To Do List - a Peek into the Future

Well it has certainly been an interesting 18 hours so far. It appears that both Dslack and I have not only had our introductory posts deleted but have also been banned by Boston.com. That sort of leaves a bad taste, because I would have liked to drop over there and offer a friendly hello once in a while; and I was sort of proud of the roughly 16,000 posts that I guess will now be wiped out. But I chose to cut the cord, and I'm not looking back. And I'm still grateful to Boston.com for all of the good times along the way.

Our URL was up on BDC for just about three productive hours. I have sent emails to roughly 50 people who signed up for our "contingency list" in case something happened with the BDC board; so those are interested "prospects" who will now get the news on a one-to-one basis. I expect the results of those emails will gradually come to light. And, if anyone has creative ideas about how to "spread the word" to a larger number of our BDC friends who may not have seen the URL during those three hours, I'd be glad to hear about it. I thank those who are casually mentioning it on BDC, although I don't want you getting yourselves into any trouble.

In the meantime, I want to focus on ensuring that this is the most desirable possible Celtics forum. On the immediate "to do" list are the following, and you'll see announcements when each of these items is ready to see the light of day:

• During our game-on threads for the next two exhibition games (Sunday, 3:00, Toronto; Tuesday, 7:30, Knicks), we'll be running contests. Submit your entry during the first quarter (deadline end of first quarter) to qualify. Just estimate how many points you think the two teams (collectively) will score in the game (INCLUDING possible overtimes). The person closest to the exact total wins a free subscription to this board for the next year.

• During the last two exhibition games, I'd like to test an idea for a "game on thread" contest that (if there's sufficient interest) will continue for the entire season, with a winner being announced at the end of the season. This one will be a little more challenging, which is why II want to test its appeal during those last two exhibition games. Entries will have to be submitted BEFORE the beginning of the fourth quarter. Your job will be to estimate how many points the LOSING team will score (INCLUDING any possible overtime) and to ADD ONE POINT to that total. That figure, representing the number of points required to win that game, will be what you will submit. We'll keep a thread going (which will look like the poll screen) displaying the leaders in this season-long contest.

• There's another award that I've made each year on BDC to the MVP: "Most Valuable Poster" for that season. It's been sort of judgmental on my part. My only rule was that a person could win only once. Starting now (to give you something to think about), I'd like to make the selection of the winner a more democratic process. So, sometime in March, I'll probably ask for nominations for candidates. The people receiving most nominations (limit of 10) will then be entered into a poll to elect the MVP for the season.

• One important feature of this board, and an important area in which we can collectively strive for qualitative superiority over other Celtics sites, will be what I'm calling the "Game Retrospective" thread...a discussion of the most recent Celtics game and its implications on how the team is doing. On my blog (which will henceforth be archiving my writings and experiences with the Celtics rather than more current stuff, which will be posted here), I've been experimenting with different ways to initiate this thread, in which numerous people would wind up participating. Sometimes I set the tone by providing an analysis. In another instance, we had a guest hostess who had attended the game. For each "Game Retrospective" thread, we could ask (ahead of time) for a volunteer to start the thread and make the first post. I'd be interested in your opinions as to the best way to initiate these threads.

• One thing in which people (even Dslack) expressed interest during my blog retrospective threads was interesting and revealing stats that aren't typically available. These stats may be derived from combining the more popular stats in some way or simply by keeping track of them during games. I’m wondering whether we could develop a list of such stats and maybe ask for volunteers to keep track of their favorite ones and share them with us in either the “game retrospective” threads of perhaps separate “stats of the day” threads. Some stats could be for just a given game while others could be kept cumulatively for the season as it progresses.

As an example, four stats I presented in the thread Dslack (and others) liked so much involved:

“Offensive chemistry” (measured by assists as a percentage of made field goals)

“ Defensive alertness” (a ratio of the sum of blocks and steals to the number of personal fouls committed by the team)

“Offensive rebound efficiency” (of all the rebounds that are available off a team’s offensive boards, the percentage that team
collects)

“Defensive rebound efficiency” (of all the rebounds that are available off a team’s defensive boards, the percentage that team collects)

We’ve had a suggestion that, since fourth quarter free throws are so critical, stats should be kept on the Celtics’ free throw shooting percentage during just that quarter, with the percentages of certain players, notably Rondo, being scrutinized separately.

We could use such stats to spot trends in the performances of the Celtics or certain players as the season progresses. These would be insights not readily apparent to people who are not on this board, and they could be interesting “springboards” for conversation. We might even keep track of how these stats are correlated with Celtics wins versus losses.

We certainly don’t want to go stats-crazy. But, with so many stats being marketed these days, it would be nice if we could gain better understanding of which kinds of stats have greatest meaning (as opposed to just being titillating). So, from time to time, I may be running some of these stats in one thread or another and soliciting ideas for other interesting stats and volunteers to keep track of them

• And the final “to do” goal for the moment involves this site’s calendar. I’d like to post the Celtics schedule on the calendar, and I can’t figure out how to do it. (I have done the necessary “enabling” of the calendar function from the administrative point of view.) If anyone can figure out the procedure, I’m happy to devote any necessary time to actually doing the posting.

