what happened to the shark pool? (2 Viewers)

[butcher boy]

Can't we flag posts and have people banned for inappropriate comments?

There is a report button on each post

 

[bostonfred]

I used to be much more active in the day, but now I mainly focus on just the news. Pretty much every player is going to have people who like him and people who dislike him. Nobody will know who is right until the season's over. It usually doesn't do me any good to read a whole bunch of posts that nobody knows for sure which will be right or wrong. So now I spend more time just sitting back and enjoying the game...

Exactly. What the new guys don't realize is that this place is faster at getting news out than almost anywhere else. Every time I see that wallace thread bumped, or the mjd thread, or the mathews thread, etc, I think there might be some news. There isn't. They've even joked about it in there as they keep on posting nonsense. I don't know who rizzler is and I don't care, but it isn't surprising to me to see him arguing about whether he should be arguing. Stop already, dude. Nobody cares whether your opinion is right. In fact, when you say you argued all last year about foster vs. Tate, I don't think that makes you some kind of hero. People tune you out because you add no value in your posts. If you know something, or can make a good case for a player or your read of a situation, do it. Give me something I didn't know. restating the same opinion you've already given again and again doesn't do anything for anyone and it doesn't make you look good even if you turn out to be the rightest ever. you just look like an argumentative poster who got lucky.

 

[Biabreakable]

I hear what you are saying Fred. I have not been playing FF for 2-3 seasons now so little need to post here although I still do at times about things that interest me. That has become less and less and it is not just because I am not tracking things as much as I used to, it is also because of the things you mention.

There are many posters I could mention who have brought very good information to the SP over the years but I see posts from them less and less frequently. Not sure what the solution is to be honest, but at the same time I think you are remembering the past with a rosy hue. At least one of the people you mentioned has been one of the biggest tools ever and he always was. Yet you give him credit in the OP that is not deserved while forgetting many posters in the process.

Many of the good posters have become staff as well and almost invariably they post less after they become staff, so then you are just left with the guys perhaps not good enough to be considered for staff positions. Come to think of it this is one of the only threads I have seen you comment in recently as well. I am not going to tell you to start posting more, do whatever you want, but that is the way it is. Perhaps after playing this game for decades there becomes less to say.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

i don't even bother reading most threads. i read the raider thread and will check in on some of the ***official*** threads occasionally, but don't read much anymore.

i am considering not buying a subscription this year for the first time in forever. i'll cave since it's cheap, but the general suckitude of the boards is a contributing factor.

 

[Area51Inhabitant]

Posters bumping threads for sheer ego gratification is hardly a new development.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I'm glad BF posted this and since my name was in the OP I will add my 2 cents and that's really all it is.

1. I agree that there is not as much worthwhile reading in the SP and I attribute that to several things but one of the main reasons is most of the talent was snatched up and put on staff. Credit that to a good business model by the boys up top. Guys like Wannabee, Wheelhouse, Jeff Pasquino, Rzrback, Couch Potato, they pretty much look to fill the spots with their best guys on the boards. Once they are on staff there is far less time to post up free stuff in the Shark Pool because of the obligations they have to crank out weekly material on the site. They thinned out the amount of good solid posters. Most of the staff do not post in the threads much.

2. I also feel the Shark Pool has gained a lot of people with different motives for being here. I think in the beginning most of us were in awe of so many people playing the game...the very game we just were using pen and paper for a few years back. It was overwhelming and there was a need to gather information and listen. VBD, QBBC, none of that stuff was prevalent yet so we were debating and discussing it ad nauseam in here. Now there isn't as much new stuff and if you are following 100 different beat writers on twitter you have the news as it is happening and there isn't as much need to discuss stuff. You also start to feel secure in how you draft and you don't feel the need to fire up a thread asking questions about stuff all the time...at least that holds for me. In fact if I can gain even a slight edge with some info tucked away or amongst just a few, why come blow it up in here? I'll tell you about if it worked come week 5.

3. I fire up a long thread on OLines and I can't hardly fill 1 page worth of discussion. We talk about Dez Bryant being arrested and it will go 4-5 pages. This place is much more National Enquire than it is Insider Pro Football talk. This place gobbles up any potential scathing news on players and rushes to judgement as fast as possible. Sometimes it really wears thin and after a while you stop opening threads, you stop coming in here everyday, then it's once a week, so on and so forth.

I miss a lot of the guys who used to post and simply have moved on in their real lives and don't have time. Too many to name and I have been blessed to continue on and still compete with some of you in drafts and leagues. I'm not gonna razz the SP too much as again i have been blessed over the years with a nice group of folks who followed my weekly RB threads. The RB position has changed so much that it really is challenging trying to just focus on RB in all 16 games every week. I decided to scale back and then pretty much have stopped.

