Knicks Forum: State of the Board — Summer 2025

[GONYK]

Hey folks, Leon Rose doesn't do State of the Team offseason pressers, but we do.

As we head into the offseason, it’s time to level with each other. Not just about the Knicks, but about this community.

This board has long been one of the most passionate, thoughtful fan spaces on RealGM. But recently, the energy has shifted. Threads are getting hijacked. Constructive posters are checking out. And too often, the discourse feels more like Twitter than the board we’ve all helped build.

That’s on all of us. Including the mod team.


Where We Fell Short

We’ve let too much slide.

- We waited too long to step in when threads were derailed or dominated by personal agendas.
- We allowed sniping and one-note posting to go unchecked.
- And we didn’t do enough to protect the quality voices that make this place great.

That silence let the floor drop. And for that, we own it.


What’s Not Working

- Agenda posting: If your post could’ve been copy-pasted into any thread for the last 6 months, it’s probably not helping the conversation.
- Personal shots: Debate the point. Don’t attack the poster.
- Performative outrage: Passion is part of Knicks fandom. But constant heat with no light is pushing smart voices out of the room.


What’s Changing

We’re not trying to sterilize the board. Knicks fans are supposed to be loud, sharp, and opinionated. But we are recommitting to holding the line:

- Stronger enforcement on trolling, repetition, and personal attacks.
- Agenda behavior (even subtle) will be flagged and addressed.
- Thread quality will be moderated more actively. That means faster locks, splits, and warnings when conversations spiral.

We’ll also be posting clearer community guidelines soon, so expectations are transparent across the board.


What We Want More Of

- Posts with thought, context, stats, perspective, or at least a fresh lens.
- Disagreement that sharpens the conversation, not dulls it.
- The return of quality posters who’ve been lurking or gone quiet. Your voice still matters here.

And we want to be crystal clear on this point:

There is zero tolerance for any denigration, implied or direct, toward marginalized communities.
That includes racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or any form of bigotry.

It doesn’t matter if it’s dressed up as sarcasm, dog whistles, or off-topic “jokes.”
It will be dealt with and repeat offenders will be removed.

This forum is for everyone. If that’s a problem for you, this isn’t the place for you.


To the Vets, the Lurkers, and the Frustrated

If you've held back because the climate felt hostile, we hear you. We let some of that fester. That changes now.

And to the folks who have stayed committed to quality posting even when it felt thankless: thank you. You've carried this place.


Our Ask to the Community

This isn’t just about moderation. It’s about all of us.

We’re stepping up. But we need you to step up with us.

If you want this board to be smart, fun, and worth your time, help us protect that. Lead with curiosity. Respect the posters around you, even when you disagree. If something feels off, report it. And most importantly, contribute in a way that adds to the signal, not just the noise.

We’ll do our part. Please do yours.


Final Word

We all want the same thing: a Knicks team that competes, earns respect, and makes us proud.

Let’s make this board the same.

We’re not here to police opinions. But we are here to protect the community. We’re asking you to help us do that together.

– The Mod Team

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2463324#p118926264 - updated RealGM Knicks Forum Community Guidelines

[mpharris36]

Well said GO.

Mod team had to do some serious self reflection as this was a challenging year. At the end of the day we need to be better and we will. We want to make this forum enjoyable for EVERYONE and with that some tougher decisions will be made regarding the typical lenient moderating style in the past. It has come to a point action needed to be taken for the overall health of the forum.

We will be better and we ask everyone on the forum to do the same.

LETS GO KNICKS!!!

[Jalen Bluntson]

[gavran]

I need to be better.

[shtolky]

I like this. I've been lurking for a while and have gone quiet as you say, but I'd like to be more active. Looking forward to seeing how this place improves! When the forum is firing on all cylinders, there is no place better to post about this team that drives us absolutely insane.

[Im Coming Home]

Let's goooo

RGM Knicks will be back to being the best place to talk Knicks! No more agendas, trolling, etc. it'll be great again.

Thank you for stepping up mods and realizing what a lot of us have felt for awhile now.

[HEZI]

Things have really changed. The fact that the draft thread has disappeared from the face of this board shows how times have changed. Normally at this time the draft thread is on version 8 after 800 pages of discussion about who our next bust will be as we prepare for end of June. Now we are fresh off an ECF appearance where we were 2 games from the finals. Crazy times

I think we do have the 50th pick, woohoo!