I'm sorry for the length of this post, but I felt you deserved some inkling of what may lie ahead. Continued thanks for your interest in this board, and please rest assured that the objective is for constant improvement. As always, if you wish to contact me privately, just send an email to SlipSamCelt@aol.com.
Take care,

Sam

My gut reaction is that BDC did you a great favor by slapping you in the face. It was not intended as a favor for sure but it was. Their banning is a high compliment and you should take it that way... and you should not be going back anyway. Why help them out at this point by giving credibility to their forum? That's over.

Compared to your 16,000 now probably gone, I've had about 40 posts but they keep chipping/deleting away (good riddance) at mine and I am down to about 20 something... and falling. Not much they can do to those of us looking for greener pastures... and finding those pastures.

Don't worry about spreading the word yourself, Sam. Others will do it for you.

Word gets around.

Slow, steady growth with a firm, high quality foundation... just like Red would do it.

That's the ticket.

This season represents the cornerstone for this message board.

Relax. Have fun and let it happen.

gc

GC,

I have no bad feelings about BDC. I predicted that my post would be gone. I don't think Dslack and I were banned (and we were treated equally) as much as constrained from promoting our own sites. I have expressed my gratitude to BDC publicly, and that's precisely the way I feel.

I took a peek at Dslack's site, and there was Nick Faldo conjecturing on when I was going to take off on BDC for insulting me. That's so laughable that it smarts. Why would I ever be that petty? And they didn't insult me. They did what was prudent under the circumstances.

Maybe they did me a "favor" in the form of generating a few sympathy votes from people still on the BDC board; but blocking me (which I assume they've done—I haven't put it to the test) hasn't had any impact on my motivation or resolve. I made up my mind to go ahead full throttle with this venture, and that's what I'm doing.

And I still hold BDC in high esteem. Nick makes a point of posting on Dslack's site that he's going to "lurk" over here without posting, so maybe he'll read this and realize the facts.

And, so far, going full-throttle is very rewarding. Every time I make a post, I then go to the list of people who posted in the interim; and there are usually from three to five. I can't keep up with the moderating, although, believe me, I'm not complaining. And "moderating" is a joke because people are so civil. I'm just selfish enough not to miss one single post because, in 4 years of posting, I've never seen such a great collection of material. This is fantastic!

Sam

Sam

Hi Sam,

I'm glad you started this thread. It sure has been an eventful couple days for us Boston Globe Celtic posters.

I read your post directed to me on your goodbye thread. I responded, but then I got the message that the url no longer existed. You're certainly a better man than me, in that I would never be giving Boston.com any praise if I'd been their #1 blogger and been unceremoniously banned.

I'd like to take this opportunity to tie some loose ends together. Basically I wrote that you are a top notch writer on basketball like a Bob Ryan and clearly better than Shaugnessy. I also wanted to let you know that I'm not going hungry despite my current inability to cover the membership dues. I'm definitely gonna be lurking this place. It looks wicked awesome as Nomah would say.

If by chance you see me reference your place as the country club, please don't take it personally. I'm the kind of person who can get on other's nerves at times. I admit it. I was just being playful.

Now that I have had time to think about it, having membership dues for a classy joint like this is a good idea. It will deter the trolls from signing on. It will allow you to work on the website. There are other places on the net with paid subscriptions, thus I no longer question the ethics of your decision. Plus, it is a modest amount of money you're asking for, and if it was any other period in my life, I would have ponied it up immediately.

I had written another post extending a hand out to BeatLA. I think what happened was I missed the initial flagrant fouls on him by trolls and only saw his reaction. The atmosphere had gotten so bad there, that people who could otherwise work out differences under normal circumstances were influenced by Boston.com's inability to make the rules clear and enforce them. Just the fact that MartiniLover and other trolls are not banned on sight shows that the Globe thinks conflict and controversy sells. I beg to differ. Being civil doesn't have to mean boring.

One dude I hope reappears is Celtic9Lakers2. I missed what happened at the end with him. It seemed to be getting a bit surreal. But he was another guy like yourself who showed the capacity to mediate and help facilitate a healthy, sociable atmosphere.

I apologize to BeatLA for my comments about his "spamming" about his son. It was just an immature reaction to what I perceived as attacks on my "peacenik" slant. I do believe in the laws of karma, so hopefully that is now squared away.

In regards to getting the word out about your forum, you should go into the administrative panel and add metatags. Those are what the search engines look for when they list websites. You could put in things like Kevin Garnett and Larry Bird. Then there will be a greater chance your website will show up in search engines for those tags. You can probably also get the word out at the forum which hosts this software, and you can always ask them individual questions you have about applications. You probably have the ability to enter some codes, say to allow people to embed videos and things like that.

I also think as long as we don't start threads at Boston.com on your or dslack's forum, then we can continue to get the word out there. One could link to a solid thread, say for example, one could post at the Globe website a bit about Kevin Garnett and Bill Russell and then give the link to the thread here. For your blog type entries, people could write a bit about it at websites like ESPN and leave the link. A lot about getting the word out is common sense.

