Wednesday, March 5, 2008

I've Gotten Into More Stupid Drama

Everyone knows that drama creates buzz, right. Well, maybe it's time this website got a few more hits because I seem to have gotten involved in more Tigerdroppings drama. Hence, we are calling an audible, and the post I promised you yesterday will have to wait.

In a thread over at Tigerdroppings, a poster named Catahoula Lake, who is a person totally unfamiliar to me, started a thread in which he quoted my post yesterday on Russel Shepard. He seemed to have trouble getting the link right. A little later in the day another user tried to help him fix the link and discovered that any attempt to link to this website is automatically garbled. Someone over there has programmed it so that it is impossible to link to this site from Tigerdroppings.

He pointed this out on the thread. I noticed his response, and I posted my own response expressing my surprise. Then I noticed that my response did not send the thread to the top of the page. The thread, completely harmless though it was, had been "anchored", meaning it was set to not to get bumped to the top when someone posted to it, so it would steadily sink to the bottom and off the page, where it would likely not be viewed again.

It was not anchored automatically the way the link was garbled. This was done by an admin that day, who chose to disfavor that particular thread, the one that mentioned this website, tried to link to it, and that prompted someone else (none of these people are me mind you) to notice that this website got special treatment.

Special negative treatment, that is. Links to national media aren't garbled. Links to LSU beat reporters like Glenn Guilbeau aren't garbled. Links to local LSU-themed bloggers like Dandy Don aren't garbled. Why is this website so disfavored over there?

I then started a thread on the Help Board asking about this. I will admit, I got a little testy. Frankly, I took it as a personal slight, which I think is a fair conclusion under the circumstances, and my testiness was justified. After a short conversation on the topic with a handful of users, the thread was deleted and my posting privileges were revoked. What's more, the message that pointed out the garbled links on the original thread, and how it only involved this website, was deleted along with my follow-up.

Recall, from the previous drama, the last straw was that they didn't only ask me not to link to the website or comment on it over at Tigerdroppings, but they didn't want me to ever point out that they had taken any action against me. It seems they did not want their users to know that this website was so disfavored. So, to recap, here is the relationship between GeauxTuscaloosa and Tigerdroppings:
  • I can't mention the website over there
  • I can't discuss the rules regarding not being able to mention the website over there
  • Anyone who attempts to link to my website will find it impossible to do
  • Threads that mention this website will be anchored
  • Posts that mention that this website gets special treatment will be deleted
  • People who attempt to bring this forward will be punished
I still cannot imagine why this website is held in such contempt by the people who run Tigerdroppings. I don't have a big enough ego to think that I'm some kind of a threat. Hell, this blog has approximately 15-20 regular readers. Tigerdroppings probably gets 15-20 new regular users every day or two. It's a behemoth. I doubt I take away one cent of advertising dollars, and I doubt I would take away a cent if my readership increased by a factor of 100. Why does anyone spend 2 seconds thinking of this place as some kind of enemy?

And if they are inclined to think about this place, why is it held in such contempt? In over 350 posts on this board, I've mentioned Tigerdroppings exactly three times that I recall. This would be the fourth, and the drama started well before the first time I mentioned Tigerdroppings in any negative way. Heck, all I do is post long, rambling articles about football. Most of Tigerdroppings clientele doesn't even have the patience to read them, much less care about them. To the extent I've been critical of Tigerdroppings for having an incredibly high number of idiots posting (and apparently at least one petty and vindictive admin), other websites have been at least as critical.

I think, ultimately, that's what bothers me the most. This is so petty on their parts. What's more, because they won't let it even be discussed openly, they seem to know that it's petty. The only reason I can think of to censor all discussion of this website and their rules regarding it is that they must know how unreasonable they're being, and they know that if it's openly discussed over there, people will point out how chickenshit it is (pun intended).

It also makes me wonder what other topics of discussion may be secretly censored.

29 comments:

mikeydee1 said...

I enjoy both boards and don't understand this. There are some wild, self-serving people on TD that feel post count is the only validation. Some must post just to see their count rise. Many feel their wordsd are the holy grail. I read this site most every day. I enjoy a fresh insight but don't HAVE to agree to enjoy. Good Grief!

