Private Boards?

[Nutsforsoccer]

Is there a way to creat a private board within Talking-Soccer.com whereby access is by invite or approval of a username only?

While the old touchline had lost its volume at least the dialogue was more interesting and on point. Unfortunately this site has allowed for too many hit and run hot air disruptive kind of posts.

This way those with something to offer in form of opinions and respect will have a place to go and this more public forum can still be a place we participate as well. Then when a topic gets hijacked we can agree to resume in the private environment.

Thoughts from FSM, Fred and some of the longer-term contributors?

Is there a way to turn off Guest comments from your view that way at least those can be filtered out automatically?

[nutmegs]

Re: Private Boards?

Is there a way to creat a private board within Talking-Soccer.com whereby access is by invite or approval of a username only?

While the old touchline had lost its volume at least the dialogue was more interesting and on point. Unfortunately this site has allowed for too many hit and run hot air disruptive kind of posts.

This way those with something to offer in form of opinions and respect will have a place to go and this more public forum can still be a place we participate as well. Then when a topic gets hijacked we can agree to resume in the private environment.

Thoughts from FSM, Fred and some of the longer-term contributors?

Is there a way to turn off Guest comments from your view that way at least those can be filtered out automatically?

Here, here! I am a long time lurker, sometime contributor (old sn on Touchline was "ilovesoccer"). Touchline was usually informative, and made for interesting lurking. This forum has an immature, trashy, disrepectful tone that I find offensive. Please consider inviting well behaved lurkers into whatever private forum is established. Thanks!

[Cujo]

In honor of the this topic I just dug out my tan Member's Only jacket and put it on. It reeks of mothballs........

[Cujo]

Let's recreate the old Touchline where we can throw out anybody who doesn't drink the MAPLE koolaid and toe the party line. Let me practice. Here goes:

* MSL is a third rate league
* The US got lucky vs Mexico which fielded a B team yesterday
* 11 year olds that are not progressing fast enough should be cut
* Recruitment is more important than development
* Landon Donovan has 666 tatooed on his scalp
* The MAPLE relegation system is 100% fair and equitable and truly culls out the weak and unworthy
How'd I do??? Am I in???

[Blue Devil]

Funny stuff Cujo

[Blue Devil]

Nuts,

There is no capability at a user to filter out or turn off any particular user or group of users on these boards by any of us as individuals. Any of us could start up a board using the same phpbbservers that this board or the touchline used. If we did that the boards have the ability to require a registered user name to post.

The talking soccer folks have done a nice job of customizing this board, keeping out automated bots etc. - and also are doing the administrative work to keep it working well. They have been kind enough to welcome our band here. Thebes, who is one of the founders posted here and said that anonymous posting is capability that will stay. So the upside is that there is a lot more activity - and a lot of the anonymous posting is good The downside is that some of the anonymous postings can veer to attack individuals, clubs and named posters in a hit and run fashion.

There have been several threads started to get forum opinions on this trend. I think they are called "thoughts on the new board" and "how to best deal with anonymous hit and run posting" and I think that the consensus was, take the anonymous posts with a grain of salt.

I think that we control this to some degree by posting with our registered names (My take after reading the last month is that some active posters are also posting anonymously) and by our reaction to the anonymous attack posts. If a forum as a group decides not to engage with or give credence to anonymous posts they tend to decrease in frequency. The alternative is for someone to take the initiative and set up a board that requires a log in.

Let's recreate the old Touchline where we can throw out anybody who doesn't drink the MAPLE koolaid and toe the party line. Let me practice. Here goes:

* MSL is a third rate league
* The US got lucky vs Mexico which fielded a B team yesterday
* 11 year olds that are not progressing fast enough should be cut
* Recruitment is more important than development
* Landon Donovan has 666 tatooed on his scalp
* The MAPLE relegation system is 100% fair and equitable and truly culls out the weak and unworthy
How'd I do??? Am I in???

