The Boneyard is in danger of turning into the Summitt

[HuskyNan]

I haven't been to the Summitt in years. It was years before the board went pay-for that I stopped reading it and I stopped reading it because while the majority of people there are nice, normal folk that just want to talk about the team they love, a small group of sourpusses ruined it as a congenial place. That group, which I call the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, is nasty, paranoid, and immune to rational discourse. And I see signs of this creeping into the Boneyard. The checklist of symptoms:

1. Calling opposing coaches or players childish names - check
2. Scouring the Internet and news articles for perceived insults or - more importantly - a lack of appropriate reverence for the Huskies. And heaven forbid an opposing player believe their team might have a chance to win - check
3. Harassing and insulting visiting fans, not for what these fans say but for the fact the fan might have Vol or RU or Card or whatever as part of their handle - check
4. Drowning out people that want to discuss possible team weaknesses or who would criticize Geno - not really, although some threads trend that way. This is actually a Boneyard strength but I would be happier if people could argue or disagree without being insulting
5. Trashing recruits for not choosing UConn - oh, check this one a dozen times. That's what put me over the edge and made me want to write this post.

This is a message board to discuss a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings playing a game. It's not the Middle East peace talks and shouldn't be taken as seriously. There are people here that won't let go of their anger at one sentence uttered by Tara VanDerveer 20 years ago (see #2 above) and I'm not even going to broach the topic of Pat Summit.

The Boneyard should be a fun place to visit but I've noticed since my "real" job has required me to work longer hours, I have limited free time and I choose to ignore the Boneyard in favor of something more relaxing. In what should have been one of the most enjoyable seasons in a few years, we've started to get a collection of sourpusses a la the Summit. Now, I can try talking to folks, that's what this post is, weeding out the sourpusses (a few have disappeared already), or I can just say "the heck with it" because people would rather recreate the Summitt with its overbearing sense of entitlement and nastiness. I don't know what's going to happen because it's not my decision, it's the decision of all you folks on the board. Let me know what direction you want to take.

 

[TDiNozzo]

Just don't chop off any heads with that sword......

 

[msf22b]

Some of the problem(s) you noted tend to increase in proportion to the dominance of the team.
This was a most unusual year (from the perspective of a mere decade).
I suspect things will settle down when a slightly more level playing field emerges (or at least a few losses).
All but number 4, of which I remember, fondly the heat of last year and earlier.

I just don't think this all will happen soon.

 

[alexrgct]

I see nine NCs and 11 beautiful, fierce, capable young women. And a bunch of awesome, fierce, capable young men also took a NC home to my state. Can't imagine a need for anything other than sunshine, at least not right now...

 

[Bayareahusky]

Good hit, nan

 

[meyers7]

I see nine NCs and 11 beautiful, fierce, capable young women. And a bunch of awesome, fierce, capable young men also took a NC home to my state. Can't imagine a need for anything other than sunshine, at least not right now...

 

[dibster]

Good post.

 

[DGHuskyFan]

"This is a message board to discuss a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings playing a game. It's not the Middle East peace talks and shouldn't be taken as seriously. There are people here that won't let go of their anger at one sentence uttered by Tara VanDerveer 20 years ago (see #2 above) and I'm not even going to broach the topic of Pat Summit"

LOL I'm still mad at France for not letting us fly over their airspace in '86 to bomb Gaddafi let alone VanDerveer's sleight!

 

[UcMiami]

I never experienced the Summitt when it was a friendly place, so I cannot speak to the progression it went through, just that when I did visit, it seemed to be a private club reserved for a very small segment of extreme thinkers and the worst kind of 'fanatics' as opposed to 'fans'.
I enjoy the boneyard immensely and spend much too much time here but would agree that there are more threads this year that I just ignore because they are:
1. endless restatements of the same arguments that were hashed out weeks, months, or years ago
2. devolve into debate about a peripheral point with a few posters trying to get the last, last word in, stating the same point, over and over.
3. a lack of recognition that while Uconn is great and probably is the best women's basketball program that ever existed, there are a million legitimate reasons for a HS basketball player to chose not to come to Uconn if they are so 'privileged' to be offered a scholarship and that there are actually players who reach their full potential at all those 'lesser' programs around the country. (And there are some Uconn players who might actually have better developed their games elsewhere.)
4. a lack of civility, an overarching arrogance, or just a mean-spirited attitude to anything non-Uconn.
5. complaints of 'group think' or of 'this is a sports forum' when the issue with a poster is tone and civility more than content.

