Recent Locker Room Comments by lil_brown_bat

Comment Editing

I got my ass kicked six ways to Sunday for not discussing the game properly when my post was packed with in-game details. You didn't make a single comment about that game. Your only investment in the topic was to thunder at people for anti-Yankees bias. From my perspective as someone who does make posts, that's become the norm. Yankees fans are more likely to complain about how their team is treated here than to contribute posts and comments about the team.

1. You're cherrypicking. Given the dynamic that's made Yankee fans not want to post about their team because of the abuse, you've got no basis to complain when I come into a thread for the first time, see a bunch of haterade, and call it what it is. 2. If it's become the norm, whose fault is that? Look upthread for how that happened. If you treat people in a nasty fashion, over a long period of time, don't be surprised when that becomes and remains a sore point. Attempts to remedy this are few and recent, so I don't think that should be a surprise.

This is, or should be, a thread about moderation, so that's all I've got to say about the hate. No, I'm not going to come to you and Gary with complaints. It's all well and good to tell people to bring tasty ingredients to make the SpoFi punch -- that's one part of the picture. The other part is what to do when some antisocial asshat lobs a turd into the punchbowl. Dealing with that is a moderation thing, and that part of the tasty punch is up to you.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:22 PM on September 06, 2012

Comment Editing

counterfans who are as motivated to see them lose I love to hate the Yankees.

Well, it's really up to y'all what kind of fans (or "counterfans", or haters) you want to be, and what kind of place you want this to be. I'm surprised that the comment was censored because for years, it's been open season on Yankees and Yankee fans here. If you didn't want that, you should have done something long ago, and if you do want that, why make a pretense of changing the nod-and-wink-at-the-haterade-fest policy now?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:18 AM on September 06, 2012

Comment Editing

I would really love it if people could stop basing the emotional energy of their baseball fandom over how much they hate some team. I find this flavor of sports "fandom" kind of embarrassing and kind of disturbing. It doesn't help that I'm a Yankee fan, always have been, and that SpoFi has a long history of shitty attitudes and behavior towards the Yankees and their fans. The fact that it's worse elsewhere doesn't make it good here.

I know for a fact that some left because every Yankee thread turned into a Yankees hate fest.

Exactly so. Who the hell needs that kind of bush league bullshit all the time? But no, apparently we can't have a thread where the Y-name is mentioned without this kind of silly-ass nonsense, always and forever. Who needs it?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:57 PM on September 05, 2012

Question About Armstrong Post

llb: From your comment, I'm guessing you didn't read the article (since you'd know if it was a quote or not).

I did, in fact. It was a rhetorical question.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:58 AM on September 05, 2012

Too Much Penn State?

This whole thing is horrible, and disgusting and sad, etc, etc, etc but I would like to suggest that for this all to be "forgotten more quickly" that this be the last thread on the front page.

If you seriously want to propose this, the locker room is probably a better place for that discussion to take place. It won't happen, though and it probably shouldn't. Short of an outright ban and much more active content control than SportsFilter has ever had, you won't keep this topic off the front page. I don't care either way; I'll simply observe that other topics that you would probably consider even less sports-related have had more front page legs.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:59 AM on July 23, 2012

Want to Close the Locker Room?

Maybe I'm going to change my mind and say keep the locker room, since apparently we're not allowed to use anything like naughty words on the front page, only were probably not allowed to use them here either because OMGNOES THE CHILDREN!!!11!!!111!!!!

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:25 AM on May 24, 2010

Want to Close the Locker Room?

Well, I don't wish to retain the locker room in its current form, because its current form is lame. Used to be stuff happened here; now all you hear is crickets except when a fantasy league revs up. Take it back to its old form and you'll get my vote.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:00 PM on May 19, 2010

Viewing Bug

I was scared to. It looked like it was going to make a FPP.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:53 PM on December 17, 2009

Viewing Bug

On the bug front...what happened to the locker room post link? how do I post on the locker room any more?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:26 PM on December 17, 2009

Should SportsFilter Think of the Children?

So-called "profanity" is a community standards kind of thing. Coming into an existing community and telling its members that they don't meet your standards is not likely to yield the desired results (assuming that was to pull everyone into line with your standards and not to simply alienate everyone in sight).

posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:21 PM on November 05, 2009

Pushing an Agenda on SportsFilter

...now that's truth in advertising!

