A brief goodbye

[LongIslandZagFan]

I would love to say it was a hard decision, but after the last year or so, and especially the last few months, it wasn't. As soon as it can be made effective I will no longer be a moderator, or much of anything else on this board. I will still post in the Foo... and honestly that will be about it. The veiled politics and negativity of this board has made it unreadable and unmanageable. Some folks on this board that will be more than happy to see me go... believe me... the vitriol one poster has sent me in PMs makes it quite clear. I will also note that Reno, Caldwell, and Hoopaholic have all done the same for variations of the same reasons in the last weeks and days. I cannot attest to whether they have intentions of posting going forward. To those that feel you had the right to run roughshod over the board... I guess you won in some sorts. Sadly, 90% of the posters that were here for over a decade and had great and interesting posts have all left. Best of luck... you may need it.

But I do part with a loving and heartfelt Go Zags! It may be the only thing that we all agree on.

[TerpZag]

Thanks LIZF for all your dedication and efforts over the years...

Go Zags!

[jazzdelmar]

This is terrible news, LIZF. I concede and respect your right to withdraw but we are all the worse for your departure. To the extent I may have hastened this action, I sincerely apologize. Good luck. I’ll see you on the forthcoming Caldy Cast.

[MDABE80]

I've been not posting for the past 4-5 days. The problem here is NOT the basketball board. What's happened is the other boards have become social platforms. When those boards get disagreeable, th eill will carries over to the BZ Basketball board. Once COVID was smuggled into the basketball board, to me, it was a foregone conclusion the threads would turn sour and be closed with nothing resolved. It's either 5 or 6 threads that were closed. Back as far as Crosby board...ill will was generated and the ill will caried over. Rue the day when people with so divergent social or political ideas begin to mix it up. Worse when the one group has the power to blow someone up..........in a basketabll thread. And yet, it's happeneded and not just once.

Some have become provocative types to generate some ill will. .even to point of bringing total strangers on board to begin trouble. Another thing is that the board has changed with Bob's passing. Hard to define it but I suspect BZ was always working in the background. And further, those of us with 20 or more years on this basetball board have noticed the culture has changed..in society and not just this board. Some newer faces simply are't the old faces who founded and developed the board. LIZ knows that multiple voices have urged his retirement as a moderator for over 5 years. On some other forum, there is a thread urging rotation of monitors and "term limits" after a certain period. Might not be a bad idea.

I do know that Reno, Hoopaholic, Will, Kitz, etc have some a very good job in donating their time. And the time committment is extensive to be sure.
Just some ideas......... and so I retire to the back seats. COVID, Racism, and the social type things with such divergent opinions and facts (and false facts) should no t infect the core reason why we're here........Gonzaga Basketball. if it's allowed the basketball section will simply detonate. Over and out.

[Zagger]

Crap! And crap again! I've been coming to the board less and less for the same reasons as your departure LIZF. I'd also add that unless a Web destination can put forth and deal intelligently with reality ... it just does not get my participation. Add meanness to the mix and .... it's just not worth it. It does not help that what lies ahead for Zag basketball is a lot of uncertainties. And not just to start the school year off but that will be the main characteristic of the year. GU will have to roll with the blows. It's not helpful that there are even more uncertainties involved with foreign students (what a school may do on online versus on-campus courses could dictate whether or not they get a visa). The whole pandemic mess is rather spooky when it comes to trying to plan out a school year for academics and even a greater challenge for school sports. If this board can't be helpful in that regard - why participate.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics...-covid/614041/

I'm currently reading the above and it is what prompted me to check out the board today. The Mrs and I both hold GU degrees (our daughter too) plus we live in the Spokane area. We'll remain involved with GU but there are also bigger fish to fry now. GU is becoming less of a priority for us simply as other things have become higher priorities. We're focusing our attention and time where we can do the most good.

Thanks LIZF! it's been fun
A goodbye to the board from this fan as well .....

[caduceus]

A sad day and era for this board. My personal feeling is that the board is apparently not working, only because life isn't working. We have no basketball, and probably won't in the near future. I don't think it's a reason to abandon the greatest CBB board that exists. We still remain Zag fans. This ailment won't last forever, and one day we'll be sh*tposting as we ever were. And that act of sh*tposting is something that, while enraging at many points, it would bring out a vigorous and healthy discussion.

I think many of us are at times too fragile to receive a post that is oppositional. I get it in PM's all the time. "He said this, He said that...SAY SOMETHING!!!" Maybe we're just all getting old and don't want to deal with opposition. But despite the level of conflict, I think that the vast majority of people here are ultimately aligned. And I'm very confident that the vast, vast majority of the viewers here are readers rather than writers. So often I see a couple of posters get at each other, only to reconcile their differences, all the while remaining anonymous.

Anonymity stokes the fires, because we say things we never would face to face. If I met you at the Bowl and Pitcher or on Bloomsday, you'd probably not say the things we see digitally here. This is the life of the Internet. I know you, Mr. Avatar, but yet I don't know you. Your background, or your family, or even your location (except WooHoo, who can't say enough about his life to all of us, bless him). Your pleasures and your irritants. It's so easy to envision someone on a random board only by what they show you. It's a feature that is only detrimental to the viewing audience.

We shouldn't take so much of our virtual, digital exposition so seriously. The meatspace (real life) existence seems to creep too much into our virtual electronic lives on a database (GU Boards) run by a media company. I don't have the antidote, only because there are people that will escalate and ruffle feathers to their own personal satisfaction, no matter the cost.

