In response to Douglas M

Douglas gave a nice shout out to those of us who post in the FanPosts section. I thought I would share with he and all of you precisely how much we appreciate this board, and our fellow denizens.

So, as I've mentioned before, I have worked for a big 10 site in the past. I wrote many articles about the team, and some opinion pieces, etc. My experience has been that miserable people are drawn to message boards. They find that behind the veil of anonymity, they can spew vitriol with no consequences. It was a pay site, so I guess that gave an extra sense of entitlement. I pay my ten bucks a month and can threaten your children.

It's kind of how I feel about the internet in general. Suddenly, all of these angry, mean people have a voice. We see it everywhere, in sports, politics, the country everywhere. So much anger, so little cooperation. You suck...no, you suck...no, you suck. The idea that we're all pretty much alike has almost evaporated. That we all want the same thing, that idealistic notion that we are in the same boat. We'll quibble about the minor things once we hit the shore. This seems to be the one place that has not forgotten that.

I think there is a couple of reasons. The first is the moderation. We're adults, and are treated as so. An occasional curse doesn't uproar the community, nor should it. However, it shouldn't be a cesspool either. I find the moderation of this exceptionally fair. Second, you have to be able to articulate your argument before you can even post. I remember having to submit a comment and have it approved before it could go into fanposts. This does so much to prevent spammers, it's unbelievable. There isn't 10 pages of "we suck" until you can get to substantive information or opinion.

The quality of the writing is so good, and so prolific. I submit that Ryan VanBibber is the most prolific writer working today. I have a degree in English, so know a lot about grammar, syntax, and spelling. I have yet to catch him in a mistake. I catch my local paper in a mistake a day on the front page, for context. And to think, dude has a full time job outside of this site.

Back to the paysite thing, just briefly. By paying, fans seem to get the notion that they have paid to say whatever they want. It makes the room terrible. I'm sorry, but having money to spend does not make your opinion valid. It just means you pay to make people listen to you. No such self entitlement exists on this, a free board. People generally keep it civil because they can't threaten to take their money away. Self sustaining is a true advantage at TST.

In summary, I hope I speak for the fans of this site that do fanposts in saying it's incredibly well run and moderated. Without the mods and creators, this isn't a place people come to as often. I can say without reservation, this is the best sports webpage I have ever been a part of.

TLDR; Thanks to the mods. You have a great site.

Ramhock