Please read

Bob, I applaud your decision. Thank you.

Thank you. Enough is enough

Some posters seem to have assumed that this site sprung up of its own accord to serve as a sounding board for their egos. It's a thoughtless position, but it's evident.

Imagine, if you will, that Bob has invited us all over to his house to to talk baseball -- being clever, he's invited families with sons who hope to play in hs all the way through to families whose sons have successfully worked their way into the professional ranks. Now it's up to every one of us to behave as we would in his living room. This is Bob's Virtual House; behave as the guest you are.

The anominity of the internet is no excuse. Many of us here are not anonymous; we have identified our sons on one thread or another. Those who believe that anominity gives them the freedom to be rude and self-righteous probably are the same people who run red lights and cut cars off in traffic because the lack of personal accountability gives them the right to be selfish.

I don't understand why anyone wants to live in a world where that lack of consideration goes unmarked. And that people like that are raising children while displaying those same low standards is exceedingly sad.

And if that is your attitude, please don't be surprised when you are not invited back. And, for heaven's sake, don't return wearing a set of false glasses with a nose.

Bob said "if certain member "continue" to not get it...."


Bob - they don't get it. Its over. Do what you gotta do now, not later. How many more people have to leave? I'm fairly new, but getting very frustrated very quickly...

Bob,
Thank you once again.

OPP was the first poster I ever contacted, because I was too shy way back then (2001) to ask my questions on the boards. He's been a tremendous help to me these last 4 years!
Bighit has always been there to answer a quandry & offer sound advise. We met in 2002, periodically we'll pm or email each other, etc...

I'd have been lost without their help & encouragement, training & experiences! These 2 folks are cornerstones to this website, along with Bob, TRhit, fungo, HWvol, Bama Bomber, RHP05, PhoenixDad, & so many more!

PiC, your interpretation of Bob's post goes a long way to explaining your off-center use of certain multisyllabic words.

Bob....think it goes without saying that if a poster does not like the rules you set down...he can leave on his own....before getting thrown off. In other words he can quit before he gets fired...

Thanks for putting out the warning....it was needed.

Bob you made my day.

quote:

Originally posted by PiC:
Bob the owner of HSBBWEEB said

It is possible that some of you that have an opinion about everything and want to constantly "run down" the moderators and other "old timers" on this site should put mittens on your hands and try reading and learning for a change.

Yes there are members on this site that have opinions that differ from mine, and I admit that they may drive me a little crazy at times, but I also learn a thing or two from these same folks.
________________________________________________

Thank you for the clarification of priveleges here.

As I read it

All moderators are free to verbally abuse said posters at their discretion.

IMHO that's what it means.

HSBBWEB,

All anyone has to do is stop and look who the culprits are in every thread that becomes a fight. It's most always certain moderators that are involved. Is it their job to flame? I always thought a moderators job was something else, like keeping the peace,editing out content. etc, not forced belief in their opinions.

As Bob just said folks, it is not a democracy, it's his site. So whether you like what the moderators do or not doesn't matter. They have been chosen by Bob to be the moderators of this site, Pretty straight forward to me. You don't like it, leave or get thrown off as Bob chooses. Works for me!

RHP05,

I echo your comments.......

Chicks-DTLB, let it go. You are beating the proverbial dead horse.

Be good,
David

Pic:

That is an amazing reaction.

Sometimes you ought to just shut up.

But, then, maybe you really are that dense.

Chicks, I really don't understand your point.

Bob, thanks for keeping such a great site available, even as your personal involvement in this subject winds down. I hope it is something you continue for the long term because of the great service it provides and that you get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction out of it.

To me it is critical to have posters that have been through the process. I hope those long time posters do not leave the site.

I have gone through the process with the "04" and learned alot from this site and son is now enjoying success as a freshman college pitcher.

Don't post much but I have been through the process and frankly this site in my opinon is mainly to help parents and players go through the recruiting process.

