In this week's edition of Mass Dispatch..............
The Mass Matter announces The Winter General NBA Board Strike Amnesty Period and we also have “Beat The Commish” Week 14
In Ask Howard, should we have a little gambling?
We then have our Mass Dispatch User, Thread and Moderator of The Week
“Inside The Administrator's Office shows everyone some actual General NBA Board Appeals that were dead on arrival this past week.
Let's get right to The Mass Matter.......................
The Mass Matter: General NBA Board Winter Amnesty Period and “Beat The Commish” Week 14
Winter General NBA Strike Amnesty Period
It is that time of the year again and while most take that line as the Holidays, it is also one of two times each year that Users May Appeal a General NBA Board Strike.
The Winter Strike Amnesty Period will start this coming Monday December 15 and run until January 15th of the new year.
I will be posting a thread on our General NBA Board by sometime on Monday to officially kick things up.
Last time, I was stunned when only 4 of you applied and am hoping to have more of a turnout this time.
Here are the rules.......
Who is eligible?
- Users with one strike
- Users who have Successfully Appealed Read-Only Access and have two strikes.
Who is Not?
- Users with Read-Only Access
- Users with full General NBA Board Bans
Other Important Notes
- Strikes committed during The Amnesty Period July 20- August 20 are not eligible to be appealed during this time.
- Each User is allowed only one appeal and it must be sent between July 20 and August 20
- To appeal, users must have no other infractions on The RealGM Forums for the past 6 months from the day the appeal is sent.
- For Information on what our General NBA Forum Moderator Appeals Committee is looking for in each appeal, be sure to read Mass Dispatch 3.0
viewtopic.php?f=437&t=1335827
I will have a thread to ask questions on our General NBA Board by sometime Monday.
You may not apply until Monday December 15th and if you send me a PM asking how to appeal, I will assume you did not read the rules and the appeal will be “Dead On Arrival”. I'll explain a little more in "Inside The Administrator's Office"
“Beat The Commish”
Week 14 was not a good week for Yours Truly. My 10-6 mark only got me a victory over a few of the participants.
Here is everyone who “Beat The Commish” in Week 14
Users
Greatness: 13-3
WVU: 13-3
hermes: 12-4
Slot Machine: 12-4
The Regime: 12-4
EArl: 11-5
Hopping4Wiggins: 11-5
RIPSkaterdude: 11-5
TheKingofSting: 11-5
Moderators
Geoffrey P: 13-3
bondom34: 11-5
dream34: 11-5
kdawg32086: 11-5
studcrackers: 9-7
While I got smoked this week, the head-to-head competition between Users and Moderators was a dead heat and ended up tied at .687
This makes the season series so far 7-6-1 with a slight lead for The Moderators with three weeks in the regular season to go.
Please note that since some of you have missed a few weeks, I might do the final standings by winning percentage provided you participated in enough weeks.
I have updated the individual standings and it's a close competition between a few Users in the Individual Competitions.
viewtopic.php?f=437&t=1344849&p=41945995#p41945995
The playoffs will also likely have a different format that I am working on.
For now, please make your Week 15 Picks
viewtopic.php?f=437&t=1359604
Ask Howard
Have a question about RealGM, The Forums, An Issue you would like me to address publicly or something in general, just post it in the Ask Howard Thread of The Mass Dispatch Forum or you could send me a PM and I just might answer it in my next column.
Kenyon009 Asks: Is there a chance we could make a betting board with virtual points? Each game you can discuss and then bet on games with virtual coins. Then based on discussion you can add on some points every time you bet which team wins and are correct. It could be fun, without any real money, and it would be like an And 1 thing. You just win bragging rights. Anyone else for this idea? Then every month or two you could reimburse some points so no one goes dead broke.
Howard's Response: This is something that could very well happen.
We are exploring adding some games on the forums and while we are not close to doing anything, RealGM is always looking for ways to enhance our Users' experiences.
While nothing is imminent, we are exploring multiple game options.
That was a very good question. Thank you.
Mass Dispatch User, Thread and Moderator of The Week
It is time for our Weekly Awards. If you would like to nominate a User, Thread or Moderator for an Award, just make a post on The Mass Dispatch Forum or send me a PM.
