The Dude Does Not Abide

[Tyler Maryak]

I wanted to bring this up a couple weeks ago, but figured it would pass after 24 hours and decided against it.  My thoughts and feelings on the matter have not changed and now I just have to ask:

Has this board always been so uncivilized?  

Yes, I see the comments of people saying, "Don't get your panties in a bunch over internet comments" and the like, but I just can't understand the direct personal insults and snide retorts to seemingly neutral comments.  Being rude does not make you more of a man or a winner.  Getting a hold of your emotions and responding like an adult does.  I get that we're all sports fans and our teams did terribly last/this year, but I would hate to live in a post-apocalyptic world with this lot where everyone is at one another's throats at the mildest inclination.  

I know I can't chide y'all into being more civil toward one another (and truth be told, it's not many of us who are repeat offenders), but I just have to know.  When did it get to be like this?  I thought we were all on the same team.  Did I just simply not notice because I didn't visit this board before as much as I do now?  Why can't we have some decency and give each other the benefit of the doubt.  I don't understand why it is deemed acceptable to speak to one another here in a way that we never almost never would in a face-to-face discussion.

For the hell of it allow me to issue a challenge based on the one benefit of electronic communication:  If you read something that pisses you off, don't respond.  Do something else, wait an hour, and if you couldn't get it off your mind in that hour and you still think it's worth your energy to be pissed off and ensure that you'll remain pissed off, THEN respond.  You know that when you respond rudely, you will receive a rude response.  So allow yourself one hour to decide if it really benefits anyone in the universe before commenting.  Maybe it will help some of our blood pressures and we might then live to see UNT in another conference championship game.

For a dose of relevant funny, here is a video:  http://www.cracked.com/video_19810_why-outrage-culture-ruining-internet.html.

EDIT:  I couldn't decide where to post this and chose to go with the forum where this epidemic is most prevalent.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Tyler Maryak

[GOMG2013]

I guess I have to wait an hour to respond to this...

[NTAlum09]

I'm going to go cry now at Dusty's Bar and Grill

[Censored by Laurie]

@eulesseagle @e-bone ver2.awesome @UNT_playmaker @eppy4life @HarringtonFishSmeller

[Tyler Maryak]

17 minutes ago, GOMG2013 said:

I guess I have to wait an hour to respond to this...

Evidence that being a smart-ass CAN be funny.

[Aldo]

1 hour ago, NTAlum09 said:

I'm going to go cry now at Dusty's Bar and Grill

They have food there?

[outoftown]

I think it got to be like this when it became apparent and undeniable that the athlertic department as a whole is in really bad shape (yes I know there are exceptions: soccer, Tennis, mens Golf maybe some other program, but just simply none of those that really have us abuzz). When Football is horrific, mens Basketball is in a hopeless spot and womens basketball is in year 1 of a rebuild, there is oh so little to keep positive about. And it lays bare all the tensions that were always there but maybe could be painted over a bit. But now there is nothing left. So when somebody is a negative ned in common times he will become even more so and can go to the most unbearable level to vent his frustrations, and when someone tries to be optimistic in this kind of situation it seems just blind to reality and can come across as unwillingness to address the problem.

We really do need this AD to be gone. WE as board members need it. More even than the athletes. because the board will be a better place afterwards and everybody will b having hope and going in the same direction again.

[Cerebus]

[Tyler Maryak]

1 hour ago, outoftown said:

I think it got to be like this when it became apparent and undeniable that the athlertic department as a whole is in really bad shape (yes I know there are exceptions: soccer, Tennis, mens Golf maybe some other program, but just simply none of those that really have us abuzz). When Football is horrific, mens Basketball is in a hopeless spot and womens basketball is in year 1 of a rebuild, there is oh so little to keep positive about. And it lays bare all the tensions that were always there but maybe could be painted over a bit. But now there is nothing left. So when somebody is a negative ned in common times he will become even more so and can go to the most unbearable level to vent his frustrations, and when someone tries to be optimistic in this kind of situation it seems just blind to reality and can come across as unwillingness to address the problem.

We really do need this AD to be gone. WE as board members need it. More even than the athletes. because the board will be a better place afterwards and everybody will b having hope and going in the same direction again.

I can appreciate that explanation.

[Army of Dad]

There has been some level of vitriol on this (and every other) message board for as long as I can remember. Sure it's been worse than usual, but that's what happens among sports fans when basically every team is a perennial loser.

[GreenGuy123]

Have you watched any of the GOP debates? You expect an online forum to act like adults even when our nation's presidential candidates can't? 

[Tyler Maryak]

3 minutes ago, GreenGuy123 said:

Have you watched any of the GOP debates? You expect an online forum to act like adults even when our nation's presidential candidates can't? 

God no, I haven't watched them. I like to consider myself more gentlemanly than that bunch.

[UNT90]

3 hours ago, outoftown said:

I think it got to be like this when it became apparent and undeniable that the athlertic department as a whole is in really bad shape (yes I know there are exceptions: soccer, Tennis, mens Golf maybe some other program, but just simply none of those that really have us abuzz). When Football is horrific, mens Basketball is in a hopeless spot and womens basketball is in year 1 of a rebuild, there is oh so little to keep positive about. And it lays bare all the tensions that were always there but maybe could be painted over a bit. But now there is nothing left. So when somebody is a negative ned in common times he will become even more so and can go to the most unbearable level to vent his frustrations, and when someone tries to be optimistic in this kind of situation it seems just blind to reality and can come across as unwillingness to address the problem.

