Ladies and Gentlemen,
This site has never been the most endearing to the club or even parts of our own fanbase. A common piece of feedback I receive privately is that some find it too negative or drama-filled, which is why many choose to stay away. At times we clash hard and put each other down, the club, the players, and even Super, who pays for this site out of his own pocket. Some of this could understandably offend players’ families. In conversations I’ve had with people within the club’s hierarchy, the club takes a fairly open-minded view and accepts that it can’t control what others say or think. That’s a mature approach.
That said, I believe the majority of us are good eggs, mean well, even if some are rough around the edges and a small minority hold more extreme views. Over the past decade, I’ve met many wonderful people through this site, some of whom I now count as close friends and have learned a great deal from. You’re a big reason I’m still here and why I care about this community.
If you’re willing, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the direction the site should take. Ultimately, Super will decide, but it’s helpful to understand how people feel, here or privately, on:
- Current affairs and political blogs: Even if personally enjoy them, these often become the most feral and attract extremist views, especially in challenging times. They can flood the site and turn off many who simply want to talk footy, the one thing we all share. Life has enough dramas.
- Moving these blogs to The Cave: Making them members-only may be a win-win, it allows discussions without overwhelming those who’d want to avoid it.
- Any other ideas for improving the site.
Please don’t comment on political, religious or current affairs issues in this blog. This is about improving the site, not saving the world from an apocalypse.
Replies
Poppy this site went downhill as soon as Phil Sim left , While Phil had piss poor standards and judgment when it came to club matters he ran this site in a very fair way and never once pushed his lefty views on here or removed blogs or posts that didn't fall into line with his lefty views. No doubt you remember the good old days on here and all the stoushes many of us had on all subjects , the fact you never had a heart attack during these stoushes is testament to your heart health .
The moderation on this site is basically all about being a apologist for the club and has been for a long time , as fans we have the right to hammer the people who run the club as much as we like especially since their epic failures have given fans so much misery , they never get to face members so forums like this are the only way fans and members can vent .
The site is slowly turning into TCT and no doubt it would be the mods dream of having a blanket ban on criticising the club , a perfect example of this is the recent two bit forum that members had with the club management.
Do you think people who attended this tea party event asked any hard questions? Do you think one person had the foresight to ask Jim Sarantonis a question like why as CEO for last 6 years and having the greatest advantage of any other club CEO in nsw in having the 2nd largest CBD in nsw with $9b dollars worth of property developers and construction companies he has failed failed miserably in tapping into this failed in bringing these people to the club ? No fucking chance .
Do you thnk Super or anyone else at this event ask the simple question of why haven't the people who run the club been able to make Parramatta a attractive destination for players?
Do you think they would ask why they can't bring the best people to the club be or players or staff ?
Do you think they would ask why the club has bottom of barrel standards ?
Do you think they would asked why we have have a epic low standard head of football in Mark O'Neil who has been a epic failure still at the club ? Of course not .
They would of asked question regarding the the type of blue being a bit dark on the jersey or if the hats members received in their members packs can be made from 100% recycled materials .
When it comes to political or social subjects I have no issues with them being banned primarily because the mods will remove what is posted based on what does not match their views and beliefs, if you ask a question that they can't answer in a way that won't suit their narrative it will be removed , if a blog is not going the way that suits the mods narrative it will be removed and we have a long history of this with Super .
Phil Sim was a lefty but he never once removed a blog or post because it did not meet his lefty beliefs , you could actually have a debate with Phil and then agree to disagree but he would not close or remove a blog just because it was not going his way .
Political discussions and religious topics kept this site alive . Ban them at your peril. We've seen how stagnant it gets without them and the hits and clicks speak for themselves. Hence why the chairman hasn't already banned them. We've also seen what happens when he try's to get the cave to be his filter, nobody goes in there since he chased away all the characters with censorship.
There a good reason this is one of the only real independent 1 team dedicated fansite generating decent traffic. Phil always said it was more a social platform than just a league dedicated echo chamber . But 90% of the entertaining contributors have left so why not make it League Unlimted from Temu and just have everyone finding differnt ways to praise the club and call each other merkins.
Mark, I've actually pushed them as much as possible, not ban them, including the Kirk tragedy, so different camps can express their feelings. Are you okay if they are in The Cave, probably with less moderation?
Yes Political and current affairs belong in the cave This is an eels supporters website I don't know when it was started but I know I've been on here since 2012ish The passion we all have for this club the legit info the back and forths and even the firthy's that exude from this site keep me checking in every day It's part of my life of being a Parra supporter and anything written on this site that isn't about the club is just outside noise that most of us don't want or need
Off to the cave with the outside noise I say
All i will say on all of these topics is.Being a really old Bastard i was always taught dont get into any discussion s about politics or religion as it always ends up one way only one Big Shit fight . So thats my humble opinion
Well that's very true , politics and religion are dangerous topics that 99% of the time no good comes from it .
I understand that people are (ironically) complaining about the negativity. There's always going to be a mix of optimists and pessimists on here and many would argue that long-time Parra fans have a fair case to be pessimistic!
If you're worried about people leaving or not engaging due to the negativity, I would argue that there would be many more people who would leave if this site were to censor out negativity.
I personally appreciate the freedom for discourse that is afforded on this platform. It's the main reason I'm a member. Other footy forums seem to skew towards a PC love-in with no criticism tolerated. (I'm not just talking about TCT)
1 Eyed Eel provides a more accurate portrait of where fans sit in regard to footy (and non footy) topics. While I tend not to engage too much in the non footy blogs, I find reading through them provides more insight than most sites that are actually set up to provide such a platform. It's a unique site and I for one, appreciate it not being censored into oblivion.
No one has to read a non footy blog, so I don't really understand the people complaining about them. Sure, post them under the Social Blogs if they're not footy related, but during the off season, these blogs keep the site going.
Ultimatley, it's up to Super to take the site in whatever direction he wants. I personally feel that for every member complaining about negativity, there would be a member thankful for the opportunity to have their say in whatever form that takes. Be careful of only hearing the squeaky wheels, they more often than not, do not represent the majority of happy members.
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