..The Forbidden Message Board...

[malonish]

Fix the problem, not the blame.
- Japanese Proverb

Yup.

[JasonB]

I think it was a mix of people claiming to be players and parents of players if I recall...

Anyway, I think it is just important to realize that Steve does run the show. It is his call, the school doesn't have anything to do with the site. It may be that he has become more sensitive after that thread because he realized that a lot of parents and players read things than he originally thought. It could even be that some of those players contacted him and asked to delete the thread. Or it could be that they were fake accounts and weren't players or parents at all.

[PK]

The rules the modrators have for the way they operate this site have been set out numerous times.

http://ponyfans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=53024

The essense of it is:

- The sole purpose of this site is to support SMU, its athletic department, its coaches and teams
- And we operate this site on our own, outside of our regular jobs. We do not have the time or energy to babysit squabbles that take conversation away from SMU athletics and deteriorate into volleys of insults at each other.
- Our guidelines have long since been made clear: the board is not here to get bogged down in discussions about politics, religion, professional sports, greek life, etc. - there are plenty of other message boards out there for those subjects. Comments that are racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise insulting are not tolerated. Personal attacks - at SMU athletic personnel, coaches or players, as well as at other posters - will not be tolerated. Such comments will result in removal of posts, threads or posters ... at the Moderators' discretion.


I believe these are a result of Steve's own personal ethics and professionalism and not due to pressure from any other sources.

[smustatesman]

AA joke attempt backfired bc someone has the handbook.

Huh ? Have another Moscow Mule.

[PonyPride]

just to make this perfectly clear where the perspective seems to have been lost...

when it is claimed that this site is "independent" and then a thread is deleted for alleged insults directed at SMU personnel in the same breath, while another thread is locked apparently to simply explain why the other was deleted...

whatever desire there is to be free of smu it sure as hell doesn't look that way to anyone else, and that point of view get's more ammo every time this happens

think im being a [deleted]? well, yes i am, but there is a more subtle point being made here and steve you play into it too easily


jus sayin

The reason the other thread was locked, rather than deleted, is exactly that: so people can see the explanation.

People who work for SMU or are alums or fans of SMU give us their input all the time about specific posts, threads and posters, but it is up to us - Webmaster, SmooPower and me - whether a story is written, a video interview is posted, a photograph is used, or something/someone gets deleted, and that will never change.

Because of our track record, we are under no obligation to defend how we run this site. However, we will share this: there have been a few times since the site was created when we were asked to be sensitive about posting a story, and we have considered such requests with seriousness and respect. In more than one case, we posted the story anyway as it was written. On other occasions, a story was altered because of a sensitive angle (i.e. student privacy rights, etc.) but we have never scrapped a story altogether because of outside pressure from SMU or anyone affiliated with the university. We have covered SMU for more than 20 years, and we stand by the professional manner in which do so. Our willingness to consider new angles to a story should not be construed as anything close to SMU having any level of content control. The content - stories, videos and photos - is controlled 100 percent by the moderators of PonyFans.com.

We are the ones who spend our time going to summer workouts, going to countless practices, covering games and chasing down interviews in order to run this site at no cost to PonyFans everywhere, so it is well within our right to ask that comments be posted without personal attacks and with a common level of courtesy, respect and decency. The site exists to cover SMU, so it makes sense that readers are asked to not personally attack SMU personnel. That does not, however, mean we are affiliated in any way with the university, its athletic department or the coaches or players. Disagree if you like - everyone has a right to an opinion - but that's the truth. We put a lot of work in to publishing this site, so have all the opinions you want, but please be courteous and respectful when it comes to SMU personnel and other posters, and to the moderators of PonyFans.com. You don't have to agree with each other - different opinions obviously make for lively conversation - but stop with the attacks. (The insults in the deleted thread were anything but "alleged" - they were very clear and direct. We have readers who range in age from grade school siblings of players to grandparents, and it shouldn't be hard to figure out what most people wouldn't want to say to a child or to someone's grandmother, is it?) While we're at it, stop misspelling words to get them past the censors, too, as that also will result in posts, threads and posters being removed.

We are grateful that you have made PonyFans.com the success that it is, and we look forward to continuing our coverage of the Mustangs. We are proud of this site and the manner in which it is published and will continue to be published (by PonyFans, for PonyFans), and ask that you respect the way we choose to do business, and enjoy our coverage of SMU athletics. Thank you.

[RednBlue11]

boy, this narrative was just carved in granite

[RGV Pony]

Edict issued.

[RednBlue11]

Edict issued.

i mean after all that...PF might as well become a blog

[Webmaster]

Stop whining. Good grief. A little maturity is all that we're asking for.

Don't make me come back on here. Next time, I'm bringing Margus, and he will (virtually) crush you like a bug.

[RednBlue11]

no whining here, im gonna do what i want, we just have to go drilling to get yalls heads outa the ground and we're not getting there evidently

[RednBlue11]

and just to maybe get the point home about my narrative comment, it's not the narrative you want to put forward, it's the narrative describing context surrounding yall that might as well be in stone now...

[Webmaster]

I don't give a flip what you guys post as long as you're not directly belittling student-athletes, making personal attacks on other readers, etc. feel free to criticize whoever you want, please just keep it rated PG13 or less.

Remember, this is a business - a poor paying one, but a business nonetheless. If you attack other readers and drive them away, that's less beer for me. And that makes us grumpy.

[whitwiki]

We have beer. Come join the dark side.
OTP buys the first round.

[Junior]

I don't give a flip what you guys post as long as you're not directly belittling student-athletes, making personal attacks on other readers, etc. feel free to criticize whoever you want, please just keep it rated PG13 or less.

Remember, this is a business - a poor paying one, but a business nonetheless. If you attack other readers and drive them away, that's less beer for me. And that makes us grumpy.

You wouldn't have to say "flip" at the other place...but I get what you're saying.

[RednBlue11]

I don't give a flip what you guys post as long as you're not directly belittling student-athletes, making personal attacks on other readers, etc. feel free to criticize whoever you want, please just keep it rated PG13 or less.

Remember, this is a business - a poor paying one, but a business nonetheless. If you attack other readers and drive them away, that's less beer for me. And that makes us grumpy.

HAHAHAHA