Poster you miss the most on tbd

[BobbyC81]

CableGal or CableGirl

 

Bob Lamb

 

Mike in Horseheads (name made me laugh)

[DJasper Probincrux III]

On a more practical note, I think some of the utility of the site has diminished over the years. There are several reasons for this IMO. When I first started coming here in the late 90's I had no access to local news on the Bills. The internet was a completely different place and TBD served as my home page for many years.

 

One reason my click count has dropped is Twitter. I used to come here to catch the breaking news and good gossipy scuttlebutt. Now Twitter does all of that and though it also has it's share of crap I get my fix quickly and can fire off responses just as quickly that I know people see even if they don't answer.

 

The second reason for my decrease in visits frankly is the decline in local reporting. I can't remember the last story that any of the local media broke. EVERYTHING has come out first through other, national, sources that I can follow on Twitter easily. The local reporting has devolved into something much more akin to blogs; opinion and snarkiness particularly from Sullivan. There is a place for that type of content but honestly it's not what I want out of my news reporters. If I want that content there are a myriad of other places I can go to get it without submitting to a paywall or clearing my cache weekly. I've made a specific effort NOT to read Sullivan and Graham this year and I've blocked them on my Twitter so they can't pollute my timelines. I feel like I've missed out on absolutely nothing by taking that step. Not one thing. That content, which is now lacking, used to be the lifeblood of site traffic. Now it's gone and TBD doesn't have to be my homepage anymore.

 

With regards to the level of discourse here, that too has been negatively impacted by Twitter. It used to be that people would write well thought out posts with decent facts and research and stimulate actual discussion. That takes time and effort and it's very frustrating when people take your effort and only contribute to throw feces either at it or you. Don't get me wrong, I get that on Twitter as well at times. This week I had a guy make up a couple of accounts and make it his mission to tell me in repeated fashions that he wanted to rape me in front if my kids in response to some tweets I had written that were critical and questioning of EJ Manuel. The difference for me is that I didn't think twice about repeatedly blocking the guy and going about my business whereas here I felt more personal attachment to and it was more frustrating to have nonsensical personal attacks on completely reasonable posts. Given the effort that I used to put into some of those posts it stopped being worth it. The people I wanted to talk to were drowned out by the morons.

 

The Shoutbox is such a mixed blessing. I really enjoy the instant feedback but it too has become dominated by a few people who it seems have made it their mission to own the Shoutbox. I liken it to the old IRC chat room days where you'd have people who's only interest was dominating the chat room, not actually contributing anything.

 

Like I said, I've been here in some form for a really long time and I've had a couple thousand posts over that time. I've had Twitter less than a year and I've already got as many tweets as I have total posts here in 14-15 years. Sadly I think TBD is a buggy whip factory. It's a really good buggy whip factory so it's lasting longer than the other inferior ones but in the end it's getting swallowed by other formats.

[BringBackFergy]

On a more practical note, I think some of the utility of the site has diminished over the years. There are several reasons for this IMO. When I first started coming here in the late 90's I had no access to local news on the Bills. The internet was a completely different place and TBD served as my home page for many years.

 

One reason my click count has dropped is Twitter. I used to come here to catch the breaking news and good gossipy scuttlebutt. Now Twitter does all of that and though it also has it's share of crap I get my fix quickly and can fire off responses just as quickly that I know people see even if they don't answer.

 

The second reason for my decrease in visits frankly is the decline in local reporting. I can't remember the last story that any of the local media broke. EVERYTHING has come out first through other, national, sources that I can follow on Twitter easily. The local reporting has devolved into something much more akin to blogs; opinion and snarkiness particularly from Sullivan. There is a place for that type of content but honestly it's not what I want out of my news reporters. If I want that content there are a myriad of other places I can go to get it without submitting to a paywall or clearing my cache weekly. I've made a specific effort NOT to read Sullivan and Graham this year and I've blocked them on my Twitter so they can't pollute my timelines. I feel like I've missed out on absolutely nothing by taking that step. Not one thing. That content, which is now lacking, used to be the lifeblood of site traffic. Now it's gone and TBD doesn't have to be my homepage anymore.

