Reminder: Magic Board Etiquette (Making This a Better Place!)

[SOUL]

Hey guys, I just wanted to make this thread because I think lately more than ever I see a lot of comments about the board being negative and people being driven off of it because of the casual vitriol/arguments/negativity that seems to seep its way into every thread lately. Clearly there is a lot to argue about with this team compared to the days where we were winning a lot (where we still had our arguments, no doubt), but it doesn't mean that we can't do it without respect for other posters and without it turning into an all out war.

I don't know how clear I have to make it, but it is not okay to call people "idiots", a "moron", or hide passive aggressive remarks inside of your debates. You guys know who you are that like to step over the line. Believe it or not, this is a place of refuge for some people after a stressful day, or if they have something heavy going on in their life and want to talk basketball with like-minded Magic fans. Some people lurk here for years and finally work up the courage to involve themselves into discussion only to get bombarded with negativity or being personally attacked themselves for a simple post. Even if none of that applies to you, just having a Magic board with knowledgeable posters who enjoy cheering for the same team you do is a luxury to have when you see some of these other places on the internet.

Furthermore, if there is somebody on the forum that you cannot get along with, there is a handy ignore feature! It's under Friends & Foes in your User Control Panel. I had quite a few people on it before I became a mod because I got into a few back and forth arguments myself . Seriously though. If you find yourself gritting your teeth reading somebody's post, and wanting to say something bad about them whenever you hit that "submit" button, please just think about putting them on your ignore list, it'll make your day way better.

The mods don't want to over-moderate, because we know emotions get high sometimes and we don't want people to be fake or not be themselves on here. But if being yourself is being ultra aggressive, negative, mean, condescending, and hauling personal insults at people more often than not, we are going to start cracking down on that harder and after a certain point, you might not be posting on the board any longer. If you got a puppy at PetSmart biting all the other dogs, eventually it's not going to be allowed with them anymore. Same circumstance here.

This team has sucked for a long time. I know. I've been in the trenches with ya'll. But if you ever find yourself wanting to be negative and the day-to-day confusion of this team is going to make you go off on somebody, just step away for a day or two and come back when things are feeling better.

Thanks guys. Let's just make this place a little more welcoming with more intelligent, interesting debates instead of fights that we have to break up or steer people away from. If there is a problem, any problem, all of the mods will reply to you in a private message and try to address it for you.

Go Magic.

[MagicFan101]

Driving away the fools does make this place more intelligent. That process isn’t always friendly. It is what it is. You can’t (and won’t) have it both ways.

[SOUL]

Driving away the fools does make this place more intelligent. That process isn’t always friendly. It is what it is. You can’t (and won’t) have it both ways.

It isn't your job to drive away "the fools" (which is subjective) as some board bully, and quite frankly, you fall under a lot of the examples of the post. If you want to follow it up via PM with me, then we can do that. But yes, we can have it a certain way. If you want to go against rules which basically boil down to "you can't constantly be a dick to people" (which isn't asking much in itself), then by all means, try it.

[MagicFan101]

Driving away the fools does make this place more intelligent. That process isn’t always friendly. It is what it is. You can’t (and won’t) have it both ways.

It isn't your job to drive away "the fools" (which is subjective) as some board bully, and quite frankly, you fall under a lot of the examples of the post. If you want to follow it up via PM with me, then we can do that. But yes, we can have it a certain way. If you want to go against rules which basically boil down to "you can't constantly be a dick to people" (which isn't asking much in itself), then by all means, try it.

[MagicFan101]

Given the timing of this thread, I am sure a recent (now censored) post of mine played a role.

There is nothing subjective about trading an unprotected pick and possibly our best player for a one year rental. That is idiotic. One idiotic thought doesn’t make someone an idiot but continuously posting it in every thread shows a line of thinking which does.

[MagicMadness]

Yep, a recent post of yours played a role in this.

Attack the post, not the poster. Don't disrespect, don't use derogatory language, don't use personal insults. If you believe a certain poster shouldn't be here, or is breaking the TOS, let one of the Magic mods know.

It is not up to any individual poster to drive people away from the site.

[OrlMagic05]

Hey guys, I just wanted to make this thread because I think lately more than ever I see a lot of comments about the board being negative and people being driven off of it because of the casual vitriol/arguments/negativity that seems to seep its way into every thread lately. Clearly there is a lot to argue about with this team compared to the days where we were winning a lot (where we still had our arguments, no doubt), but it doesn't mean that we can't do it without respect for other posters and without it turning into an all out war.

I don't know how clear I have to make it, but it is not okay to call people "idiots", a "moron", or hide passive aggressive remarks inside of your debates. You guys know who you are that like to step over the line. Believe it or not, this is a place of refuge for some people after a stressful day, or if they have something heavy going on in their life and want to talk basketball with like-minded Magic fans. Some people lurk here for years and finally work up the courage to involve themselves into discussion only to get bombarded with negativity or being personally attacked themselves for a simple post. Even if none of that applies to you, just having a Magic board with knowledgeable posters who enjoy cheering for the same team you do is a luxury to have when you see some of these other places on the internet.

