Does this board need a SharkIER Pool? (1 Viewer)

[Morton Muffley]

I've been coming to this site for a long time and at the risk of offending new members and/or erroneously glorifying the past, it seems to me that the Shark Pool is not what it used to be (i.e. insightful, respectful, well-reasoned discussion). Instead, many of the discussions/responses seem to be filled with bad logic, unnecessary vitriol, rampant rolling-eyed sarcasm, and poorly reasoned emotional responses.

I think this is likely the predictable effect of having 30k board members. As such, I was wondering if there might be some benefit to creating another board that consisted of 500+ INVITED members (let's call it Shark Pool 2.0). This new board would be visible to all, but only the invited members could post there - perhaps one could think of this as the FBG Roundtable on Steroids.

OK, so who gets invited? Let FBG managment and the Shark Pool members decide (note that I am NOT advocating inclusion by membership #!). More importantly, I could envision new members being added to the Shark Pool 2.0 on a monthly/quarterly basis, based on their Shark Pool 1.0 input. Perhaps this could be done like Hall of Fame voting. Other ideas?

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.

Anyway, just an idea I had that I thought was worth putting out there. I am sure there are many issues I failed to consider that others will bring up and I look forward to hearing why all of you think this might be a good/bad idea and possibly how it might work (if it's worth pursuing at all).

Thanks in advance.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Check back in January.

the board is still great you just have to find it

 

[Warhogs]

A low member number does not insure getting the best sharks just as a high member number does not exclude a poster from being a shark.

I see you indicated invitation only for over 500 but that still does not weed out guys who may not be real shark like but just early members.

Maybe you can just invite people to be in a little club of your own?

 

[Fodasme69]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

 

[DCThunder]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

 

[phthalatemagic]

Did anyone guess three posts?

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Would I be invited? I need an answer to this before I can vote.

 

[Despyzer]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

Just to help out...

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.Thanks in advance.

 

[Morton Muffley]

A low member number does not insure getting the best sharks just as a high member number does not exclude a poster from being a shark.I see you indicated invitation only for over 500 but that still does not weed out guys who may not be real shark like but just early members.Maybe you can just invite people to be in a little club of your own?

Thanks for proving my point, please read more closely.

 

[Morton Muffley]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Thanks for proving my point, please read more closely.

 

[Morton Muffley]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

Just to help out...

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.Thanks in advance.

Thanks Dep. Not to sound like a whiny tool, but these kind of responses (rolling eyes when you clearly have not read/comprehended what I've written) are exactly the kind of crap I'm so sick of sorting through in order to get to good stuff...and this site has SO much good stuff.

 

[Eric]

This is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Please, for the sake of everyone here, get over yourself.

 

[vandyt]

I've been coming to this site for a long time and at the risk of offending new members and/or erroneously glorifying the past, it seems to me that the Shark Pool is not what it used to be (i.e. insightful, respectful, well-reasoned discussion). Instead, many of the discussions/responses seem to be filled with bad logic, unnecessary vitriol, rampant rolling-eyed sarcasm, and poorly reasoned emotional responses.

This is due to a combination of Joe & Co. either hiring the best posters and their posting tailing off, running them off or banning them, and the swarm of people from the Huddle who came over awhile ago.

 

[aldelgreco]

If Joe won't do a subscribers only board (at which you could discuss rankings, etc) because he is scared of "diluting the shark pool", then there is absolutely no way he would ever do this. At least with a subscribers only board, he would be adding an extra benefit to subscribers which are no doubt this site's primary income stream. To go through with this plan would be to dilute the shark pool for no real monetary benefit or gain. not gonna happen.

 

[Rounders]

I hear what you are saying, but you are not going to win the poll. Why? Because the # of bad outweigh the # of good.

I have been coming to these boards for a long time now, mostly as a lurking with an occasional post. It's my style. Nowadays it's real difficult to find useful information. My suggestion: wait until the offseason, that's when the good stuff comes out.