We really do need this AD to be gone. WE as board members need it. More even than the athletes. because the board will be a better place afterwards and everybody will b having hope and going in the same direction again.

Yep.

[Coffee and TV]

3 hours ago, Cerebus said:

I didn't bring it bowling dude. I didn't rent it shoes, I didn't buy it a freakin beer dude.

[Got5onIt]

There's a lot of built up anger around here due to all the damn losing. We need release as mean green fans in the form of winning. 

It's like hitting the bar and not getting any real weekend action for months. Lotion and clicking around on tube8 can only take you so far....

[greenminer]

[EagleMBA]

Not what I wanted to read after just getting home after finally seeing "13 Hours".

I will come back tomorrow.

[UNT90]

3 hours ago, Got5onIt said:

There's a lot of built up anger around here due to all the damn losing. We need release as mean green fans in the form of winning. 

It's like hitting the bar and not getting any real weekend action for months. Lotion and clicking around on tube8 can only take you so far....

For me, it's not the losing so much as the cause of the losing having zero consequences and rich friends that protect and care more about the cause of losing than the student athletes or UNT.

[oldguystudent]

You know, if you're going to make references to iconic movies on this topic....

 

[MeanGreenHoops]

I believe it is a lot more hostile around here now. And it's sort of a good thing, and it's RV's fault but maybe not in the way you think initially.

During his tenure, especially the last 6 years a lot of things got in place that most of us thought were needed to actually make this thing a success. New stadium, new conference, actually having big money donors (the 17). Remember when if someone gave a million dollars it was shocking and a rarity? Basketball tourney appearances, FB in 2013.

Well all of that raised expectations. The excuses have been removed. The fact we are terrible at all 3 big sports right now has people freaking out. We thought it was going to be different because everything is there now. You can't blame it on any of those convenient excuses ewe always had. Yet we are probably worse than ever before combined.

So everyone's patience level has changed. Expectations are the difference.

[Harry]

42 minutes ago, MeanGreenHoops said:

I believe it is a lot more hostile around here now. And it's sort of a good thing, and it's RV's fault but maybe not in the way you think initially.

During his tenure, especially the last 6 years a lot of things got in place that most of us thought were needed to actually make this thing a success. New stadium, new conference, actually having big money donors (the 17). Remember when if someone gave a million dollars it was shocking and a rarity? Basketball tourney appearances, FB in 2013.

Well all of that raised expectations. The excuses have been removed. The fact we are terrible at all 3 big sports right now has people freaking out. We thought it was going to be different because everything is there now. You can't blame it on any of those convenient excuses ewe always had. Yet we are probably worse than ever before combined.

So everyone's patience level has changed. Expectations are the difference.

Very solid post.  Expectations have been raised and with good reason.

[Ben Gooding]

Empty handed and the dumbass in charge is still in charge. The probable Benford decision to stay or go has left me with no hope around athletics in general. It also just solidifies Neal Smastrek is a gum bumper that only has blanks to shoot. We literally suck at everything except women's soccer and somehow the pathetic little weasel in charge has some sort of invisible forcefield around him. 

[Aldo]

This is all so meta

[Withers940]

[SilverEagle]

4 hours ago, MeanGreenHoops said:

I believe it is a lot more hostile around here now. And it's sort of a good thing, and it's RV's fault but maybe not in the way you think initially.

During his tenure, especially the last 6 years a lot of things got in place that most of us thought were needed to actually make this thing a success. New stadium, new conference, actually having big money donors (the 17). Remember when if someone gave a million dollars it was shocking and a rarity? Basketball tourney appearances, FB in 2013.

Well all of that raised expectations. The excuses have been removed. The fact we are terrible at all 3 big sports right now has people freaking out. We thought it was going to be different because everything is there now. You can't blame it on any of those convenient excuses ewe always had. Yet we are probably worse than ever before combined.

So everyone's patience level has changed. Expectations are the difference.

Good post.

I would add that if new facilities (especially Apogee) and upgraded (somewhat) conference affiliation was supposed to get us much more competitive, then why haven't the recruits noticed? From what I observed during this last recruiting round our new (and young and energetic) staff struggled to get three or four or five star recruits to come here to visit much less sign on the dotted line. 

Why is that? If we really wanted to know how to improve our athletic department we ought to make contact with those players that we really wanted and who we thought we had a chance with, but went somewhere else. You can't buy anything on-line these days without that on-line company asking you to evaluate your buying, or near buying experience (I got a thank you from Sams for browsing their web-site) with them. Have we thought about doing the same thing?

Now, HERE is a volunteer project that I would gladly participate in. Give me a list of players and their contact information, that we targeted in the past to sign here but went another direction, and I will get this University some feed-back. 

That's assuming of course that this University, or more to the point, this athletic department, really wants honest feed-back from someone other than frustrated, disheartened and angry alumni.