Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had to delete more comments on BTB than I have in the last year total. I don’t know what’s happened but this blog is intended to be a place where people can come read and talk about the Cowboys in a comfortable environment. Instead, it’s turning into junior high insults, stalking other posters around that you don’t agree with trying to pick a fight and a total lack of respect for your fellow Cowboys fan.
Everyday I read things on here that I absolutely disagree with and yet I resist that overwhelming urge to call the ideas expressed stupid, asinine, totally ignorant and all the other negative taunts you can think of. This blog is not an anarchistic entity without rules and expected etiquette and behavior. And it’s not a democracy in the rule-making department, for better or worse, it’s autocratic.
I’ve been to Cowboys’ forums before that turned into just a bunch of guys out to prove the other one is wrong in every comment and the attitudes of the posters devolved. The old DFW S-T board comes to mind. (Just for clarity, I'm not talking about boards like CowboysZone or Cowboys-Forum, which are great boards, the old DFW S-T board is the prime example.) When I started this blog I swore that would never happen at BTB. You may think I’m too controlling or that I’m too old-fashioned or whatever, but I would trade a smaller community of posters who want to discuss and debate the Cowboys and talk seriously about football with good attitudes over a wild-west shootout where everything goes and no one cares.
Just because someone posts something that you disagree with doesn’t mean he’s violated your honor and it’s now a duel to the death. Just because someone has a different opinion doesn’t mean it’s time to try and make them look bad.
Come on people, we’re better than that. If you can’t express yourself without using profanity, then re-think your need to put up that particular comment. If you can’t disagree with someone without resorting to ‘are you ignorant’ or ‘that is the stupidest thing ever’ lines of attack, then best to leave them alone. Some people have tried to turn this into an ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ kind of place. It’s boring and boorish. If you disagree, just tell us why you disagree, we really don’t need your insulting opinion of the other guy added on for our pleasure.
I hope that by now that you guys know I don’t mind some light-hearted humor, the occasional double entendre or other things. I can appreciate full-on debate and dissenting opinions. We can have fun, we can have serious debate, but we can do it without the mean-spirited jabs and outright hatred for other posters.
If you need further clarification on anything, feel free to email me.