DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum The "How should we act on this message board" thread

In real life, I'm exactly as I portray myself here.

Actually, perhaps tomorrow I will reply a little more in depth. We have people coming over tonight.

I know what you're getting at though - at least I think I do. Perceptions of people from posting on a message board...........we all get impressions and ideas of what a person is like based on nothing but words that show up on a screen. All too often, those perceptions are mostly wrong - although there are some exceptions.

Take GM, for example. The perception I had of him from the board was totally incorrect when I met him face to face.

My perception was he was someone as old as Noah, and very gaseous. I was wrong. He's older. And gaseous is not even close to describing him. He's a natural resource waiting to be tapped.

I pretty much just say what's on my mind.

I can be pretty sarcastic at times, I know. Like to make little comments, have fun with stuff.
Obviously, you have to tone things down a bit more on here. I think I would have 3 personalities-

1. How I act around family/friends
2. How I act at work
3. How I act online

I think online is somewhere in between the other 2. I'm super easy to get along with in real life. If you can't get along with me, you can't get along with anybody. I do think it's sometimes easier saying something when you have time to think about it as you type it out, plus not sitting face to face with people. I used to talk in Pure Football a lot more, but just do when I feel like it anymore.

I think you just gotta be yourself, not who you want to try to be.

Much like you......it is bellying up to the bar and having a conversation....sometimes serious, sometimes BS'n, sometime patient, sometimes not so patient, but in the end, hopefully it is a slap on the back in the end and walk out the door friends.

I read most threads but sit the sidelines and dont reply to most. I try to add something worthwhile and different when I post...unless like right now I spent the afternoon having adult beverages,.,. I did get banned once, this spring when free agancy opened...I spent the night drinking and heckling other teams...masked some profanity, and bam I was on a vakay!

The original DT was the first board I ever posted on and now the sequel is still the only one I really post on, with the exception of a car club site I frequent. The reason is the people. I have met some cool ass people on here that I now call friends and talk to outside of this board. I live in the Cleveland area and am surrounded by Browns 24 hours a day, but still haven't met more passionate and knowledgeable fans as on here. Plus I think it's cool as hell I can talk Browns football and anything else to a Browns fan sitting in his living room in Texas, in South America, Australia, the UK, etc.

I have met a lot of people that post on this board in person and everyone acts the same to me as they do on this board. I haven't ran into me picturing anyone totally different b/c of a hyped up online ego. Well, there were a few I thought were male and they were female and vise versa LOL, but,,,

I am easygoing and like that I can get along with really anyone. I would think people say I am the exact same as on here when they meet me.

I think I'm pretty dead-on to how I am IRL. I'm taken the wrong way a lot here and that's a bit different than my face to face world (although it does happen), but I'm still the same way both places. I try to talk as if we're all sitting around having a conversation in the living room or bar. Somebody go buy me a beer!

For me, I use this board as a way to keep up with the current Browns news. If it's happened, it's normally here.

Secondly, I use this board to learn. There are some football-intelligent (not be confused with real intelligence ) guys here. I've learned a lot about football here over the years reading some of the posters here. In addition to learning, I like to read differing viewpoints on a topic. There are many times my opinion has been swayed one way or another by a post on here.

Thirdly, I use this site to share my frustration or excitement about the team with people who have the same passion that I do.

Those are the things I get out of the board. As far as how should we act, I would say just be yourself. But that's a bit of double-edged sword. Because with some people, you don't really want them to be themselves.

I think you have to act a LITTLE different here than at home/work. (Not talking directly to you, Michelle. Just a general response. )

I can't talk at work like I do at home. Sometimes in private at work I can with certain people, but for the most part as a professional, I can't.

I at home and around my family, I can act like an idiot. Say pretty much whatever I want. I think here it's somewhere in between. Obviously, I can't go on a huge rant, use those certains words I may want to use, or get out of line because they may be my last words on here.

But I think my general demeanor on here is pretty much on target with my normal personality.

I post here because otherwise I'd go crazy in this little padded room they keep me in .......

I think it's sometimes strange how people act on message boards(myself included). I had been gone for a few months because of the passing of my father but when I returned I was surprised by all the pm's I received. Some of them were from people I often see making smartass comments or making a point to put another poster or their ideas down. Why I don't know ? There is a person here that I had gone back and forth with for years on a different board but to be honest they are probably one of the most down to earth people you would want to talk to. I still maybe disagree with the person at times but I know they are good people. As I get older I believe in karma and how you treat others will come back to you no doubt. It's a message board and with all the members on here there will be disagreements often and that's cool. I don't think I have ever seen anybody actually wanna get into a brew-haha over anything said on DT. We are all Browns fans so we all have something in common

I'm much more charming and personable in real life.