 

[TheAristocrat]

Let's try to be more INCLUSIVE than EXCLUSIVE. I'm really happy you shared your feelings though.

You and me, man. Together we could move mountains.

iHug

 

[Bob Lee Swagger]

I think everyone here in the Shark Pool has a right to have their opinions heard, and I think all opinions have their own merit. We shouldn't be an exclusive community, but should instead strive to be as inclusive and uplifting as possible. We're all winners here, guys!

 

[John Mamula]

There's a group of us who already do this.

 

[Morton Muffley]

Check back in January. the board is still great you just have to find it

Thanks. You are absolutely correct and I almost wrote this in my original post, but was afraid that adding more would limit the reading and take the discussion off my original topic. Nevertheless, I do spend significant time on this board all year and agree that January to June has a very different feeling (perhaps this is how the Lake Havasu residents feel after the Spring Breakers leave!)Anyway, I'm sure I sound really whiny and again want to point out that I do not believe this issue is due to late arriving members (i.e. high membership number), but rather to the shear mass of people who access this board (more people = more tools).

 

[Fodasme69]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

Just to help out...

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.Thanks in advance.

Thanks Dep. Not to sound like a whiny tool, but these kind of responses (rolling eyes when you clearly have not read/comprehended what I've written) are exactly the kind of crap I'm so sick of sorting through in order to get to good stuff...and this site has SO much good stuff.

I'll refund you on your BOARD fees times 10 for every EYE roll you get. it's a free board and making ANOTHER board where only 500 can post in will cause this one to explode. Different posts with: did you see what that one saidI disagree with the superboardI have a rebuttle to the superboard etc. Cause lots of duplicate crap and be counter-productive. But good luck with it.

 

[rct]

perhaps one could think of this as the FBG Roundtable on Steroids.

More like FBG Roundtable on LSD. That's all we need, an exclusive club of chosen members who can talk among themselves ad naseaum and preach to the rest of us, who can't respond.

 

[proninja]

I feel that anything which excludes anybody from this wonderful community would be a step in the wrong direction. Instead of focusing on getting away from other people, we need to focus on how to work together harmoniously as well as fostering a positive environment where people can freely share ideas. Only then will we all be enlightened. I will pray for us, friends.

 

[Husker]

Bagger:

Can I join? I'm not very smart, I'm not very witty, and I don't post very much, but I really like feeling elite. TIA.

Husker

 

[Warhogs]

There's a group of us who already do this.

So the OP must be asking to be invited in to this group.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Check back in January. the board is still great you just have to find it

Thanks. You are absolutely correct and I almost wrote this in my original post, but was afraid that adding more would limit the reading and take the discussion off my original topic. Nevertheless, I do spend significant time on this board all year and agree that January to June has a very different feeling (perhaps this is how the Lake Havasu residents feel after the Spring Breakers leave!)Anyway, I'm sure I sound really whiny and again want to point out that I do not believe this issue is due to late arriving members (i.e. high membership number), but rather to the shear mass of people who access this board (more people = more tools).

yes, in season the pool for me is more about injury status and post game discussion rather than off season when us geeks start our off season prep work

 

[proninja]

Bagger:Can I join? I'm not very smart, I'm not very witty, and I don't post very much, but I really like feeling elite. TIA.Husker

Husker, I just want you to know that I think you're elite, and you belong on any board you want to be on. I hope you make this the best time of your life, friend.

 

[Morton Muffley]

OK, thanks to all for the great posts.

I totally understand the issue of exclusivity/inclusivity and clearly that would be problematic as another board could dilute this board.

I guess what I was looking for was the next version of the FBG Roundtable...where people like me could go to READ discussions that weren't filled with petty attacks. Again (and for the love of GOD), I am NOT trying to include myself in some elitist group! What I want is a board that I can read that contains real-time discussions of key topics. I don't want to post because I don't belong there as aposter (not sure why this is SO hard for people to understand).

Anyaway, thanks for all the responses and the continued discussion and to the many of you who demonstrated what I find so exasperating about these board, lol.

Until january...

