"Be Excellent to Each Other!" (in Keanu Reeves voice)

by mikefive on Oct 9, 2009 11:49 AM EDT Comment 21 comments

Editor's Note: Since the season has begun, we've seen an influx in members, opinions, comments, and discussion. With that comes a lot of great things, but on the flip side, Ben, Geoff, and myself feel that the level of civility around the site has gone down. It makes us less attractive to new readers, opposing fans, and everybody in between. So, starting today, we're going to be cleaning up the nonsense. There are community guidelines that you should have read when you first signed up here at Broad Street Hockey, and they will be enforced strongly.

If you break one of the guidelines, you will be warned and your content may be deleted. If you continue to break the guidelines, you may be banned temporarily or on a permanent basis. This isn't to be a dick, of course -- it's to protect every member's opinion.

Below is a fanpost written by mikefive back in August. It explains in ways better than I ever could exactly what we're talking about here. Read it, learn it, and live it. - Travis

Hi everyone,

I realize that this post is not Flyer-related per se, and I'm somewhat hesitant to post this since I'm not BSH staff or anything, but here goes...

When I first found BSH, I was thrilled to pieces. While I had come across good Flyers sites before (like The Flyer Frequent), here was one where I could openly and regularly discuss my favorite team with other fans. Perhaps more importantly, I did not have to put up with the idiocy that came from readers of Puck Daddy.* Everyone here respected the Flyers' history while realizing that the current edition of the team is not a dirty one. Furthermore, all of the posters respected one another.

Methinks that civility has gone down a bit here. Maybe it's the August heat; maybe we're impatient and want the puck to drop tomorrow; I don't know. It seems like the population is growing here, which is great. Travis and his crew have done a great job and deserve all of the recognition and readership they get. However, with more people come more personalities, which unfortunately is leading to less civility. Instead of having agreeable disagreements, we are getting name-calling, and quite frankly it's reminding me of why I left Puck Daddy in the first place.

I don't mean to sound like a first-grade teacher, but can we please keep ourselves in check? This is a great site with plenty of room for healthy discussion. Let's keep it that way.

* For what it's worth, I'm not trying to disparage Puck Daddy as a blog. Greg Wyshynski had a good idea in mind when he created it. However, it's a lousy forum for discussion. Everyone is dismissive of everyone else because everyone hates everyone else's teams, so no real discussion happens or can happen. Let's please do our best to make sure that BSH does not go down a similar path.

Thanks.

This item was written by a member of this community and is not necessarily endorsed by Broad Street Hockey.

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CircleK Etiquette?

I’ll do my best to not disparage, but it is hard when someone starts shooting off at the keyboard with only a passing understanding of hockey and grammar. Makes for tough reading.

Can we get by with light Flyeresque sarcasm? “Your post reminds me of when Therien would try and stick handle. I cringe and have to look away.” You know, something like that, tastefully done.

by scottymac on Aug 17, 2009 3:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sarcasm

This.

Sarcasm is good and keeps the mood light. Making derogatory comments and putting down posters in the process doesn’t make it fun for anyone. Plus, a lot of people, myself included, come to blogs like this to learn more about hockey—because face it, we don’t know all there is to know.

by doubleh on Aug 17, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Indeed

There is a line between “I disagree, here’s why you’re wrong” and “Shut up, you’re an idiot.”

Let’s all try to stick to the former, even if thoughts of the latter creep into our minds.

The Daily Forehand -- SB Nation's Tennis Destination.
Broad Street Hockey.

by Ben Rothenberg on Aug 17, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's nice to see self-policing.

I feel pretty confident that all of BSH will be very happy to see this. Thank you Mike.

To Scotty: I have definitely been known to make little stabs, but I try not to ever make it personal. That’s pretty much the guideline: Be respectful, and keep it away from personal attacks. Besides, if it’s funny enough – Such as picturing Chris Therien stick-handle – it should make even the insulted laugh and diffuse the situation.

