Site News: Updated Look and Conversation
by Dave on Nov 2, 2009 12:25 AM PST
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PrintA couple of housekeeping notes:
1. SBN will update the looks of its sites tomorrow as part of ongoing renovation to improve overall design. You'll be happy to know this is part of a wider project that also aims to improve load times and interface functionality. We'll all get to see what Blazersedge looks like tomorrow. We hope you like the facelift.
2. Some of the conversation lately has been disturbing to me personally and I'd like to see a little tune up among us.
We're all here to talk about the Blazers. We're not here to talk about ourselves. We're not here to talk about each other. Were here to talk...about...the...Blazers. Obviously part of the interest is how our personalities and views come out through our comments but those personalities and views should not be the focus of said comments. In other words, if the person you're talking about doesn't suit up in a scarlet and black uniform on game nights and either get played by or ignored by Nate McMillan think twice about making a comment about them. As we often say, talk about points--points about the team--not about the people who make them.
Even if you think someone has generated inaccurate analysis about the team your comment about them as people is worse. You want to refute their point? Be my guest. But leave your assessment of them out of it. Also...it may be hard hearing people complaining about the team (though it may also be justified) but trust me, it's worse hearing people complain about people who are complaining about the team. There's no point to it.
This is also true if the person you're talking about is yourself. We all understand getting worked up about certain things, but if you TYPE IN ALL CAPS!!!!!! or you lace your comment with near-profanities left and right or you just flat-out unload on people without much thought then the comment or post is more about you than the subject. Your over-dramatization becomes something we have to wade through in order to get to the real point. When that's repeated a couple dozen times a day by different people it gets tiring. Don't worry so much about telling us how worked up you are. Just make your point and let people talk.
Lastly, use some common sense when you post. In addition to the obvious no-no's about racist language and such, please don't use language degrading to women, people of various sexual orientations, people with physical or mental disabilities, or stuff you're generally not going to say when face-to-face with polite company in public. Have a little sensitivity and realize your post isn't added to one bit by any of that stuff.
Consider Blazersedge like your local beach. It's a popular spot, which puts more responsibility on each of us to keep it livable. Even if every person only drops a little trash--or even if only 20% of the people visiting actually litter--that still makes an eyesore for everybody else. This place is built on people's sense of community responsibility. Make sure you keep that in mind when you post.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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I'll try to be good, Daddy
but it was the other kids that started it.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
by jscot on Nov 2, 2009 12:39 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Dave:
“Well, I don’t care who started it …I am gonna finish it!!”
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
I brought you into this world, and I can take you out
nearly got hit with a t shirt cannon t shirt while typing
worse than travis
-Ben.
by rockingharder on Nov 2, 2009 8:35 PM PST up reply actions
Keep talking and I will turn this blog around
right now young man!
I hate Comcast.
Card carrying member of Team Bayless
I believe in Greg Oden
by blazeraddict on Nov 2, 2009 10:18 PM PST up reply actions
Come on now
Enough of the personal agendas, name calling, and other BS. Lets talk about the Blazers and the good/bad of the team and leave the other stuff out!
Word Dave
I'll never forgive management for not airing the preseason!!!
by DribbleDriveDish on Nov 2, 2009 12:50 AM PST reply actions
Hopefully this is the last time this comes up
Maybe I’m not reading everything as closely as I should, but I didn’t realize things were getting snippy again. I’m going to keep my eyes open a little more now.
Definitely gotta make sure we keep the “Blazers” in “Blazersedge” in the forefront of all we post!
Blazers win!
What? Why?
You’re gonna make me cry again Miled…
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Nov 3, 2009 11:13 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
This is a great post by Dave
Darn, already broke the rule about the subject being someone other than a Blazer.
All kidding aside, very well put and I hope it is equally well received/followed.
Tony Bennett reports that Minnesota and Portland are swapping draft picks -- Roy to Portland, Foye to Minnesota. That's it? That's the trade? None of the ESPN guys seem remotely fazed. I knew Kevin McHale couldn't just pick the best guy in the draft without somehow screwing it up. I would have bet my Ndudi Ebi rookie cards on it.
I've suggested before and will do it again that instead of a single game thread that has 4 parts, there should be MULTIPLE game threads...
Grumpy fans here, happy fans there, and things would be SOOOOOOOO much smoother.
