Can we be proud of ourselves?

I can’t argue there… the open threads were brutal.
The negativity and F-Bombs were out of control at times.

I’m with you, I don’t have a problem with any of it myself… but I think about who else could be reading these posts.

With PFT, Looney, ESPN and other linking to AP at times, I think it’s kinda embarassing for there to be a bunch of swearing and pictures of half naked chicks on the important fanposts and comments.

I like an FBomb and a nice piece of ass as much as the next guy, but AP is starting to be a bigger part of the national press, and it would be smart to clean things up

I didnt get on the open thread much yesterday but from what DT told me it got pretty ugly we are the best blog on here and we need to hold our self to that standard.

I love watching the chiefs, I watch them hoping that they win. When I hear “Its over” in the middle of the 1st quarter, how does this improve my game day experience? I really enjoy threads for Monday and Sunday night games, there is some football talk, some asshattery and of course the occasional picture of pretty ladies. So whatever, I don’t have much to comment to those who are ruining the threads, I’ll just kick your ass off the bandwagon when the Chiefs start winning again.

I understand the excitement of opening day and all that. It did get kind of brutal. Several personal attacks, some taunting and of course a constant stream of F bombs and such. We do have several ladies on here as well and while I’m sure they could cuss with the best of us would prefer it not to go that way. If they do a roll call you’ll probably notice I didn’t comment very much. I went the way of craig in the last quarter and for the first time this year closed out AP and sat on the couch and watched the rest of the game.

I felt good when we were tied at 24, but the line of “we competed and never quit” lost it’s glamar last year.

Way too much negative energy floating around in there. I support my team through good times or bad and listening to some front-running douche have an online conniption fit every incomplete pass, fumble, defensive lapse or 3 and out only serves to stain my gameday experience.

..and this is not the place since this is not an ‘adults only’ forum and even if it was I would still question its use in expressing thoughts or feelings to the general public/community

part and parcel why I have just been a lurker up until now

However I think they CAN be a good thing, many of us aren’t local and have to depend on any means necessary to try to keep up to the moment of the game. I tried the game threads during the preseason and because I have to watch the games over the net with a lag time I had no idea what people were talking about.

One thing I try to keep in mind is that things are said and done in the heat of the moment that later we might regret. I have always thought of Chiefs fans have always had more class than any other fans, and that we represent our team well. I have not read the game thread(s), but it sounds like what I would expect. I can understand the desire to cuss about a play or whatever happens, I’m a Sailor very little offends me. With that said We here at AP ARE the number one site for Chiefs fans, thus we are the representatives of most Chiefs fans that those on the web have access to.

Maybe the thing to do before firing off that F Bomb, or posting a rant full of cussing, we need to Stop and think Who is reading this. What does this say about Me as a Person, What does it say about Chiefs fans everywhere? Sometimes just a pause to think before you hit “Post” would save a lot of hurt feelings, or the chance to offend someone that you don’t wish to. I guess what I’m asking is for everyone just to stop and think a moment before hitting the post button.

i had an encounter with a u.s. senator when i was a senior in high school who told me something similar. he told me that those that use profanity as every other word or to describe their emotions come across as not being intelligent. i am no saint and have used my share of profanity but not in print for all to see. i started coming here because i enjoyed the intelligent debate two fans could have but, as of late, it has turned into a forum to make a fool of yourself while hiding behind the “i’m a passionate fan” excuse. i got into the game thread yesterday and promptly got out because it’s difficult for me to listen to people who are constantly vulgar and on top of that, don’t really understand the game. i hope it gets better

Frankly, it’s the reason I visit the site less and less.

Definately on the graphic side. I actually did my part to disarm a couple of spats that resulted in personal attacks. I agree with what you’re saying Lainier, I try to keep my own personal tone on the level most of the time.

Having said that, I do think it would be wise for everyone to accept that this sentiment won’t be shared by everyone. If you’re the type of person who likes to go to church, then go hang out in church. If you’re the type of person who likes to go to the bar, then go hang out at the bar. Stay away from the places you don’t like. Gameday open threads are a lot like the bar. They’re rough and rowdy and the folks commenting are reacting to the play-by-play. Negative posters have as much right to post as the positive posters, at least that’s the case until the rules change. I found a whole lot of commenters from the positive side of the fence bashing the commenters on the negative side for the fact that they’re negative. Sorta silly if you ask me, but it’s a two-way street.

I’d say, rather than try to muzzle an entire segment of the AP community, it might make more sence to post a warning or disclaimer about the passionate nature of many of the comments in the open threads. We might issue a statement before the jump of each new thread that if anyone is sensitive to foul language and negative attitudes, then AP cordially invites them to refrain from entering and save their participation for the less hectic and more thoughtful discussions of the fanposts that will inevitably follow the game.

IMHO, the gameday threads are helpful in terms of play-by-play understanding of the game. Living in California, I didn’t have much chance to catch the pre-season games but following the commentary on the threads kept me in the loop as I refreshed the game-casts from ESPN. It’s actually a remarkably effective way to follow a game. Of course you have to take certain things with a grain of salt. ;)

The language and the women don’t really bother me; I’ve been known to cuss like a sailor at times and this is football we’re talking about. But, the negative chief and member bashing really got on my nerves. I live in San Antonio so I rarely get to watch the games; I mostly rely on online radio and live streams, but yesterday their were hardly any streams and 101 listen live kept screwing up. So I was also using AP for a kind of play by play and just occasionally posting. But, all the negative crap was really starting to ruin the whole expierience and sometimes I couldn’t scroll down fast enough to get away from it. People should be able to say what they want on these threads, but not at the expense of everyone else. If you’re just gonna be fair weather fans then why even watch this team, just follow the best team each year and let the rest of us enjoy our chiefs.