As far as Leon I think he did great with the KAT trade but the Mikal trade set us back. Poor fit and gave up too much for him in terms of draft capital. We could have done better managing those assets for a player or combination of players that would be better than Mikal. Pacers getting Siakam for 3 picks and he showed his true value by killing us meanwhile we gave up more for a guy who barely made any type of impact on the series.

I wouldn’t be looking to deal KAT unless it’s a no brainer talent upgrade but I think Mikal is overrated, doesn’t really fit and I’d look to dump him before his extension even if it means getting less in return. Unless he makes major improvements to his game I don’t see a good reason to keep him.

[KnicksGadfly]

Don’t envy you all your jobs.

But I started posting here a long time ago and surprisingly I’m still here, so y’all must be doing something right

[BKlutch]

Hey folks, Leon Rose doesn't do State of the Team offseason pressers, but we do.

As we head into the offseason, it’s time to level with each other. Not just about the Knicks, but about this community.

This board has long been one of the most passionate, thoughtful fan spaces on RealGM. But recently, the energy has shifted. Threads are getting hijacked. Constructive posters are checking out. And too often, the discourse feels more like Twitter than the board we’ve all helped build.

That’s on all of us. Including the mod team.


Where We Fell Short

We’ve let too much slide.

- We waited too long to step in when threads were derailed or dominated by personal agendas.
- We allowed sniping and one-note posting to go unchecked.
- And we didn’t do enough to protect the quality voices that make this place great.

That silence let the floor drop. And for that, we own it.


What’s Not Working

- Agenda posting: If your post could’ve been copy-pasted into any thread for the last 6 months, it’s probably not helping the conversation.
- Personal shots: Debate the point. Don’t attack the poster.
- Performative outrage: Passion is part of Knicks fandom. But constant heat with no light is pushing smart voices out of the room.


What’s Changing

We’re not trying to sterilize the board. Knicks fans are supposed to be loud, sharp, and opinionated. But we are recommitting to holding the line:

- Stronger enforcement on trolling, repetition, and personal attacks.
- Agenda behavior (even subtle) will be flagged and addressed.
- Thread quality will be moderated more actively. That means faster locks, splits, and warnings when conversations spiral.

We’ll also be posting clearer community guidelines soon, so expectations are transparent across the board.


What We Want More Of

- Posts with thought, context, stats, perspective, or at least a fresh lens.
- Disagreement that sharpens the conversation, not dulls it.
- The return of quality posters who’ve been lurking or gone quiet. Your voice still matters here.

And we want to be crystal clear on this point:

There is zero tolerance for any denigration, implied or direct, toward marginalized communities.
That includes racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or any form of bigotry.

It doesn’t matter if it’s dressed up as sarcasm, dog whistles, or off-topic “jokes.”
It will be dealt with and repeat offenders will be removed.

This forum is for everyone. If that’s a problem for you, this isn’t the place for you.


To the Vets, the Lurkers, and the Frustrated

If you've held back because the climate felt hostile, we hear you. We let some of that fester. That changes now.

And to the folks who have stayed committed to quality posting even when it felt thankless: thank you. You've carried this place.


Our Ask to the Community

This isn’t just about moderation. It’s about all of us.

We’re stepping up. But we need you to step up with us.

If you want this board to be smart, fun, and worth your time, help us protect that. Lead with curiosity. Respect the posters around you, even when you disagree. If something feels off, report it. And most importantly, contribute in a way that adds to the signal, not just the noise.

We’ll do our part. Please do yours.


Final Word

We all want the same thing: a Knicks team that competes, earns respect, and makes us proud.

Let’s make this board the same.

We’re not here to police opinions. But we are here to protect the community. We’re asking you to help us do that together.

– The Mod Team

Nailed it.

[BKlutch]

Just one more request.

Never never never compare RealGM to Twitter.

Maybe once upon a time Twitter was awesome, but it's become X-Twitter, definitely going the opposite direction from what we all want for this board. There are still some good sports posts and local NYC posts there, but generally it's no longer a safe place at all. Twitter is in the Xitter.™

[MrDollarBills]

Mod team:

You guys have done a great job and ever since I began posting here i feel like all of you helped me in your own little ways to feel at home here.