 

[Morton Muffley]

This is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard. Please, for the sake of everyone here, get over yourself.

The worst idea ever i can appreciate (and understand), but really why is the rest of your post necessary?

 

[Husker]

Bagger:Can I join? I'm not very smart, I'm not very witty, and I don't post very much, but I really like feeling elite. TIA.Husker

Husker, I just want you to know that I think you're elite, and you belong on any board you want to be on. I hope you make this the best time of your life, friend.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

I have some complaints with the board setup/layout, but one of the things I think it gets absolutely right is not displaying a post count or stupid titles or anything. Some people try to establish a pecking order based on the registration #, but it doesn't stick and it doesn't promote B.S. volume posting the way those other tags do on other boards. Desire for an "elite" board here contradicts this system (which, like I said, I am fairly pleased with).

 

[theberg11]

There are no real sharks... fantasy football is for the most part luck.

 

[FantasyTrader]

I think it's a great idea, but it's been discussed before and will NEVER happen. My advice would be to get better at wading through the muck. Among some other tips and friendly *hints* that I would suggest:

1) Make yourself scarce August-December. I've heard bicycle_seat say this many times before and it really is true. The Shark Pool is still an AWESOME place to be in February. The homers are hibernating and all the redraft tools with axes to grind against certain players/teams AND for certain player/teams don't have a lineup in the offseason (hence, no need to urinate in every thread questioning their player's value). In fact, that "die-down" has already started happening over the past two-three weeks.

2) Develop a short list of people you really enjoy reading. IMO most people do it bass-ackwards. They log-in, glance through the pool and find interesting subject lines (like I used to do). If you're a Rivers owner and you click on a thread titled "Rivers Blows!", don't go in there thinking you're going to stumble upon a treasure trove of insight. The title has already set up the subject matter. People are going in there to either say, "Damn right he does!" or to defend their starter. Instead, search for recent posts by people on your short-list. A) They have a lot of good things to say and you can learn from them B) they are not likely to be in the "Rivers Blows!" threads. They've been around long enough to know that their logic has no place there and time would be better served elsewhere.

3) Titles to stay away from:

A declaration of anything. Somebody's gonna punch somebody in the teeth, this guy sucks, etc.

Game Threads.

Threads with 3+ pages. Actually, there are some GREAT 3+ pg threads but they're rare. Go ahead and read the first page if the topic compels you but if the worthwhile points already begin heading south and the bickering is starting on the first page, then the rest is garbage. Trust me, a thread never recomposes itself. Once 2-5 tools get started with each other it's over. And you will have wasted 20 minutes of your life you can't get back.

Any current hot-topic. Anything Patriots. Anything Tom Brady, Vick in the offseason, etc. Nothing of value in these IMO.

4) Worthwhile threads:

A sincere question.

Links to articles.

Mini-articles. MOP's RB Exploit/Avoid. Laughinguy's WR Exploit/Avoid. Other's top 10 this or '08's top 10 that. Ususally some thoughtful discussions happening in those.

 

[dotsonian]

What makes any shark pool viable is the bait swimming around to munch on. Without us guppies you sharks would starve. Don't mess with your own food chain sharks.

 

[Koya]

Let's get over ourselves a little bit, eh?

 

[Morton Muffley]

Here's another (possibly stupid) idea...what if the Shark Pool 2.0 only had 4-5 topics at any given time. That is, like the FBG roundtable the topics could only be started by Joe and company. Perhaps this is a way to create something of value that does not greatly devlaue the existing Shark Pool.

Now, I recognize that we still have the exclusivity issue, but would that really be that big of a deal to people. I personally love reading the roundtable discussions and never once felt left out.

Also, creating a group that is pool from the best Shark Pool members may have the added benefit of improving shark pool content.

Apologies, if I'm holding on too tightly to a bad idea, but I think that something could be done in this regard and I'm open to any ideas.