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:28 AM on October 01, 2009

Pushing an Agenda on SportsFilter

owlhouse:

I realise many people in the US don't want to travel. But you guys are the most affluent, and one of the most educated societies on the planet.

But that's looking at averages, and averages are misleading. Working in a ski resort, I got to meet a lot of gap year kids who found personal economics in the US very perplexing: is the US a cheap place to live, or an expensive place to live? The answer, I believe, is that we have many cheap luxuries and several expensive necessities. For example, apparel and consumer electronics are quite cheap here compared to Europe -- I used to work for a company that had a substantial European presence, and when our European coworkers were in town on business, it was considered the friendly thing to take them shopping, and they would go completely crazy. But healthcare is very expensive compared to the rest of the developed world, as is higher education. Gasoline is cheap compared to most other industrialized countries, but home heating oil has seen steep rises in price in the last decade, and in the northern US you need heat to stay alive. Food is still fairly inexpensive, but nutritious food is becoming more expensive, and we've also seen sharp price spikes across the board due to the effect that petroleum prices have on petroleum-driven factory agriculture.

On top of that, we also have a widening rich-and-poor gap, largely a result of years of policies that lifted restrictions on the rich making more money (by removing or pulling the teeth of industry regulations, for example) and that undercut programs designed to improve the upward mobility of lower socioeconomic classes. It's not just the current recession; it was going on long before that. The average American cannot afford to travel abroad, period: they lack the funds and they lack the time. It's not like someone in the UK hopping over to France or vice versa.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:49 AM on October 01, 2009

Pushing an Agenda on SportsFilter

tselson:

There is no way to respond to comments like this or defend my point of view, once I am labeled as a whiny majority (person) who is crying about being persecuted. Because that statement will just be rephrased and regurgitated on me until I quit the discussion.

I'll tender my apology now, because in context, that clearly seemed directed at you, and it really wasn't -- it was a reaction to the thread and certain entries in it, primarily from others rather than from you. However...since I have acknowledged that the label may be unfair, I wonder if I can ask you, in a similar spirit, to try and hear the flip side. When church/state issues come up, and someone suggests that a strict separation of church and state is a good thing, it is very common for Christian conservatives (and not-so-conservatives) to pooh-pooh these concerns, to have a "aaah what's the big deal" reaction, or "but we're sharing a good thing" reaction, or a "oh you're just being PEE CEE!!!" reaction, or a "Next thing you secular humanists are going to prevent us from even using the word 'Christmas'" reaction. I am not a Christian. Living in the United States, I am a member of a religious minority, so I get first-hand experience in what it's like to really honest-and-for-true have your beliefs marginalized, mocked and outright persecuted. I know damn well what would happen if I tried to proselytize my religion in a high school, and it wouldn't be pretty.

Knowing all that, and living with all that, I will freely admit that it frosts my behind when Christians play the persecuted card. Yeah, I said it. To my mind, it's a "he jests at scars that never felt a wound" situation. I'm not calling you a whiner, and I'm trying really hard to not create a hierarchy of wrongs either...but I hate it when these conversations never seem to inspire some thought in the majority like, "Wow, if I feel like this now, how much more often does a Muslim/Jew/Wiccan/Buddhist feel like this -- and what part am I playing in that?"

BTW, I have no problem with Christians. My sister, whom I love deeply, is a nun, and I have the utmost respect for her beliefs and her devotion to them. I am also a deep admirer of many Christians whose faith leads them to work for good in the world (particularly the Mennonites). I'm just not a Christian myself.

Thanks for listening, and again, my apologies that my earlier comment was hurtful.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:27 PM on September 30, 2009

Pushing an Agenda on SportsFilter

If I had godlike powers, I'd make it so that whenever people who are in a privileged majority (a majority that behaves quite oppressively towards the minority at times) tried to pretend that they are instead in a small and persecuted minority, their heads would immediately turn bright blue.

But if I had godlike powers, there wouldn't be any religious controversies, because you'd all be worshiping me (and you'd all by god be wearing Yankee hats while you did it).