 

With regards to the level of discourse here, that too has been negatively impacted by Twitter. It used to be that people would write well thought out posts with decent facts and research and stimulate actual discussion. That takes time and effort and it's very frustrating when people take your effort and only contribute to throw feces either at it or you. Don't get me wrong, I get that on Twitter as well at times. This week I had a guy make up a couple of accounts and make it his mission to tell me in repeated fashions that he wanted to rape me in front if my kids in response to some tweets I had written that were critical and questioning of EJ Manuel. The difference for me is that I didn't think twice about repeatedly blocking the guy and going about my business whereas here I felt more personal attachment to and it was more frustrating to have nonsensical personal attacks on completely reasonable posts. Given the effort that I used to put into some of those posts it stopped being worth it. The people I wanted to talk to were drowned out by the morons.

 

The Shoutbox is such a mixed blessing. I really enjoy the instant feedback but it too has become dominated by a few people who it seems have made it their mission to own the Shoutbox. I liken it to the old IRC chat room days where you'd have people who's only interest was dominating the chat room, not actually contributing anything.

 

Like I said, I've been here in some form for a really long time and I've had a couple thousand posts over that time. I've had Twitter less than a year and I've already got as many tweets as I have total posts here in 14-15 years. Sadly I think TBD is a buggy whip factory. It's a really good buggy whip factory so it's lasting longer than the other inferior ones but in the end it's getting swallowed by other formats.

I have to respectfully disagree on the Twitter praise. I myself find it convoluted and yet another example of instant gratification which is so prevalent these days (i.e. give me information quick, quicker, quickest). I can appreciate how many find it entertaining, but there's something to be said for this site as follows:

 

1) the ability to put pen to paper and write a basic letter to someone is a lost art (to some degree). Twitter and texting have taken over. TBD allows us to at least revisit the "good old days" when a post can exceed 120 characters; and

 

2) the people on this board are very, very humorous. I can name many posters who really make me laugh. I get ridiculed plenty but it is all in good fun and hopefully no one takes these posts to heart. Nonetheless, I think you can create better friendships on TBD (in this format) as opposed to Twitter because you can provide more detail in your writing and posts.

 

Maybe I'll try Twitter one day, but for now, this site is great.

#oldtimersagainsthashtags

[Malazan]

I miss moderators.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

On a more practical note, I think some of the utility of the site has diminished over the years. There are several reasons for this IMO. When I first started coming here in the late 90's I had no access to local news on the Bills. The internet was a completely different place and TBD served as my home page for many years.

 

One reason my click count has dropped is Twitter. I used to come here to catch the breaking news and good gossipy scuttlebutt. Now Twitter does all of that and though it also has it's share of crap I get my fix quickly and can fire off responses just as quickly that I know people see even if they don't answer.

 

The second reason for my decrease in visits frankly is the decline in local reporting. I can't remember the last story that any of the local media broke. EVERYTHING has come out first through other, national, sources that I can follow on Twitter easily. The local reporting has devolved into something much more akin to blogs; opinion and snarkiness particularly from Sullivan. There is a place for that type of content but honestly it's not what I want out of my news reporters. If I want that content there are a myriad of other places I can go to get it without submitting to a paywall or clearing my cache weekly. I've made a specific effort NOT to read Sullivan and Graham this year and I've blocked them on my Twitter so they can't pollute my timelines. I feel like I've missed out on absolutely nothing by taking that step. Not one thing. That content, which is now lacking, used to be the lifeblood of site traffic. Now it's gone and TBD doesn't have to be my homepage anymore.

 

With regards to the level of discourse here, that too has been negatively impacted by Twitter. It used to be that people would write well thought out posts with decent facts and research and stimulate actual discussion. That takes time and effort and it's very frustrating when people take your effort and only contribute to throw feces either at it or you. Don't get me wrong, I get that on Twitter as well at times. This week I had a guy make up a couple of accounts and make it his mission to tell me in repeated fashions that he wanted to rape me in front if my kids in response to some tweets I had written that were critical and questioning of EJ Manuel. The difference for me is that I didn't think twice about repeatedly blocking the guy and going about my business whereas here I felt more personal attachment to and it was more frustrating to have nonsensical personal attacks on completely reasonable posts. Given the effort that I used to put into some of those posts it stopped being worth it. The people I wanted to talk to were drowned out by the morons.