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Nov 2, 2009 9:29 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
How does one handle conditional grumpiness
in such a scenario?
“Grumpy if Outlaw is playing”
“Grumpy if Outlaw isn’t playing”
“Grumpy if Miller plays more than Blake”
“Grumpy if Blake plays more than Miller”
“Not usually grumpy, but if Oden only gets three touches I will be”
We could have 738 game threads to cover all eventualities.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
You could change during the game from grumpy to happy or vice versa
Would even provide some data for the Blazers to see how happy fans are with the performance (comments per minute in each thread or something similar).
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Now you are on to something!
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Eight threads are required.
1. Dopey. This would be my preferred place to hang out.
2. Grumpy. I think you know who you are.
3. Doc. For highbrow conversations.
4. Happy. Let’s hope this one is most popular by season’s end.
5. Bashful. The least busy thread.
6. Sneezy. Seasonal—has more traffic in the winter.
7. Sleepy. For east coast and European participants.
8. Snow White. Where everybody is always well-behaved.
by CatMan2 on Nov 2, 2009 10:07 AM PST up reply actions 6 recs
In other words, Timbo has to be kidding.
We don’t want to abandon all hope of overall unity. That’s kind of an interesting dynamic. Can’t we all get along? I thinnk so.
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
We all get along swimmingly in 20 point Blazer blowouts....
The losses and displays of serial ineptitude have an altogether different dynamic.
The 7 Dwarfs thread is funny and actually not far off of something that would actually work.
We currently have 4 threads a game anyway, which are overcrowded and which periodically bog down. There’s no continuity from one to the next and they’re basically all flushed down the memory hole at the end of the evening anyway.
Just start 2 or 3 or 4 threads at the top of the evening, let people find their comfort level, and there you go…
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
Yeah, we certainly aren't going to agree all the time
I guess I really just don’t want to miss anything. I like the whole gang together, disagreements and all. After, debates can be pretty interesting, right, and good points can be made on both sides.
I agree completely that the bogging down is a major problem. I was wondering if a “chat room” format would be more functional. I was even thinking of setting one up for a test run.
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
It's too bad we can't put a cap on the number of posters in each thread, like you can with a chat room.
Don’t make it into Gameday Thread #1? There’s room for you in #2. And so on.
nearly got hit with a t shirt cannon t shirt while typing
worse than travis
-Ben.
by rockingharder on Nov 2, 2009 8:38 PM PST up reply actions
A kind of separate but equal thinking?
Haven’t we been there before? I am for unity and learning from other’s perspectives.
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
kinda the reason why i dont hang around here as much anymore
too many people screaming/overreacting/flaming
The best part about Blazers Edge used to be the community and discussion, nowadays its only Dave and Ben’s work. There is some good discussion in the fanposts, but its hard to find in a sea of unfiltered garbage
Woof
by Charles Barkley McLovin on Nov 2, 2009 1:37 AM PST reply actions
I'll be more careful
though it doesn’t help to mention my local beach. That would be Reeder Beach at Sauvie Island and I developed poor habits there.
Here’s my vote for Lewis and/or Clark back when the the site format changes. O the Joy
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
Are you leaving yourself exposed here?
I guess that is the point :-)
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Me!
Gents, I believe you’re thinking of Collins Beach, off of Reeder Road. There’s good birding in the area, especially in winter.
Observations
I’ve noticed a bit of a ‘clique’ forming in discussion threads, making me wonder if I stumbled into a personals chat room somewhere instead of my favorite Blazers site. Generally, I have a high tolerance for it. If I don’t like it, I don’t read it, but it seems sometimes that no matter what thread I visit, the discussion centers around various posters and less about the Blazers.
Speaking as someone who has been visiting/lurking this site since long before Dave took over, (but only registered to post in early 08), I’m sure its just because BE is becoming so popular. In fact, in my day, I had to walk 2 miles, uphill in the snow to find an internet connection to read Blazersedge, where 1 person posted and a massive thread consisted of 5 comments.
I’ve noticed that masked profanties, borderline offensive comments are much more common than they were even a few months ago. Personally, I don’t melt at the sight of those, having a salty vocab myself, but I wonder if this site is becoming harder for Dave/mods to police. Or, if standards are being relaxed.