(edit: oh, and my take on it? Absolutely no "moderator pushing an agenda" crap, and I will furthermore personally donate two dozen amazing cupcakes to the bake sale to raise funds to ban the use of the phrase "pushing an agenda")

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:06 PM on September 30, 2009

Comments with Profanity

I know a site that has a robo-naughty-words-moderator, that stars out anything that it thinks is a naughty word. This leads to "ass" being elided in many situations where there's nothing naughty about it, leading people on this site to use terms like "jackdonkey". I kid you not.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:28 AM on September 14, 2009

It's 2009. What Resolution Should Your Team/Player Make?

Red Sox: Stay with the plan, and build the best team you can while staying within your financial guidelines. While you're at it, try to convince the politicians that Fenway Park should be turned into a monument, and a large new stadium be built in the city.

Let's build it in New Hampshire instead -- down the street from your house.

Boston really really really is not the place to build a new ballpark, and no one wants it anywhere else, so where it is is where it'll stay.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:04 PM on January 04, 2009

Arguing Politics During My Vasectomy

This thread is making me laugh and laugh and laugh. In a good way.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:26 AM on October 29, 2008

Sigh

I'm dipped if I can understand why the new format would make this place seem less...congenial? Yet -- and I really hate to say this, because I feel that I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth -- it does. If I understood why, I'd be a UI designer.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:27 PM on September 29, 2008

Bug: Spofi eats comments

Wow! If you can't get it said in 4,000 characters...(not directed at you personally, Ms. Bat)

Not taken personally. If you're responding to someone who wrote an opus, the quotes will put you over the top pretty quick.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:04 PM on September 25, 2008

Bug: Spofi eats comments

On another topic, am I the only one noticing an influx of trolls?

Nope. It's fall, but I was hoping this year would be different because of the new anti-troll features.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:31 PM on September 23, 2008

Bug: Spofi eats comments

If a comment is longer than 4,000 characters, you should have seen an error message that let you hit the Back button and correct it.

Alas, didn't happen that way. FF3.0.1.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:30 PM on September 23, 2008

Welcome to the New Server

I love my user number. Thanks for bringing it back.

The thing I miss the most right now, though, is the "new comments" gizmo.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:43 AM on August 22, 2008

New front page categories

salmacis, you look at the fpp. Like, the content. I don't think the issue is how major a sport is, internationally or not...I think what matters is whether it's major on Spofi. BTW, I say this as someone whose major interest is in sports that are minor at best on Spofi.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:22 PM on July 30, 2008

New front page categories

If you're going to create a category for a sport, I think that you need to be able to make the case based on the number of FPPs, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the number of people who are interested in it.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:35 AM on July 30, 2008

Is spofi ailing?

No big deal, gary -- just wanted to know if it was something at my end. It's been wicked reliable so this kind of stuck out.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:50 PM on July 07, 2008

Link dump!

They both lose?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:40 AM on June 26, 2008

Guess I didn't get the memo

To clarify again, I wasn't criticizing DudeDykstra either. We do have a higher standard than the rest of the web, which I think is good. I think we want to encourage it. It's just that we need to make the noobs aware of it in a more proactive way (the page goddam linked to is the one I was thinking of, although also having a link to spofiwiki would not be a bad thing). On most of the web, you're a lamer if you say anything about someone's spelling or grammar or punctuation, so given the context, I can't blame knowsalittle for getting irked.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:46 PM on May 02, 2008

Guess I didn't get the memo

To clarify, I'm not objecting to the quiz -- just to the situation where we give them links to a "new user message" and "posting guidelines" that make no mention of the "write right" stuff. Assuming they're diligent enough to read these documents, isn't it reasonable for them to assume that they're up to speed on the site's standards? I hate posts with crappy spelling, diction and so on, but how can we criticize them if we don't ever point people in the right direction?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:31 PM on May 02, 2008

Guess I didn't get the memo

Hey, admins, when did you start having new members take a quiz in order to sign up? And what exactly is the purpose of it? Right now we have a brand-new newbie getting feisty in a thread because someone corrected his diction. The problem with criticisms such as the one leveled at him is that we still don't provide a link to the "no AOLisms, check yer spelling" business in the new user message or posting guidelines. This means that a chunk of the so-called "standards" of the site are completely hidden from a newb's view -- from anyone's view, unless they do some pretty determined hunting around, and how would a newb know that they even needed to hunt? I've raised that issue before and for whatever reason, the simple and easy step of making a link to that set of "guidelines" hasn't happened. Yet it apparently made sense to someone to create a quiz that they have to pass before they can sign up. Does this make sense?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:17 AM on May 02, 2008

So, by "March," you actually meant "April," right? Right?