For those looking for dslack's forum, it is at Celtics Board Dot Net. I don't think either website is in competition with the other. In fact, both are part of the same community. Too bad the Boston Globe can't see that we aren't the enemy or competitors. It's a big internet. They are clearly overreacting. It's as if Rebecca and her corporate bosses have taken back ownership of Sammy Malone's bar.

I guess that's all I've got. Take care.

One of the problems with BDC is that they delete a lot of threads where people were trying to work out differences. The reason I hadn't posted here was because it took a while for the confirmation to make it to my yahoo account. The thing I like about you Sam is you give everyone a chance to clarify what they've posted. I am someone who is always willing to admit I was wrong or try to rephrase what I mean. I gave girlwithnosox and MartiniLover the benefit of the doubt and got burned. One guy I'll say didn't annoy me was greenkiller. I found him to be just a playful type. Maybe he was just as bad as the others, and I missed it. I don't think he used sock puppets. I have no proof, but perhaps MartiniLover, Lakeshow, and girlwithnosox are the same person. They sounded the same to me. Anyway, sorry again if I offended you.

Nick,

Thanks for the post. While you were posting, I started a thread to get your attention. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll follow up on them, as I'm such a dummy I thought metatags were something one took for an acidic stomach.

I agree that Dslack's site and this site probably have slightly different niches. At lunch today, I was thinking about the two sites, and I bet I could do a reasonably decent job of psychographically differentiating the posters on the two sites. As Dslack says, it's all about alternatives. And he and I have somewhat different approaches to the scope, makeup and "hot buttons" of the alternatives. Something for everyone (hopefully).

I hope you some day get to meet Dslack. We happened to attend the same Sox game at Fenway a couple of years ago, and we located one another by cell phone while at the park and spent three innings under the stands, nursing a beer and just having conversational fun. We've posted extensively together, and I greatly respect his perspectives. And he has a brain the size of Missouri. (An apt simile, because he usually "has to be shown.") I regard him as a valued friend.

Tell him that, a couple of days ago, someone posted on BDC, giving his email address and asking for the address of Dslack's site. So I sent it.

C9L2 is on this site under another name. Like Dslack, we always need more posters to enhance the give-and-take and diversify the posting responsibilities. But, as far as quality goes, if we never added another member to this forum, I'd be happy beyond belief. Honestly! As I said in "your thread," just read the quality of submissions already.

Anyway, take care, and lurk or post or whatever.

Nic

Not quite sure what to say or how to say it. I can't lie and say all is OK, BUT I do accept the olive branch you have put forth. I know I too say things that once out of the mount, or the keyboard, can never be truly reversed.
At those times all you can do is suck it in an apoligize.

Should the need arise in another disagreement we'll just have to agree to disagree.

I though about doing this as a private message but as you put it right out here I guess my reply should be too.

As for my son, his endeavors will be mentioned in my posts not sure if it will be included as an add on PS (off topic) to another thread or one by itself.
There are a couple of things that are not a given anyway the most imprtant is that he needs to make the team, then worry about earning playing time.

As to this board ther is NO doubt in my mind it is a first class doing, and just to let you and Sam know I've throw Sam's link over there a few times on a couple of the threads. Nothing with it just the link. So far they have allowed it. So Nic by joining, in my opinion, is the correct thing to do.

If I get banned, it won't be the first time.

Beat

Hello friends, Sam, especially,

Sam, thank you for the nice words. As I'm sure you know, I have long considered you a friend, as well. You didn't mention that the day we found each other in Fenway, it was about 153 degrees in the shade. While sipping our beers, we literally saw maybe 5 people carried passed us on stretchers who had succumbed to heat stroke. Thankfully, we made it through that oven all in one piece and without a fork in our backs.

I've lurked a bit on this site, and it looks very good to me. It looks like you have a nice community of civil, intelligent people who enjoy posting together. There are now 2 good options for BDC alumni. I wish you all the best in your site here, and I'll stop by from time to time. You are of course more than welcome over at my corner of the internet, and I hope you'll say hello there from time to time, as well.

Although it's neither here nor there, I'll just share a thought about BDC. You say that BDC did what was prudent under the circumstances. You certainly might be right. At the same time, I can't avoid the feeling that they might have been penny wise and pound foolish. Presumably, they don't like banning IP addresses because they like people to stick around and click on ads. I think that the troll-fraction on their site was pretty small, but was making life miserable for the rest of us. But if their actions (deleting threads that mention alternative sites, banning me and maybe you) accelerate the exodus -- if they cause more people to leave their site -- they might eventually be left with just the trolls. This would be fine if there were large numbers of trolls, but, again, I think that there are not so many of them. Not enough to generate the numbers of ad-clicks that would be financially meaningful to the site.

Then again, they're message board professionals, and I just play one on TV, so they probably know what they're doing.

In any event, I wanted to congratulate you in-person on a job well-done here. Happy posting, and I'll be in touch,
dslack