2020 SEASON LAUNCH - With pics, reports and stalkers

Well it should not be "it is what it is". It may be okay in your world to post hateful stuff anonymously about someone, but how do you know what sorts of personal issues the player you are posting about might be confronting?

It is actually a form of bullying to post that sort of stuff and we are increasingly hearing stories of people who have taken their lives as a result of online bullying.

I just think we need to be mindful of how we are viewed, because as a collective we are a player sponsor and our role should be to encourage each of our boys/club employees, not disparage them.
Well thats a bit unecessary to accuse me of being ok with posting hateful stuff, when did i say that?Thats not the point i was making AT ALL. I'm saying that this site as it currently is would obviously not be accepted and that shouldnt be surprising to anyone. Theres even an argument to be made that legit constructive criticism would be interpreted negatively too, and they would then look at us negatively. If you're looking for club approval, you're in the wrong place.
 
I do understand gk.
None of the calls were pleasant. I think back then it was rather new and people didn't quite understand what an anonymous forum was all about. These days with a whole host of unmoderated or anonymous forums I think people understand their options better.
 
Well thats a bit unecessary to accuse me of being ok with posting hateful stuff, when did i say that?Thats not the point i was making AT ALL. I'm saying that this site as it currently is would obviously not be accepted and that shouldnt be surprising to anyone. Theres even an argument to be made that legit constructive criticism would be interpreted negatively too, and they would then look at us negatively. If you're looking for club approval, you're in the wrong place.

By saying "it is what it is" you provide tacit support to that sort of activity. I have no idea whether you are part of it or not, but taking the "it is what it is" approach, does nothing to try to stop that behaviour. Call it out instead.

There is a way to provide constructive criticism, without it being derogatory. For instance, rather than calling someone "The s**t", why not say, "in my opinion the coach does not have the runs on the board to be judged as a good coach" or similar.

Anyway, I've said my piece and I don't want to let this interfere or diminish from what is a very enjoyable thread about the night.
 
By saying "it is what it is" you provide tacit support to that sort of activity. I have no idea whether you are part of it or not, but taking the "it is what it is" approach, does nothing to try to stop that behaviour. Call it out instead.

There is a way to provide constructive criticism, without it being derogatory. For instance, rather than calling someone "The s**t", why not say, "in my opinion the coach does not have the runs on the board to be judged as a good coach" or similar.

Anyway, I've said my piece and I don't want to let this interfere or diminish from what is a very enjoyable thread about the night.
Well, thanks for not knowing me or my post history and deciding to have a go at me for supporting something i dont.

What i meant by "it is what it is", is that online forums with zero accountability will inevitably lead to this conclusion. Which has been shown a billion times over the course of the internet. Not that i approve of it, or that i engage in it. That one plus one equals two.

You add your own concept of approval to my words.

If you wanted that to be different you would have to do more thand say be nice to each other. There would have to be actual accountability involved.
 

KillaKanga

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Better late than never with my report on the night.

An excellent idea in my opinion, the joint jumper presentation. Great to see some greats/good players from the past, together with some lesser knowns, who in one case had played just 3 games. It really emphasised the togetherness of the club. I hope they maintain this approach. Some of the former players have been in very good paddocks while others looked as fit as when they last played. It makes sense in the case of blokes like Boomer, Spud and Brady, who are around the club in their roles.

I could not get over how much taller the playing list looks compared to say 20 years ago. I spent a fair bit of time with GR and Luke72 and in the case of GR and myself at least, we look more like mascots, age notwithstanding.

GR was his inimitable self. Recently welcomed his fifth child to the GR clan and he informed me that in another 15 years he will have a full cohort to make up the first North Melbourne mixed gender team (well I might have exaggerated there, but where does he find the time and energy to deal with everything going on in his life?)

I'm not one to go and engage players in small talk conversation but I spoke to a few players, including Aaron Hall, Cam Zurrharr and Ben Cunnington. I told Cam he is not allowed to return to Perth until his career is finished. He responded by saying "why is that?", to which I said you are far too valuable to us. He then said he doesn't like Perth anyway. He is a big unit is Cam and I imagine there are a few defenders will not look forward to matching up on him in the years ahead.