What I continue to love about this board is:
1. a breadth of opinion
2. some really 'poetic' expressions of joy and celebration of a remarkable program and a group of remarkable athletes.
3. an enthusiasm for the sport of women's basketball
4. insightful analysis and a breadth of knowledge and thought about the game in general, and specifics about players, coaches, individual games, philosophies, skills, etc.
5. great visitors from other programs that bring new perspectives and the willingness for most to welcome them even if they have the audacity to prefer ____ over Uconn.
6. occasional off topic or peripheral issues that lead to interesting discussions
7. great moderators and a general self policing by most posters that keep it civil and respectful and on-topic.

A good thread Nan and a chance for all of us to reflect on what we post, how we react, and what we want from this board and our participation. Being a fan is being a fanatic about something, but it need not lead to fanaticism and the ugliness that word can embody.

 

[Geno-ista]

"This is a message board to discuss a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings playing a game. It's not the Middle East peace talks and shouldn't be taken as seriously. There are people here that won't let go of their anger at one sentence uttered by Tara VanDerveer 20 years ago (see #2 above) and I'm not even going to broach the topic of Pat Summit"

LOL I'm still mad at France for not letting us fly over their airspace in '86 to bomb Gaddafi let alone VanDerveers sleight of Taurasi!

I love the French thing-classic!!!!

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

This is what a sourpuss looks like, just in case...

BTW, is is not Meyers....no pants.

 

[Sonny44]

I haven't been to the Summitt in years. It was years before the board went pay-for that I stopped reading it and I stopped reading it because while the majority of people there are nice, normal folk that just want to talk about the team they love, a small group of sourpusses ruined it as a congenial place. That group, which I call the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, is nasty, paranoid, and immune to rational discourse. And I see signs of this creeping into the Boneyard. The checklist of symptoms:

1. 
   [ ]Calling opposing coaches or players childish names - check
   [ ]Scouring the Internet and news articles for perceived insults or - more importantly - a lack of appropriate reverence for the Huskies. And heaven forbid an opposing player believe their team might have a chance to win - check
   [ ]Harassing and insulting visiting fans, not for what these fans say but for the fact the fan might have Vol or RU or Card or whatever as part of their handle - check
   [ ]Drowning out people that want to discuss possible team weaknesses or who would criticize Geno - not really, although some threads trend that way. This is actually a Boneyard strength but I would be happier if people could argue or disagree without being insulting
   [ ]Trashing recruits for not choosing UConn - oh, check this one a dozen times. That's what put me over the edge and made me want to write this post.

This is a message board to discuss a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings playing a game. It's not the Middle East peace talks and shouldn't be taken as seriously. There are people here that won't let go of their anger at one sentence uttered by Tara VanDerveer 20 years ago (see #2 above) and I'm not even going to broach the topic of Pat Summit.

The Boneyard should be a fun place to visit but I've noticed since my "real" job has required me to work longer hours, I have limited free time and I choose to ignore the Boneyard in favor of something more relaxing. In what should have been one of the most enjoyable seasons in a few years, we've started to get a collection of sourpusses a la the Summit. Now, I can try talking to folks, that's what this post is, weeding out the sourpusses (a few have disappeared already), or I can just say "the heck with it" because people would rather recreate the Summitt with its overbearing sense of entitlement and nastiness. I don't know what's going to happen because it's not my decision, it's the decision of all you folks on the board. Let me know what direction you want to take.

Thanks Nan. As I posted yesterday we need to get rid of the mean spiritedness. I've been guilty too. We just don't need this. If you see any of this on my posts, please correct me ASAP and I will apologize immediately.
Can we all try our best to buy into this?
Who's in?