Furthermore, if there is somebody on the forum that you cannot get along with, there is a handy ignore feature! It's under Friends & Foes in your User Control Panel. I had quite a few people on it before I became a mod because I got into a few back and forth arguments myself . Seriously though. If you find yourself gritting your teeth reading somebody's post, and wanting to say something bad about them whenever you hit that "submit" button, please just think about putting them on your ignore list, it'll make your day way better.

The mods don't want to over-moderate, because we know emotions get high sometimes and we don't want people to be fake or not be themselves on here. But if being yourself is being ultra aggressive, negative, mean, condescending, and hauling personal insults at people more often than not, we are going to start cracking down on that harder and after a certain point, you might not be posting on the board any longer. If you got a puppy at PetSmart biting all the other dogs, eventually it's not going to be allowed with them anymore. Same circumstance here.

This team has sucked for a long time. I know. I've been in the trenches with ya'll. But if you ever find yourself wanting to be negative and the day-to-day confusion of this team is going to make you go off on somebody, just step away for a day or two and come back when things are feeling better.

Thanks guys. Let's just make this place a little more welcoming with more intelligent, interesting debates instead of fights that we have to break up or steer people away from. If there is a problem, any problem, all of the mods will reply to you in a private message and try to address it for you.

Go Magic.

Is it OK for a mod to call someone an idiot?

[SOUL]

Is it OK for a mod to call someone an idiot?

I'm sure every mod at one point before being a mod has probably called somebody an idiot in the past, or alluded to it, but mods are not above the rules so no.

[MagicMadness]

Is it OK for a mod to call someone an idiot?

SOUL addressed this right above me, so I'm just adding on:

Mods should not be using that type of language, either.

But if you see it? Go ahead and report it, just like you would any other poster here.

[MagicFan101]

Yep, a recent post of yours played a role in this.

A proud day.

[drsd]

(Making This THE BEST Place!)

Fixed


Long live RealGM !!!!



..

[Skin]

I dunno if this is weird, but often times I And1 the people I am in debates just to respect their pov, but I think a byproduct is that it helps to keep disagreements from getting ugly.

[woosah]

We can still laugh at the posts about strapping on right?

[Driguez]

Awesome. I hope the hammer eventually comes down as it seems it doesn't matter to some.

[pepe1991]

I dunno if this is weird, but often times I And1 the people I am in debates just to respect their pov, but I think a byproduct is that it helps to keep disagreements from getting ugly.

same .

[WeAreVenom]

I dunno if this is weird, but often times I And1 the people I am in debates just to respect their pov, but I think a byproduct is that it helps to keep disagreements from getting ugly.

same .

Me too....I think tone can get lost over text so doing something like this goes a long way. Basically like saying "I respect your opinion, but here's why I disagree...".

I think it's important to remember that we all want the same thing (seeing the team get better).....even if we disagree on how to go about it.

[The Real Dalic]

I dunno if this is weird, but often times I And1 the people I am in debates just to respect their pov, but I think a byproduct is that it helps to keep disagreements from getting ugly.

same .

Me too....I think tone can get lost over text so doing something like this goes a long way. Basically like saying "I respect your opinion, but here's why I disagree...".

I think it's important to remember that we all want the same thing (seeing the team get better).....even if we disagree on how to go about it.

That's why I And-1 the person I'm debating too. I do it when I feel like tempers may be starting to flare with certain conversations and I respect the person. There are some a-holes though, not on this board at the moment, but definitely on the GB.

Hoping we can change the hostility around here that's been happening with all the losing, we shouldn't have to wait for the Magic to be successful to be a decent human being to one another.

[WeAreVenom]

same .

Me too....I think tone can get lost over text so doing something like this goes a long way. Basically like saying "I respect your opinion, but here's why I disagree...".

I think it's important to remember that we all want the same thing (seeing the team get better).....even if we disagree on how to go about it.

That's why I And-1 the person I'm debating too. I do it when I feel like tempers may be starting to flare with certain conversations and I respect the person. There are some a-holes though, not on this board at the moment, but definitely on the GB.

Hoping we can change the hostility around here that's been happening with all the losing, we shouldn't have to wait for the Magic to be successful to be a decent human being to one another.

Very True......I'm guessing once we improve things around here will be better, I feel like frustrations are at an all-time high. We definitely used to argue during the winning years, but it was never like this.

I pretty much only read on the GB, just too much going on there....

[Shady Franchise]

As for props, I'd like to call out guys like Tiderulz and others like him. Even though they shut down my trade ideas, they do it with positive criticism! I enjoy reading their informed posts every time! I learn a lot about the Magic and other teams by doing so. I'm sure Tide thinks I'm crazy with many of my trade ideas (and he's probably right), but he really is respectful with his responses. I AND1 people all the time who disagree with me, but are respectful and insightful with their reasoning. Just wanted to say thanks to all of the posters on our board who know their stuff, but use it positively! It really does help Magic fans like myself, who don't get to watch many games during the season. As for my trades, I will definitely work on quality over quantity. My intent isn't to annoy posters after all!