I spoke mainly to Benny C and talked about the area we both grew up in. I think he was a bit suspicious as to whether I was a genuine "local" but I mentioned a few too many aspects of the Timboon/Port Campbell/Princetown area, leading him to say "well you certainly must come from there".

A sour point though when I mentioned that I was there as a Bigfooty member. His response was along the lines of "we don't like Bigfooty at all and none of the players go near this site". His response was not dissimilar to that of Simmo several years ago, when a group of us said we were from Bigfooty and there was a look of hatred in his eyes.

In this thread alone we have had one comment that acts to shape our reputation at Bigfooty. Calling someone "The s**t" is way out of line in my opinion. None of us I think would like to be talked about, anonymously, in the same way that some posters do on this forum. We should all remember there is a thread here titled "Everyday is RUOK day" and perhaps we could all learn to post with that in mind.


That apart it was a great night and thank-you to Luke for pulling my name out of the hat.
When I was writing a book with JMAC and Atley, JMAC mentioned how the players were told by the club to NOT read forums like this and when they had it hit them hard and their confidence took a hit.

I think people forget that when they talk really badly about someones ability or even worse who they are it would be horrible to read.
 

KillaKanga

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Re. Players disdain for BigFooty, I have seen 100x far worse crapola on Facebook and Twitter, are they on the no go list too ? it is just a sign of the times, sad, but true.
Yep, I believe it's all social media.

Spoke to a couple who said it grounded them to see it as - don't take the negative comments too hard and don't get ahead of yourself too much on the positive comments.

Very much like wins and losses.
 
Better late than never with my report on the night.

An excellent idea in my opinion, the joint jumper presentation. Great to see some greats/good players from the past, together with some lesser knowns, who in one case had played just 3 games. It really emphasised the togetherness of the club. I hope they maintain this approach. Some of the former players have been in very good paddocks while others looked as fit as when they last played. It makes sense in the case of blokes like Boomer, Spud and Brady, who are around the club in their roles.

I could not get over how much taller the playing list looks compared to say 20 years ago. I spent a fair bit of time with GR and Luke72 and in the case of GR and myself at least, we look more like mascots, age notwithstanding.

GR was his inimitable self. Recently welcomed his fifth child to the GR clan and he informed me that in another 15 years he will have a full cohort to make up the first North Melbourne mixed gender team (well I might have exaggerated there, but where does he find the time and energy to deal with everything going on in his life?)

I'm not one to go and engage players in small talk conversation but I spoke to a few players, including Aaron Hall, Cam Zurrharr and Ben Cunnington. I told Cam he is not allowed to return to Perth until his career is finished. He responded by saying "why is that?", to which I said you are far too valuable to us. He then said he doesn't like Perth anyway. He is a big unit is Cam and I imagine there are a few defenders will not look forward to matching up on him in the years ahead.

I spoke mainly to Benny C and talked about the area we both grew up in. I think he was a bit suspicious as to whether I was a genuine "local" but I mentioned a few too many aspects of the Timboon/Port Campbell/Princetown area, leading him to say "well you certainly must come from there".

A sour point though when I mentioned that I was there as a Bigfooty member. His response was along the lines of "we don't like Bigfooty at all and none of the players go near this site". His response was not dissimilar to that of Simmo several years ago, when a group of us said we were from Bigfooty and there was a look of hatred in his eyes.

In this thread alone we have had one comment that acts to shape our reputation at Bigfooty. Calling someone "The s**t" is way out of line in my opinion. None of us I think would like to be talked about, anonymously, in the same way that some posters do on this forum. We should all remember there is a thread here titled "Everyday is RUOK day" and perhaps we could all learn to post with that in mind.


That apart it was a great night and thank-you to Luke for pulling my name out of the hat.
Heath has told me the exact same thing a few years back and even about the podcast itself after a Mason Wood related rant.
 
Better late than never with my report on the night.

