MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hasanova]

How to catch an ungentlemanly smiter:

For over a month now, I've been quite confused as to why Karma was always one or two points lower when I signed on the next day.  Logically, since they're just a few hours apart and not the required 24 hours, it has to be two people.  Not a big deal really, but it was at first perplexing and then downright annoying.  I reread my posts to see if I had perhaps inadvertently offended someone - even in the slightest way.  I couldn't see it.  Everyone is welcome to read my posts.  I tried confronting it online, I tried ignoring it (I fully recognize that some folks - including me - sometimes get annoyed when you complain about it), I tried writing humorous limericks about it, I tried not posting at all - nothing changed.  Ding every day.  Case in point, as an experiment, I memorized the  figure on Dec. 22, wished everyone a Merry Christmas, didn't post for 5 or 6 days and now have seven less.  What's going on?  Then, I figured out the pattern.  Virtually the same time every day - as soon as the required 24 hours was up and usually an hour or so after I went to bed  ... ding.   Just like a criminal robbing the same convenience store over and over.

Here's how they got busted ... at the "normal" time, look at your score.  If someone "adjusts" your karma, it will change right in front of you.  Then, immediately click on d3sports and it will take you to the page where the most recent poster activity is revealed at the bottom of the page.  Because you just switched from one screen to another, your name will usually be first and the other person will be second.  Even if someone else gets into the 2nd spot due to nearly simultaneous activity, you can easily eliminate other names by seeing if it's someone from another board with whom you have never had any contact and whether they have the required 200 posts.  Guess what?  For four straight nights, as soon as I got "dinged", the same familiar person's name popped to the top of the list.  Coincidence, you say?  Well, let's assume there are 40 posters on line at the same time every night.  The odds are then (1/40) to the 4th power that this is not the guy (1/2,560,000).  Contrarily, there are 2,559,999 chances out of 2,560,000 that this probably is the guy.

OK, dude, here's the deal.  Stop it now and I'll let it go.  Do it again and I'll publicly confront you on this board, the USASAC board and your home board, which is also in the South region.   I now know the day this started and why.   It's petty.   I have nothing to do with what ticked you off - I just casually and innocently reported someone else's independent decision.  Life goes on.    

If I do something or say something wrong, then smite me.  I have absolutely no problem with that.  In fact, I expect it.  I haven't, however, deserved what you've done to me the past 5 weeks and, quite frankly, you made me mad enough to see what was going on.  Enough is enough.  Just stop.

Peace to you and good luck to your team.    

[scottiedoug]

Here are links to today's Maryville Daily Times articles on D3 athletics.  These are about the big-small/public-private issues in D3 (1st link) and D3 schools preparation of grads for life's challenges.

http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/SPORTS/612270318

http://www.thedailytimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/SPORTS/612270317

[pakownr97]

How to catch an ungentlemanly smiter:

For over a month now, I've been quite confused as to why Karma was always one or two points lower when I signed on the next day.  Logically, since they're just a few hours apart and not the required 24 hours, it has to be two people.  Not a big deal really, but it was at first perplexing and then downright annoying.  I reread my posts to see if I had perhaps inadvertently offended someone - even in the slightest way.  I couldn't see it.  Everyone is welcome to read my posts.  I tried confronting it online, I tried ignoring it (I fully recognize that some folks - including me - sometimes get annoyed when you complain about it), I tried writing humorous limericks about it, I tried not posting at all - nothing changed.  Ding every day.  Case in point, as an experiment, I memorized the  figure on Dec. 22, wished everyone a Merry Christmas, didn't post for 5 or 6 days and now have seven less.  What's going on?  Then, I figured out the pattern.  Virtually the same time every day - as soon as the required 24 hours was up and usually an hour or so after I went to bed  ... ding.   Just like a criminal robbing the same convenience store over and over.

Here's how they got busted ... at the "normal" time, look at your score.  If someone "adjusts" your karma if will change right in front of you.  Then, immediately click on d3sports and it will take you to the page where the most recent poster activity is revealed at the bottom of the page.  Because you just switched from one screen to another, your name will usually be first and the other person will be second.  Even if someone else gets into the 2nd spot due to nearly simultaneous activity, you can easily eliminate other names by seeing if it's someone from another board with whom you have never had any contact and whether they have the required 200 posts.  Guess what?  For four straight nights, as soon as I got "dinged", the same familiar person's name popped to the top of the list.  Coincidence, you say?  Well, let's assume there are 40 posters on line at the same time every night.  The odds are then (1/40) to the 4th power that this is not the guy (1/2,560,000).  Contrarily, there are 2,559,999 chances out of 2,560,000 that this probably is the guy.

