SkinsandTerps said:
I posed it as a question, because obviously as a member, I had no idea. Someone must know for sure.
Really, since Bang is on its way to a new home, the whole question's moot, wouldn't you say??
I have heard that opposing fans have been denied access. Rumor or Truth ? I am not sure either way.
Never have tried to join up myself, but I have read quite a number of our regulars in here who claimed that they were refused registration, because their online names gave them away as Cowboys fans... some of them were amused, some of them were quite indignant... I can't figure out why all of them would lie about that...
Seems to me that ES has plenty of members from other teams including some from this site. I think that they try to eliminate the trolls and such by not giving some guys a chance. But at the same time (and I have seen it here), a few bad apples spoil the bunch.
And that's what I call censorship... why are you guys so terrified of the possibility of some idiot troll wandering in?? I say let 'em come in and take their chances, let the regulars deal with them... I mean, obviously trolls are a PITA, but in an effort to avoid having to deal with the odd PITA, you risk stifling the free exchange of ideas...
Perhaps you'd understand me a little more if I told you that I was one of the original moderators at the Cowboys Forum, a board that set out to be quite strictly moderated, and a board that does not allow any sort of mischief at all...
I no longer even post there, because that board first bored me, then pissed me off with their heavy-handed approach to moderation...
I wont discuss Art, except that he seems to be a major issue that you have. He has his views, sometimes they seem somewhat embellished, other times he is dead on. I wont defend him because it isnt my place, thats his own business.
I have two major issues with ol' Art... the first was the episode where he claimed that he had verbally and physically intimidated a Cowboys fan at FedEx field... that post was the essence of juvenile machismo (not to mention highly improbable), and folks over there just slobbered all over his knob for that piece of braggadocio... I found that quite questionable behavior for a guy who moderates a message board...
But FAR more egregious was the crap he pulled on some poster back during this last draft, where I saw with my own eyes how he DEMANDED that poster who had made a claim he found objectionable post EXACTLY what Art told him to in his next post, or he would be banned temporarily... when the poster predictably refused to knuckled under to that kind of BS tactic, Art did indeed ban him...
"You WILL post what I say, and EXACTLY what I say, in your next post, or you'll be gone"... that's not an exact quote, but it's pretty close... it's also pretty freaking ignorant behavior, and an abuse of power...
And the guy's ONLY crime was being misinformed, in Art's view... Art could have chosen to post rational rebuttal to the allegedly misinformed claim, instead he abused his moderatorial powers... that's precisely what I mean by the fascistic nature of that board, and I find that really, really lame...
And that, combined with the way the board seems to refuse to consider registering posters they believe to be Cowboys fan, is what makes ES a really, really bad board... I won't even talk about how comically optimistic that board is year after year after year in the preseason, though I do find that amusing... we have our cockeyed optimists roaming the assorted Cowboys message boards (enough people have accused me of that to cause me to playfully refer to myself as Pollyanna Bear on occasion), but it is simply over the top over on extremeskins...
But again, if it weren't for ol' Art (who wouldn't be an issue if he was just a regular poster, my problem with him is as a mod) and the refusal to register at least some of the Cowboys fans who might choose to try to participate in your dialogue, I could live with the rampant optimism over there... and if it weren't for those two issues, I might have tried to register over there...
I mean, think about it, if the poster in question proves with his first few posts that he IS a troll, THEN you can ban him... but your powers that be seem to assume that these guys intend to troll
But of course, ol' Art couldn't deal with me, and I wouldn't even have to be a jerk to get banned... nope, I'd just do what I do over here, counter BS with facts, and that would make the guy apoplectic, and I'd be banned... I think your other mods could probably deal with me, but of course they'd back Art's play (as they should, so long as Art IS a mod)...
Your board would be immeasurably improved if you guys buried Art in a hole in south Jersey...
I for one, see things how they are. Do I have a little homer in me ? Of course. Every fan does.
Hey, me too...
Believe you me, that the Cowboys Reps on ES and the Eagles Rep all have a little homer in them as well. They are treated the same as any other member that has valid points with facts to back up opinions. There are Commanders trolls as well, and definitely some "sky is falling" or "We will win the SB" extremists. If you dont see that here than you are paying close enough attention.
Well, from my exposure to that board, I'd honestly say it's a LITTLE worse over there, but really, that has little to do with my criticisms of extremeskins... if that was the biggest problem, I wouldn't have a problem... I mean, it's YOUR board, and if you like it that way, you have every right to keep it that way...
For that matter, I really don't know why my criticisms of the board bother you in the slightest... especially since I'm obviously never gonna be a part of your dialogue over there... if I wanna talk with Skins fans, I'll go look up my buddies Kevin Miller and OverTheHillGang on the Skins' newsgroup... or I'll talk to you or Om or Henry right here in the Zone...
I spend time on this board because it is "The Best" Cowboys Board. And I have been here for quite sometime now.
I love this board, but I hang out in two others that I love too, and I'm reluctant to claim one is superior to the other... this board has insider info from Dale and BrownSugar, and a whole bunch of really good guys to talk with... it's also pretty strict with the trolls and flaming (the latter is hard for me, I do on occasion hear from the mods when I step across the line)... I also like the Ranch Report, for different reasons (it's a little more raucous, and also home to a bunch of good guys), and the Cowboys' newsgroup (because God help me, I do love a good flame war, and there are NO rules in there)... the latter has suffered in recent months from an influx of political trolls, leading to me posting more on the other boards, but I haven't given up on it yet... I keep hoping the political trolls will get sick of the group, and go find somebody else to annoy...
You and I have had our debates but would you call me a troll or an ignorant homer ? I would hope not.
Nope, you're OK in my book... but I'll say it again, if you were a Cowboys fan and posted in the same manner you post in here, particularly if you did something that annoyed Ubersturmfuehrer Art, you wouldn't last long on ES...
I wouldn't last long over there, and I wouldn't troll... I have never, ever trolled any board... the best evidence of that was my little foray into the BBWC (Giants) board a coupla months back... those folks were highly complimentary of me, and invited me to stop back any ol' time... FWIW, we were discussing Eli Manning... but the first time Art tried his Gestapo act on me, I'd be banned, because I don't sit still for that crap... as I said, the mods in here have had some minor issues with me, but I'm confident that they all basically like me... that's because they approached me privately, and when they did, I realized that yes indeed, I was wrong, so I modified the offending behavior (at least temporarily, like I said sometimes my evil side just bubbles to the surface, LOL)...
That's how a moderator should deal with things, IMO... and just for the record, I have been a moderator on 3 boards, but got canned on two of them by the admins... I still help moderate the NFC East Rantatorium, but there ain't much you can do over there that will get a moderator to step in, LOL... you can even CUSS...
Anyway, I'm gettin' long-winded again (I do catch my fair share of gentle grief for that), so I'll just say that unless the dynamics of your board change in the two specific areas I've mentioned, I'll never consider it a good board... I'm sorry, I don't mean to insult you, and if you like it the way it is, God bless you... I'm sure my approval or disapproval is really pretty insignificant to your peace of mind, when it comes right down to it...
And I certainly understand why you guys would be excited to be affiliated with the Skins in an official way... that will never happen to ANY Cowboys board, not so long as Bill Parcells is coach... ain't no way he'd let a bunch of message board warriors have that kind of insider's access... h*ll, he doesn't even want the MEDIA to have that kind of access, LOL...