 

[Morton Muffley]

I think it's a great idea, but it's been discussed before and will NEVER happen. My advice would be to get better at wading through the muck. Among some other tips and friendly *hints* that I would suggest:1) Make yourself scarce August-December. I've heard bicycle_seat say this many times before and it really is true. The Shark Pool is still an AWESOME place to be in February. The homers are hibernating and all the redraft tools with axes to grind against certain players/teams AND for certain player/teams don't have a lineup in the offseason (hence, no need to urinate in every thread questioning their player's value). In fact, that "die-down" has already started happening over the past two-three weeks. 2) Develop a short list of people you really enjoy reading. IMO most people do it bass-ackwards. They log-in, glance through the pool and find interesting subject lines (like I used to do). If you're a Rivers owner and you click on a thread titled "Rivers Blows!", don't go in there thinking you're going to stumble upon a treasure trove of insight. The title has already set up the subject matter. People are going in there to either say, "Damn right he does!" or to defend their starter. Instead, search for recent posts by people on your short-list. A) They have a lot of good things to say and you can learn from them B) they are not likely to be in the "Rivers Blows!" threads. They've been around long enough to know that their logic has no place there and time would be better served elsewhere. 3) Titles to stay away from:A declaration of anything. Somebody's gonna punch somebody in the teeth, this guy sucks, etc.Game Threads.Threads with 3+ pages. Actually, there are some GREAT 3+ pg threads but they're rare. Go ahead and read the first page if the topic compels you but if the worthwhile points already begin heading south and the bickering is starting on the first page, then the rest is garbage. Trust me, a thread never recomposes itself. Once 2-5 tools get started with each other it's over. And you will have wasted 20 minutes of your life you can't get back. Any current hot-topic. Anything Patriots. Anything Tom Brady, Vick in the offseason, etc. Nothing of value in these IMO.4) Worthwhile threads:A sincere question. Links to articles.Mini-articles. MOP's RB Exploit/Avoid. Laughinguy's WR Exploit/Avoid. Other's top 10 this or '08's top 10 that. Ususally some thoughtful discussions happening in those.

Thanks so much for the detailed response...truly some great tips here.

 

[Morton Muffley]

Let's get over ourselves a little bit, eh?

Is this a question or a request?Are you addressing me or someone else or some group of us?Not sure your point, so please clarify.Thx.

 

[vacaver1]

I think it's a great idea, but it's been discussed before and will NEVER happen. My advice would be to get better at wading through the muck. Among some other tips and friendly *hints* that I would suggest:1) Make yourself scarce August-December. I've heard bicycle_seat say this many times before and it really is true. The Shark Pool is still an AWESOME place to be in February. The homers are hibernating and all the redraft tools with axes to grind against certain players/teams AND for certain player/teams don't have a lineup in the offseason (hence, no need to urinate in every thread questioning their player's value). In fact, that "die-down" has already started happening over the past two-three weeks. 2) Develop a short list of people you really enjoy reading. IMO most people do it bass-ackwards. They log-in, glance through the pool and find interesting subject lines (like I used to do). If you're a Rivers owner and you click on a thread titled "Rivers Blows!", don't go in there thinking you're going to stumble upon a treasure trove of insight. The title has already set up the subject matter. People are going in there to either say, "Damn right he does!" or to defend their starter. Instead, search for recent posts by people on your short-list. A) They have a lot of good things to say and you can learn from them B) they are not likely to be in the "Rivers Blows!" threads. They've been around long enough to know that their logic has no place there and time would be better served elsewhere. 3) Titles to stay away from:A declaration of anything. Somebody's gonna punch somebody in the teeth, this guy sucks, etc.Game Threads.Threads with 3+ pages. Actually, there are some GREAT 3+ pg threads but they're rare. Go ahead and read the first page if the topic compels you but if the worthwhile points already begin heading south and the bickering is starting on the first page, then the rest is garbage. Trust me, a thread never recomposes itself. Once 2-5 tools get started with each other it's over. And you will have wasted 20 minutes of your life you can't get back. Any current hot-topic. Anything Patriots. Anything Tom Brady, Vick in the offseason, etc. Nothing of value in these IMO.4) Worthwhile threads:A sincere question. Links to articles.Mini-articles. MOP's RB Exploit/Avoid. Laughinguy's WR Exploit/Avoid. Other's top 10 this or '08's top 10 that. Ususally some thoughtful discussions happening in those.