Richard Pittman said...

Thanks dude. I appreciate it. I still just can't fathom how this has happened. This is the most harmless place in the world, so I just don't understand why this place is so handicapped over there. I'm not even the only user to have started his own sports blog, and at least one person openly promoted his blog over there with no consequences that I know of.

I don't get it.

jimherehi said...

Given the choice between your site and TD for enjoyment and information, yours wins hands down. Their topics start out interesting, but before you know it, it becomes vulgar and totally unrelated to the original intent of the post. I think most of the posters just like to see their names in print. You rarely can have an intelligent discussion.

Anonymous said...

Richard,
I am very disappointed to hear this. I am mostly just a lurker on TD. There are far to many smart asses over there that have nothing to say. Your site always has very interesting topics and I have become a fan which reads everyday.
I have a little bit of withdrawals each morning if you don't have a post. I'll spread the word to my buds about your site since TD is turning in to just droppings of another kind. Keep up the good work and please stay classy!

Signed,
Totally spoiled

Anonymous said...

Richard, does TD have a rule regarding the spamming of blogs on the website? I do recall seeing links to your site months ago, but it seemed you were spamming it.

What if every user had a blog, and all the posts on TD were links back to a blog. It would get pretty annoying. Why not just say what you want to say in a post on TD, instead of blatantly spamming the site?

And there has to be more to this story. You sound like a big pansy in your explanation. Did you say unflattering things about TD on TD or this site before you got in this tussle?

Richard Pittman said...

Yes, there is a rule against spamming. I did, in the past, link to this website at TD. That started the original controvery that is discussed in the link I gave above.

This incident has nothing to do with that, however. This is about someone else, someone I do not even know, who tried to link to a post I wrote and couldn't, and that subsequently being hushed up. No one else gets treated that way to my knowledge. DandyDon isn't treated like that. Other media isn't treated like that. People link to articles ALL THE TIME on there. Why are my articles different?

I agree with you. There must be more to it. Unfortunately, I don't know what that "more" is. They won't tell me, and won't let it be discussed. All I know is that it is apparently impossible to link to this site from there, and any attempts to find out why are hushed up and covered up, and all dissent is punished. If I'm the pansy in this situation, what does that make the people who are apparently scared of me?

Anonymous said...

Richard, have you emailed them to discuss? Seems like you have chosen to air this out in a negative way, for all to see, instead of discussing the matter in private.

It appears that you have a sense of entitlement. Rather than playing by TD's rules, you have chosen to create you own rules and force them on TD.

I read TD everyday and I never see bloggers spamming their blog. If they do, I would imagine that they get removed. I never see Dandy Don posting a link to his site on TD, do you?

My guess is that you rubbed the ownership of that site in a wrong way. You can't expect to criticize a site and then use it to promote your own. It appears that you messed up, but you can't admit it.

But back to my original question: did you ever email them?

uberschuck said...

Are the people at Tigerdroppings a bunch of Stalinists?

Richard Pittman said...

I have not tried to email them to discuss it, at least not recently, but previous emails in the past went ignored. Yes, I am airing it out here. Why not? This is my forum. They can play by their rules. I can play by mine. If they want to actually voice their concerns to me in private, they have my email address.

"It appears that you have a sense of entitlement. Rather than playing by TD's rules, you have chosen to create you own rules and force them on TD."

I am doing no such thing. I am no more forcing my rules on their site than they are forcing their rules on mine. I just think their "rules "are preposterous, and I think they KNOW their "rules" are preposterous, which is why they don't want these "rules" discussed publicly.

"I read TD everyday and I never see bloggers spamming their blog. If they do, I would imagine that they get removed. I never see Dandy Don posting a link to his site on TD, do you?"

Ahh, but this occasion has NOTHING to do with me posting links to this blog. This is about someone ELSE posting links to my blog, which occurred not at my behest or with my foreknowledge. This would be like someone posting a link to DandyDon and saying, "Check out what he has to say here," only to have it quashed.

"My guess is that you rubbed the ownership of that site in a wrong way."

Well, duh.

"You can't expect to criticize a site and then use it to promote your own."