Everyone's recruitment journey is dfferent and the more different experiences you can learn then the better help you are to your son's recruitment

I am now about to embark on the journey again with the "10" and I am sure I will do things different with the 10 than I did with the 04. And part of the reason is the things I learned from people on this site that have gone through it. By the time the 10 gets done their will have been 5 or so more years worth of people that have gone through it that I hope will stay on to help me and my 2010 son.

stay the course as I got 5 more years to go

Kudos and hats off to you BOB!
This is a great site and I support you and your moderators....

Thats a nice post Bob. I sure hope OPP and BigHit change their minds.

I've been thinking a lot about this the past few days and I think we all could stand to have a little attitude adjustment. I think us "old timers" (as my label now says) sometimes are a little quick to jump the gun. But I also think that there are a few instigators on this site that like argument for argument's sake. I try to ignore those threads.

Lets all take a deep breath and get back to business - ok?!?!

RHP05- Exactly!

Bob,

I applaude your decision. I tried to calm people down in another thread and fear I may have caused even more problems. For that I'm sorry.

I hope that OPP and BigHit15 come back. It would be nice to see folks like LeftyDad, Orlando, Dad04, etc who have been on this site and have valuable knowledge to believe they can give that information without being attacked.

My favorite is my friend TRHit, who is one of the most trusted men I know. There are so many stories I can give you that no one knows of him helping youngsters get into college - not just from College Select. When Tom writes I always read his posts because I believe I can learn from him.

The Pastor at my church made an interesting observation during his sermon this morning. We are studying Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life (which I highly reccomend).

Today's topic was fellowship. He made a point that he speaks with a pastor across town who is his age (44) at least once a week to see what problems that pastor has so our pastor can relate. He then meets at another time with a pastor on the other side of town that is 65-plus. He meets with him to learn his problems as well, so that our pastor can deal better with our churches problems.

My point is that the old guard here has been through the trenches. Who better to guide you to the next level.

God Bless.

hsbbweb, I personally don't care for the style of some of the posters causing problems. But I must say that some of the moderators can - on occasion - be caustic with the best of them. Sometimes in situations where it appears to be unprovoked.

I just hope you will apply whatever standards you choose in an equal fashion.

This board has some great input, but it can also be rather insular at times. I hope you can strike the appropriate balance between keeping worthy "old timers" and yet maintaining an environment that brings in "fresh blood".

I'm withya', Bob.

Bob,

I could not agree more !

Do what you gotta do.

CV

Count me as being on the bandwagon!

I hope that OPP, Bighit and any other priceless members read this post and see that one, two or three bad apples are just that, bad apples. The rest of us rely on you to help us understand the great, big world of baseball, from a parents eyes. I may not always agree with or understand your posts but I always consider what you guys write. After all, you've been there, I haven't. Thank you for helping me in the past and hopefully in the future. Don't let the bad guys win!

Bob -
You are a generous and giving man to provide this forum for us. My son is a junior and I can tell you, he would not have the opportunities he is getting if it were not for the advice, support and information we received on this site from you and other generous posters. I have always looked forward to the day when I can help others from my experience.

I hope the board remains a viable and valuable tool for those yet to come into the hs baseball world.

Bob,

You even have a friend in Chicagoland.

john petrulis

They will return--this site is too addictive

Tis not the first time "old Timers' got weary

John

Perhaps we should go to the "Replay Tape" for our "discussions" !!!

Bob

I appreciate this site that has been a great resource for so many. I hope that you will take the steps to preserve this electronic resource for the kids to follow ours, the true beneficiaries of the practical experience of folks here.

I find it interesting, but sad, that this controversy seems to becoming a common occurence. See this thread from 51 weeks ago.

It sure feels like "deja Vu" all over again. Hopefully, you can resolve this for the majorities benefit. I've learned that If I do the same thing the same way, I usually get the same results.

Bob,

I used to be a moderator a long time ago on this site. I moderated the "After High School" forum, because my son was going into college. When you changed services, I lost the moderator duties to other folks. Back when I was a moderator it was very, very easy; that is no longer the case. I believe it is very very hard to be a moderator today, just because of the sheer number of people that belong to the site.