Mass Dispatch User of The Week
ImHeisenberg
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=148117
ImHeisenberg is not only a huge “Breaking Bad” Fan like myself (I swear to everyone I saw the replay the night it premiered in 2008 and was then hooked) but is also a great contributor on our Detroit Pistons Forum.
I've been told my the Moderators on our Detroit Pistons that he brings energy and is very well informed.
In addition to our Pistons Forum, they also post on our General NBA Board and with The Pistons looking at a great draft pick, our NBA Draft Board amongst other RealGM Forums.
What really caught my eye were their informative posts in a few threads this week including one that will be mentioned below and how knowledgeable they are about The Pistons.
It brings a lot to our Pistons Forum and they are one of some solid Pistons Fans who have joined RealGM in the past two years.
Congratulations to our Mass Dispatch User of The Week ImHeisenberg!
Mass Dispatch Thread of The Week
Winning The Lottery: Drummond or Okafor? Thread on our Detroit Pistons Forum.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1359292
Earlier this week, Pistons User Ghost posed an interesting question.
What happens if The Detroit Pistons win The Draft Lottery?
The Pistons already have a really good young center in Andre Drummond. However, the top prospect is widely considered to be Duke center Jahili Okafor.
If The Pistons win The Lottery, that would create an interesting dilemma.
While Drummond is a potential All-Star, should The Pistons consider dealing him for a nice package of young talent so they can have the center spot freed up for Okafor?
The thread might not be that long but it is a very interesting discussion and one I love seeing fans debate.
Congratulations to our Detroit Pistons Forum!
Mass Dispatch Moderator of The Week
floppymoose
floppymoose might only moderate our Golden State Warriors Forum. However, he is also one of the most respected team forum moderators across RealGM and really wanted to recognize him this week.
He posts on several forums including our General NBA Board, NBA Trades and Transactions and even rival team forums.
A few months back, he did a series of wonderful season previews with Global Moderator jazzfan1971.
He has been on The Moderator Staff for years and even in those somewhat heated exchanges about our Warriors Moderators wanting to allow a 49ers thread on the Forum, I've always loved having him around.
Floppymoose was also instrumental in working with me to add Chris porter's Hair and sleepy51 to The Warriors Moderator Staff and he is a leader especially on that forum of loyal Warriors fans who so deserve the great team they have now.
Not only is he our Mass Dispatch Moderator of The Week but it is about time that I gave him a title that represents what a leader he is.
Floppymoose is now a Senior Moderator on our Forums and would like everyone to join me in congratulating him on this much deserved title.
Congratulations to our Mass Dispatch User of The Week Golden State Warriors Senior Moderator floppymoose!
Inside The Administrator's Office
Since our General NBA Board Strike Amnesty Period is starting up next week, I want to share some appeals that were sent to me this week. I am keeping the names of these users confidential.
Message #1
“Hello,
"It has been over 60 days since my last appeal. I wanted to reverse my suspension for the GB. Please let me know how I can proceed. “
Message #2
“Hey I was told to email you about this, I was wondering if I could get unbanned.Its been almost a year and I won't make stupid threads anymore I was just joking around with that Earl Clark thread not trying to offend people. “
I bring these up because these two PM's that I received are perfect examples of why General NBA Board Strikes are as high as they are.
Don't get me wrong, I value having these two Users posting on our forums but my feeling is neither User has read our General NBA Board Policy.
Unfortunately, it is my belief that is the case with many of our Users.
If they had read the policy that is announced atop The General NBA Board Titled
General NBA Board Policy
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1201431&p=33033730#p33033730
You would have seen a section titled
“How Read-Only Access Works and How To Appeal”
It's a little bit of a read but when PM's like the above are sent to me each week (Yes, each week), I assum you did not read The Policy and it hurts you when you appeal whether it be a Strike, Read-Only access or a full General NBA Board Ban.
Please keep that in mind if you are planning to appeal for Strike Amnesty this time around.
Contact Mass Dispatch
If anyone has a question, feedback, feel a user, thread or Moderator should be recognized or something they would like to see in Mass Dispatch, please post it on The Mass Dispatch Forum or send me a PM. You could even send me a note on Twitter @homassrealgm
Can I be unbanned from the general board? I haven't been able to post on there for a while.
