And as I commented on Drew’s post, whether I agree with you or not, you’ve never been unreasonable or inconsiderate with me, and that is appreciated. The nice thing about BCB is our differing opinions, and being able to discuss them with other loyal fans. You are a different fan than me, we are both different from Drew, yet we are all great fans. Go Cubs!

BCB’s kinda stunk lately. Every body’s words are taken way too literally, and more and more of the discussions are “he said she said” SNAFUs than actual dialogue. I’ve noticed more people getting called-out for not agreeing with the masses. There’s almost more pleasure found in ranting and raving than talking actual Cubs shop. I’ve hovered in the game threads lately because when we lose, the trolls and pseudo-trolls come out.

I hate the exaggerating of a poster’s positions and lumping them in with other posters. There are some very intelligent people around here and very many good debates. But the juvenile name calling because you don’t like their opinion or are tired of the debate is very tiresome. You can disagree without being disagreeable or challenging their official fan status.

And you’re a Badger, so +1 from this guy.

if this starts a trend, and more people talk about the kind of fan they are. :D

“I don’t agree so you must be an idiot” element is always annoying, but this string of poor play has brought out the worst in everyone.

I’m not sure who I was talking about this with, but one reason I spend less time on here than I use to is it seems to be much more about posters personalities battles rather than the Cubs.

With that being said, this is not a message board. If you are going to put yourself out there and use BCB as a soapbox to bitch (or vice versa) without substance you deserve to get called out. I love to hear different opinions other than my own, but I expect them to be well thought out.

That’s really the key – being reasonable about the team and one’s own opinions. Vitriol usually breaks out when one or the other (or both) is lacking. Of course, I realize that reasonability, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

The more people on the site, the more flare ups there are.

Not sure how many people read Penny-Arcade, but this strip sums up a lot of things that happen. Some NSFW language, and ignore the “unreal 2004” bit.

But it only makes sense. The higher the population, the more likely personality conflicts will exist. The best thing is to not feed the trolls.

If only more people could stick to the sentiments expoused here by Badger and the people replying.

I, too, have lived and died with the Cubs since I was eight years old. I joined this site because I wanted to interract with people who shared my passion. Lately though, as has been mentioned already, things have really gotten out of hand. I get so sick of people being called “ignorant” and being told that they “don’t know anything about baseball” just because they voice an opinion that another poster doesn’t agree with.

I’m a high school teacher and one of the thingsthat I’m always trying to get across to my kids is that every opinion is worth hearing and nobody should be afraid to share a thought.

And as for those who seem to equate anything critical of the Cubs with disloyalty or “ledgejumping” let me just add; just because you occasionally criticize something doesn’t mean that you don’t still love it.

More about debating those ideologies than about learning about the game. One of the joys of baseball is there is always something new to learn about. Let’s take the hours we spend here and learn something or refresh.

Yes it can be painful watching the bullpen lose it, but that shouldn’t spill over into the “real world”. I lived in Lexington, KY for some time and down there, the fans truly do live up to the word “fanatic”. I worked with a man who would call in sick the next day if the Cats lost. He called himself the “Ultimate Fan”. I think that made him lose a lot of credibility as a fan in my mind.

So I’ll follow in your footsteps SB, wear the gear and talk baseball to other fans of the sport. Engage in friendly ribbing with my St. Louis & Cincinnati fan neighbors and enjoy a good game of baseball. While ignoring a lot of the posts I’ve read recently with personal attacks here at BCB but really enjoying the thoughtful ones such as yours.

Go Cubs!

Your input is valuable and helpful…as usual.