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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

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
Last edited by orioles42
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 Cool).

Let's keep the productive debates alive, but keep the focus on the issues!
Last edited by URKillingMeBlue
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.
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 Wink, 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. party

Good move Bob.
It feels good to be back Wink
Last edited by MrandMrsBaseball
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 $uck$.

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