 

The Shoutbox is such a mixed blessing. I really enjoy the instant feedback but it too has become dominated by a few people who it seems have made it their mission to own the Shoutbox. I liken it to the old IRC chat room days where you'd have people who's only interest was dominating the chat room, not actually contributing anything.

 

Like I said, I've been here in some form for a really long time and I've had a couple thousand posts over that time. I've had Twitter less than a year and I've already got as many tweets as I have total posts here in 14-15 years. Sadly I think TBD is a buggy whip factory. It's a really good buggy whip factory so it's lasting longer than the other inferior ones but in the end it's getting swallowed by other formats.

 

Really thoughtful post. You need to post here more often!!

 

@fergy. I agree with you that twitter (which I don't use) seems like a cheap alternative. you build more "social capital" here (if you are familiar with Robert Putnam).

[Mark Vader]

I'm still around. I don't think I've posted since this past summer. Between the Sabres and the Bills, other than looking towards the draft, there is not much worth posting about.

 

Happy News Years!

Answers my question. Good to know you are still around.

 

Happy New Year!

[DJasper Probincrux III]

I have to respectfully disagree on the Twitter praise. I myself find it convoluted and yet another example of instant gratification which is so prevalent these days (i.e. give me information quick, quicker, quickest). I can appreciate how many find it entertaining, but there's something to be said for this site as follows:

 

1) the ability to put pen to paper and write a basic letter to someone is a lost art (to some degree). Twitter and texting have taken over. TBD allows us to at least revisit the "good old days" when a post can exceed 120 characters; and

 

2) the people on this board are very, very humorous. I can name many posters who really make me laugh. I get ridiculed plenty but it is all in good fun and hopefully no one takes these posts to heart. Nonetheless, I think you can create better friendships on TBD (in this format) as opposed to Twitter because you can provide more detail in your writing and posts.

 

Maybe I'll try Twitter one day, but for now, this site is great.

#oldtimersagainsthashtags

I fought it for a long time but there's something fun about writing a good or clever Tweet and then having it retweeted by someone fairly important with alot of followers. Not to LAMP but I've been RT by Rich Eisen, Thurman Thomas, Jim Rome amongst others. Not often mind you but it's cool when it happens. I find the #BillsMafia people to be very cool.

 

I'm an English teacher (cue snarky posts about my lack of proofreading and poor sentence structure) so I assure you that I lament the demise of the language as much as you do and I agree that it's nice to have a venue to craft an actual piece of written expression. So long as you realize that it's only us fairly old guys who pine for that it's cool.

[boyst]

StuckInNY

[BringBackFergy]

 

I fought it for a long time but there's something fun about writing a good or clever Tweet and then having it retweeted by someone fairly important with alot of followers. Not to LAMP but I've been RT by Rich Eisen, Thurman Thomas, Jim Rome amongst others. Not often mind you but it's cool when it happens. I find the #BillsMafia people to be very cool.

 

I'm an English teacher (cue snarky posts about my lack of proofreading and poor sentence structure) so I assure you that I lament the demise of the language as much as you do and I agree that it's nice to have a venue to craft an actual piece of written exp<b></b>ression. So long as you realize that it's only us fairly old guys who pine for that it's cool.

Sounds fun. Nice to see your remarks shared by some famous people. English major here as well (hence the nerdy desire for old school composition).

[ny33]

On a more practical note, I think some of the utility of the site has diminished over the years. There are several reasons for this IMO. When I first started coming here in the late 90's I had no access to local news on the Bills. The internet was a completely different place and TBD served as my home page for many years.

 

One reason my click count has dropped is Twitter. I used to come here to catch the breaking news and good gossipy scuttlebutt. Now Twitter does all of that and though it also has it's share of crap I get my fix quickly and can fire off responses just as quickly that I know people see even if they don't answer.