On a personal note, I have gone thru an awful lot in the last 5-6 years of my life but along the way a lot of good has happened as well, many inspiring people on the boards that have in some way influenced my life and pushed me on to do some fantastic things. I especially want to thank Jeff Tefertiller(Wannabee) and my good friend PAE who is active in the SSL and Reunion league, both have been my pillars and so I can say the Shark Pool, FFA, FBG have had a positive impact and while I wish things remained the same, the reality not fantasy is that they don't. Footballguys has to evolve to keep the doors open, I don't begrudge it and at some point down the road I expect FBG to either not be or evolve into something else. I look back fondly and am thankful for the time I have had here and also the opportunity to entertain some folks along the way.

-Sean

 

[ScottNorwood]

Don't worry guys. i'll get things back on track. Here are my tiered rankings (.5 ppr)

Arian Foster, Hou

Ray Rice, Bal

LeSean McCoy, Phi

Calvin Johnson, Det

Rob Gronkowski, NE

Jimmy Graham, NO

Aaron Rodgers, GB

Tom Brady, NE

Drew Brees, NO

Matt Forte, Chi

Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac

Chris Johnson, Ten

Matthew Stafford, Det

Larry Fitzgerald, Ari

Andre Johnson, Hou

DeMarco Murray, Dal

Darren McFadden, Oak

Jamaal Charles, KC

Adrian Peterson, Min

Cam Newton, Car

Roddy White, Atl

Wes Welker, NE

Hakeem Nicks, NYG

Victor Cruz, NYG

Julio Jones, Atl

Fred Jackson, Buf

Darren Sproles, NO

Brandon Marshall, Chi

Jordy Nelson, GB

Greg Jennings, GB

Mike Wallace, Pit

A.J. Green, Cin

Steve Smith, Car

Jeremy Maclin, Phi

Marques Colston, NO

Trent Richardson, Cle

Frank Gore, SF

Steven Jackson, StL

Marshawn Lynch, Sea

Michael Vick, Phi

Michael Turner, Atl

Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG

Miles Austin, Dal

Brandon Lloyd, NE

Vincent Jackson, TB

Percy Harvin, Min

Ryan Mathews*, SD

Peyton Manning, Den

Dez Bryant, Dal

Dwayne Bowe, KC

Reggie Bush, Mia

Aaron Hernandez, NE

Antonio Gates, SD

Tony Romo, Dal

Willis McGahee, Den

Doug Martin, TB

Vernon Davis, SF

Demaryius Thomas, Den

Steve Johnson, Buf

Antonio Brown, Pit

Eric Decker, Den

Pierre Garcon, Wsh

Robert Meachem, SD

Kevin Smith, Det

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Cin

Eli Manning, NYG

Matt Ryan, Atl

Ben Roethlisberger, Pit

Philip Rivers, SD

Roy Helu, Wsh

Jason Witten, Dal

DeSean Jackson, Phi

Stevan Ridley, NE

Jermichael Finley, GB

Jonathan Stewart, Car

Shonn Greene, NYJ

Reggie Wayne, Ind

Kenny Britt*, Ten

Beanie Wells, Ari

Cedric Benson, GB

Nate Washington, Ten

Austin Collie, Ind

Donald Brown, Ind

 

[footballnerd]

Mainly come here for latest news, injury analysis and opinions of what people notice in camp and on the field. I can look at the stats on my own. Don't mind the humor, keeps the forums from being robotic.

 

[Jed]

I don't know who rizzler is and I don't care, but it isn't surprising to me to see him arguing about whether he should be arguing. Stop already, dude. Nobody cares whether your opinion is right. In fact, when you say you argued all last year about foster vs. Tate, I don't think that makes you some kind of hero. People tune you out because you add no value in your posts. If you know something, or can make a good case for a player or your read of a situation, do it. Give me something I didn't know. restating the same opinion you've already given again and again doesn't do anything for anyone and it doesn't make you look good even if you turn out to be the rightest ever. you just look like an argumentative poster who got lucky.

Someone steal your 12 sided die today, bud?

How about just taking constructive criticism?

 

[butcher boy]

Mainly come here for latest news, injury analysis and opinions of what people notice in camp and on the field. I can look at the stats on my own. Don't mind the humor, keeps the forums from being robotic.

Agree. If the SP was all news and analysis, it would be incredibly boring.

