CelticsBlog has lost its way.

[Fafnir]

I feel the need to address this in the hope that I'm not the only active poster who stops posting (following a line of many, for various reasons).

I don't understand why you want other posters to leave? How will that help solve anything?

I think your analogy about how the Celtics organization has never changed, so CB shouldn't is flawed. The Celtics organization has changed a lot! The team has changed owners very frequently, changes players, and since Red has retired even changed management several times.

What is your vision of what CB should be?

[Champzilla]

I understand what CM is trying to say, I find myself in situations where I feel disrespected, and that was never really the case when the team was losing.  I think a lot of it has to do with the way the Celtics are playing.  We are a team that is back on top again.  There seem to be a lot more opposing fans on this site now, which can cause drama.  The mods to a great job of controlling that though.  Having opposing fans is not bad, but they are certainly out in force now as oppose to years back.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Curiously complaining about drama creates more drama... you know the type of drama you don't seem to want.

[Champzilla]

This is like an episode of "the hills", so much drama.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth #20]

No caps please.
Feel free to repost without them.

[Casperian]

Well maestro, I remember I´ve made a similar post like this in the SOTOTT 4-6 months ago, maybe you should`ve used the "Insult the Squirrel"-thread for your post.  

I think it has to do with the Celtics` success in the last years. I don`t like the term bandwagoner, but it`s obvious to me that we`ve welcomed a lot of new, and more importantly, young fans in the last two years to this site. A lot of the older members (in terms of age) haven`t posted here since the playoffs (I´m talking about you, Andy Jick), and I think this will change once the season starts again.

So, I suggest you just keep doing what you always did, ignore the stupid posts, and don`t let them ruin the fun for you.

If the older guys act like the rolemodels they should be, the new posters will eventually follow suit, and part of being a "good member" is to forgive the young guys who just don`t know it any better. I think everyone who`s worth it will be able to differentiate between fans with an honest opinion and a biased troll-kid (at least I hope so).

[Cman]

It all comes down to if it's a problem, don't click.

I think this is right on the money.  

The CB draft thing seemed - to me - like an incredible waste of time, and so I didn't bother following any of it in the forums. ie: I don't think I clicked on a single topic related to the CB draft, except by accident.

Likewise, sometimes I know that when I click on a forum topic titled something like "Should Democrats be ashamed?" that i will get p--ed off, but I click on it anyway.  But I only really have myself to blame since I knew the outcome of my clicking.

So to echo HdM, if you don't like a topic, don't click.  Sure, you might be missing something, but as RAcker sagely notes: "ignorance is bliss"  

[MrTripleDouble10]

This is a blog, right?  What am I missing here?  No need to take anything here so personally and like others have said, if you don't like a certain topic or article, don't read/pay attention to it.

[Thruthelookingglass]

Drucci summed up a lot of my perspective very succintly.  If I ever need a spokesperson . . .

That said:

CelticsBlog has been tremendously successful thanks to Jeff and the staff who keep things up and running, and the standards they have been able to maintain.  And the success of the Celtics themselves hasn't hurt.  My admittedly small understanding of all things NBA on the internet leads me to believe that CelticsBlog is a very well-respected hub for basketball knowledge, so much so that it even attracts fans of other teams.  That has been cause for conflict at times, but I really like reading the contributions of the more objective "hostile" fans.   

Is is also easier these days to find CelticsBlog.  Back like five years ago, you'd search for Celtics blogs and hit the Herald or the Globe and others, and then way down the list you'd hit CelticsBlog which you'd then discover was over its bandwidth limit anyway.      

Now as part of a network of blogs (and the celebrity of some of CB writers!), this blog is accessed by more people.  That's fantastic, but it also brings a fair number of trolls and people who are not prepared for the standards maintained on this blog.  And I think that some of us have been a little less tolerant lately too, in that we are a bit less familiar with each other (I'll confess here that I only lurked until a couple years ago).

So celticsmaestro, I think you are seeing change.  And I'll even agree that it's not necessarily easy.  However, I challenge you, and all of us to continue actively maintaining the high standards of this blog, those same standards that made CB so darned popular (and addictive).  We can serve as examples of decorum, make private suggestions to new members, and yes, even involve moderators when necessary.  This discussion is an important part of that active involvement -- it's not drama.  This thread is the community discussing its expectations in the open, which is instructive for all of us. 

[BrickJames]

The internet is serious business.

That said I agree with CM that the mods get a carte blanche to instigate because they can lay the noob hammer down to "discipline" us...

[ChampKind]

The internet is serious business.

That said I agree with CM that the mods get a carte blanche to instigate because they can lay the noob hammer down to "discipline" us...

I was going to post something to the same effect.  It does seem like the rules aren't universally enforced, and some posters get hit harder than others.  That would be my one suggestion for improvement.

[dark_lord]

i have to agree with maestro in some aspects.  i do think there is a lot more negativity and alot of inconsistency here.  this has been a slow trend over the last couple months i would say.

i have spoken with some people, and even mods, about some observations and feelings. 

but i really dont want to elaborate too much, as i am fearful of potential backlash.  we are encouraged to voice displeasure with certain things about the blog, but i think there is some backlash that goes along with it, if it is an unpopular viewpoint (not saying me personally, but in general).  so i wont get into specifics to avoid potential drama. 

overall i still like the blog, but it has more of a negative vibe than it used to. i felt like this a couple yrs ago and took nearly a year off before i returned.  i just needed to space from it.

i think it really says something when both acf and now maestro and saying they are taking space from the blog.  both have been here a long time, are great contributors, great assets to the community, and are well liked and respected by all.

maestro, thanks for all ur contributions.  ur a class act and a great member of the community.  im glad i have ur info so that i can stay in touch off the blog.  if u decide to come back, this place will be better for it!

[Thruthelookingglass]

The internet is serious business.

That said I agree with CM that the mods get a carte blanche to instigate because they can lay the noob hammer down to "discipline" us...

I was going to post something to the same effect.  It does seem like the rules aren't universally enforced, and some posters get hit harder than others.  That would be my one suggestion for improvement.

If some people feel that the rules are enforced unevenly, I think the answer is:

  DON'T play with fire if you value your participation in CelticsBlog. 

It's fair enough.  Our mods don't need to split hairs all day.  Like us, they don't live in a perfect world but they still do us a great service in an uncertain environment.  They may even have families and jobs that are more important.  We shouldn't make their jobs harder by pushing our luck.

[ChampKind]

The internet is serious business.

That said I agree with CM that the mods get a carte blanche to instigate because they can lay the noob hammer down to "discipline" us...

I was going to post something to the same effect.  It does seem like the rules aren't universally enforced, and some posters get hit harder than others.  That would be my one suggestion for improvement.

If some people feel that the rules are enforced unevenly, I think the answer is:

  DON'T play with fire if you value your participation in CelticsBlog. 

It's fair enough.  Our mods don't need to split hairs all day.  Like us, they don't live in a perfect world but they still do us a great service in an uncertain environment.  They may even have families and jobs that are more important.  We shouldn't make their jobs harder by pushing our luck.

My point is that some mods can be antagonistic, but not held to the same standards of other posters.  This is observational, but I feel like it's something that's come up more often recently.  Rather than carrying out a warning in private, petty arguments are conducted in public forums. 

[Champzilla]

I stopped going to the chatroom because it wasn't even about the game anymore, it was just people attacking on another.  I went to the chatroom to talk with others who were watching the game, later on I was going to the chatroom so people could make personal attacks towards me and my family, so I just stopped going.