Seriously, I act here like I act at work. My co workers are a mishmash of Browns fans, a few Steeler fans....some are football savvy and some are ignorant airheads. Same with politics and current events. I'm as comfortable getting into heated discussions with them as I am here.

At home, I just pretty much agree with whatever my wife says.

I get misread too often. If I say something silly like " The Buckeye season is in the dumper this year,.." I'm a dork. If I retaliate or clarify, I'm a whiner. If I say something so correct it cannot be refuted in any manner, I hear nothing. Not even a public nor PM'ed acknowledgement. This is often why you see me diasappear during the hot weather. I do not "need" to be near my computer and the yard work keeps me out of the house. Just this morning, I put on my very first ever ignore -- I do not treat people that way -- and it was very disturbing for me.

Funny this thread appeared just today,.......

It only gets silly when you start pimping The Citadel.

I think the main way I'm different on the board compared to actually being with people is I'm much more likely to get in a debate or get angry with someone twice, three times, or even four times my age. On here I think people are more likely to respect my opinion than to shrug me off and think that I don't know anything, because afterall, I'm only 15.

I'd also say that I'm much more likely to express extreme anger on here as opposed to being with people. And in person, I never call anyone stupid or say they nothing. I think I've come pretty close to doing that on here.

Other than that, I'm the same goofy, football loving 15 year old you see on here.

I come here to get some football info as I never played the game (organized) and I am one of those guys who gets stuck oftentimes watching the ball...especially after several beers.

So...I learn a lot of stuff on here and learn what to look for in players that I want to pay closer attention to...or players I SHOULD pay closer attention to.

I have learned quite a bit on here and appreciate the opportunity to hear from other fans who take the time to comment.

I am the same guy here or there...although I hope I seem to be a little taller, not so chubby, and much better looking on this board than I am in real life.

I'm more likely to pick arguments on this board than in real life, and I'm more likely to be more brash on the board.

Afterall, I'm behind a screen.

I've always thought that the main problem on here was basically the same as on any Internet message board. People get offended way too easily and get "Internet muscles" way too quickly.

Personally I get tired pretty quickly of any post that starts out by telling me I'm wrong and then goes on to tell me why I'm a bonehead and why the poster is obviously a superior football intellect. You know who you are.

I enjoy reading stuff from people that are giving their opinion but obviously have an open mind on things. And you know who you are.

I've also always felt that this board, especially since it split from the Browns, is over-moderated. I know I'm not alone in this view just as I know it's a view that will never result in a change in things. Which is something that I can live with.

I've met a few people from this board and I've enjoyed meeting them all. I think we'd all get along sitting at a bar watching the Browns delight and disappoint us on a weekly basis. Sadly that is not always true in cyberspace.

I just add witty (well, for me) remarks here and there. Unfortunately, I haven't been very active. I read the football section, as I am away from the Plain Dealer as well. Never really add my $.02 there, as threads are usually full when I read them. Check into this section daily as well.

I forgot you were in Austin. Did you go to ACL? I dated a girl that lives in Dallas and we had a hotel room down there for the event, but we broke up before it and had to cancel. It was a good lineup.

Interesting thread...

I post very little, and it is rarely ever about football. So I doubt people on here would even know what to think of me. I come to this board to get knowledge about football in general, and to know that there are other die hard Browns fans out there cuz I don't know but a couple in my circle. When I do post, I post as if I would say it in real person. I have been reading this board for about 2 1/2 years, and I can honestly say the reason I don't really post much is because: The knowledge most posters on here have about the game of football is a bit intimidating. And that is fine with me.

Only helps me learn more.

For me it's been a transition over the years, I suppose. I've definitely learned here as a fan, and hopefully grown as a person and a poster. Living in L.A. there's not a lot of Browns talk going on, except at the bar on Sundays, and many of those fans, while loyal, aren't necessarily all that well informed. Some more than others, but hardly any of them are as informed and knowledgeable as those here on the board. It's the only msg. board I post on.

I've come to like and respect many of the members on the board, even though I've never met them, and even though I don't always agree with some. In many ways, I consider them family, with all the attributes and foibles. So over the years, I've tempered my attitude somewhat, out of respect and through longevity. I don't enjoy mixing it up so much any more, and would rather not say anything in many cases rather than argue an opinion. Something that I've learned to do IRL as well.