 

[TxBuckeye]

I don't know who rizzler is and I don't care, but it isn't surprising to me to see him arguing about whether he should be arguing. Stop already, dude. Nobody cares whether your opinion is right. In fact, when you say you argued all last year about foster vs. Tate, I don't think that makes you some kind of hero. People tune you out because you add no value in your posts. If you know something, or can make a good case for a player or your read of a situation, do it. Give me something I didn't know. restating the same opinion you've already given again and again doesn't do anything for anyone and it doesn't make you look good even if you turn out to be the rightest ever. you just look like an argumentative poster who got lucky.

Someone steal your 12 sided die today, bud?

If the point of your posting in this thread is to prove to people like me that have no idea who you are how right BF is, then congrats, well done! If it's to appear witty or superior, well, not so much.

 

[C-Bound]

I do. I am the proud owner of 2 Master's degrees. I work at a University. I make a good living. I also like to be a clown. Have done so forever and a day. I don't change my persona online, nor do I care to. I is who I is. I dabble in this and dabble in that. I enjoy life.

I think that's awesome, honestly. And I don't think there is anything wrong with being an ###.

Being an ### just for ###'s sake is weak.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

One more thing to keep in mind...a good majority of the FBG subscribers do not post in the forums. I think people forget that and I would also bet that half of the folks who do post in the SP, FFA, don't have subscriptions. I have no way to prove this of course.

 

[butcher boy]

To be fair, rizzler is getting singled out and attacked pretty hard here. The "problem" this thread is about can't really be isolated to one guy.

 

[Multiple Scores]

Looks like the Shark Pool is in fine form.

Lots of piling on Rizzler. Piling on, my heroes. More like mob mentality cowards.

 

[TxBuckeye]

One more thing to keep in mind...a good majority of the FBG subscribers do not post in the forums. I think people forget that and I would also bet that half of the folks who do post in the SP, FFA, don't have subscriptions. I have no way to prove this of course.

I don't have a subscription, if that helps support your hypothesis. Then again, I rarely post in the SP either.

 

[rizzler]

Looks like the Shark Pool is in fine form. Lots of piling on Rizzler. Piling on, my heroes. More like mob mentality cowards.

It cool, bros. I can handle my own. And don't mind being the one to bear the brunt.I never had a taste for internet mores and folkways enforcers.

 

[Concept Coop]

I do. I am the proud owner of 2 Master's degrees. I work at a University. I make a good living. I also like to be a clown. Have done so forever and a day. I don't change my persona online, nor do I care to. I is who I is. I dabble in this and dabble in that. I enjoy life.

I think that's awesome, honestly. And I don't think there is anything wrong with being an ###.

Being an ### just for ###'s sake is weak.

I'm an ### towards my friends, when it comes to sports. They to me. Nobody is hurt by it. But, if it interferes with productive discussion and the enjoyment of the forum, I think it's selfish to continue in such capacity.

 

[jurb26]

I'm glad BF posted this and since my name was in the OP I will add my 2 cents and that's really all it is. 1. I agree that there is not as much worthwhile reading in the SP and I attribute that to several things but one of the main reasons is most of the talent was snatched up and put on staff. Credit that to a good business model by the boys up top. Guys like Wannabee, Wheelhouse, Jeff Pasquino, Rzrback, Couch Potato, they pretty much look to fill the spots with their best guys on the boards. Once they are on staff there is far less time to post up free stuff in the Shark Pool because of the obligations they have to crank out weekly material on the site. They thinned out the amount of good solid posters. Most of the staff do not post in the threads much. 2. I also feel the Shark Pool has gained a lot of people with different motives for being here. I think in the beginning most of us were in awe of so many people playing the game...the very game we just were using pen and paper for a few years back. It was overwhelming and there was a need to gather information and listen. VBD, QBBC, none of that stuff was prevalent yet so we were debating and discussing it ad nauseam in here. Now there isn't as much new stuff and if you are following 100 different beat writers on twitter you have the news as it is happening and there isn't as much need to discuss stuff. You also start to feel secure in how you draft and you don't feel the need to fire up a thread asking questions about stuff all the time...at least that holds for me. In fact if I can gain even a slight edge with some info tucked away or amongst just a few, why come blow it up in here? I'll tell you about if it worked come week 5.3. I fire up a long thread on OLines and I can't hardly fill 1 page worth of discussion. We talk about Dez Bryant being arrested and it will go 4-5 pages. This place is much more National Enquire than it is Insider Pro Football talk. This place gobbles up any potential scathing news on players and rushes to judgement as fast as possible. Sometimes it really wears thin and after a while you stop opening threads, you stop coming in here everyday, then it's once a week, so on and so forth. I miss a lot of the guys who used to post and simply have moved on in their real lives and don't have time. Too many to name and I have been blessed to continue on and still compete with some of you in drafts and leagues. I'm not gonna razz the SP too much as again i have been blessed over the years with a nice group of folks who followed my weekly RB threads. The RB position has changed so much that it really is challenging trying to just focus on RB in all 16 games every week. I decided to scale back and then pretty much have stopped. On a personal note, I have gone thru an awful lot in the last 5-6 years of my life but along the way a lot of good has happened as well, many inspiring people on the boards that have in some way influenced my life and pushed me on to do some fantastic things. I especially want to thank Jeff Tefertiller(Wannabee) and my good friend PAE who is active in the SSL and Reunion league, both have been my pillars and so I can say the Shark Pool, FFA, FBG have had a positive impact and while I wish things remained the same, the reality not fantasy is that they don't. Footballguys has to evolve to keep the doors open, I don't begrudge it and at some point down the road I expect FBG to either not be or evolve into something else. I look back fondly and am thankful for the time I have had here and also the opportunity to entertain some folks along the way. -Sean