Pin this.

 

[CorteztheKiller]

I have a suggestion:

Why not take some of the candidates for this other board and give them mod privileges so they can keep things "cleaner" here?

 

[Wrigley]

Love is in the air on this beautiful Friday afternoon.

Excluding anyone from a "free" message board is a bad idea.

 

[Bad_Mo]

Why don't you just pick 10, 20, 50 of your iFriends and discuss stuff through IM?

 

[KnowledgeReignsSupreme]

Mods - please pin this.

 

[mbuehner]

People have been saying the shark pool aint what it used to be since the second day it was up.

 

[Road Warriors]

I voted Hell No. I post infrequently, too, and even contribute to the problem that you identify here during the season by occasionally entering some of the Hot topic debates.

However, I´m a fan of inclusion, and deciding who the golden 500 should be is at best a tricky proposal. I would hate to exclude a number of posters that may often have value to add to the conversation. If wading through some cruft during the season is the price, I´m willing to pay it.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

People need to use more and less. Positive reinforcement, kids... that's what it's all about. Everyone in this forum is entitled to his/her opinion and they're all valid. No need to bury those with a different viewpoint, let's celebrate it instead !!!

 

[Jabroniking]

I donnot think we should discriminate any of our fellow posters from being able to post in any one certain forum. God knows we have seen enough discrimination in this world already. I think it is finally time to accept other for who they are and love them unconditionally.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

People have been saying the shark pool aint what it used to be since the second day it was up.

very sig worthy

 

[jturner01]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

Just to help out...

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.Thanks in advance.

Maybe he got bored of reading this. I would agree with some of what he is saying, but you basically have this already in the columns, and other things on this site. This area is for bouncing ideas, sharing insight , and other things. To exclude someone that may have something worthwile to contribute would be wasteful. If you want narrowed down stuff from a select few "sharks" buy subscriptions to blogs and other such things, of which this site has much of anyway.

 

[SharkBait]

Check back in January. the board is still great you just have to find it

Thanks. You are absolutely correct and I almost wrote this in my original post, but was afraid that adding more would limit the reading and take the discussion off my original topic. Nevertheless, I do spend significant time on this board all year and agree that January to June has a very different feeling (perhaps this is how the Lake Havasu residents feel after the Spring Breakers leave!)Anyway, I'm sure I sound really whiny and again want to point out that I do not believe this issue is due to late arriving members (i.e. high membership number), but rather to the shear mass of people who access this board (more people = more tools).

yes, in season the pool for me is more about injury status and post game discussion rather than off season when us geeks start our off season prep work

This is a very good point. And might I say your team is giving me a tremendous woodrow. Would you mind terribly, since you've already included the scoring format (and I think that's great!), also include this year's schedule of your league and post the scores your team compiled each week vs your competition? Thanks, friend!

 

[burd]

And of course you’d be part of the 500 right

Did you score low on the reading comprehension part of your SATs?

Just to help out...

Lastly, I would NOT be a member of the Shark Pool 2.0 as I am an infrequent poster and even when I do post, do not bring the same insight and intelligence as so many others. So please do not misconstrue my suggestion for self-serving elitism.Thanks in advance.

Thanks Dep. Not to sound like a whiny tool, but these kind of responses (rolling eyes when you clearly have not read/comprehended what I've written) are exactly the kind of crap I'm so sick of sorting through in order to get to good stuff...and this site has SO much good stuff.

part of the whole idea of a message board is to be a place for everyone to be able to share their thoughts and ideas .. no matter how good or bad they may be. i think this is a lousy idea ... i do not support any sort of exclusion of free thought on this board, even if it means i have to dig through nonsense posts. I suggest you jot down the names of the posters whose opinions you most respect and contact them for information personally.