IRL, what you see is what you get, on here, I hope it's pretty much the same. I don't really give a crap what people think of me personally, and that's the same IRL as well, the people that know me, know me. I do try to respect people, both here and IRL, so that is what it is. At least I hope it comes across that way. So much about posting is about tone, and that can often be misread. I try to keep my tone neutral in most cases, I think.

Mainly I come here for knowledge, facts about the team, players, coaches, FO, draft, FAs, UDFAs, etc. Sometimes I enjoy the opinions of the real Xs & Os guys, and I usually always enjoy the humor floating about. In the off season, I come here more often, I think, simply because there's no one else to talk to about the Browns. It keeps me informed on all the off season moves and changes.

Interesting thread... I'll probably always butt heads with you though, you smug, smarmy, know-it-all douche bag.

Seriously though, I've enjoyed our occasional disagreements, and consider it my mission to call you on your BS on occasion.

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So all that got me to wondering.......What do people honestly try and get out of all this?

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i mostly just like to read....my wife and kids don't really like the browns....gotta have somewhere to vent...lol

alot of posters on this board seem pretty knowledgable about football, and its helped me to look at the game in a different way...i tend to just wanna be a fan though...some posters seem to get so upset that the game isn't coached a certain way, or we don't get a certain player....i kinda look at it as what the heck do i know...i'm a firefighter..lol

i believe i act just like i do in person...i'll listen, but if i think i'm right, i'll argue till i'm blue in the face, and expect to change your mind...lol...

in the end i just respect all of you being yourselves...makes for some good reading...

the thing i hate the most about this form of communication, is that its hard to get your point across, or get clarification on something...where talking in person is so much easier...

bottom line, were all browns fans in the worst way...and i enjoy reading the forums, and consider you all friends...

I'm actually very retireing and shy in person Yeah, as if!

What you see is pretty much what you get, except on here, my sense of humor doesn't seem apparent. 90% of things I say, I say to illicit a laugh... My guess is that it only works about 3% of the time on here.. yet, I continue to try (I can be a real idiot and very stubborn as you can see)

But those that have met me more than once I think will attest to me being just a jolly old guy that has fun in a room with or without people... At least that's what I tell myself when I'm alone in a room full of people!

Yeah...I know. But I have learned what to look for from certain players and alignments way more than I knew before getting on here.

Funny you mentioned footwork...that is one thing I STILL cannot watch very well unless it's on a replay...other than when I watch Joe Thomas.

As an example:

Thanks to this board...I've learned how to watch A Davis dive bomb into submission...so I've got that going for me.

I just want to be on ESPN........

j/c

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The "How should we act on this message board" thread

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you're gonna have to ask the refs and/or read the rules.

I wish this place could be like we were at the 'bar'...but I know it can't because we may have our kids over our shoulders.

I come here as Rishuz mentioned, to learn the news of the Browns.
And I come here to be with people that are like me....a Browns fan since I have memory of existence and until the day that I die. I come here because I don't want to cry in my beer alone (I'm not exactly surrounded with Browns fans out here in New England). I come here to get stuff off my chest to people who understand (most of the time). I come here to rejoice with those same people (though we haven't had much of that since we all joined these boards).

I come here because I choose not to go to the team board as I feel that it's reffed by Nazi's.

Mostly though, I come here because of the people that post here.

I'd say my "persona" on this and the other boards I frequent is pretty much a direct reflection of my actual personality. I'm pretty quiet and introverted...don't really talk just to hear myself speak. I like to share knowledge when I have knowledge to share, and I like to learn when I don't. In terms of discussion or argument, I know when its better to just walk away rather than keep pushing the issue (my mom always taught me that you have to choose your battles), and that not getting the last word is not necessarily a concession or admission of defeat. I'm not much of a fan of people blowing the proverbial smoke or being condescending.

I think I have a pretty diverse range of interests (which are probably fairly evident if you ever happened to pay attention to things that I like to discuss outside of Browns football) which makes me pretty easy to get along with if you take the time, but it takes a bit to break me down and get to know me. I respect those who respect others, regardless of whether or not I agree with what they have to say.

Actually, to be honest I never had any intentions of returning to a Browns forum after I was banned from the original Dawgtalk (for what I feel is a pretty bogus reason that I'll elaborate if anyone cares), but I caught wind of this place and figured I'd have a go at it, as I find that online discussion forums are pretty useful and even mentally stimulating once you figure out how to wade through the bilge that is present on any Internet message board. For the past three years I've been a moderator on the official forum of a fairly well-known rock band (with thousands of members and over a million posts), a forum that I've been a member of for nearly a decade, so I know quite a bit about online personas and that sort of thing.

I started out on here a few years back just to talk football. I read some of the posts and wanted to get involved in the debates. I love to talk sports, so it was cool.

