Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com
Posted by G-Rant on Apr 06 2007 | Tagged as: General
I’ve got a love/hate relationship with my child, ay-ziggy-zoomba.com. On one hand, I love it to death! I love that it’s something I can “give back” to the BGSU community. I love that it’s a memorial of sorts to my dad, AKA, BGHoward. I love that it’s been the starting point for many REAL friendships… Ones that wouldn’t have come about otherwise. That’s amazing to me!
On the other hand, I can’t stand the site because of the overwhelming undercurrent of negativity and bickering and the egos of some of the members. I hate how people seem to go out of their way to find the negative in ANY and every situation. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but it sure seems like if one person is excited or happy about something, someone will come along and try to burst their bubble.
It’s gotten to the point where I only read the basketball forum with any regularity. I don’t know what to do to change things. I don’t want to ban people for voicing opinions, but I really feel like it’s being contrary just for the sake of being contrary most times.
One of the main reasons I think a lot of this takes place is the anonymity the Internet in general, and ay-ziggy-zoomba.com in particular, gives an individual. Anyone with a legitimate email address can sign up and post with no accountability. Coach Dakich and I talked about this. He said he always respected the people who signed their posts and were willing to stand behind their opinions with their names. The “hiding” behind an anonymous screen name was one of his biggest gripes.
Yes, people have had forums where they could air their grievances before, but not w/o accountability. The newspaper won’t print a letter to the editor w/o a name and address, you can’t talk/gossip in the lobby at Memorial Hall w/o people knowing who is saying what. On ay-ziggy-zoomba.com and the Internet it’s different.
I guess there’s no real conclusion to this post, it’s just something I think about a lot. I’m always looking for ideas and ways to make the experience at ay-ziggy-zoomba.com better. Moderators have helped, but on a site that’s averaging over 163 posts a day since its inception, it’s impossible to keep up.
on 06 Apr 2007 at 6:55 pm 1 orangeandbrown said …
Grant–
I certainly understand your frustration. What you have done for the Falcon fans with the site has been amazing. I have never had more enjoyment out of Falcon sports.
Having said that, I think that it is certainly more civilized than many of the forums I see or participate in. Many of them are much worse.
Some consolation, I hope.
on 06 Apr 2007 at 8:40 pm 2 G-Rant said …
I guess it’s more frustration with the BGSU Fan Base than it is with the site. Tony knows what I’m talking about… we’ve had the conversation before. It’s a general defeatist attitude that seems pervasive throughout the Falcon Nation.
You’re right, it’s not as bad as some fan boards… but it’s still not as good as I’d like it.
on 06 Apr 2007 at 10:35 pm 3 TG said …
I feel ya completely, G.
I do take *some* comfort in knowing that we’re still better than a lot of boards over there, that in between the mass of negativity there are some great threads and memories that come up time and again, and the hope that when ships get righted on the field, some of the riff-raff will either fade away or celebrate with the same voracity with which they criticize.
I like the start this blog has gotten off to, posts and in the comments. I hope this place will offer the accountability you mentioned and foster more thoughtful posts and discussions than the “run-and-gun” nature message boards tend to lean towards.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:33 pm 4 Globetrotter said …
I understand what you mean. It can certainly get negative on any message board and I can certainly get negative.
However, I think two things need to be considered. First, such a board is the only place for many to vent frustrations (and show their pleasure). This is especially true for a Falcon fan base that is spread throughout the country. Most graduates don’t stay in Bowling Green. I, for one, have absolutely no one who I speak with frequently that is interested in Falcon athletics on the level I am. It’s the nature of the program. I had to try to pull my friends to the games while I was there, now they care even less. The second thing to consider is that negativity or a Devil’s Advocate, is essential to advance discussion in many cases. If all sides are considered when you come to the conclusion that was first presented, it can be that much more legitimate.
on 08 Apr 2007 at 2:57 pm 5 Slugathor said …
You should remind members that recruits (and parents) will check out the fan forums to see what fans say about coaches and players. I have a future female Falcon and if I had read more than just the Women’s Sports forum, I might not have let her come to BG.
on 08 Apr 2007 at 3:55 pm 6 Globetrotter said …
Slugathor,
I would be curious as to why?
on 08 Apr 2007 at 7:06 pm 7 zom said …
I get the impression that there are silent members who might already have clicked “submit” but for the fear that their maiden post would be unceremoneously torched by one of the immortals on a bit of a “bender”. Ironically it is probably this kind of member whose contributions might help to diversify the forum’s content, and I hope anyone who wants to “come off the bench” heads straight to somewhere like “free for all” if they need a spot of Dutch courage!
Phew, my first post on bgsusports.com. That was hard. I hope I don’t get unceremoneously torched by one of the site immortals.
on 08 Apr 2007 at 9:25 pm 8 Always a falcon said …
Globetrotter, I find it interesting that you have to ask Poster #5 why? If you think the fans are going to eat you, the coach and your player/child alive, wouldn’t you think twice?
I have been a lurker since the beginning and a poster for a while. The tone has gotten more negative. I certainly value all viewpoints. But when we get a new coach and everyone is excited, having people rain on the parade is frustrating. It is like being at a wedding and having the toasts talk about uncertainty and divorce! Give us at least one day to be happy for heaven’s sake!
I guess I try to be a positive person. I don’t drink Orange Kool-Aid daily, but I do try to see the positives in what we are trying to do.
When my son was younger, “life was tough,” (eye rolling emoticon here.) we used to make him think of 3 good things that happened each day before he went to bed. It drove him nuts, but he did find that not all was as bad as it seemed.
Maybe Grant should declare a positive day- or positive thread for people like the FREAK and me and Falcon Fanatic! Or make the ignore button bigger!
on 09 Apr 2007 at 9:55 am 9 Globetrotter said …
Always,
That is a solid point, but I am wondering where the parent would get the idea that their student would be eaten alive? Beyond Dakich and Brandon I don’t think any player has been singled out on the boards for more than a brief discussion.
In temrs of the question, I just wanted to hear an explanation from the parent. I have never been in the shoes of this man and wondered what he was considering when he posted that. I don’t think that if I was a parent, if I had a student athelete I would be taking into consideration the rants of fans of another sport at a school (on an internet message board). Any board would have a high level of negativity with the lack of success we have had lately in the 2 major sports. If you are going to rely on an internet message board to get a feel for the fan base of a school, a quick post on the girls page that said, “Why do you guys all love Women’s Basketball?” would have returned a more complete response to the questions he seems to have had.
on 28 Oct 2008 at 7:31 am 10 AyZiggyZoomBLOG » Venting… again. said …
[...] see… looking back through this blog, I last vented about 18 months ago, so I guess that’s pretty [...]
on 20 Jul 2009 at 9:16 pm 11 CURT HOOKWAY said …
i can’t believe these guys are college graduates, poor spelling, asinine comments, egos out of this world. one guy treats the site like it’s his! i used to go to football games, and some people stood up for three hours. i was sad at the boston college game when students mocked the police, when they told them to sit down. fortunately they threw them out of the stadium. which is something the bg police didn’t do!
on 24 Apr 2010 at 9:30 pm 12 Morton said …
Curt Hookway,
I just stumbled upon this post, which is why I am replying to your comments 9 months later. I don’t understand — are you joking, or are you being serious? You do know that one guy (Grant) treats ay-ziggy-zoomba.com like it’s his because it IS his, don’t you? Please advise.