I guess I should preface this by saying that I care a lot less about sports (especially the North American professional "Big Four") than I used to, say, 15-25 years ago, when I was very into it all (the way most posters here still seem to be). There are various reasons for that - some philosophical, some not. One of the more relatable ones that doesn't involve going too far out on tangents is that I just have other things to worry about. The time I've been posting, either here or across the street (I lurked there for a couple of years or so before posting), has pretty much been the darkest time of my life. Why do I read or post, then? I suppose there's still a part of me that has enough of that sporting connection, though now in a more local and less intense way than before. I also enjoy the "life/other" aspects of things; you will find that most of my posts are there or in game threads, and not in the "super-serious" sports discussions (if I don't know enough to make an argument, or the point is already succinctly made [which happens often enough since I'm usually late to the thread], I generally stay mute and move on). If it wasn't for those areas, I probably wouldn't bother sticking around (which is not an indictment of the board). So, I have a different perspective than many posters here, as something of a non-entity.
Now, as for the actual topic...as preceding posters have said, there are certainly different types of sniping. Ball-busting between regulars, whether it's in the serious discussion areas or not, is fine. It just needs to be gone about in a common sense sort of way. Most of us have a pretty good idea of when it goes from friendly jabs to haymakers that are personal in nature. Ultimately, fewer people post or further educate themselves to make more informed posts when the latter happens too much. Many folks don't want to deal with topics/boards where they feel posters are too intimidating or sophomoric, especially in the in-depth sports discussion areas.
Game threads aren't everyone's cup, and I understand that. I like for it to be a mix of different types of posters and perspectives, though. The types of posts I throw in can vary wildly. Sometimes, when no one's in there, I do PBP/descriptive PBP so that someone who missed the game and goes to the game thread first can get a bit of an idea of how things transpired. Most of the time, that will be in ST games, but either way, I'm not going to wax verbose in a game thread if no one else is there to read it. If that's boring, whatever. Sometimes I post out of frustration; sometimes that frustration is just from the game and what's behind it, and sometimes my general life feelings of the moment get me more amped. In division games especially, I will have a shorter fuse, and am more likely to lose my shit. Same goes for prolonged slumps/periods of underachievement. Generally, I'm better about that now than in the Era of Suckitude, since they don't always lose when they get behind early by a couple of runs, but I will still have my "moments." Unfortunately, some really harsh shit can occur in there between posters, and in the life/other areas, which is really a shame. In the game threads specifically, sometimes that has to do with baseball and the game, and sometimes it doesn't.
Profanity...I don't think it's out of hand here, though it should probably be less welcome in the focused sports discussion areas. I like the flexibility with it, and if we stay out of SoSH Squared territory, it will probably be fine. Where does it appear most...rants and game threads? (Actual question, though we can only ever get an eye test, I guess.) I keep it in check when I can.
In general, everyone should take the uncomfortable personal shit private, or ditch it. Crack wise, fine, but don't fuck around where it isn't warranted. We have a good idea when shit isn't kosher anymore. If things are too out of control, yeah, step on that shit. I don't worry too much about it, because I don't participate in it, really, and at worst it just gets annoying at times. However, from a broader standpoint, I see the problems. It would have to get really insane for me to not want to post anymore, because there are too many good posters and good posts here, though I wish at times there were more.
We don't need a clampdown. We just need common sense.