Cart before the horse. I never criticized Tigerdroppings before they got on me about the blog. Before this blog started, I had a very good relationship with Tigerdroppings, and I was a regular poster there in good standing. If anything, my time as a poster at Tigerdroppings was unusually drama-free compared to other posters. Honestly, when the problems started, no one was as surprised as I was. I linked to my blog a couple of times, but I did not consider it "spamming". I considered it posting about a site that readers might be interested in. When they asked me to stop, I stopped, even though I thought it was silly. I slipped up once, and they asked me to stop again. Then, when another poster started up his own blog, I commented to him that management didn't like when people linked their own blogs. They messaged me again and told me that they didn't want me talking about that. That's when I got upset and told them that I couldn't abide by that rule. The poster in question continued to openly discuss his blog on the boards without any apparent repercussions and I was banned.

That was, of course, months ago. I was allowed to return, but only under another name. This latest incident had NOTHING to do with me posting links to my blog, which happened only a few times and happened almost a year ago. This latest incident, as I've explained several times already, started when ANOTHER poster, one unknown to me, linked to my last entry in a "hey, check out this nice article" fashion. It happens all the time, every day, on that website and thousands of others. This time it was treated differently.

"It appears that you messed up, but you can't admit it."

If someone will point out where I "messed up" and how it relates to this incident, I'm happy to listen.

Anonymous said...

Let's summarize:
1. You were spamming your blog
2. You were asked to stop spamming your blog.
3. You wouldn't stop spamming your blog.
4. You were told again to stop spamming your blog.
5. You started to act out on TD.
6. They brought the hammer down on you.
7. You cried on your blog.

From an outsiders perspective, you couldn't follow their rules.

And did you not use your blog to put down the quality of the posters on TD before all this happened? So, not only did you spam, but you took a shot at TD on your blog. Isn't that biting the hand that feeds you?

And why would TD want to link to a blog that has now taken repeated shots at it?

Again, from an outsider's perspective, you have simply gone about this the wrong way. You seem young and immature. Hopefully you can take some lessons from this and handle similar situations a lot better in the future. Maybe there is some literature you can read to improve your conflict resolution skills.

Richard Pittman said...

Well, from an insider's perspective, you're being willfully dense. The "spamming" incidents you mention, if you want to characterize them as that, happened almost a year ago. And it wasn't the "spamming" that got me kicked off of Tigerdroppings. What got me kicked off was when I told another poster that Tigerdroppings did not like when you discussed your own blog, and I was told that even THIS was against the rules. What's more, this latest incident did not involve anything like that. This is SOMETHING ELSE.

To recap, the last "spamming" incident, if you want to call it that, was almost a year ago, and I've now been banned from Tigerdroppings on two different occasions, neither of which was for "spamming".

Put down the quality of the posters on TD? The posters on TD put down the quality of the posters on TD, all the time. Have you ever heard the term "rantard"? I didn't invent that term. It was invented by TD posters to describe other TD posters.

Did I put down the quality of TD posters before all this started? You be the judge. Here's an excerpt from one of my first posts on this blog, the only one that mentioned Tigerdroppings before all this started:

"I've been a poster at TigerDroppings for a long time. In my time at TigerDroppings, it has evolved from a fairly small community of posters to a huge, bawdy festival of LSU-ness. It is undoubtedly (though I have no statistics to back this up) the single largest and most heavily trafficked LSU-related site on the web."

"I respect what Chicken has managed to accomplish. I'm sure Droppings has surpassed his expectations many times over. My problem with Droppings is that, at its size, it has kind of left me behind a little bit. Though there is still great content from many of the posters there, the signal-to-noise ratio has gone way down since 2003. There are so many posters there, and so much activity, that there is little sense of any permanence in any of the writing there. If you start a new topic at a high traffic time, chances are decent that it will fall off of the first page and into oblivion within an hour or so, unless you say something inflammatory or excessively optimistic. The result, I think, is that it discourages in-depth analysis, and the culture has gotten increasingly combative and negative."

