The GARM

I really need to figure out a way to get 'The Summit' social group kicking -- if we could get some solid content in there from our top members (looking at you Clutch) it would start working. Everyone can read it -but only members can post.

The Summit

For those who need a break from the madness of the GARM here is an alternative

 

If more people were to follow Voice of Aus' example and post content worth reading AND gain the patience to not respond to the ones who are obvious idiots, then maybe things might improve some.

Look, I'm not denying it's rough in there, I see it everytime I login...but after all these threads complaining about it, nobody ever takes Clutch's advice to try to be part of the solution by making the kind of posts you would want to see and ignoring/reporting the ones who deserve it. Seems like an easier solution than expecting Clutch to come up with a segregation solution with all the resulting hassle.

I wish I had more time to go thru more posts, but I would have to live here 24/7 to even scratch the surface of the crap being posted in there....we do what we can but we need help from members who care about this place.

FWIW, thats my take.

 

Are there silly pictures of cats in said group?

 

I agree with the OP, I've noticed that I spend the majority of my time in the Hangout and very little in the GARM. The only time that I really spend any time in the GARM is when something big is about to go down, like a trade , or when something major happened to a player during the game like getting hurt, fighting, or going superstar. I also go there for the podcasts by Clutch, they pretty much give you all you need to know in those 30min, plus you come out feeling a little bit smarter afterward!...

Hangout 80%
Texans.....5%
Dish.........5%
Feedback..5%
GARM.......4%
D&D.........1%

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Agreed. I've only reported posters a couple times over years. Don't really like doing that. Tattle-tale syndrome. Do you want us reporting everything?

However I do think that there are a few things that the mods could do to improve things drastically:

1. Require new members to lurk with no posting privileges for 6 months after joining the site. After 6 months they can post provided they have read and agreed to the TOS.

2. Set up a very stringent standard for starting threads. I don't know what the specific criteria should be, but some sort of poster valuation (including time as a member, number of posts, reputation, etc.) by mods would be one criteria along with some basic criteria on what an acceptable new thread is.

3. Change the rep system to represent where the rep came from. If it's GARM perhaps a series of Rox logos. If it's NBA a series of NBA logos. If it's BBS discussion then some different logo to represent that rep.

4. Only allow posters to rep each other on the boards where they have achieved a certain level of rep in that forum. In other words, to rep someone else in GARM, the poster should have so much GARM rep themselves before they can rep others.

We've got posters in GARM that get a lot of their rep from BBS discussion and come in there just blowing and they really don't know anything about the Rockets besides who the players are by the names on their unis. They shouldn't be allowed to rep others in GARM and they should be neg rep'd by other veteran GARM posters who have passed the bar with the mods. (See 5)

5. You should give certain posters besides the mods the ability to distribute neg rep. You mods should know who is capable of giving out neg rep in a fair manner. You should use that resource to help you curb out trash. We know you can't do it all. And you know there are some posters that could help you by distributing neg rep.

The biggest problem in GARM is posters posting in there that don't have long history and don't know the other posters and they come in there spewing disrespect by name calling and blowing off posters that have proven their value. It was a very sad day when we lost Doc Rocket over that crap. Some poster who didn't know anything about the history of the board and the value of Doc Rocket spewing off at him. That should have been a definite signal that something needed to change fundamentally in there. We need 10 more Doc Rockets and to cultivate the environment so we can get them.

 

You have to invite us to join it first right? I am still waiting on mine

 

I completely agree and that's my take. I've really enjoyed VoA recently along with the old Carl being back and numerous other posters contributing to solid insight. Also, what i have found very refreshing and helpful are all the new ClutchFan articles posted by others such as The Cat, The YoYo, etc... I think its a brilliant idea by clutch to insert a more knowledgeable discussion. I love going 'in' the garm, i just don't enjoy all of the threads. Like others have said, you can tell which threads are worthy of surfing and which aren't. I stay out of 90% of the threads in the garm, which is sad because i could be missing the rare intelligent post about McHale, or Lin, or harden, etc... But when i do i typically only read posts with atleast a solid paragraph our two decent sized paragraphs or more.