I eventually started posting in Tailgate and the rest of the forums as well. I have an odd perspective on things, and so I like to put it out there. Sometimes people laugh at it, sometimes people hate it, and sometimes people will say things like, "I cant believe it, but I sort of agree with you Tyler."

Regardless, I like to put my thoughts into words and contribute to the discussions on here. I've been doing it for awhile, and will prolly continue to do so.

I like to read what others have to say too, and its funny cuz sometimes I will get info on this board b4 it comes out elsewhere. Most recently, when BE got spiked in training camp, I heard that here way before it was reported elsewhere---though the 1st thread was promptly deleted and the person who posted it was labeled a troll.

To sum it all up. This is a great message board, the people on here respect one another, the topics discussed are thoroughly debated, and everyone's input is appreciated in one way or another.

Great to be a dawgtalker here on Dawtalkers.net

Is this the how should we act thread or the what do we get out of it thread?

And U backed Charlie Frye? Oh dear.

*In my best Ethel Merrman voice* I GOTTA BE ME.

I am the same goofball in real life that I am on the board. Just ask many of the posters who have met me. I say and do the same things in person that I do on the board, and ya I love all of you guys/gals

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To talk football with a group of people who share the same hobby as me of enjoying being a fan of the Cleveland Browns. I like to share my thoughts on how this team can be better and see if other people share the same point of view. If not, then I try to see their point of view and distinguish if it makes sence and get a differant outlook on my hobby.

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That's exactly how it is for me as well. I've learned a lot over the years on here, and expect to learn more in the future. I have been suspended on 3 different occasions over the years, and like I imagine most folks who have been temporarily banned feel, I do believe that 2 of the 3 were in error. Not my fault and not called for at all.

I can still recall my first stumbling upon the original board....I thought "OMG! I can talk football with other Browns fans at any time, day or night?? Awesome!"

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I dont worry about being 100% accurate on stats or years.

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To me, distinct stats or years aren't that important when discussing the game....but if someone makes something up and tries to press it, or misrepresents something, then that is a different story and I will call them on it every time. By the same token, I expect to get called upon if I make something up or misrepresent something. As we age, facts can at times get skewed in the head.....

Some people enjoy just "watching the ball" and their opinion is no better or worse than someone who watches the film over and over after each game, breaking down the intricacies of each player. There are times that people forget that for the most part we are just presenting our opinions......and people get upset if someone disagrees with them. It can be irritating to me when I get into a debate such as this and the other party resorts to slams as opposed to debating the topic at hand.

But always, in the grand scheme of things, it's just a message board. But a good one!

I'm allot more blunt on a message board then I am in person, but that's mainly due to the amount of time I put into this site posting wise. I read Pure Football as much as possible and gameday but mainly stay out of the discussions since it seems that some think it is more about being right the a Browns win, though when the "Board Mensa's" get their panties in a bunch and start arguing are always amusing threads.

Overall I come here to have a little fun, but like to poke those who take this place so seriously. It is what it is.

I follow my teams news in the Pro Football forum. I don't post much there, because mostly I use it for news and updates.

The Tailgate forum is my favorite, it's kind of a way to transport me to Cleveland and the people without having to leave my happy little tropical island. Some of the posts here make me laugh, some make me sad, sometimes I learn something new and sometimes there's a post that I actually have an opinion on and will post in.

Generally, I like to think it's how I am in RL. I try to listen more than I talk, Although I certainly talk more in RL than I post on here. lol

For me this is a place to make contact with people that I know I have at least one thing in common with, and often a lot more. As an older guy whose buddies have dispersed far and wide over the years and that doesn't golf, have a bowling night, or go to bars anymore, I sometimes feel a little isolated and missing the camaraderie. So I come here to post something I read that I thought was interesting, to chip in on discussions if I think I can add to them, and (mostly) just to read. If I disagree, I try to do it without being too disagreeable, although I know I fail at that sometimes. If we disagree, it does not mean I consider you an enemy or an adversary. Old timers from the old DT may or may not recall a profane, name-calling rant I had against a certain poster - I forget who it was - about 6 years ago. I got bounced for 2 weeks, came back, and apologized to all (except the one it was directed at). I'm not sure that apology was accepted, based on the response or lack of response I get sometimes, but it was sincere. I have a high opinion of most posters here, and hope they know, even if I don't tend to post in "Happy Birthday" or "Prayers needed" threads.

My ears are still burning

*L*
I think it might have been a thread called "Who would Jesus bomb?", following the invasion of Afghanistan. My reply to the poster was "probably you.". It went down hill from there ... my bad.