I agree with most of this. In a nuttshell though, I think the problem is that the guys who want to post good stuff and have good debates/conversations have simply lost internest because of the fodder that surrounds every thread. Too many people want to manipulate stats or present their opinion as fact and simply be right as opposed to having a healthy debate. I used to read through 90% of the threads on the 1st page but now I only read through about 20% of them because it's obvious they are going nowhere. It's not really worth contributing when you can tell it's a dead end.

 

[Sylira21]

*sniff* I miss the Robert Ferguson Revolution. That should have worked, darn it!

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

seems to me the mock draft survivor drafts have alot of good debate and back in forth and most guys over there take it seriously.

the pool is what the pool is now adays.

 

[Dancing Bear]

I've been actively posting here for over a decade, and I've seen different crops of posters come and go. When I started posting here, guys like cracKer, JoeT and domer were posting up a storm. Joe got a reputation as quite the rapscallion for posting that jerry rice did not deserve to go to the hall of fame. The next generation to come threw included guys like rudnicki, who is on staff now, and Lhucks, who actually used to be a decent poster, until he decided it was more fun to rile everyone up with egotistical comments and critiquing the staff projections. Guys like goat herders and anarchy99 came through, and a long time shark pooler named ministry of pain doubled his shark pool efforts and started doing a weekly running back thread. Two of those guys are on staff now. Ssog and some other fine posters soon followed. Those of you who were here know what I mean, and those who weren't, please read on.Sometimes when people pine for the good old days, they forget what things used to be like. That's not the case with the shark pool. The new posters here are not following the rules. There's so much worthless, uninformed speculation, blatant fishing, wdis nonsense, and people talking about who they just traded for or traded away that there is almost no discussion of the actual players. It is a rare post that I read now which has any information whatsoever. Guys like Kool aid larry and rizzler have ruined countless threads recently with thread stalking and bickering as if anyone cared about their factless opinion posts and ongoing arguments. Guys I've never heard of post like this all the time, but the guys who keep doing it make it so much worse. The wallace thread is double digit pages with maybe a dozen worthwhile posts, but it keeps getting bumped with worthless fighting between children. People keep saying sh, dont talk about my player, instead of openly talking about the good, bad and ugly of all the players out there. This is not good for anyone. This place was at its best when everyone talked openly and honestly about their reasons for liking different guys, and we got good discussion with numbers, camp tidbits, and real analysis. That rising tide lifts all boats. If you don't want your league mates to knpw that you really like julio jones, post under an alias. Don't act like you're the only guy who has an opinion on him and your post agreeing that he might be good this year is going to kill his value. Nobody cares whether you like him, but we can all learn from a discussion of why you like him. This is the worst time of year for the moderators, because they are all working on content, while this is the highest traffic time of the year on the boards. I'm asking those of you who post here regularly to please stop with the bickering. If people are posting wdis threads, report the post. If someone posts an argument you disagree with, post your reasoning, not just your indignation. if you'd rather just fish, go to the free for all, and be funny about it. We need new funny people over there, especially ones who don't post about politics. Please stop adding to the problem.

 

[Shanahanigans]

What happened to SSOG? His posts were great.

 

[Maggot Brain]

I just try to tune out the noise and pay attention to certain posters I've come to trust over the years.

This is very true

 

[Biabreakable]

What happened to SSOG? His posts were great.

Never seen a poster "need" to be right more than SSOG. Everyone has their own opinion.

 

[Shutout]

Interesting thread.