I will admit I do not contribute to this site as much as I did back in the old days as far as posting goes. I have never been personally attacked or insulted on this site, probably because I just don't say much anymore. I do not have "thin skin", I don't even mind a spirited debate on baseball, because you learn everyday in this game. If you do not, you need to get out. There is a big difference between a spirited debate on the game we all love and folks getting joy out of personal attacks.

I have been around baseball a long time, and besides God and my family, baseball is the most important thing in my life. I will be honest in saying I do not post much just because I no longer have the tolerance to argue, bicker, bellyache, and whine with some of the folks that choose to conduct themselves in that manner. I will always be available through email for folks that choose to correspond with me if they wish.

I will not leave and I support whatever you decide. This is "your" site and therefore it is your right to do what you see fit.

Coach

TR...Who would've thought of it at the time.

I "swore" at you and NYMom and others on the site and blasted the Ivy League.

Now I are one....(lol)

jp

Bob - Thanks very much for your clarifying post. Hopefully we'll all settle down a bit and get back to what this site is invaluable at doing: helping kids and parents (of all ages and abilities) live and learn the great game of baseball.

My son would have most likely NEVER had the opportunities he has if it wasn't for the terrific people on this site, some who I now consider dear friends.

The hsbbweb is the one place I can go to post a PM to people I see on opposing teams to talk frankly about my hopes and fears, and listen to them do the same in their turn. I have laughed out loud at posts by the same people I was ready to flame just days earlier, and cried along with others as sons and families go through tougher transitions. I have had my feelings hurt occasionally, but have been lifted up much more often. (I have even had to wear a disgustingly dirty avatar for a week, and hardly complained at all ).

Let's keep the productive debates alive, but keep the focus on the issues!

I am in absolute awe of the committment this site and it's moderators have to helping players and their parents through what can be a very difficult and heartwrenching process. Although I am knew and may have even rattled the pots and pans when I first came aboard, as I dug deeper I realized that I had found a true gem on the web. I humbly ask the old-timers and moderators to stand your ground and stick around. It was your early rebukes of some of the information that I posted that made me take notice of your passion and honesty. Keep up the great work. And from my heart, Thank you.

John Daly Sr.

I count myself as one of the many that come here to absorb the wisdom and knowledge of others who have already treaded this path, perhaps share some stories along the way, and get to know some people that share the same passion: our children and the game of baseball. I really appreciate that Bob has put the time, money, and I'm sure plenty of personal sacrifice to make this resource available in the first place.

I greatly appreciate the jobs the moderators perform, and realize it is a thankless task ... someone will always disagree with your actions or claim that you're being subjective, unfair, etc. I honestly don't get why some people take the act of moderating a discussion so personally ... if you have a personal agenda, pay for your own online soapbox and invite people to come visit your own Blog, Website, whatever. If what you have to say is really important and you get a lot of visitors, good for you. If all you hear are echo's of your own voice in the silence ... well it must not have been all that important. Otherwise, we're all GUESTS here and need to follow some basic rules of decorum.

There are times I wish I had an 'attenuate' knob to take care of some of the signal-to-noise on some of these threads ... something like the 'ignore' list you can turn on with Yahoo discussion groups. If there's someone's posts that I really don't want to waste my mental bandwidth digging through to discover any potential small nugget of useful information, I could just flag them to be 'ignored' ... and I'd never see their posts again. Then there's no questions about impartiality, objectivity, etc. ... I just vote with my mouse. It's like a spam filter for discussion forums.

Then it wouldn't be seen as personal, censorship, etc. ... as an individual I could just make a choice about whose opinions I value and whose I choose to ingore. I basically do that now by just scrolling past posts by some folks where it's proven just too much work to figure out if they had anything important to say.

I agree with ya Bobby!

Just to throw in my 2 cents, I have searched the internet (and other sources) for many years and have never found a better source for information on baseball, the recruiting process, etc. than this site.