 

[Zorro]

Nan; Not at all to try to defend all posts and all threads that pop up on the Boneyard, but I don't think the situation is as serious, or even as potentially serious, as you posit in your OP. Here is an exercise you might try (I just did). I won't even mention any Summitt names, but just try bringing to mind some of the most obnoxious of the TinFoilCrew, and try to imagine; if you were going to make a movie of the Summitt, using only Boneyard personnel, who you would cast as..... Just a few minutes spent trying ought to convince you that it is just bloody impossible. Our most vitriolic and opinionated members, on their worst days, simply could not convincingly personify the whacked-out, reality-starved, couth-less, jingoistic, rabid ringleaders of the Summitt Mob. Mentioning no names.

We could stand some improvement, but we ain't no Summitt nor likely to be.

 

[HuskyNan]

Nan; Not at all to try to defend all posts and all threads that pop up on the Boneyard, but I don't think the situation is as serious, or even as potentially serious, as you posit in your OP. Here is an exercise you might try (I just did). I won't even mention any Summitt names, but just try bringing to mind some of the most obnoxious of the TinFoilCrew, and try to imagine; if you were going to make a movie of the Summitt, using only Boneyard personnel, who you would cast as..... Just a few minutes spent trying ought to convince you that it is just bloody impossible. Our most vitriolic and opinionated members, on their worst days, simply could not convincingly personify the whacked-out, reality-starved, couth-less, jingoistic, rabid ringleaders of the Summitt Mob. Mentioning no names.

We could stand some improvement, but we ain't no Summitt nor likely to be.

Read the subject line of the thread, z. I didn't say we were there yet but the trend is becoming more clear each passing month.

 

[grizz36]

I haven't been to the Summitt in years. It was years before the board went pay-for that I stopped reading it and I stopped reading it because while the majority of people there are nice, normal folk that just want to talk about the team they love, a small group of sourpusses ruined it as a congenial place. That group, which I call the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, is nasty, paranoid, and immune to rational discourse. And I see signs of this creeping into the Boneyard. The checklist of symptoms:

1. 
   [ ]Calling opposing coaches or players childish names - check
   [ ]Scouring the Internet and news articles for perceived insults or - more importantly - a lack of appropriate reverence for the Huskies. And heaven forbid an opposing player believe their team might have a chance to win - check
   [ ]Harassing and insulting visiting fans, not for what these fans say but for the fact the fan might have Vol or RU or Card or whatever as part of their handle - check
   [ ]Drowning out people that want to discuss possible team weaknesses or who would criticize Geno - not really, although some threads trend that way. This is actually a Boneyard strength but I would be happier if people could argue or disagree without being insulting
   [ ]Trashing recruits for not choosing UConn - oh, check this one a dozen times. That's what put me over the edge and made me want to write this post. <snip>

I agree 10000000%

 

[vtcwbuff]

HN you forgot one - name calling and insults aimed at fellow BY members simply because you disagree with what they have to say. Not arguing the content of what they post but attacking them personally. I often posted deliberately provocative topics, with the intent of creating a discussion.
It's why I left the BY after so many years.

 

[schmendrick]

For what it's worth, last week's Muffet-Geno imbroglio did not bring out the best in many, and I include myself in the many.

 

[Zorro]

Read the subject line of the thread, z. I didn't say we were there yet but the trend is becoming more clear each passing month.

Point taken. But there are off-setting encouraging signs as well. We seem to be attracting more and more participants who are fans of other teams but who come here to rationally and cordially discuss wcbb in general, the Huskies prospects, their own teams' strengths and weaknesses, and the like. And by-and-large, I think that they continue to be treated with cordiality and respect, and that their contributions are appreciated. While I too deplore the use of insulting distortions of the names of players and coaches of other teams, and doubly-deplore the uninformed attribution of discreditable motives to those hot prospects who unaccountably choose to attend other universities, I am not really sure that there has been more of that lately than formerly. (I haven't seen anything lately to compare with some of the obnoxious distortions of coach GG's name that used to be commonplace.) And while there are certainly mini-feuds among some of the more volatile posters, I think that is inevitable and just a natural function of any sort of group discussion, especially a group that includes a large cohort of OFs.

