How can we improve Chiefs discussion around here?

[DaFace]

I've mentioned my disappointment in the quality of discussion in a few threads lately, but figured it's worth a more meta discussion to figure out 1) if I'm alone in this perception and 2) if there's anything that can be done about it.

Back in the old days, I walked 20 miles to school in the snow uphill both ways!

Err...wait. I mean, ChiefsPlanet was THE place where I got my Chiefs news. If an article was worth reading on another site, it was linked here. If there was a tweet with Chiefs news, it was posted here 30 seconds after it hit Twitter. If someone said something worthwhile on the radio, someone would post about it on here. And (with all due respect to those who like megathreads), you could glance at the front page and have a pretty decent idea of what the big news was for the day.

After returning home from the boonies on Sunday morning, however, I honestly had no idea how the game Saturday even went. I ended up visiting Arrowhead Pride and Chiefs Digest just to get a feel for what went down. Am I the weird one for thinking that that sucks?

Anyway, just figured it's worth the discussion. If it turns out that everyone is pretty content the way things are, I'll just bookmark some other resources and move on with life. But if I'm not alone, what can we do to make things better?

[TLO]

Plus it feels like it's always the same 3 or 4 people participating in a back and forth pissing match that usually ends with Donger asking a lot of questions.

[Direckshun]

Here's the perfect example, looking at those two threads I linked, of how CP tries to have its cake and eat it too.

In the first thread, I ask the forum what's wrong with DC. BEP is the very first response:

The tone, the mean-spiritness, discussing posters instead of issues. Even if you don't start that way, you become what you try to resist as a matter of survival. But some are quite mean.

Then in the second thread, when I suggest elevated moderation to deal with this exact phenomenon, BEP is again the very first person to respond:

Seriously, saying this is an attempt at censorship. If you don't like a viewpoint or an opinion ignore it.

Yeah.

CP's braintrust either has to make markedly unpopular policy decisions, which it has historically proven it doesn't have the stomach for, or it will just have to live with the monster it created in the lab.

[KC2004]

I miss Phobias BAN HAMMER! lol

[ThaVirus]

In-depth breakdowns and Xs and Os threads don't tend to do well around here. Meanwhile, any poop or food thread is guaranteed to get 100 posts easily.

CP is what it is.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

Here's the perfect example, looking at those two threads I linked, of how CP tries to have its cake and eat it too.

In the first thread, I ask the forum what's wrong with DC. BEP is the very first response:



Then in the second thread, when I suggest elevated moderation to deal with this exact phenomenon, BEP is again the very first person to respond:



Yeah.

CP's braintrust either has to make markedly unpopular policy decisions, which it has historically proven it doesn't have the stomach for, or it will just have to live with the monster it created in the lab.

Might want to bone up on the distinction between aspirations and policies.

[Aspengc8]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

In-depth breakdowns and Xs and Os threads don't tend to do well around here. Meanwhile, any poop or food thread is guaranteed to get 100 posts easily.

CP is what it is.

That's because the same people that think they know what is going on don't like to be wrong or hear what the X's and O's guys have to say, and try to shit on the entire thread. Its the same people every time, and they are clueless about the game.

[Sully]

I haven't read this entire thread. Apologies if my suggestions have already been brought up.

Here are the things that would help discussion:

- More intelligent posters.

There are some incredibly intelligent football minds on this site. Some of them are also pretty vitriolic. So the board is far happier to ridicule them when they are wrong than to take each discussion in stride. That mindset also disincentivizes any other posters from posting an opinion (except for obvious trolls). This isn't to say that there aren't a ton of intelligent posters here, but that most don't post intelligently, either by habit, for humor... whatever...

- Get rid of DC/ Disallow political discussion
I'm not advocating for this, but nothing splits up this board more than that. A disagreement over football is one thing, but when it comes to politics, it becomes far more personal and visceral. Those disagreements carry over, whether in actual concrete terms, or just in how we deal with each other.

- A few guys with the time and money to have the All-22, and break down the plays (with a football mind. Sorry, Clay doesn't apply, here)

Having weekly discussions about concepts, etc would be an awesome asset. However, it would take time and money that people just aren't willing to give.

- Draft Planet is part of the Lounge

Is this a football board, or not? If it is, then there's no reason for it not to be a part of the front page. If it's a mainly social board (which I suspect it really is), then leave it where it is.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by Sully

I haven't read this entire thread. Apologies if my suggestions have already been brought up.

Here are the things that would help discussion:

- More intelligent posters.

There are some incredibly intelligent football minds on this site. Some of them are also pretty vitriolic. So the board is far happier to ridicule them when they are wrong than to take each discussion in stride. That mindset also disincentivizes any other posters from posting an opinion (except for obvious trolls). This isn't to say that there aren't a ton of intelligent posters here, but that most don't post intelligently, either by habit, for humor... whatever...

- Get rid of DC/ Disallow political discussion
I'm not advocating for this, but nothing splits up this board more than that. A disagreement over football is one thing, but when it comes to politics, it becomes far more personal and visceral. Those disagreements carry over, whether in actual concrete terms, or just in how we deal with each other.

Hmm, I could definitely see that... everything seems like it's "us vs them" these days*, and of course that sums up politics... and like you said, there's carry over from political butthurt. Not sure if getting rid of that forum would help the mentality, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.


*hell, even when the Royals won the World Series, there was something floating around facebook about "Kansas hates Missouri unless one of their teams win the World Series!" /derp

[Squalor2]

sully and bearcat. /end thread

[Anyong Bluth]

Why is the no upvote downvote?

Mainly the idea of downvote in obscuring posts if enough people downvote it.

It wouldn't delete the post, you could still click or tap on the obscured post to read it, but at least now you could read through the thread and skip the crap if you so choose?

[Brock]

What improves the football discussion is the team playing better and generating talking points among people who don't care to comment solely to criticize the team.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth

Why is the no upvote downvote?

Mainly the idea of downvote in obscuring posts if enough people downvote it.

It wouldn't delete the post, you could still click or tap on the obscured post to read it, but at least now you could read through the thread and skip the crap if you so choose?

Yay popularity contest yay

[BigCatDaddy]

Buck got banned?

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by Li'l Smokey

Yay popularity contest yay

I downvoted you in my mind.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth

Why is the no upvote downvote?

Mainly the idea of downvote in obscuring posts if enough people downvote it.

It wouldn't delete the post, you could still click or tap on the obscured post to read it, but at least now you could read through the thread and skip the crap if you so choose?

It might be possible with some sort of a mod (as in modification - not moderator) to vBulletin, but we'd have to change to a different version of the software to get to the ones I've seen. Probably not a high priority for now at least.