From my son's first playing in high school, to the first contact with a college coach, to his now being a college freshman, this site and board have been a constant "companion" and invaluable source of information for me.

My son has really done quite well in making the college adjustments and the other day just called to tell me how "honored" he was to be on a college baseball team, a "dream" come true and just wanted to thank me for the help and support I'd given him. That call meant everything in the world and, while I will take some credit for knowing a few things , little does he know how much advice and information passed on to him was taken from this site and this board.

My thanks to Bob and all those who give unselfishly of their advice here. I'm certain that, like my son, a great number of youngsters have benefited from the existance of this site; and, please, let's not deprive those that come after us of this great source and experience.

At the bottom line, it is Bob's "home" and, IMO, it is appropriate to conduct ourselves as guests in his "house".

Bob: I know it takes a lot to keep this site going. I certainly appreciate all the work you put into it. I also think it is your right to set the rules and expect everyone to follow them. If I walked into a dugout for the first time, I would expect the coach to have rules, and I would follow them, no questions asked. I don't understand why that is so hard to comprehend here. I have told my kids, since they were old enough to understand the concept, to just use common sense and common courtesy and they would go far in life. So far, that has worked pretty well.

If every poster would conduct themselves like they want their own kids to act, things would run a lot smoother and everyone could learn from this site.

BOB I never felt I had enough baseball knowledge to express an opinion on this site with so many expertsas I live in baseball starved (as PG said on my sons report)Wyoming. This is some what true since we don't have enough season for High School ball. I can honestly say this site has helped fill that void.
Five years ago I went to a Legion meeting to see what I was getting into and found quite a few senior parents asking what to do to help there kids play college ball. Iknhew something should have been started alot earlier but didn't know what. Soon after I found this site. since then I read it constantly and refer others to it all the time. My son is now going to get to play college ball along with quite a few others who probably wouldn't except for the advise of alot of "Old timers". I think every time one of you decide to give it up please remember there's alot more of us quiet one getting help then noise makers who only want to hear themselves talk. Please stay with it for those kids.

Bob, definitely (past) time to do what you've done, thank you!

The minute I saw Bob's post it reminded me about the time a parent of one of my summer players asked about how we were going to handle issues when (not if) they disagreed with how I run my summer team. I told her I didn't run the team like a democracy, that it was a DICTATORSHIP, and that if they didn't like the way I did things, they were free to find another team. The son of that parent has now been playing with us for parts of the last 3 seasons. I guess this dictator has been kinda benevolent after all!

Thanks Bob,
Maybe now I will return. I visit from time to time, but have felt this site just isn't what it used to be. Primarily because of the caustic nature of many posters.
Maybe I'm a wagoneer.
I don't know the exact definition one, but if it means someone who stands up for others who 1. offer valuable information on this site, 2. are willing to share their experience 3. Empathize and support other (sometimes, literally at their own expense)
then I can proudly say......

I'm a WAGONEER.

Good move Bob.
It feels good to be back

I completely trust Bob's judgement on this as well as most other topics!! After all, this started as HIS site, and we all became tagalongs as he led us through the maze of high school baseball strategies, recruiting, joys, sorrows - he also gave us the gift of his website to enable many of our sons to navigate the scary waters of recruiting - and look how many of them are a success as a result!!!
Bob knows many of the posters personally - I trust he knows who should be playing in his yard.

quote:

Originally posted by ChicksDigTheLongBall:
...I always thought a moderators job was something else, like keeping the peace,editing out content. etc, not forced belief in their
opinions.

Chicks,

I see myself as a poster first and moderator second. Just like others, I have had threads shut down and posts deleted. I would rather exchange messagea and sometimes debate ideas rather than visit this board to solely clean up the mess. I have yet to see a mod who "forces his opinion" down anyone's throat. On the contrary.

This board is informative. Information is passed down from those who know or have experienced.

Being a moderator is not all it is cracked up to be. Besides, the pay $uck$.