 

The second reason for my decrease in visits frankly is the decline in local reporting. I can't remember the last story that any of the local media broke. EVERYTHING has come out first through other, national, sources that I can follow on Twitter easily. The local reporting has devolved into something much more akin to blogs; opinion and snarkiness particularly from Sullivan. There is a place for that type of content but honestly it's not what I want out of my news reporters. If I want that content there are a myriad of other places I can go to get it without submitting to a paywall or clearing my cache weekly. I've made a specific effort NOT to read Sullivan and Graham this year and I've blocked them on my Twitter so they can't pollute my timelines. I feel like I've missed out on absolutely nothing by taking that step. Not one thing. That content, which is now lacking, used to be the lifeblood of site traffic. Now it's gone and TBD doesn't have to be my homepage anymore.

 

With regards to the level of discourse here, that too has been negatively impacted by Twitter. It used to be that people would write well thought out posts with decent facts and research and stimulate actual discussion. That takes time and effort and it's very frustrating when people take your effort and only contribute to throw feces either at it or you. Don't get me wrong, I get that on Twitter as well at times. This week I had a guy make up a couple of accounts and make it his mission to tell me in repeated fashions that he wanted to rape me in front if my kids in response to some tweets I had written that were critical and questioning of EJ Manuel. The difference for me is that I didn't think twice about repeatedly blocking the guy and going about my business whereas here I felt more personal attachment to and it was more frustrating to have nonsensical personal attacks on completely reasonable posts. Given the effort that I used to put into some of those posts it stopped being worth it. The people I wanted to talk to were drowned out by the morons.

 

The Shoutbox is such a mixed blessing. I really enjoy the instant feedback but it too has become dominated by a few people who it seems have made it their mission to own the Shoutbox. I liken it to the old IRC chat room days where you'd have people who's only interest was dominating the chat room, not actually contributing anything.

 

Like I said, I've been here in some form for a really long time and I've had a couple thousand posts over that time. I've had Twitter less than a year and I've already got as many tweets as I have total posts here in 14-15 years. Sadly I think TBD is a buggy whip factory. It's a really good buggy whip factory so it's lasting longer than the other inferior ones but in the end it's getting swallowed by other formats.

 

I agree wholeheartedly regarding your thoughts on the Shoutbox. It is, as you say, "dominated" by a small group of posters who have no football insights and instead use it to carry on inane conversations between themselves. Occasionally, it is a rapid-fire, valuable tool for discussing the Bills and football, but most of the time it is nonsensical or personal musings from about four or five users who have nothing to add to the discussion re: football.

[millbank]

SpikedLemonade, Ice, Alaska Darin, Rockpile, Dan Gross, Cablelady, Mark VI , Fezmid, both SDS, and Nervous Guy who both post infrequently to mention a few

[ExWNYer]

I'm sure most would say nevergiveup due to his or her inside information they used to post on here. Think of some old timers that you miss on this board and share why you miss them.

 

'Clumping Platelets'. Clumpy always provided great salary cap info. I think he hangs mostly on BillsZone but I haven't seen him post on this board in a while.

[PolishDave]

Some of the mods here can really throw out the you're NOT welcome mat and can make you like a unwelcome scum bag. No wonder people leave.

I think this is a common problem on forums in general, not necessarily just this one. The mods just don't realize the impression they have on someone new. I chatted with a couple of moderators here regarding some things they thought were questionable and I thought they handled it really well. So maybe it depends on the person or the day or maybe they have just gotten better at it over time.

[Chandler#81]

#89/Cindy, So great to hear from you! Hoping for a more Happy 2014 for you!

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

eball!

[Jauronimo]

I agree wholeheartedly regarding your thoughts on the Shoutbox. It is, as you say, "dominated" by a small group of posters who have no football insights and instead use it to carry on inane conversations between themselves. Occasionally, it is a rapid-fire, valuable tool for discussing the Bills and football, but most of the time it is nonsensical or personal musings from about four or five users who have nothing to add to the discussion re: football.

In that sense I don't see much distinction between the shoutbox and the main board save for the main board attracts a much broader group of people with no football insight and little to add to the discussion.