I have been here for two years now. I came here after a long stint on another board that I did contributions for and was also an active poster in the forums. Ironically enough, I left there because it got rediculous and out of hand and I had heard from a few people that this was the best of the best places to be.

I got here and noticed a great amount of traffic and a lot of quick responces when news broke, which is great.

But what I also noticed was all the things that Fred brought up. I'll be honest; I have participated in much more of those types of activities in the time I have been here than I ever did at my other place and I just figured "Well, I've been to two main boards that are considered to be the cream of the crop and they both have this type of activity...this must the be norm." So, WHEN IN ROME...

I probably can't add anything that hasn't been posted already about the scenarios and situations. To answer part of Fred's question on what happened? I think a large part of it is, in the last decade, Twitter happened, Facebook happened. In general, social media and its formats have changed everything. Anybody and everybody can act, interact, and react behind the comfort of an anonymous screen and be any persona they want, and if you want to be a part of it (whether you're trying to get information, give information, discuss information, or whatnot), to a degree, you have be part of the process and play the game that goes on here. And a large part of that game is you have to be willing to jump in the verbal haystack in order to find the needle.

With that being said, I think there could be a renaissance here. But it would require a pretty big shift of behavior.

 

[SSOG]

Guys like Kool aid larry and rizzler have ruined countless threads recently with thread stalking and bickering as if anyone cared about their factless opinion posts and ongoing arguments.

Someone cared enough to write a novel about it. Anyways, short and sweet. If this was a forum that dealt with serious, life altering issues, I'd care.

It doesn't. This forum and this hobby are about pretending to be something we're not; Owners of a football team.

It's make belief, man. Most of us come here to cool down, blow off some steam, throw a couple zingers, and when we want real info, we hit the articles.

Some of us like to make novellas about how cool things were back in the dinosaur age.

Perhaps you could get the real info without hitting the articles if the Pool was a little bit cleaner. Honestly, no offense to the staff, who are faced every year with introducing new subscribers to the standard party thinking that revolutionized the game a decade ago, but the articles are not where it's at. Perfect Draft, Avoid the Suck, etc- these are all thoughts that are repackaged every year with the names changed to make it relevant again. It's interesting, but once you understand the underlying concepts, it's unnecessary. The value in footballguys is all in the data collection. It's crowd sourced scouting. You'll never see an article telling you that some second round rookie WR named Bolden is looking like the next Randy Moss. Or that some undrafted college back-up named Willie Parker is thisclose to winning the starting job on the most run-focused team in the league. Or that the guy on the fantasy magazine cover with the 2nd round ADP is about to be out scored by his team's fullback.You want a place to toss off zingers? That's great- zingers are fun!- and that's why FBGs staff created the FFA, perhaps the best free off-topic board I've ever seen on the Internet. You want a place to talk some serious football? That's great, too! FBGs anticipated that and created another killer board for that, too. Maybe you think the Shark Pool is plenty good how it is. Maybe if everyone stopped cluttering it up, you'd see how great it can be.

You've got two masters degrees. You're a very smart guy. Surely you understand the concept of negative externalities. Obviously the best possible outcome for you is one where you can pose externalities on others, who will not pose externalities on you in return. Equally obviously, such a utopia is impossible for you to ever realize, because humans are petty and vindictive and ruthlessly tribal, and will gleefully spread the misery right back around again. The second best scenario for you, then, is one where all parties refrain from posing negative externalities entirely, either as a result of a top-down mandate backed with sufficient force, or as a result of an unenforceable bottom-up agreement. You're looking at a classic prisoner's dilemma, whereby each person selfishly pursuing his own interests ironically works out to be in the best interest of absolutely nobody. A smart guy like you can surely see the problem, here. So how about you divert some of that brainpower away from complaining about it (Foster vs. Tate) or stirring the pot (your "writing novellas" comment), and instead bend it towards finding a solution. Or, barring that, how about you at least step aside and let any one of the numerous other smart guys (and gals!) here work on it without getting in the way. This place really will be better for it. If nothing else, at least people won't be cultivating such an active and present dislike for you. Wouldn't you say that that's in your own best interests, too?

 

[Sabertooth]

I realized this year that I've spent too much time putting stock in the pool and not enough reading the article posted. It is just a big one-upmanship contest now in here.

 

[John 14:6]

One more thing to keep in mind...a good majority of the FBG subscribers do not post in the forums. I think people forget that and I would also bet that half of the folks who do post in the SP, FFA, don't have subscriptions. I have no way to prove this of course.

I keep subscribing for the news letters and Draft Dominator. Those are golden IMO. Another thing I really like here are the Depth Charts on the front page.