I can't tell you how many times a poster enraged me during game threads that I wanted to virtually choke them. But I easily do know that I would never even consider it if I was seeing them face to face, and that I would welcome them as merely another red-blooded fan of our team. Digital media expands the emotions of what we normally expect.

As for you LIZF, I can only express my regrets, as you have been the gracious of moderators, and your posts have always contributed in a positive way. I can't imagine the torrent of crap you've had to deal with as a moderator. Anyway, I wish you happiness, as I wish all of our board members. A little less hate means a lot more happiness.

=cad=

[GU69]

A sad day and era for this board. My personal feeling is that the board is apparently not working, only because life isn't working. We have no basketball, and probably won't in the near future. I don't think it's a reason to abandon the greatest CBB board that exists. We still remain Zag fans. This ailment won't last forever, and one day we'll be ***posting as we ever were.

. . . And I'm very confident that the vast, vast majority of the viewers here are readers rather than writers.

Agree with all this.

It's the off-season, so there's not much basketball to talk about.

And it's the Covid season, so there's not going to be much basketball to talk about for quite a while.

But this has been a fun board and hopefully will be again when there is some basketball to talk about.

I miss El Voce.

[JPtheBeasta]

I'm sorry that it's come to this and that you feel compelled to leave. Did El Voce say that sports is the toy store of life? Inventory is low with no end in sight. I know we butted heads a lot in the old OCC but I appreciated the back forth-- truly. I'm sorry to everyone for my for my part in contributing to the temperature of the board. It seems to me that some of the spirit of the board fizzled out when Bobzag left us. Covid obviously didn't help. Hopefully, when things get back to normal, this will be a place you can come to lick your wounds after a tough loss or celebrate a great win.

Go Zags!

[GoZags]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nRU5RIDWXU

[NotoriousZ]

Take care, LI. You’re contributions here were greatly appreciated and you will be sorely missed.

Hoping you come back if only to post a bit when our world turns back to normal.

[katman50]

We are going to miss you as moderator. I totally echo your feelings and summation on what this board has become the past couple months. Am not interested in subject other than Zags basketball.

[jsnider]

We are going to miss you as moderator. I totally echo your feelings and summation on what this board has become the past couple months. Am not interested in subject other than Zags basketball.

I agree 100%.

[daskim]

Although I recently joined these boards, I have monitored it for the last 12 years.

While it has been contentious in the past, the last six months or so, have been remarkedly more acrimonious than I've ever seen it.

FWIW, I've moderated at a professional site for nearly fifteen years with over 123,000 members. It is a professional video site with 350,000 threads and three million posts over many years.

I would gauge that the mods there would not allow 90% of the acrimonious, personal, and unacceptable posts that appear here. Suspensions would be routine, and permanent bans implemented with strike three.

We do require actual names to enable posting, which acts as a pretty good disincentive for bad manners.

That being said, 1% of the members cause 99% of the issues.

I joined because of the participation of CaldwellZag, and sorry to see him, and others, exit now.

[hockeyzag]

A sad day and era for this board. My personal feeling is that the board is apparently not working, only because life isn't working. We have no basketball, and probably won't in the near future. I don't think it's a reason to abandon the greatest CBB board that exists. We still remain Zag fans. This ailment won't last forever, and one day we'll be shıtposting as we ever were. And that act of shıtposting is something that, while enraging at many points, it would bring out a vigorous and healthy discussion. (Kitz, don't, please. It comes from the heart. I'll pay my penance if you insist for the language).

I think many of us are at times too fragile to receive a post that is oppositional. I get it in PM's all the time. "He said this, He said that...SAY SOMETHING!!!" Maybe we're just all getting old and don't want to deal with opposition. But despite the level of conflict, I think that the vast majority of people here are ultimately aligned. And I'm very confident that the vast, vast majority of the viewers here are readers rather than writers. So often I see a couple of posters get at each other, only to reconcile their differences, all the while remaining anonymous.

Anonymity stokes the fires, because we say things we never would face to face. If I met you at the Bowl and Pitcher or on Bloomsday, you'd probably not say the things we see digitally here. This is the life of the Internet. I know you, Mr. Avatar, but yet I don't know you. Your background, or your family, or even your location (except WooHoo, who can't say enough about his life to all of us, bless him). Your pleasures and your irritants. It's so easy to envision someone on a random board only by what they show you. It's a feature that is only detrimental to the viewing audience.

We shouldn't take so much of our virtual, digital exposition so seriously. The meatspace (real life) existence seems to creep too much into our virtual electronic lives on a database (GU Boards) run by a media company. I don't have the antidote, only because there are people that will escalate and ruffle feathers to their own personal satisfaction, no matter the cost.

I can't tell you how many times a poster enraged me during game threads that I wanted to virtually choke them. But I easily do know that I would never even consider it if I was seeing them face to face, and that I would welcome them as merely another red-blooded fan of our team. Digital media expands the emotions of what we normally expect.

As for you LIZF, I can only express my regrets, as you have been the gracious of moderators, and your posts have always contributed in a positive way. I can't imagine the torrent of crap you've had to deal with as a moderator. Anyway, I wish you happiness, as I wish all of our board members. A little less hate means a lot more happiness.

=cad=

This was a fantastic post and I agree with it 100%.

The internet is not always a place for the faint of heart.

Coronavirus affects this board just as it does the rest of our lives. Someday we’ll get to enjoy our Zags again like we always have, and it’ll be a day to celebrate.

[Zags11]

Covid has ruined this board and sports. People mentally aren't as happy. People have way more stress and anxiety. People are shorter then normal with each other.


Covid has struck hard.