Over the past couple months, I have discovered AP and have found it to be a valuable resource for Chiefs information as well as opinion other than the meager (but still good) stuff from the Mothership and the Star. Aside from an initial misstep, I have tried to keep my comments respectful, whitty, and/or thoughtful. Yesterday was my first regular season thread and it was truly as bad as the descriptions make it out to be. People were writing off our team (OUR TEAM!!!) after the very first play. How can you call yourself a fan when you do that? The language was just as bad as the negativity and it really needs to stop. However, I also noticed many new faces and I wonder, are these people who only get on to AP for the open threads or are they regular AP readers? How many of them will actually read this post or have read the rules of conduct for the site? I hope many of them do and modify their behavior next week.

The Chiefs have always been the class of the NFL with some of the most devoted, respectful, and classy fans in the league. Our open threads should reflect that class.

Agree with most of what you said.

The thing is, we’re 4X bigger now than we were in the last regular season game of the ’08 season.

Our hits have increased to well over 20,000 most days (and will today, which is why I’m glad this was rec’d up). It’s a growing pain, one we’ve been through before, but is certainly much more challenging.

Thanks for speaking out and we will do our best to continue to make this a place for ALL Chiefs fans to come.

say exactly how they feel and some will agree and disagree. I love that we can mix things up on here and give diff opinions. I dont know how many times that I have read someones opinion that is different from mine. And then in the end understand what they are saying and agree.

I want to say I am ashamed of much of the behavior in the threads today.
People attacking each other, members telling others to leave because they don’t agree with them, insults, etc.

We also set a record for most warnings issued.

I am honestly upset about this. People who are "positive" and those who are "negative" have equal right to post. There is ZERO need to attack each other.

I am pissed and there will be a shorter leash next week to clean it up.

Open Game Threads do not equal Zero Rules Threads.

As with Joel, I agree with most of what you wrote, Lanier. Thanks for this post. Rec’d

I got on the open thread for the first preseason game and decided then and there that it was not my bag. While the game is going I have better things to do than read and post…ummmm….like watch the game.

While many may think of this as a sports bar, it is most certainly becoming a piece of mainstream media with many of the major venues linking in here. Because of that we really need to keep the level of conversation above profanity and personal attack. I come here to get Chiefs news, learn things about football from other people who know a lot more than I do, and share observations and opinions with others. I can cuss a blue streak as well as anyone, but I just don’t think this is the place to do so.

Part of what attracts good people here is the “rough but fair” play. Pretty young ladies here and there DO seem to brighten up the place, time to time.

It depends on what you want. If you’re going to go big, you might need to recruit from among your members to police the threads, when a large number of less polite (and less clever) people swamp the site. If you try to change things with rules and regs, you’re going to lose a lotta guys like me. But that’s the nature of anything good, like a restaurant or night club that’s PERFECT for a year, and then, as Yogi would say, “Nobody goes there, anymore. It’s too crowded.”

This is a time for those who run this site to be very careful about how to proceed. You can preach at people, aim toward a G-rating. But that’ll cost you your unique blending of profanity, vulgarity, and subtle self-restraint that I found so appealing. I felt much freer to drop F-bombs when I first joined up (in tasteful spots, where lesser language was, well, lesser). I’m self-censoring more and more. At some point, I’ll prob’ly look for a site where I can be cruder and feel more like I’m talking to my drinkin’ buddies, which is not a G-rated, primetime commercial t.v. sort of thing.

If you continue on a linear path to wanting to be bigger, but wanting to stay under control, you’ll end up like NFL.COM’s blogs, where the site does the censoring and people do less self-censoring. So you guys need to see what’s been done by others and what you intend to do differently, if you want to preserve the unique position you hold.

i’ll do better ….

(plays viola in background )

non-Chiefs fan to talk smack. I expect that they have nothing nice to say. Like the rude comments from my co-workers I get on Mondays after we’ve lost on Sunday. But I cannot stand to see a so-called Chiefs fan talk smack. How do you call yourself a LOYAL fan if you’re talking shit? Be realistic and state facts, fine….but in a shit talk degradation sort of way? Pick another team to root for. That’s my opinion…we’re all entitled to them.

In the end, I’m a loyal fan true to my Chiefs…..even all the way over here in Cali where we are surrounded by Raiders & Chargers fans. I hold my head high, I sport my Chiefs gear & I drive around with Chiefs stuff on my car and lastly, I endure the shit talk everywhere I go with a smile on my face & pride in my voice when I say “I’m a loyal fan…win or lose.”

I’ll even be wearin my Chiefs gear and putting out the red & yellow balloons at my bday celebration on Friday at our local dive bar. Now, that’s pride! haha

But in the end, what this post was addressing most of all was not the bashing or even negativity, but the language itself. You can drive a point home just as easier by using bland but coherent and intelligent arguments. Remember, it takes just as many letters to type F$%K as it does Love.

I am going to suggest one thing since a few people mentioned newbies or one timers crashing the party.
Maybe we should have sign in for the regulars. Once you have posted so many times you have earned your way into an “Open” thread room. Or even two rooms, I dont know. Something similar to the forums on Scout.com.

And as far as this organization not having class, that strikes a certain nerve with me. Class begins with honor ans respect and no other NFL organization would be what it is today without the help and input of Lamar Hunt. There is nothing wrong with this organization and if you think it is feel free to drop me a line; greghedrick191@yahoo.com

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