Be a part of the solution, instead of trying to seclude a group of members from everyone else. Although i admit I'm not entirely against a privileged post only sub forum.

 

Is it possible to have thread ratings affect your ability to start threads? If you start 1 and 2 star threads with any consistency you shouldn't be able to create more for a period of time, something like that. Just throwing out ideas. I know the vBulletin software has a lot of hacks that allow ways to manage the board a little easier.

I do think the articles are a great addition to the site and the podcasts are awesome. It adds great discussion.

 

We have a thread to suggest new members -- I know i'm not inviting a lot of good posters simply because it's hard to remember everyone. I really need input of those already in the community to help me add members I don't really know.

 

Here's a variation on some of the other ideas which have been raised...

How about all new accounts pay $5, or $25 (pick a number), to get a 1-season membership. It renews each season for $5. As soon as a member achieves 3 green bars of rep, renewal is free.

1. it raises money for the board
2. it encourages good, intelligent, rep-worthy posts
3. it weeds out multiple accounts
4. once someone is banned, they have to actively consider whether it's worth $5 to sign up for a different account name

All existing accounts retain current privileges, so if posters lose privileges or green bars because of their behavior, it will have a greater impact on how they conduct themselves.

Lurkers can continue to lurk unaffected.

The point is this. The membership has become so large that it only takes a very, very small percentage of posters to overrun the board and take it a direction that Clutch, Crew, and the core members had not intended.

Maybe the way to manage growth, is to manage how membership is acquired, and how one gains or loses privileges. Instituting a membership fee generates revenue and controls growth. Maybe the sun is setting on the idea of a voluntary Tip Jar contribution.

Ok, that's my 2 cents, and yes I also noticed that I haven't contributed to the Tip Jar yet. I promise I will, but it'll have to be after Christmas.

P.S. One more thought. If at the time of my joining last year, the options were "Free to lurk, or $5 to get posting privileges", I would have paid the $5 at joining.

 

I was switching between ballstreams and clutchfans at work when my co worker busted out laughing. He as asked me if someone really made that Jeremy Lin vs Michael Jordan and other ridiculous garm threads and also laughed about the in less than one hour I'm going to meet with an escort thread.

 

A similar situation occurred on another forum. I don't know what the consequences of that were, i.e. how many people actually signed up, how much viewership was lost... etc. Maybe a lifetime membership would be better served as oppose to constantly renewing membership.

 

If Brooks plays well and earns himself some rotation minutes at Lin's expense then everyone is going to be calling for his head (or Bev's). The nuclear winter is nigh.

 

Even the most constructive and positive posts usually end up in a messy wreck of personal insults and cheap shots.

It's so much easier to be a smart a$$ when you're sitting in front of your computer I guess.

 

I think you should rebrand that as The Salton Sea. That will get it going.

 

I like the GARM. Yeah, people say a lot of stupid things, but that's the same as real life. And it really hasn't gotten worse as people seem to think -- it's always been that way. But, I pick and choose what threads I'll read and which posts in those threads I'll read, and there's good stuff mixed in with the bad stuff. Sometimes I say insightful things and sometimes I say dumb things. A few years from now, we'll look back and remember the good material and forget the bad (aside from the LOF v. the LOH, which is at least worth some comedy), and pine for the good ole days when the GARM didn't suck.

 

You posted that 20 year anniversary of the 94 Rockets start.

 

When something started small, it's always cozy and family like. Then when it becomes big and public, you'll get all kinds of people and all kinds of noises. Like JuanValdez said, it's just how the real world works.

People who are nostalgic about the "good old days" of Clutchcity are like people who are nostalgic about when they were little kids when their world was just Papa and Mama and a few siblings. Now they go into the world and there are all kinds of people, unfriendly, dumb, ignorant, but there are also more smart and good people than the original family. That's the real world, folks.

And of course, when we get really old, we hate all the stuff young people do and hate the fact that they don't appreciate our generation. But think about it. Our parents' generation thought the same about us too.

 

There is a lot of truth in what you wrote, especially the getting old part.

Reminiscing can be good for the soul, living in the past destroys it.
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