Either way, I’ll still be here, but I’m happy Dave said something to help reign in the discussion.
by SloppyJoe on Nov 2, 2009 8:00 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Do feel free to help 'em out, use your flag button.
Happy to have you.
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
That will kill a site
like cyanide-laced plutonium in your sandwich. Plus I have never liked it personally. I apologize on behalf of the site.
—Dave
Thanks, Dave
I appreciate your apology, but I don’t need one. I’ll still come here to soak up you and Ben’s latest offerings and an occasional fan shot/post. I may even post once in a while if the opportunity arises. This is a speed bump sized obstacle to my enjoyment; not a Grand Canyon sized one.
This is still the best Blazer site on the web, and it’s been fun watching it transform from humble beginnings to a major player in the world of Blazer coverage.
Love this site
If I did this right, it’s my first post. Love the high standards of this site. Keep it up Dave
A few thoughts
1. It’s early in the season and the team hasn’t gelled yet. Folks (myself included) are a bit worried, and it shows in the comments.
2. While I think Nate is the right guy for the job, some of his decisions, rotations, and schemes are open for criticism (as is true of all coaches), and the team not living up to early expectations is fueling that criticism, some of which can take an extreme form at times.
3. The Blazers really came on last year, so there has been an influx of new posters, both Blazer fans and followers of other SB Nation blogs, onto BE. As each SB Nation blog has its own rules/standards, there are going to be some issues for people not used to the way things work here.
4. The “Jordan Rules” for certain posters (more leeway for people who’ve been here for a while and whose style might be more snarky, abrassive, political, innuendo charged, etc. than the norm) is leading to confusion from the masses. Now I don’t want to lose or clamp down on those people – they’re some of the best posters here, and they give the blog a lot of its personality. The real problem is with the “copycats” who don’t do it as well on the information or delivery front, and simply jumble up the larger conversation. Do you, don’t try to be someone else, and it will work out for the best. If you are informed/have an opinion, people will respect and appreciate it, don’t bury it in someone else’s style.
5. This blog has a unique culture (KP buzzword alert) because it has so many posters who’ve been here for a long time and know each other outside the blog. In a lot of senses, BE acts as a substitute for a physical space for old friends to meet up. This is a cool thing about BE. However, sometimes it can get a bit cliquey. The regulars should welcome new people to the general discussion and new folks should be open to learning the formal and informal rules of this place, because it is the best Blazer blog going. My suggestion to all new folks is to frequent the JD, you get an idea for the personality behind the avatar in the comments there.
Getting proactive, there’s things all of us can do to keep this blog as strong as it is. My new rule is, instead of saying simply that sometihing or someome stinks/is teriible/etc, I’ll do that (in a measured manner of course) and provide at least two reasons for every line of cirticism. As an unapologetic Bayless fanboy, I dub this the “Steve Blake Rule” (e.g. Blake is not playing well and Bayless should be out there because he can break down the defense and give the other point guard problems on both ends of the floor).
Dave, thanks again for doing such a great job with this blog. Really folks, we are lucky. Take a tour of the rest of the SB Nation landscape, and you will realize how good we have it here, in terms of both the quality of the conversation and the site itself. Let’s keep this place that way, because it is indeed the bell cow of SB Nation.
I hate Comcast.
Card carrying member of Team Bayless
I believe in Greg Oden
by blazeraddict on Nov 2, 2009 8:25 AM PST reply actions 8 recs
+92
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Nov 2, 2009 9:34 AM PST up reply actions 1 recs
+1
it is the bestBlazerblog going
Best NBA blog going…
by where's billy ray on Nov 2, 2009 11:30 AM PST up reply actions
Thanks for the edit
agree 100%!
I hate Comcast.
Card carrying member of Team Bayless
I believe in Greg Oden
by blazeraddict on Nov 2, 2009 11:33 AM PST up reply actions
Blazersedge is like our Cheers!
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Nov 2, 2009 2:49 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
"X-MAN!!!!!!!!!!!"
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
by timbo on Nov 2, 2009 7:26 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
I hate the cliques that may have formed
I truly enjoy the friendships I personally have made here, but I get upset when it becomes an exclusive clique that someone has to “prove” their worth to join. That is dumb. If someone made it here, it means they are a Blazer fan, and that’s all that matters.