OK, dude, here's the deal.  Stop it now and I'll let it go.  Do it again and I'll publicly confront you on this board, the USASAC board and your home board, which is also in the South region.   I now know the day this started and why.   It's petty.   I have nothing to do with what ticked you off - I just casually and innocently reported someone else's independent decision.  Life goes on.    

If I do something or say something wrong, then smite me.  I have absolutely no problem with that.  In fact, I expect it.  I haven't, however, deserved what you've done to me the past 5 weeks and quite, frankly, you made me mad enough to see what was going on.  Enough is enough.  Just stop.

Peace to you and good luck to your team.    

Hey Hasa,

Maybe the guy is a Ford guy and just doesn't like Chevies.  I give you an extra karma point even though you are a Chevy guy.   

[Pat Coleman]

I've moved the most recent ODAC pick 'em messages off into a new conversation. That's like four times today I've seen there was a new post on this page, clicked on it to see what it was about, and been disappointed.

So no more. People who want to read pick 'em can go to that board and people who don't care can ignore the entire board.

Pat .... Instead of clicking on the ODAC site 4 times a day, why don't you just click on the ODAC site every day or two, since you already know that there are a lot of pickems that aren't likely to interest you?  If you just check it every day or two, you won't be as bored with the site .... and those of us who are most interested in the ODAC site can continue to have it as we want it, rather than having to go with a change in the site simply because it is most appealing to you?

Well, I just don't think it's unreasonable for the ODAC board to be like the 10 or so other hoops boards that have pick'ems. And I would be shirking my moderator responsibilities if I didn't click on the board when it had a new post.

[Pat Coleman]

OK, dude, here's the deal.  Stop it now and I'll let it go.  Do it again and I'll publicly confront you on this board, the USASAC board and your home board, which is also in the South region.   I now know the day this started and why.   It's petty.   I have nothing to do with what ticked you off - I just casually and innocently reported someone else's independent decision.  Life goes on.     

In checking the logs of the past 24 hours (that's all the software keeps on hand) I believe you have made a positive ID, for what it's worth.

[Pat Coleman]

well...given those two choices Pat, for the time being, I'll take the latter...too bad.  At the request of a fellow guru, I will be posting the games for the pick'em for a while, but will drop out as a player! Not that Pat or anyone else cares but the board just isn't as "guru friendly" as it once was and quite frankly life is too short to worry about unimportant things! Have a great '07 gurus!

Glen,

This seems kind of an overreaction. I hope you reconsider, since your not participating in the pick 'em hurts only you and your fellow ODAC'ers.

[hasanova]

Hey Hasa,

Maybe the guy is a Ford guy and just doesn't like Chevies.  I give you an extra karma point even though you are a Chevy guy.   

FORD - Fix or Re-Smite Daily?  Could be.  lol  Hey, GTOs and Novas - we're both GM guys.  Thanks.  Shhh, don't tell anyone my daily driver is a Toyota 4Runner.  lol 

[hasanova]

OK, dude, here's the deal.  Stop it now and I'll let it go.  Do it again and I'll publicly confront you on this board, the USASAC board and your home board, which is also in the South region.   I now know the day this started and why.   It's petty.   I have nothing to do with what ticked you off - I just casually and innocently reported someone else's independent decision.  Life goes on.     

In checking the logs of the past 24 hours (that's all the software keeps on hand) I believe you have made a positive ID, for what it's worth.

Well, Pat, it saddens me much more than anything else, but at least now I know.  I was pretty sure I had a hit.  Hey, I'm not Einstein, but I've also never been accused of having faulty logic.   Peace

[baselinejam]

Hasanova,

Mr. Coleman in his extensive (notice I didn't say infinite) wisdom has seen fit to allow posters to applaud and to smite. If a poster disagrees or is annoyed with another poster's commentary, then they are given the freedom to smite. If they feel otherwise, then they might applaud. If Pat wants to go all warm and cuddly then he could probably drop the smite option and posters would only be able to comment 'positively'. He might also put up a vote panel next to your name so you (& we) could see exactly who was smiting & applauding you. But alas he hasn't.