 

[C-Bound]

I do. I am the proud owner of 2 Master's degrees. I work at a University. I make a good living. I also like to be a clown. Have done so forever and a day. I don't change my persona online, nor do I care to. I is who I is. I dabble in this and dabble in that. I enjoy life.

I think that's awesome, honestly. And I don't think there is anything wrong with being an ###.

Being an ### just for ###'s sake is weak.

I'm an ### towards my friends, when it comes to sports. They to me. Nobody is hurt by it. But, if it interferes with productive discussion and the enjoyment of the forum, I think it's selfish to continue in such capacity.

Fair enough.

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

I'm glad BF posted this and since my name was in the OP I will add my 2 cents and that's really all it is.

1. I agree that there is not as much worthwhile reading in the SP and I attribute that to several things but one of the main reasons is most of the talent was snatched up and put on staff. Credit that to a good business model by the boys up top. Guys like Wannabee, Wheelhouse, Jeff Pasquino, Rzrback, Couch Potato, they pretty much look to fill the spots with their best guys on the boards. Once they are on staff there is far less time to post up free stuff in the Shark Pool because of the obligations they have to crank out weekly material on the site. They thinned out the amount of good solid posters. Most of the staff do not post in the threads much.

2. I also feel the Shark Pool has gained a lot of people with different motives for being here. I think in the beginning most of us were in awe of so many people playing the game...the very game we just were using pen and paper for a few years back. It was overwhelming and there was a need to gather information and listen. VBD, QBBC, none of that stuff was prevalent yet so we were debating and discussing it ad nauseam in here. Now there isn't as much new stuff and if you are following 100 different beat writers on twitter you have the news as it is happening and there isn't as much need to discuss stuff. You also start to feel secure in how you draft and you don't feel the need to fire up a thread asking questions about stuff all the time...at least that holds for me. In fact if I can gain even a slight edge with some info tucked away or amongst just a few, why come blow it up in here? I'll tell you about if it worked come week 5.

3. I fire up a long thread on OLines and I can't hardly fill 1 page worth of discussion. We talk about Dez Bryant being arrested and it will go 4-5 pages. This place is much more National Enquire than it is Insider Pro Football talk. This place gobbles up any potential scathing news on players and rushes to judgement as fast as possible. Sometimes it really wears thin and after a while you stop opening threads, you stop coming in here everyday, then it's once a week, so on and so forth.

I miss a lot of the guys who used to post and simply have moved on in their real lives and don't have time. Too many to name and I have been blessed to continue on and still compete with some of you in drafts and leagues. I'm not gonna razz the SP too much as again i have been blessed over the years with a nice group of folks who followed my weekly RB threads. The RB position has changed so much that it really is challenging trying to just focus on RB in all 16 games every week. I decided to scale back and then pretty much have stopped.

On a personal note, I have gone thru an awful lot in the last 5-6 years of my life but along the way a lot of good has happened as well, many inspiring people on the boards that have in some way influenced my life and pushed me on to do some fantastic things. I especially want to thank Jeff Tefertiller(Wannabee) and my good friend PAE who is active in the SSL and Reunion league, both have been my pillars and so I can say the Shark Pool, FFA, FBG have had a positive impact and while I wish things remained the same, the reality not fantasy is that they don't. Footballguys has to evolve to keep the doors open, I don't begrudge it and at some point down the road I expect FBG to either not be or evolve into something else. I look back fondly and am thankful for the time I have had here and also the opportunity to entertain some folks along the way.

-Sean

I agree with most of this. In a nuttshell though, I think the problem is that the guys who want to post good stuff and have good debates/conversations have simply lost internest because of the fodder that surrounds every thread. Too many people want to manipulate stats or present their opinion as fact and simply be right as opposed to having a healthy debate. I used to read through 90% of the threads on the 1st page but now I only read through about 20% of them because it's obvious they are going nowhere. It's not really worth contributing when you can tell it's a dead end.

I Joined in 2010 and that is how I have always done it(only reading 20% part).As most have said, I have no clue what it was like in the 'prime' years of the shark pool... but I can imagine it was pretty amazing considering the staff members you mentioned, plus Couch Potato AND Rotoworld's Chris Wessling... pretty crazy how many guys have come out of here and made an impact if you really think about it.

But, as some others mentioned... that cant help but dilute the pool of posters after a while.

 

[benson_will_lead_the_way]

I've posted less and less in the SP over the years. I enjoyed the older days when it was more content based and less ego based.

Here is the problem:

1) Most threads turn into a power trip with people trying to be correct instead of attempting to find a solution or bring more light to a topic. I love a good debate, especially when I can learn more about a player/team/coach/system.