"Why spend 20 minutes writing out carefully crafted thoughts at TigerDroppings? Most responses will be along the lines of, "I don't come here to read novels," or "That's 2 minutes of my life I'll never have back", and the post will slowly sink to the bottom of the page and into oblivion, never to be seen again. You get a lot more permanence and a lot better response if you say something like, "Check out the [boobs] on Tim Tebow's girlfriend," or "John Brady is teh suck," or make some kind of disparaging remark about DandyDon. I'm not trying to be elitist or anything, but that just isn't my style."

If that's out of bounds, then I guess I'm guilty. Compared to descriptions of Tigerdroppings posters you can find on Tigerdroppings, it's pretty restrained. Although maybe I shouldn't say, "You be the judge," because you apparently have little skill at it.

And for the record, this place was persona non grata long before I ever took a "shot" at Tigerdroppings, and all my shots at them have been along the lines of a) a lot of the posters there are idiots, which I think Chicken himself would agree with, and b) I'm treated unreasonably and unfairly. If that's "crying", I hope you never have children because you certainly won't teach them to take up for themselves if everyone who tries to get fair and reasonable treatment is "crying".

Anonymous said...

Hey Dick,

The best way to prevent yourself from getting fair treatment on TD.com is to demand or expect it. Favor is quite fickle on TD.com. One day you can be riding a wave of popularity only to find yourself in the doghouse the very next day. If you let a negative situation die down there, I have found the owner is a very reasonable person that is always willing to create positive resolutions to negative situations. Hope this works out the way you would like it. Don't sweat it too much, it is a message board.

Respectfully,
Rollie Fingers

Joshua said...

And the intelligence and wisdom of TD has traveled over here I see. Such wit and reading comprehension on the part of Anonymous. Keep on doing what you're doing Mr. Pittman, you have a great place here.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your unsolicited critique of my message to Dick, joshua.

RF

Anonymous said...

I don't think mocking TD.com on your blogs is going to get you back on the site anytime soon boys.

RF

Anonymous said...

Rollie, this guy clearly doesn't get it. I am guessing that he never emailed TD to discuss the situation. Instead, he chose to be an attention whore, calling them out and painting them in a negative light, all the while demanding that THEY change their ways. This is not how a real man handles issues like this.

It is just very strange that Richard would choose this course if he indeed wanted to get back into the good graces of TD.

I am also guessing that this latest incident of the url being garbled is left over from his initial spamming attempts and his openly mocking TD on this blog and other LSU forums. Regardless, why would TD's ownership want to allow links to a site that slaps them in the face?

This guy can't follow the simple requests of a board owner, then tries to call out that owner on TD instead of addressing him via email, THEN creates not one or two but now three blog posts addressing the situation, while also creating negative energy towards TD on another forum...after all this, he still questions why the TD ownership doesn't see things his way?!?

Amazing.

What is his goal here? Why waste his reader's time with such petty drama? Why repeatedly attack TD over the internet, instead of contacting then via email?

If it is to get some benefit from TD and/or get in their good graces, then he is clearly an idiot.

And what was the point in his initial criticism of TD in one of his first blog posts? Why was it necessary to even mention TD in the first place? What was he trying to gain by putting it down?

This guy clearly can't see that he is wrong in so many ways.

Richard Pittman said...

I think I see what is going on here. These two guys have come in here and given details that they would not know if they were truly "outsiders". Yes, I have told my story on another website. Big deal. No, I have not emailed them. You wonder what I have against settling this in private, well I ask you what TD has against transparency. Why do they not want to be open about what they are doing? Why are they entitled to handle matters like this in secret?

But it's clear now that these guys are surrogates, here to show me up. Fine. I haven't deleted anyone's message, nor will I unless it takes vulgar turn. You can say whatever you want. I'll say whatever I want. Let the marketplace of ideas sort it out.

My position vis a vis "email" is that I am in no way obligated to hash this out in some Star Chamber. Nor am I obligated to actually initiate any such proceedings. If TD is interested in hashing it out, they can do it here, or they can email me.

I make no promises of confidentiality, though.

Anonymous said...

I like your blog Dick. I am not trying to show you up. It would be pretty easy for me to flip the coin on you here and put the shoe on the other foot by acting a fool. I don't think anyone could be more outside of the TD.com system then myself, and you are a little off in your assessment. Complaining publicly on your blog is only going to inflame the situation, and surely you can recognize that.