I'm a bad person. I still have to trim down my mix, burn it, and send it out.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:00 AM on April 23, 2008

Where the hell is everybody?

I was on vacation, then spent a week frantically preparing for my big tradeshow of the year, and now I'm schmoozing customers at my big tradeshow of the year. And now I have to stop and stand up and look attentive, because my slacker co-workers are playing games instead of working the crowd.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:55 AM on April 14, 2008

Ben Saunders's North expedition ends early

You're getting four nice days in late July? Lucky bastard.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:15 PM on April 07, 2008

Twitter is teh new spam:

jerseygirl, I'm disappointed in you. I really think if you had to succumb to the lolcat temptation, you could have come up with some better pix. (especially for thread-pissing)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:10 AM on March 18, 2008

Twitter is teh new spam:

Me too. Whatta dope.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:15 PM on March 17, 2008

Twas the night befor...

Mine will be late. I'm waiting on Amazon to get me the last of the stuff I need. They fucked up and mis-delivered it and returned it saying "incorrect address" and a lot of other bullshit. Now I hate them forever. (It could end up being a two-CD set though)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:21 AM on March 14, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

My CDs will probably be late, thanks to Amazon. Useless goddamn bastards they are anyway.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:40 AM on March 11, 2008

Thread-pissing

Think of the children! (I don't know what that means, I just figured it needed to be said about now)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:57 PM on March 06, 2008

Not exactly eponysterical, but close

Didn't touch me, lilnemo, I'm many miles away.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:20 AM on March 06, 2008

Thread-pissing

Hmm. Well, I want to thank you all for the food for thought. I accept that this is a thing that's just been bugging me lately, and that may not have any connection with anything going on with the site as such, or indicate any need to do something. I really did just want to hear the thoughts of others, and it's been very helpful. (and special thanks to lilnemo -- that was an elegant little gem)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:18 AM on March 06, 2008

Thread-pissing

And wade through puddles of piss. Meh. I take your point that they usually -- not always -- piss once and not again if no one responds, in that thread. And then they go and do it in another thread, and another, and another. And, even supposing those of us reading this live by some kind of "don't respond" consensus, we're not the only ones reading and posting on the threads. The end result, whether you want to blame it on the responders or the pissers, is that there's plenty of piss to go around. Is the consensus here that it doesn't matter and/or that nothing can/should be done to help the situation?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:00 PM on March 05, 2008

Thread-pissing

Only if you didn't read the link. Oh, come now! The head coach says what amounts to, "We're really happy to have him back," and you call that "accolades"? You're really sounding like an apologist here, bperk.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:12 AM on March 05, 2008

Thread-pissing

dfleming: Having issues with the premise of an argument is where discussion comes from. There wasn't an argument to respond to, dfleming. It was an observation: the guy's retiring. bperk: If it is on topic to talk about how great the Pats are, then it has to be on topic to talk about the ways in which they are not great. Same thing here, only much more so. The FPP wasn't about "how great the Pats are", and if you read the thread, you will find that (if you discount my "re-signs, Yang!" comment and the related ones) it started with a comment about Roethlisberger, followed by a thread-piss about how much Randy Moss sucks. There were no accolades to respond to. Please, call a spade a spade.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:45 AM on March 05, 2008

Thread-pissing

Having gone away for a couple of hours... It was actually the Favre thread that provoked me to start this one, although the other threads were fuel for the fire. I think there was probably at least one instance in each of those threads where I said, "You know what, that's just plain pissin' in the punchbowl." I don't really think that because you have issues with something that's related to the topic of the thread, it's automatically appropriate and on-topic for you to vent in the thread. At the same time, while we probably would find that we've got broad consensus on certain behaviors being thread-pissing, all we've ever put in the guidelines are a few examples of it. We got the "I can so say!" response from some individuals, and there's no answer you can make to that if you haven't defined what thread-pissing is. I don't know that we're going to arrive at any such definition, but I thought it a subject worthy of discussion.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:39 PM on March 04, 2008