2) The admins aren't consistent. I got a "time out" for accidentally announcing a pick early in the NFL Draft, but yet others can purposely can jabs/one liners/mess up threads without adding content.

 

[Phenix]

And over time the Rizzlers of the world drive out the good posters.

Really? As long as everyone who advocated Tate over Foster in the thread I started last season was banned, Id gladly Seppuku

You mean by doing stuff like he is doing in this thread?Never liked Rizzler or Larry, both are useless to this board. Since we are sharing opinions and blowing off steam.

 

[Raider Nation]

A message board is like real life; there are people you like and there are people you hate.

Get to love the IGNORE feature is my only advice.

 

[SSOG]

What happened to SSOG? His posts were great.

Like GladOs, I'm still alive. I still read. On rare occasions, I even post. Standard reasons for the decline, I suspect- life, of course. A general deterioration of the pool. Part of it is just a reaction to the increased recognition. Bia says that, more than anyone, I "have to" be right. He's likely right- obviously I'm not in any position to evaluate his claims objectively- but once upon a time it used to be about whether I WAS right, not whether I HAD TO be right. I recognize this as a problem of my own making; I've never made any secret of my toolish tendencies. Regardless of the reasons, though, I often find that I preferred anonymity. I could try to rehab the SSoG persona (SSoG 2.0! Newer! Wiser! Less of a tool!), but at this point, opinions have been pretty well set. And besides, SSoG 2.0 would probably revert back to SSoG 1.0 sooner or later. So instead, I lurk, and on rare occasions, I post. Anonymously.

 

[moleculo]

"same as it ever was".

The face that you've been hearing that for the past 5 years should tell you that it probably is the same as it ever was.

 

[moleculo]

What happened to SSOG? His posts were great.

Like GladOs, I'm still alive. I still read. On rare occasions, I even post. Standard reasons for the decline, I suspect- life, of course. A general deterioration of the pool. Part of it is just a reaction to the increased recognition. Bia says that, more than anyone, I "have to" be right. He's likely right- obviously I'm not in any position to evaluate his claims objectively- but once upon a time it used to be about whether I WAS right, not whether I HAD TO be right. I recognize this as a problem of my own making; I've never made any secret of my toolish tendencies. Regardless of the reasons, though, I often find that I preferred anonymity. I could try to rehab the SSoG persona (SSoG 2.0! Newer! Wiser! Less of a tool!), but at this point, opinions have been pretty well set. And besides, SSoG 2.0 would probably revert back to SSoG 1.0 sooner or later. So instead, I lurk, and on rare occasions, I post. Anonymously.

not really that hard to spot who you are when you post, if you know what to look for. I'm aware of at least one alias you use.

 

[moleculo]

personally, I'm just happy that the "a ploy to motivate" schtick is finally dead. That's progress in my book.

 

[Banger]

personally, I'm just happy that the "a ploy to motivate" schtick is finally dead. That's progress in my book.

as I'm hoping bump Finley is....

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

I would also like to point out, that perhaps we should all look at ourselves here.

Perhaps everyone isn't a main contributor, but for everyone who has over 500 posts, Doesn't it seem inevitable to get into arguments with that much conversation?

I would also like to point out, some of the people in this thread calling out people, are some of the biggest offenders.

I'm not saying I'm innocent, I was a contributor to the Tate-Foster thread, but I have noticed a few times(I mean a lot) where I say something with reasoning to back it up and I get simply told I'm wrong with seemingly no reasoning to back it up... That's the only thing that infuriates me.

my mentality and I'm sure many others is, if I'm wrong then I'm wrong, but if it cant be proven yet and were talking about something without an answer yet, Dont TELL me I'm wrong! You can disagree, for sure, but don't defensively tell me I'm wrong because I don't agree with you.

 

[comfortably numb]

I appreciate your post Fred. While I can't take much credit for things being good "back then" i do remember a time when it felt like there was more depth to the discussion.

I spend most of my time in the FFA because the moderating there is a bit more critical (it seems) to keeping things afloat. That said, the SP is part of the lifeblood of this place and I'll try to be here more often to steer things the right way.

HERD

Kinda surprised at this if this is the case behind closed doors.

would think keeping the SP tool free and allowing good discussion without trolls detracting from news, analysis and opinions would be priority.

I don't know...if mods were simply looking at threads and seeing that there were people intentionally making threads into crap, seems easy to me to isolate those people and give them TO's until they learn or are just banned.

The FFA is one thing, the SP I would think should seem like it would be top priority to keep troll/tool free while allowing for good discussion and some decent humor still.