Too funny. Don't know if you are aware of this, but for the longest time one could not even register and contribute to Touchline. The registration was broken. I wrote to everyone listed, MAPLE, the hosting company...to try to get someone to fix it. No response. I actually stated to wonder whether new blood was excluded intentionally. Months then passed. i didn't visit the board over the winter.

I think it was eventually fixed....near the end of Touchline. It never seemed to be noticed that there weren't any new contributors during this time. A real echo chamber.

[Blue Devil]

Fabio,

The inability to register was due to the fact that the admin of that board set it up so that he needed to approve each poster, and for whatever reason, decided not to. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of keeping things running smoothly.

Fabio,

The inability to register was due to the fact that the admin of that board set it up so that he needed to approve each poster, and for whatever reason, decided not to. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of keeping things running smoothly.

That's certainly a system that promotes the free exchange of ideas and information. Yikes.

[Cujo]

Fabio,

The inability to register was due to the fact that the admin of that board set it up so that he needed to approve each poster, and for whatever reason, decided not to. He didn't seem to grasp the concept of keeping things running smoothly.

I introduced him once to the First Amendment and he replied with a "who thought up this free speech nonsense" retort. I didn't have the heart to tell him that women could vote too and that slavery had been outlawed some 120 years earlier. He might have had an MCI.

[MASC]

phpbb is really powerful and has the ability to restrict posting to groups. Such comes with the price of higher admininstrative overhead.

This board is moderated, i.e. really objectionable stuff has been quickly removed. I haven't had time to browse all of the forums, but there are so many forums that should be of interest beyond just our parochial concerns.

There has been little discussion about real issues that will be impacting clubs, coaches, and players, e.g. U12 8v8, club passes, league structure, ...

I put out subjects that should be of serious interest and the discussions died. The only discussions that seem to have real traction are those that immediately impact a small group of involved parents of U14 and U15 girls.

Such yields very uninteresting discussions for those not directly involved.

[Cujo]

Re: Private Boards?

Is there a way to creat a private board within Talking-Soccer.com whereby access is by invite or approval of a username only?

While the old touchline had lost its volume at least the dialogue was more interesting and on point. Unfortunately this site has allowed for too many hit and run hot air disruptive kind of posts.

This way those with something to offer in form of opinions and respect will have a place to go and this more public forum can still be a place we participate as well. Then when a topic gets hijacked we can agree to resume in the private environment.

Thoughts from FSM, Fred and some of the longer-term contributors?

Is there a way to turn off Guest comments from your view that way at least those can be filtered out automatically?

Count me out. I want no part of any self selected group of posters. It is against everything I believe in and moreover results in boring safe discussions. If I want pablum I will turn on network TV. Do you work for the FCC or something? What you are proposing turned the touchline into Mr. Stats having 4 hour conversations by himself in a virtual phonebooth.

[Red van]

Private Boards?

I'll second MASC's thoughts! There must be some kind of substantive discussion of youth soccer out there amongst the readers and posters of this forum, without the mud-slinging and tabloids. I would hope that the ranters can contain themselves and just contribute something worthwhile to the forum, rather than squabbling incessantly. Please, give it a rest!

[Cujo]

phpbb is really powerful and has the ability to restrict posting to groups. Such comes with the price of higher admininstrative overhead.

This board is moderated, i.e. really objectionable stuff has been quickly removed. I haven't had time to browse all of the forums, but there are so many forums that should be of interest beyond just our parochial concerns.

There has been little discussion about real issues that will be impacting clubs, coaches, and players, e.g. U12 8v8, club passes, league structure, ...

I put out subjects that should be of serious interest and the discussions died. The only discussions that seem to have real traction are those that immediately impact a small group of involved parents of U14 and U15 girls.

Such yields very uninteresting discussions for those not directly involved.

You have pretty much described the experience we have or had every weekend on the parents side of the field.

[Soccer Fan]

I think some of this stuff will settle out in time as we get more used to a board that allows "guest" posting.

The important thing to remember is advice that is widely distributed on the internet- Don't feed the trolls!
If you don't fall for their bait it has no meaning