I remember when a nutter from that other place came on here making threats towards me. Yall deaded that immediately which I was very grateful. I appreciate yall.

On a personal note, there were some things said yesterday that caused me to become confrontational with another poster. I lost my cool because the subject is an issue that has caused serious harm to a family member whom I loved dearly. I apologize for that because I really should have just hit the report button and walked away. I will be better because I really do love everyone here, even the person who i reacted to, and its so much fun to talk hoops/Knicks/Yankees/Giants/Jets with everyone and I want to help keep it fun and informative.

Notice that I left the Mets out.

[Jeff Van Gully]

Just one more request.

Never never never compare RealGM to Twitter.

Maybe once upon a time Twitter was awesome, but it's become X-Twitter, definitely going the opposite direction from what we all want for this board. There are still some good sports posts and local NYC posts there, but generally it's no longer a safe place at all. Twitter is in the Xitter.™

yeah, the point is that's what we have been different from... and want to continue to be different from.

there are plenty of places to get "comments section" culture. this shouldn't be one. we'll be better.

[Gravy]

Probably should auto-ban any post that has KAT or Thibs in it this summer just to be safe.

I kid I kid. good luck

[thebuzzardman]

I'm not changing. Looking forward to the perma ban.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Very well said

[nedleeds]

I'm not changing. Looking forward to the perma ban.

I'm abyss pilled as this front office has pissed all over the mana from heaven that was getting a top 5 point guard for free, on the best non rookie scale deal in the league. All to enrich themselves and clients. As the franchise burns back to ashes it may be reborn 6 years from now when 5 Pick Mik is retired and we've all forgotten who Sam Rose was.

[The KnicksFix]

Well said
Though I guess my main gripe recently is as soon as I disagree with someone, I try to prove my perspective with videos, analysis and points supporting my viewpoint. However, there are a couple posters who will just respond with a tsunami of denigrating comments or along the lines of “shut up bro you don’t know what you’re talking about”

Providing factual analysis bolstering your perspective is what makes the board fun, but replying with posts with a broad brush stroke of 3% basketball and 97% vitriol gets the discussions going nowhere. Sometimes I feel as though if that person isn’t getting reprimanded or warned, then I might as well respect my dignity and keep providing my energy. That’s the only problem I have recently, because I love this place and 98% of posters I enjoy hearing from even if I don’t agree with them.

It’s the “shut up and stop driving your agenda” crowd that kills the vibe sometimes.

[The KnicksFix]

I’ve been posting for 11 years? Man, the Knicks are really my life… wow

[B8RcDeMktfxC]

Tbh I still have ~80 accounts of all of you lot on foe/ignore. But the other 30 of you are a joy with which to interact.

(I have very little interaction with them other than as normal posters, but generally the mods here seem pretty switched on to me ... so keep on keeping on. rah rah etc)

[KnicksGadfly]

I think as we try to improve our forum, I kinda want to drop my 2 cents and say that there might be some other stuff that's affecting our discussions, beyond just mods or posters themselves. Doesn't mean we shouldn't try and it would be nice if the RealGM Knicks forum keeps on going for a long time but it feels like there's more going on.

-We've had our fair share of trolls and spats over many eras. I don't see stuff as being that different. Yea, we're debating KAT and Thibs and whatever now...but a while back, we were debating Melo, Kanter, Woodson, Lin, Gallo, Marbury, Larry Brown, etc. I don't remember the discourse as being that much more enlightened. Hell, with Lin, you had dudes throwing out racial slurs and subtexts.
-What I do remember as being different might be the more random topics we had. You sometimes got to know posters a lot more back then.
-As an example of some random other factor that might be affecting the forum: our country/the world as a whole has gotten pretty bad at discourse, with echo chambers and whatnot. Even the "foe/ignore" button allows people to ignore each other until they can't, and they get into more arguments. In our social media platforms we use, we probably don't get as much interaction with people who disagree.
-I'm not sure we're going to be getting as many young fans, so that affects flow of users...I think it's normal for users to drop on and off, but we're not going to get as many replacements. I think the younger generation doesn't like watching sports as much and I feel like RealGM is probably not their target platform.
-We have the +1 button, and I think that comes with its own form of social validation for certain types of posts
-Oh yea, as a fan, I think we're also here to vent and to have some therapy when the Knicks screw up, but also to celebrate when they win. I feel like it's both sides of the same coin.