An excellent idea in my opinion, the joint jumper presentation. Great to see some greats/good players from the past, together with some lesser knowns, who in one case had played just 3 games. It really emphasised the togetherness of the club. I hope they maintain this approach. Some of the former players have been in very good paddocks while others looked as fit as when they last played. It makes sense in the case of blokes like Boomer, Spud and Brady, who are around the club in their roles.

I could not get over how much taller the playing list looks compared to say 20 years ago. I spent a fair bit of time with GR and Luke72 and in the case of GR and myself at least, we look more like mascots, age notwithstanding.

GR was his inimitable self. Recently welcomed his fifth child to the GR clan and he informed me that in another 15 years he will have a full cohort to make up the first North Melbourne mixed gender team (well I might have exaggerated there, but where does he find the time and energy to deal with everything going on in his life?)

I'm not one to go and engage players in small talk conversation but I spoke to a few players, including Aaron Hall, Cam Zurrharr and Ben Cunnington. I told Cam he is not allowed to return to Perth until his career is finished. He responded by saying "why is that?", to which I said you are far too valuable to us. He then said he doesn't like Perth anyway. He is a big unit is Cam and I imagine there are a few defenders will not look forward to matching up on him in the years ahead.

I spoke mainly to Benny C and talked about the area we both grew up in. I think he was a bit suspicious as to whether I was a genuine "local" but I mentioned a few too many aspects of the Timboon/Port Campbell/Princetown area, leading him to say "well you certainly must come from there".

A sour point though when I mentioned that I was there as a Bigfooty member. His response was along the lines of "we don't like Bigfooty at all and none of the players go near this site". His response was not dissimilar to that of Simmo several years ago, when a group of us said we were from Bigfooty and there was a look of hatred in his eyes.

In this thread alone we have had one comment that acts to shape our reputation at Bigfooty. Calling someone "The s**t" is way out of line in my opinion. None of us I think would like to be talked about, anonymously, in the same way that some posters do on this forum. We should all remember there is a thread here titled "Everyday is RUOK day" and perhaps we could all learn to post with that in mind.


That apart it was a great night and thank-you to Luke for pulling my name out of the hat.
Really nice seeing you there Horace and meeting your beautiful daughter.

I get what you’re saying about the negativity. There has been a couple of occasions at club things where I have felt Big Footy was a dirty word.

I spoke to Taylor Garner after I spoke to you on the night and asked him about it and he said he couldn’t care either way, he doesn’t strike me as the type that would. Nice guy if you get a moment.

I suspect most players use social media to some extent. They would all have most types prior to getting drafted. Most are on Instagram.

I think if people worded criticisms in a manner that they would repeat face to face with the person it would be ok but I understand that it is unlikely to happen.
 
I try to only type stuff I'd be comfortable saying to a players face here.

I've yelled stuff at games or at the telly that's a bit much but it's the frustration of the moment.
This illustrates a relevant point. Bigfooty is just a means of supporters communicating in the context of current technology. Fans have always been critical of their players and coaches, because they're invested.

I would suggest that they get way more vitriol over the fence on matchdays than they do here, on average. And yet they hate Bigfooty.

At every function, they go out of their way to thank the fans. But it seems to be that they appreciate only those who give them s**t over the fence, and not the ones who live and breathe NMFC all week online. Seems a bit short-sighted.

On LG-H930 using BigFooty.com mobile app
 
This illustrates a relevant point. Bigfooty is just a means of supporters communicating in the context of current technology. Fans have always been critical of their players and coaches, because they're invested.

I would suggest that they get way more vitriol over the fence on matchdays than they do here, on average. And yet they hate Bigfooty.

At every function, they go out of their way to thank the fans. But it seems to be that they appreciate only those who give them s**t over the fence, and not the ones who live and breathe NMFC all week online. Seems a bit short-sighted.

On LG-H930 using BigFooty.com mobile app

If you just hear the bad stuff, like Heath giving his pov and mindless whipping boy hate then it'd be easy to think that's all it is.

Yelling over the fence is gone in an instant and rarely seen or heard by the person it's directed at. Big footy is forever.

I think those two things combine to make us look worse than we are.

Not enough recognition of 2007 as well. That's ancient history now as far as these players are concerned.

We need a few positive things.
 