Recently I have dinged you and I don't believe I need to add to this dissertation to explain my peeves. I will tell you that I started a couple weeks after you started complaining. I will also tell you that I've given you applause on occasion as well.

Boards are for opinions – if you don't like me or mine, smite away.

If anyone is interested I dinged Pat for moving our Pick'ems.

To all in the New Year, enjoy your hoops and posting your opinions.

[hasanova]

Hasanova,

Mr. Coleman in his extensive (notice I didn't say infinite) wisdom has seen fit to allow posters to applaud and to smite. If a poster disagrees or is annoyed with another poster's commentary, then they are given the freedom to smite. If they feel otherwise, then they might applaud. If Pat wants to go all warm and cuddly then he could probably drop the smite option and posters would only be able to comment 'positively'. He might also put up a vote panel next to your name so you (& we) could see exactly who was smiting & applauding you. But alas he hasn't.

Recently I have dinged you and I don't believe I need to add to this dissertation to explain my peeves. I will tell you that I started a couple weeks after you started complaining. I will also tell you that I've given you applause on occasion as well.

Boards are for opinions – if you don't like me or mine, smite away.

If anyone is interested I dinged Pat for moving our Pick'ems.

To all in the New Year, enjoy your hoops and posting your opinions.

baselinejam-

Thanks for your comments, which I completely appreciate and accept.  Please understand, I have no problem with individual smites and applause that are fairly awarded and focused on a particular post or a series of posts.  Do what you feel is right and then move on.  I do it, too.  As I mentioned earlier, if you strongly like a post, applaud me, if you strongly dislike a post, smite me.  I fully accept that tacit rule in this forum.  I also understand that people generally don't like whiners (including me), so for the most part I genuinely try to avoid that.  I'm human, however, just as you are, so sometimes I err.  Overall, I don't like it when people post complaints and I introspectively accept the fact that people understandably don't like it when I do it.  As most of us do, I typically try to accept it as constructive criticism, learn from it and move on.   

Here's what makes this case different:  This guy is upset (ostensibly) because someone I know (and supposedly could have influenced?) made a decision he did not like that affected his school.  So, he has smited me daily for well over a month whenever the mandatory 24 hours is up.  Yes, I did regress and complain after about two weeks and then just stopped posting to see if it would cease.  It didn't.  Then I got curious enough to see what motivated this persistent behavior.  Perhaps you wouldn't have wondered about it, and I admire your impervious nature, but I just wanted to see why someone would do this when there were no, in my eyes, blatantly offensive posts.  Now I know.

For all I've ever asked is courteous dialogue and honorable actions.  No, that does not mean we can never respectfully disagree and it certainly does not mean no smiting at all.  To me, it means smiting (and applauding) in proportion to what is actually said and done.  To me, 35 days in a row was not an honorable action.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Peace

[sludge]

FWIW, I also liked the action generated from having the pickems on this board, even though I didn't participate.

So, one Boo for Pat, but OTOH, thanks to Pat for running this whole circus, which I really like.

So, maybe Pat gets away with this one...

Hey, I don't want to get called for a "T" here!

[hasanova]

FWIW, I also liked the action generated from having the pickems on this board, even though I didn't participate.

So, one Boo for Pat, but OTOH, thanks to Pat for running this whole circus, which I really like.

So, maybe Pat gets away with this one...

Hey, I don't want to get called for a "T" here!

It is a circus at times, isn't it?  lol  Sludge, are you and Mrs. Sludge going to Fayetteville on Saturday afternoon?  I'm about 95% sure I will. 

[David Collinge]

There are a lot of people with no ODAC associations that like to read this board, myself included.  There's generally very good discussion in here--although I can think of a few exceptions over the years.   Commentless postings of pick'em picks do nothing to contribute to the conversation.  While I understand that the "locals" have agreed that they liked having the pick'ems "online," there are more than just the locals to consider.  I could have lived with it either way, but I prefer not to have to be bothered with the picks if I don't want to.

Anyway, it detracts from my 100% attention to the ongoing Hasanova vs. Smiter saga! 

[hasanova]

Anyway, it detracts from my 100% attention to the ongoing Hasanova vs. Smiter saga! 

Yeah, sorry for the little melodrama.  Hopefully, it'll begin to die naturally.  

[sludge]

We'll see you in Fayetville, hasanova.