Nevertheless, I hope that all here will take what you said very seriously and make a real effort to avoid undue umpleasantness and carping. The Boneyard, largely through your efforts and those of JS and the Biffster and Br'er Bear, is a unique forum for the exchange of information, ideas, opinions and enthusiasm for the Huskies and wcbb in general. There is no other board that I am aware of that even approaches it. I hope that all participants will recognize that this didn't just happen fortuitously, and will do their best to keep it the valuable resource that it is.

 

[winlots]

HN you forgot one - name calling and insults aimed at fellow BY members simply because you disagree with what they have to say. Not arguing the content of what they post but attacking them personally. I often posted deliberately provocative topics, with the intent of creating a discussion.
It's why I left the BY after so many years.

VTC: I think she handled that head on in her #4 - check it out. What do you think? (As another provocateur, and a
pursuer of perfection, I can relate to your sensitivity on that point......but remember: illigitimi non carborundum

 

[Rob Signor]

I haven't been to the Summitt in years. It was years before the board went pay-for that I stopped reading it and I stopped reading it because while the majority of people there are nice, normal folk that just want to talk about the team they love, a small group of sourpusses ruined it as a congenial place. That group, which I call the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, is nasty, paranoid, and immune to rational discourse. And I see signs of this creeping into the Boneyard. The checklist of symptoms:

1. 
   [ ]Calling opposing coaches or players childish names - check
   [ ]Scouring the Internet and news articles for perceived insults or - more importantly - a lack of appropriate reverence for the Huskies. And heaven forbid an opposing player believe their team might have a chance to win - check
   [ ]Harassing and insulting visiting fans, not for what these fans say but for the fact the fan might have Vol or RU or Card or whatever as part of their handle - check
   [ ]Drowning out people that want to discuss possible team weaknesses or who would criticize Geno - not really, although some threads trend that way. This is actually a Boneyard strength but I would be happier if people could argue or disagree without being insulting
   [ ]Trashing recruits for not choosing UConn - oh, check this one a dozen times. That's what put me over the edge and made me want to write this post.

This is a message board to discuss a group of teenagers/twenty-somethings playing a game. It's not the Middle East peace talks and shouldn't be taken as seriously. There are people here that won't let go of their anger at one sentence uttered by Tara VanDerveer 20 years ago (see #2 above) and I'm not even going to broach the topic of Pat Summit.

The Boneyard should be a fun place to visit but I've noticed since my "real" job has required me to work longer hours, I have limited free time and I choose to ignore the Boneyard in favor of something more relaxing. In what should have been one of the most enjoyable seasons in a few years, we've started to get a collection of sourpusses a la the Summit. Now, I can try talking to folks, that's what this post is, weeding out the sourpusses (a few have disappeared already), or I can just say "the heck with it" because people would rather recreate the Summitt with its overbearing sense of entitlement and nastiness. I don't know what's going to happen because it's not my decision, it's the decision of all you folks on the board. Let me know what direction you want to take.

 

[meyers7]

This is what a sourpuss looks like, just in case...

BTW, is is not Meyers....no pants.

No definitely not Meyers. Not a big fan of cats. Although I am a fan of Big Cats (tigers specifically).

However, I only wear pants when I absolutely have to.

 

[meyers7]

VTC: I think she handled that head on in her #4 - check it out. What do you think? (As another provocateur, and a
pursuer of perfection, I can relate to your sensitivity on that point.but remember: illigitimi non carborundum

So says Gen. Vinegar Joe Stillwell.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Don't let the crap tossers win, Nan. Your presence here makes this a place worth visiting.

In other news (I really meant to post this earlier (I swear) but was suffering a bout of laziness), I really, really like Kayla McBride. She's a superstar who doesn't crave the spotlight.

 

[Icebear]

There may be trending but this place is nothing near the Summitt's nature for the last decade. I know, Nan, that you and the other moderators edit much of the worse and that contributes to the sanity and for that reason in itself it is impossible for most of us to conceive of the comparison. The moderators bear the brunt of it.

 

[winlots]

So says Gen. Vinegar Joe Stillwell.

MEYER: XOXOXO How's that for vinegar?