Your Star Chamber blast made me giggle.

Rollie Fingers

Richard Pittman said...

You liked the Star Chamber comment? I thought it maybe went a little too far. But, sometimes you have to use hyperbole, or as Mr. Anonymous would probably characterize it, lie.

Anonymous said...

Richard, since you avoided them the first time, I will ask again:

why would TD's ownership want to allow links to a site that slaps them in the face?

What is his goal here? Why waste his reader's time with such petty drama? Why repeatedly attack TD over the internet, instead of contacting then via email?

And what was the point in his initial criticisms of TD in one of his first blog posts? Why was it necessary to even mention TD in the first place? What was he trying to gain by putting it down?

Rollie seems like a reasonable person and he even realizes that you have horribly mismanaged the situation.

There is no one else that spams their blog or personal website on TD. If they have, I am sure that TD ownership has asked them to cease. The no spam policy has always been in place, as far as I know. And they don't need a jilted blogger on TD policing links to blogs. I am sure they are perfectly capable of handling it themselves.

It is obvious that your url is blocked because of the history of your actions.

From an outsider's perspective, it is clear that you are more interested in being combative than you are being reconciliatory.

A reasonable person would have contacted TD directly via email to gain an understanding of the issue at hand, instead of creating some lame drama out in the open to feel better about themselves.

I hope you are soaking up what little attention you may be gaining from this.

Have a nice day.

Richard Pittman said...

First, I don't think what I posted above was all that critical of Tigerdroppings. Keep in mind, it contains the following items:

"It is undoubtedly (though I have no statistics to back this up) the single largest and most heavily trafficked LSU-related site on the web."

"I respect what Chicken has managed to accomplish. I'm sure Droppings has surpassed his expectations many times over."

The things I was pointing out there that are complaints are echoed daily by innumerable posters on Tigerdroppings itself. To get an idea of what the posters at Tigerdroppings think of the other posters, just use the search function and find the word "rantard". If you have any experience at all using Tigerdroppings (and I suspect you do because I suspect you are directly in touch with admins about this issue), you know good and well what that term means.

In order for this line of reasoning, that all this is because I criticized the posters at Tigerdroppings, you must believe the completely illogical construct that it is OK to criticize the posters at Tigerdroppings there on the site, but not off the site. Even I don't think they're that arbitrary in their rules, although considering how arbitrary they've been, maybe I should reconsider that.

To get an idea of why I said those things, you can look at The post itself, which was an early effort to explain why I started the blog. It wasn't meant to be critical, but simply to point out the inherent weaknesses of having a message board with such high traffic and high rate of not-so-great posters. I started this blog because I wanted to post to something that had a better sense of permanence, and I wanted a website that was high in content and low on aggravation. It explained why I thought posting at Tigerdroppings exclusively was not fulfilling. I was a regular poster there at the time, and remained a regular poster there long after that post. I just had two LSU internet homes, as it were. I interacted with the masses at Tigerdroppings, but posted my more substantive thoughts here. I wasn't kicked off of Tigerdroppings until 3 months after that post.

The next time I was critical of Tigerdroppings on here, I had already been kicked off.

I really don't get why you're dwelling on this email issue. My best guess is that you have access to the admin board over there, and they are discussing all of this and they are saying, "He should have just emailed us." Hence, you keep bringing up email. My response is the same as earlier. Why are they opposed to transparency?

Am I more interested in being combative than in being reconciliatory? Well, I would disagree with that. I tried on several occasions to get right over there. First, I ascertained exactly what the "no spamming" rule meant, as before this blog started, I would not have thought it meant you could not link to a personal website that discussed LSU sports. I thought it meant that you couldn't advertise commercial ventures, and that posting bots would be stopped. I would not have guessed it meant more than that, and at least one other poster ended up doing the exact same thing I did a few months later and used the exact same logic I used to justify it. He said, "Well, my blog is about sports and LSU. It's on topic." Made sense to me, but by that time the rules had been made clear to me.