As someone who may have benefited from some sort of Jordan Rules, I really don’t want to. I’d rather be treated like any new poster. Will someone be more likely to know I am joking about something if they know me a little better? Yes, of course— that is part of being a regular somewhere. But I don’t think any of us regulars should repeatedly get away with stuff that would get others in trouble. Like you say, that leads to confusion and annoying double standards.
I try to keep non-Blazer parts of my life private, but have recently discussed goings-on in the private life, and if we’re all sharing too much I do apologize. I see the Junk Drawer as a plus for the site, as even abrasive but smart guys like AK1984 can show who they really are and it makes everyone appreciate AK the person, and not just be angry at AK the Non Homer. It gives a human face to the Blazer talk, for all of us. You’re much less likely to disrespect someone if you’ve gotten to know them a lil’ better.
Of course, we need to remember the rules and guidelines of Blazers Edge, and I know I am guilty of getting too “comfortable” in the Junk Drawer sometimes. I don’t swear or anything that is decidedly against the rules, but sometimes the borderline stuff crosses the border or inspires others to take it further.
The regulars gotta be aware that they’re seen as the examples of what the site is about. Remember to remain inclusive of all fans, be respectful, and remember where you are at.
As Blazers Edge grows and grows, I want to maintain the high standards that made it famous, and made it why we come back every day. I’ll try to represent the site better, and I urge all my pals here to do the same. It’s going to get even bigger around here, and we gotta keep the place as nice as possible.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Nov 2, 2009 4:47 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Though the JD should conform to the rules and general spirit of the site
I see no problem with comments in there being more personality-oriented. That’s kind of what it’s for.
I’ve just seen too many posts and comments that read like “I’m ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED AND SNARKY and I happen to be talking about the Blazers.” rather than just talking about the team and people can understand the anger or frustration by the context.
A big issue, I think, is that many people think their posts and comments and emotions have to be EMPHASIZED in order to stand out. Instead of just adding to the conversation they try to trump it. So they think it’s OK for just them to tread (or outright cross) the line in order to show how really, really, really intense they are about this. Obviously if we all felt their level of distress then we’d understand, right? The problem is that people feel intensely about things every day. Pretty soon half the posts are snarky and borderline. With the proliferation of such posts pretty soon just mild snark isn’t good enough. We now need more intense snark to stand out. So it ratchets up, and so on.
The ideal would be that passion shows through in every post but not because it’s pointed at as the main thing, rather that passion drives people to craft amazing work and share important insights. The quality of a person’s post and the response it gets should not be measured by how loud it is but by how good it is.
This is what I mean by “personality” I guess. It’s not that people shouldn’t have or share them. Of course they do! That’s what makes the community fun. But they should be shared in context, with respect, and with an eye towards bringing value to the conversation not just attention and importance to the self.
—Dave
FYI, Nate on Rome right now
Roy in 30 minutes.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
These reminders only appear when things have gone too far.
I’m not sure what Dave is referring to specifically, but I guess we all need to be reminded every now and then to play nice together and try to stay mostly on task.
We are a dynamic community of people — that is, we don’t stay the same, individually or as a group — whose single common interest is the Blazers. (Apologies to “pure basketball fans” and trolls.) However, I suspect that many of us come here as much to visit with friends as to opine about our favorite team. Indeed, you could argue that sports, in general, function primarily to facilitate social interaction.
Some posters have achieved a level of fame (or notoriety) that inspires others of us to refer to them in our conversations. This is natural, and it occurs in all spheres of discourse. Read a scholarly paper, for example, and you will encounter numerous references to the opinions of other researchers.
I think we can strike a reasonable balance in our interactions, so that we continue to maintain our relationships in the context of Blazer fandom. It just requires a little self-awareness and some occasional chiding by our leader.
Regarding #1......what I'm hoping for....
As someone who comes across as a dyslexic typist….what I’m hoping for in #1 is the ability to….edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, edit, and then some more edit.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
I hear you, but the good point was made that
it could mess things up if you can edit way later to change the post after people respond to you, which I agree with as a problem. Could break up the whole logic flow when someone is reading way later. Solution: you gotta use the preview button and read it before you hit "post".
Other solution (that probably won’t happen because preview is available): you put a time limit on the edit capability, say, one minute, so you can fix a "whoops". Not that tough, but really, once you screw up, you hopefully learn to "preview".
"Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody " Dave's recap, season opener
Instead of an edit button
Maybe give the poster 30 seconds to just delete it. I always catch my typos in the header after I hit post.
A regular edit function would just get people in trouble, unless the mods had the ability to see what was originally typed. Even then, the mods don’t have time to be playing detective and getting involved with “he said/she said” junk.
Another community I post to
give you the ability to edit for one hour. When you go back to your post within that one hour period, it tells you how many minutes you have left to make an edit.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
The word "respect" runs through my mind and I urge respect for all persons both on the blog and with the team
The civility we are asked for each other (timely point Dave) is common sense in a continuing community. That same civility towards others outside of the blog will raise the level of the community to earn more respect from the team and from those readers not in the community.
That is not to mean calling a player’s decision stupid is demeaning (using the word ill-advised is harder to type). It does mean that stupid play should not mean that the player is less than a caring competitive player who wants the team to win, just as we want the team to win. It is hard to remember that these young men are not even out of college age on average. And who among us does not remember a foolish action taken when we were that age. “Stupid is as stupid does” came from Hollywood and is not a real life truth unless you apply it to yourself. We simply do not know these men personally.
So I urge the community (if you agree) to consider the thing we write about others everywhere to pass the test given by Dave above:
stuff you’re generally not going to say when face-to-face with polite company in public
Would you say what you are going to say about them to the coach or player face to face?
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
"Would you say what you are going to say about them to the coach or player face to face?"
This may be taking the burden to far….there is plenty of legit criticism I would never say to a player face to face (if I were ever lucky enough to meet one) …. I would likely just say “Nice to meet ya” and move on. On the other hand …we should make couch the discussion (amongst ourselves) in terms that make it clear that these are not personal attacks but merely what we think of their play or coaching.
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
yes
Generally when I’m face to face with someone I’m having a conversation that includes jokes and whimsy and definitely profanity. So not the best argument for me. My influences include Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Matt Taibbi, HST, and a slew of academics and philosophers on culture, politics, and the human experience.
While a reminder on etiquette is fine on occasion, if we look at the list of what is appropriate it sounds like the only people welcome in this gated “community” are Vulcans or the humorless. Let’s try and be inclusive of humor, flights of fancy, puns, and emotion as much as the quantum hydrothermodynamics of statistical analysis of basketball. Which in the end is just five giant sweaty guys smashing into each other while trying to put round balls into peach baskets on poles. If you actually listened to these players talk on the court, none of their conversation would be admissible on this website. Keep that in mind.
K? K…
"No disrespect to Jeff Blake"
by Eat Politicians on Nov 2, 2009 10:45 PM PST up reply actions
simple solution
the blazers just need to win 60+ games
Bring back the Uncle Cliffy!
by hawkblogger on Nov 2, 2009 5:05 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
You got it right, mate!
"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal
76+, to be precise
60+ in the regular season, then 16 more.
.
That’s all.
.
Next year, we’ll be looking for 80+ overall.
.
Our real domination comes the year after.
"Woulda, Coulda, Mighta and Shoulda – the Four Horsemen of the Procrastocalypse" - Red-5
we knew it was coming
in a way, Dave’s reminder comes as no big surprise. There’s been a fair amount of speculation that this was coming, if not over-due. In a way it seemed like some pushing of limits was going on just to gauge the tolerance level. I appreciate Dave’s desire to keep Blazers Edge an elite site, made so not just by thoughtful and clever insight and analysis of the hosts, but on the devoted contributions of Portland Trail Blazer fan’s commentaries.
The personalities on Blazers Edge are a huge part of what makes the site unique and the envy of quite a few SBN blogs. I see the Junk Drawer as the largest reflection of that personality. It’s fun, humorous and replete with wit, sarcasm, and all that kinda stuff we all love. Often times it includes candor as well, of which I’ve perhaps shared too much personal info at times. But I trust my Bedge friends, and I feel safe there. Forgive my often apparent abrasiveness and confusing attempts at humor. My foremost goal is to be in the enjoyment of the company of others. I will strive to maintain the level of fair play and respect being asked.
I have only one request and that is to be able to do an all caps “grrrrrr!” during game threads when things aren’t going the PTB way.
b4m
I wish people would stop saying "don't worry about it" as if I'm losing sleep over it
I am cracking up that this conversation is happening in this fanpost.
Dave must be shaking his head right now.
.
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