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A sour point though when I mentioned that I was there as a Bigfooty member. His response was along the lines of "we don't like Bigfooty at all and none of the players go near this site". His response was not dissimilar to that of Simmo several years ago, when a group of us said we were from Bigfooty and there was a look of hatred in his eyes.

In this thread alone we have had one comment that acts to shape our reputation at Bigfooty. Calling someone "The s**t" is way out of line in my opinion. None of us I think would like to be talked about, anonymously, in the same way that some posters do on this forum. We should all remember there is a thread here titled "Everyday is RUOK day" and perhaps we could all learn to post with that in mind.

Doesn't surprise me, considering the way several from here write off blokes at the drop of a hat.

Cunnington is also a hyper insular bloke so this place would rub him up the wrong way.
 
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I spoke to Taylor Garner after I spoke to you on the night and asked him about it and he said he couldn’t care either way, he doesn’t strike me as the type that would. Nice guy if you get a moment.

This is because he's old school. The first choice of a bloke on our list who I would choose to take to the pub for a drink.
 
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Bit silly summing up Bigfooty as anything different to the internet itself for positive or negative effect on the club or players.

There's outright toxic stuff, some reasoned discussion spanning right out to verbal cheerleading and player sponsorships. A spectrum just like any crowd.

Players have a right to pass judgement. And the same applies to them as AFL footballers - some are charming, some simply tolerate interfacting with supporters and members and some are downright rude and arrogant.

If they want to generalise a fan discussion forum then the same applies to their demographic in turn.
 
Funny the players / club officials think that this forum is only made up by a bunch of pricks
Haven’t you guys sponsored a player each year for a long time ?


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I know the guy I dealt with at the club has been very nice and said they really appreciate it. Why wouldn’t they? It’s free money.

I suspect it’s a bit both ways. Some of the more vitriolic stuff is a bit much and should be reigned in. The club really should embrace things like BF as it’s hardcore fans which is the lifeblood of the club.

I think it’s easy to hold BF up as a shining example of what’s s**t about social media. If the players aren’t on here to check it out then what is their judgment based on. I think Bf offers a fair bit, whether that’s through sponsorship or just entertainment and keeping North relevant. Personally I think the club would do well to embrace it and get Heath (or someone else) back involved.
 

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Bit silly summing up Bigfooty as anything different to the internet itself for positive or negative effect on the club or players.

There's outright toxic stuff, some reasoned discussion spanning right out to verbal cheerleading and player sponsorships. A spectrum just like any crowd.

Players have a right to pass judgement. And the same applies to them as AFL footballers - some are charming, some simply tolerate interfacting with supporters and members and some are downright rude and arrogant.

If they want to generalise a fan discussion forum then the same applies to their demographic in turn.
I've had this conversation with ToD in the past. He'd be solidly in Horace's camp. Your view more closely represents mine.

I would like to think my posting history shows I have little tolerance for outright toxicity and rudeness, and for me that applies in any walk of life, internet or otherwise. But I think critical commentary is to be expected.

While I can understand the player's perspective, that negative comments could get them down (I'd be the same in their shoes) I am of the view that this is a supporter's forum and it's not unreasonable to expect there will be negative assessments of players alongside the positive ones. (That's not to say those assessments couldn't on many occasion be expressed differently.) Unless a player has a particularly thick skin, they simply shouldn't be here. It's not a forum designed for them, so I think the club advice is appropriate.

If it was a 'discussion forum' that players transparently frequented and engaged with, then personally, I think the conversation would be different.

...then again, NMFC Board Elections thread. :(
 
Horace it was Nathan Grima in his retirement speech who jokingly called us flogs

I was there that night and I pulled Grima up on his flog comment and his reaction?

He said "bring it in and let's hug it out". True story
 
I've had this conversation with ToD in the past. He'd be solidly in Horace's camp.

Phew.

For a moment there I thought, "Great, Kimbo's putting words in my mouth here". But then I thought, "Hang on, the 'Other' in my username clearly begins with a capital 'O'. A sharp person like Kimbo wouldn't miss that. He must be talking about someone else."

And then I left the thread again.
 
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