Second, I did email management at one time. It was when Coolidge died. I wanted to come back to pay tribute to Coolidge. My email was ignored. I discuss it here. Bad news for your email fixation. I emailed them. I reached out. I tried. They ignored. I didn't take it personally at that time, and still don't, but if they're so hell-bent on getting an email from me, they have one. It's about 6 months old now, but they have it.

Third, I went back to Tigerdroppings under another name. I revealed myself as who I had been, and told people I would not discuss why my previous name had been banned. I never mentioned this website. I followed the rules strictly by the book. I happened to notice someone try to link to this site and how it was treated (garbled, then anchored). If my baby hadn't been home sick that day, I would have been at work and would never have notice it. There's no telling how many other times it has happened. The thread wasn't automatically anchored. Some admin, that day, made the conscious decision to hush up that thread when it was pointed out what was going on (and not by me, mind you). Heck of a way to treat a guy who had returned to being a poster in good standing and was following the rules strictly.

Fourth, when I noticed what had happened, I posted a message to the Help Board. No, it was not a model of diplomacy. But hell, at that time, they had just deliberately made it personal. If they're so justified in disfavoring me, why am I not justified in taking it personally? It was an attempt at getting an explanation. They chose not to respond to it and just deleted it, suspending my posting privileges in the process.

I think I've done my share here to at least TRY to resolve this dispute without resorting to outright attack. Each time, I've been either ignored or slapped in the face. I guess that means I'm not doing enough though.

Anonymous said...

It may actually mean you are doing too much. Are you certain the admins intentionally garbled the link. Could be the poster screwed up posting the link? Its generally unwise to jump to negative conclusions. I am pretty sure there are some prominent posters/admins on that site that have blogs similar to this one. It could be that they are just holding you to the same letter of the law they have to deal with. It is probably not a personal thing.

Rollie Fingers LLP
(Limited Liability Poster)

Richard Pittman said...

No, it became very clear that the link was garbled, as another poster who came in and tried to fix the link found that he couldn't do it. When this was pointed out, the thread was anchored. The post pointing that out was eventually deleted, after this whole dustup started.

Richard Pittman said...

BTW Rollie, I apologize for lumping you in with the other anonymous guy earlier. I can see you're not cut from the same cloth. I invite you to stick around.

Anonymous said...

I don't pretend to know what goes on in the mind of admin staff over there, but I find it hard to believe they would have a personal grudge with you.

I can also suggest that you maybe have misinterpreted the snub of your email on Coolidge. The loss of a very popular poster is a pretty delicate situation, particularly for close friends and family of the deceased. I imagine there were a number of emails around that time expressing similar sentiments as yours. It probably got lost in the shuffle and nothing more. Again, that is mere speculation.

Just take it easy and mix in some more music vids into the blog.

RF LLP

Anonymous said...

No need to apologize to me. Believe it or not, I have developed a pretty thick skin regarding these matters.

RF LLP

Anonymous said...

Richard:

I'm Catahoula Lake. I've been reading your blog for over a year. I've been on TB for around 3 yrs, including a year long ban. I had to come back under another name as well. TD would not respond to my emails as well...I sent them about 20 or 30 emails where I profusely apologized for "Flaming the Board” once! Yes, in fairness to TD admin, I am a very controversial poster and I made some racially charged comments that were aimed at others who do the same thing so as to let them feel what it feels like when they do the same thing. Since receiving my "new name", I have avoided posting anything racial, and stick to specifics.

I damn sure know how to link...been doing it for 3 years on TD, and all that you have said is true to my knowledge and experience with TD. And, I may be "banned" for saying too much already. But, TD has some fairness and favoritism issues, depending who you are. But, feeling get hurt, people get rubbed wrong, and people hold grudges...its human nature.

Your opinions and experiences with TD Admin are "dead on ball accurate". And, I say that due to my experiences with Admin. But, I'm not saying that you are right or justified in each and every single action that you did, Richard. Nor am I saying that TD is all wrong or all right. Mistakes were made on both sides. That is fair. Regardless, TD is wonderful site and I enjoy it immensely.