[Hazed and Amuzed]

In that sense I don't see much distinction between the shoutbox and the main board save for the main board attracts a much broader group of people with no football insight and little to add to the discussion.

 

[EasternOHBillsFan]

Can't speak for the others who have left but I was banned for 90 days for mentioning the fact that Bush threw out the ball at Yankee stadium in the first game after 9/11. I didn't say any thing political it was a thread about stadium security and I thought it was relevant to bring that historical fact up that there was a real fear in those days over going to any large assembly.

" Don't bring that PPP crap over here" 90 days vacation.

Some of the mods here can really throw out the you're NOT welcome mat and can make you like a unwelcome scum bag. No wonder people leave.

 

That's because PPP is grossly undermoderated, and that PPP-like stuff doesn't fly in the other parts of this board.

[ExiledInIllinois]

On a more practical note, I think some of the utility of the site has diminished over the years. There are several reasons for this IMO. When I first started coming here in the late 90's I had no access to local news on the Bills. The internet was a completely different place and TBD served as my home page for many years.

 

One reason my click count has dropped is Twitter. I used to come here to catch the breaking news and good gossipy scuttlebutt. Now Twitter does all of that and though it also has it's share of crap I get my fix quickly and can fire off responses just as quickly that I know people see even if they don't answer.

 

The second reason for my decrease in visits frankly is the decline in local reporting. I can't remember the last story that any of the local media broke. EVERYTHING has come out first through other, national, sources that I can follow on Twitter easily. The local reporting has devolved into something much more akin to blogs; opinion and snarkiness particularly from Sullivan. There is a place for that type of content but honestly it's not what I want out of my news reporters. If I want that content there are a myriad of other places I can go to get it without submitting to a paywall or clearing my cache weekly. I've made a specific effort NOT to read Sullivan and Graham this year and I've blocked them on my Twitter so they can't pollute my timelines. I feel like I've missed out on absolutely nothing by taking that step. Not one thing. That content, which is now lacking, used to be the lifeblood of site traffic. Now it's gone and TBD doesn't have to be my homepage anymore.

 

With regards to the level of discourse here, that too has been negatively impacted by Twitter. It used to be that people would write well thought out posts with decent facts and research and stimulate actual discussion. That takes time and effort and it's very frustrating when people take your effort and only contribute to throw feces either at it or you. Don't get me wrong, I get that on Twitter as well at times. This week I had a guy make up a couple of accounts and make it his mission to tell me in repeated fashions that he wanted to rape me in front if my kids in response to some tweets I had written that were critical and questioning of EJ Manuel. The difference for me is that I didn't think twice about repeatedly blocking the guy and going about my business whereas here I felt more personal attachment to and it was more frustrating to have nonsensical personal attacks on completely reasonable posts. Given the effort that I used to put into some of those posts it stopped being worth it. The people I wanted to talk to were drowned out by the morons.

 

The Shoutbox is such a mixed blessing. I really enjoy the instant feedback but it too has become dominated by a few people who it seems have made it their mission to own the Shoutbox. I liken it to the old IRC chat room days where you'd have people who's only interest was dominating the chat room, not actually contributing anything.

 

Like I said, I've been here in some form for a really long time and I've had a couple thousand posts over that time. I've had Twitter less than a year and I've already got as many tweets as I have total posts here in 14-15 years. Sadly I think TBD is a buggy whip factory. It's a really good buggy whip factory so it's lasting longer than the other inferior ones but in the end it's getting swallowed by other formats.

 

It is only getting swallowed by other formats if people let it. I post often, but it is more or less just to have conversation and enjoy what people bring. Why should there be any more? I never stepped foot on Facebook or Twitter and never will.

[Thurmal34]

Seems like this thread is a perfect launching pad for all of us to tone down the vitriol that has permeated the site over the last few years. We're all Bills fans fans, each entitled to our own opinion, and healthy discourse is the lifeblood of a robust and active fanbase. To that end, I'm removing my signature that called out another poster and embarking on a campaign of presenting my own opinion while respecting differing opinions with both ears (and mind) open. Go Bills!

Edited January 4, 2014 by Thurmal34