Guess i am saying a lot more moderation should go towards SP instead of FFA.

Would think SP is what would drive more people to subscriptions over the FFA.

 

[SSOG]

not really that hard to spot who you are when you post, if you know what to look for. I'm aware of at least one alias you use.

Which means you're unaware of at least two others.

 

[moleculo]

not really that hard to spot who you are when you post, if you know what to look for. I'm aware of at least one alias you use.

Which means you're unaware of at least two others.

well, I guess I've got some work to do then.

 

[sweetness34]

One more of many that agree with BF. I've been around many years as well, and while I don't post much, I've always paid attention when guys like BF (and the others he mentioned) post. I respect all those guys and their opinions. I will still check the SP 25x a day like I always have, and will likely continue to do so...regardless of the quality (or lack therof) that's currently present.

Nice work BF.

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

not really that hard to spot who you are when you post, if you know what to look for. I'm aware of at least one alias you use.

Which means you're unaware of at least two others.

Adam(I only know your name because I clicked on your twitter link), get on Twitter more! It's a much healthier, less cramped environment and you only follow who you want to follow! I'd imagine you could make some good contributions to my twitter feed lol...ok im selfish

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Good football discussion in here

 

[Bogeys]

I wonder if it wasn't the exit of Shick! that started the decline. Love him or hate him he ruled the forums with an iron fist and really took to heart the "no pissing in the shark pool" mantra for the most part. The faceless mod thing is a joke and seems to be even more arbitrary than he was...which is really saying something.

I am more of a lurker as far as the forums go, just don't have time for all the long back and forths most days (although I do enjoy reading them when I can catch up). It is frustrating to check on threads and instead of new info you get an internet slap fight...those are entertaining in the FFA at times, but don't really expect it in the Pool.

 

[ShaHBucks]

Not sure of the good ol days but it sounds like a place I'd lke to visit. Personally I start using the search feature to not start a useless thread on my own. On other forums threads get stopped when they are repetitive and mods jump on people who are off topic. Here in the first page you might see "Foster vs Tate" and then "is Foster Safe." why not post in the appropriate thread, it's not a new topic. It's like watching First Take, how many different topics can you make of Tim Tebow in a hour.

I don't ever mind debates as long as they stay relevant to the topic. If you have reason to plead your case further so be it. Nor do I mind the jokes. I do hate when someone comments on a topic with no substance. Tell us why you think this way, if you can't then point us to the article where you found your knowledge.

What happened to the sharkpool is its more popular and so is fantasy sports. Complaining wont help unless you guys have a solution.

 

[LordHusker]

Excellent post, OP.

Incidentally, Dave Mustaine blames the downfall of the Pool on Obama.

 

[DonnyT33]

Guys like Kool aid larry and rizzler have ruined countless threads recently with thread stalking and bickering as if anyone cared about their factless opinion posts and ongoing arguments.

Someone cared enough to write a novel about it. Anyways, short and sweet. If this was a forum that dealt with serious, life altering issues, I'd care.

It doesn't. This forum and this hobby are about pretending to be something we're not; Owners of a football team.

It's make belief, man. Most of us come here to cool down, blow off some steam, throw a couple zingers, and when we want real info, we hit the articles.

Some of us like to make novellas about how cool things were back in the dinosaur age.

OMG..you cant be FN serious? I know this..the 10/20 K i spend a year playing this hobby is not PRETEND Monopoly money! Lots of players here play very serious high stakes FF on a professional level. Now i know exactly what Fred was talking about. Trolls like you just ruin sites like this..you would have been chewed up and spit out back in the day..that kind of BS would not ever have gone on back then! What a dam shame! Wow, guess i know why i dont come around here nearly like i used to! I haven't been as crazy about the tank since the board change. There was a time this place was the first place id come anytime i wanted to find the best up to the second information. Those were the days, this forum was the best for that. I was far from an angel here but did try to contribute some good stuff as much as possible too. I can see why Fred is so turned off..What a disgrace of a post, as soon as i get to post like this i also turn off and leave..its just that pathetic..if you feel that way why the hell you here? Screw don't back back..who needs this kind of BS here? Pretend? So if i blow 10k playing this year can i pretend that its still really in my bank account?? WTF kind of BS nonsense is that? OMG if this donkey is anything like the type of new posters around here then this place will never be the same again and i cant tell you how big a shame that would be.

Does not J still come around in here and give creeps like this a warning or two before giving them a time out or worse? Jeez, now dopes like this are costing me good time..wasted time and that's exactly what Fred was referring too..just takes a few Aholes like Riz here and destroy a great forum!

Joe clean this place up and out, one way or another.