You're going to harsh the buzz.

 

Careful what you wish for. There's a reason for the rules and the alternative is something you would not like. I promise you that.

Or, you know, just visit Reddit or almost any other large board and see why.

 

It's the wild west.

Fine if you have a thick skin. Pretty fun if you like arguing/debating and retain your anonymity.

But for promoting a close knit community based on a common interest? Not so much. There are exceptions, like sub-reddits heavily moderated.

But if you let the gates open, look out. Sure, you can talk to your heart's content about whatever social issue, religious topic or whatever. And you also open everyone up to flame wars, trolling, ad nauseum ridiculous arguments. And your community is no longer close knit. Half the members have the other half on ignore eventually or target each other over the most inane things due to grudges.

Remember: this is the STEELERS FANS board. We have a hard enough time keeping you guys from cutting each other over cheerleaders or block numbers.

 

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer...

I like to think the reason this board does get along (with only a few momentary minor spats now and then) is because of 2 things:

1- Many of us came from the original message board on the official site. And that board had STRICT rules. I'm relatively tame and adhere to rules and even I was banned 3 times there.

2- The rules of the road here - especially in the earliest of days - kept personality conflicts to a minimum. Sure, there have been some here and there, but nothing that can't be worked out. If TTF allowed the verboten stuff to run hog wild, I'm certain that could not be said.

As to other sites getting out of hand. Absolutely yes. Many have tried various ways to remove internet anonymity syndrome (relatively reasonable person + anonymity = complete jerk). Some just implement stricter rules and moderate heavily. Back when I used to frequent Blizzard's MBs, even strictly moderated, they had so much trouble, that eventually they made everyone accountable to their own true identity. Of course, that had a backlash too. They have since backed off that, but Blizzard itself knows exactly who you are. Once Google bought Youtube, they've been trying to cut out the less desirable traits of the comments sections to various degrees of success (mostly, it's still a wasteland).

But if your method is moderation or rules, even that can get tricky. It's pointless to have rules and moderators if they only serve to stifle an alternative view. Then it just becomes a bunch of like minded parrots having a circle, er, massage. If you allow multiple sides, then you have to rule over it with an iron fist or the nastiness can get out of hand fast. 24/7. TTF doesn't have the resources for that. Nor should he need them. The easier way is to define the purpose of a board, and disallow any off topic content.

Or, IOWS, use dinner party talk rules or some club rules: No religion. No politics. Those 2 topics start more trouble than any other. Granted, some subjects toe the line. In those cases, the topic has to be judged individually and watched closely if allowed to continue.

 

I have no doubt that some here might finds the rules too strict.

I even have to keep myself in check sometimes (usually language related. But I'm also rather opinionated and have to hold my tongue or risk violating the rules). In a perfect world, we could relax things a little bit. But any realist knows that nothing is ever perfect. Keeping things maybe a little too strict, for all its possible flaws, really does keep the relative peace. Especially since we live in a world where there's no such thing anymore as a disagreement. You're right, the other side is STUPID, or evil.

And as I've always said, whatever topic you really want to talk about: hot button social issues, various religions/philosophies/concepts, politics in general or just single issues, or even more "adult" topics - there's a board already out there for that. And if it's just something you and a friend here want to talk about, there's nothing preventing you from doing it in private.