Thread-pissing

Thread-pissing is pissing on a thread, and that's why I started this thread: to discuss just what is and isn't considered pissing on a thread. I think there are some behaviors that we can safely identify as pissing in a thread (going into a futbol thread to comment, "Aaah soccer is a stupid sport", for example), but where's the line? Or what are some other examples of different types of thread-pissing?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:07 PM on March 04, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

PenisFilter: check it at the door!

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:31 PM on February 29, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

I don't think I got addresses either. Maybe that email got eaten by the penis filter or something, but usually I check...anyway, I don't have it. Resend maybe?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:47 AM on February 29, 2008

Kornheiser post

I paid to see the 1998 Godzilla. Afterwards I felt...soiled.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:59 PM on February 28, 2008

Kornheiser post

If you don't play, you can't win. (okay, best I could come up with...as for the anointment, I figure it'll come off after a few hot showers with a bar of Lava)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:05 PM on February 28, 2008

Kornheiser post

Well, he's still at it. Mary, I posted my phone number in profile at Sportfi. Now you can tell everyone to call me that was sent the email. Just so you and everybody else knows I didn't send the email to Gary. Just the people that had smart ass things to say after I left. I'll be waiting your calls. Personally, I don't give a shit if you know who am or not. You're probably wondering why I picked you. Well, I consider you the most intelligent of all the writers and frankly though you were above such nonsense statements in the locker room. Hope to hear from you soon. FWIW, I'm always happy to disabuse anyone of the notion that I'm above whatever they characterize as nonsense. Just in case, y'know, anyone else was getting ideas.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:55 AM on February 28, 2008

Kornheiser post

If everyone who used email to do the electronic equivalent of yelling, "Oh...oh yeah? Well...well...well...fuck you!!! from the safety of his big brother's speeding car, then decided to play out a Japanese horror film, there would be no room on the front page for all this election crap. (and for the one in a gazillion who might be inspired to turn thought into action, there are always the Very Large Dogs, who will defend to the death their favorite beef jerky provider...so I don't waste sleep over such things)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:21 AM on February 28, 2008

Kornheiser post

So, anyone else get a lovely email with a picture of the guy who said he was leaving yesterday, but is apparently still hanging around reading this thread?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:00 PM on February 27, 2008

Kornheiser post

This departure from SportsFilter is brought to you by the letter D and the number crescendo.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:35 PM on February 27, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

I got one too. Have yet to use it though. I think perhaps I shall have to learn how. (not to be outdone by my fellow Genuine Indian Guru)

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:32 PM on February 26, 2008

Kornheiser post

"Blucher!"

posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:31 PM on February 26, 2008

Kornheiser post

I think perhaps part of the problem here is that we aren't aware of just how much filtering the mods do. They do it, where they do it, quietly and without fuss and a lot of public pronouncements. While I think this is the way to go, I can also see some people coming to the (erroneous) conclusion that their comments are the only ones being deleted and everyone else gets to let fly.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:24 PM on February 26, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

Not warm and fuzzy, apoch -- warm and sunny. As in, Bahia. Yes, it's lil_brown_bat's "enough goddamn snow already" Brazilian mix.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:56 AM on February 26, 2008

SportsFilter CD Swap

I felt warm and sunny when I put my songs together. I still need more, though, so it won't be going out this week.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:19 AM on February 26, 2008

Pony Request: Developing Story Link?

Yes! I don't have any specific thoughts right now about how I'd like to see such a thing implemented, but I think this is a really great idea.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:29 PM on February 23, 2008

Spofi CD swap 3: The Revival

What's the new CD-mailing date? I gotta get my shit together on this.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:34 PM on February 21, 2008

Is anyone else following the hearings today?

Of course, Barnicle is also a moron who's been mailing it in for decades, Patrick Reusse's opinion notwithstanding.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:21 PM on February 14, 2008