But, I think we all need to calm down, let cooler heads prevail, and take a dose of humility. I speak about showing character all the time on TD. Mostly because many of the posters have diarrhea of the mouth, constantly spew BS that they cannot possibly back up with fact, and when they are proven to be mistaken or wrong, they don't admit it and move on. Obviously, there are some real immature posters on TD. But, it is up to the older, wiser people to help them mature or a least set an example of prudence, tolerance, fortitude, justice, and what character is. I consider that test of a man (not that he makes mistakes or is ever wrong), but when you are wrong you admit it and learn from your mistakes.

Therefore, I think that TD (I hope they are reading this) should extend an olive branch of peace. And, if they don't, Richard, you should go the extra mile and email them again to make peace even if the ignore you again, but don't advertise the fact.

Needless to say, I love reading your site Richard and believe that you have some great insights from time to time. With Dandy Don, TD, and your site, it's hard to miss any good scoop about LSU football.

Let's all be men here and come up with a workable solution. Reconciliation is a very liberating and wonderful feeling thing and should never be underestimated.

For to heir is human, but FORGIVENESS is divine!

Anonymous said...

The first line sould read TD not TB, pardon the typo mistake.

Catahoula Lake

Anonymous said...

Richard:

I'm Catahoula Lake. I've been reading your blog for over a year. I've been on TD for around 3 yrs, including a year long ban. I had to come back under another name as well. TD would not respond to my emails as well...I sent them about 20 or 30 emails where I profusely apologized for "Flaming the Board”. I flamed once! Yes, in fairness to TD admin, I am a very controversial poster and I made some racially charged comments that were aimed at others who do the same thing so as to let them “get a taste” of what it feels like when they do the same thing. Since receiving my "new name", I have avoided posting anything racial, and stick to specifics and not what a player’s skin color is even if there are those that continually take shots at the white player because they are white. There are many on TD that have some agenda that is pro black to the detriment of whites and vise versa. The bottom line is that there are a lot of racists (with an agenda) on TD on both sides, to be fair.

As far as this last incident with the link not working; I damn sure know how to link...been doing it for 3 years on TD, and all that you have said is true to the best of my knowledge and experience with TD. And, I may be "banned" for saying too much already. But, TD has some fairness and favoritism issues, depending who you are. But, in the course of man and dealing with people over time, feelings get hurt, people get rubbed wrong, and people hold grudges...its human nature.

Your opinions and experiences with TD Admin are "dead on balls accurate". And, I say that due to my experiences with Admin. But, I'm not saying that you are right or justified in each and every single action that you did, Richard. Nor am I saying that TD is all wrong or all right. Mistakes were made on both sides. That is fair. Regardless, TD is a wonderful site and I enjoy it immensely.

But, I think we all need to calm down, let cooler heads prevail, and all take a dose of humility. I speak about showing character all the time on TD. Mostly because many of the posters have diarrhea of the mouth, constantly spew BS that they cannot possibly back up with fact, and when they are proven to be mistaken or wrong, they don't admit it and move on. Obviously, there are some real immature posters on TD. But, it is up to the older, wiser people to help them mature or a least set an example of prudence, tolerance, fortitude, justice, personal responsibility, and what character is. I consider the true test of a man (not that he makes mistakes or is ever wrong), but when you are wrong you admit it, learn from your mistakes, and move on. Holding grudges on either side is not productive, nor is it in the best interest of those that enjoy both Geaux Tuscaloosa and TD. And, if I want to link to Geaux Tuscaloosa, I think that I should have that capability.

Therefore, I think that TD (I hope they are reading this) should extend an olive branch of peace. And, if they don't, Richard, you should go the extra mile and email them again to make peace even if the ignore you again, but don't advertise the fact.

Needless to say, I love reading your site Richard and believe that you have some great insights from time to time. With Dandy Don, TD, and your site, it's hard to miss any good scoop about LSU football.

Let's all be men here and come up with a workable solution that is amicable to all. Reconciliation is a very liberating and wonderful feeling thing and should never be underestimated.

For to err is human, but FORGIVENESS is divine!

Its time for forgiveness and reconciliation, not grudges hard feelings.

Are there any men in the house? Or, just little boys who won’t let others play with their toys.