Broad Street Hockey -
Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Aug 17, 2009 3:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah.

I think even Chris Therien would laugh if you said that to him. I’d laugh if you said that to me.

Just don’t ever compare me to Dale Kushner!

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Aug 17, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Deal. Especially since I didn’t become a Flyers fan until the year after his last NHL game and I didn’t know who he was.

Broad Street Hockey -
Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Aug 17, 2009 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You didn’t miss much. Come to think of it, you didn’t miss much at all when Kushner had his “career year.”

It’s hard to believe that the 1990-91 team was firmly in 2nd place of the Patrick Division at the trade deadline. Up to that point I had been disappointed by the Flyers, but never flat-out heartbroken like I was in March of 1991. Even the 1989-90 team, who profoundly disappointed me, were easier to stomach. At least THEIR slide took place over the entire second half of the season, and not during the last month.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Aug 17, 2009 7:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So it was actually worse before 92-93?

Wow, glad I was too young to know what hockey was then. I thought those early to mid-90s teams were bad. The first bad player I got acquainted with was Tommy Soderstrom. Though at least Soderstrom brought back Ron Hextall and Dmitri Tertyshny.

Broad Street Hockey -
Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Aug 17, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll break it down

Here’s what happened after the Flyers lost in the 1989 Semifinals / Conference Finals.

1989-90: Started out poorly. Hextall held out for a new contract, then kept getting hurt; he only played 7 games that year. The team rebounded from early struggles and was first in the division by Christmas, but then injuries and overall suckiness began to mount. The team finished 9 games under .500 and 5th in the division. It was the first time since 1972 that they missed the playoffs. While it sucked, we all knew it was inevitable. (It was kind of like a less-talented and more injured version of the 1994 team who collapsed down the stretch.) Bob Clarke was fired as GM and Russ Farwell came on board.

1990-91: Started out well actually. In November, Pete Peeters went on a tear in net and the Flyers beat everyone. Then reality set in; aside from Tocchet, they had no pure scorers and couldn’t get one. The team was mediocre, but looked set for a post-season spot until March, where they went 2-10-1 down the stretch and missed out on the playoffs again.

1991-92: The Flyers got rid of a bunch of people in an effort to rebuild. Gone were familiar faces like Ron Sutter and Murray Craven; in were guys like Rod Brind’Amour and Kevin Dineen. This team sucked; I was at Holmgren’s last game as a coach, a 9-3 home loss to Pittsburgh the day after Thanksgiving. (The whole Spectrum was chanting, “PAUL MUST GO!”) In came Bill Dineen and the team actually posted a “winning” record (one game over .500) the rest of the way, as more skilled players like Garry Galley and Mark Recchi were added, but the team still fell short of a playoff spot. Even so, they really came together at the end of the year. With Mike Ricci taking on more of a leadership role, Rod Brind’Amour, Kevin Dineen, Mark Recchi, and Steve Duchesne providing skill, Dominic Roussel impressing in the nets, and Peter Forsberg waiting in the wings, I thought that the team had finally turned a corner and would become competitive again.

Then the Lindros deal happened and Ricci, Duchesne, Forsberg, Hextall, Kerry Huffman, and Chris Simon were gone. While it was exciting to get a player of Lindros’ caliber, it also meant that we had to start over again.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Aug 17, 2009 10:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great

I obviously don’t remember that, but I remember watching everybody you mentioned that came on in the 91-92 season breakdown play. I definitely remember actually liking Garry Galley a lot for awhile, until his play declined anyway. Didn’t Duchesne come back and play for the Senators afterwards? Two more questions from my vague memories: Roussel got a raw deal in net much the way Boucher did, no? He was playing well, got the job, then this guy (Cechmanek) comes in from Europe, and suddenly there’s a controversy. New guy shows flashes, but flames out quickly, old guy has long since been given up on. Least that’s how I remember it. Lastly, Kevin Dineen was widely criticized as the Captain since Bill was his dad, so nobody thought he deserved the C. Again, correct me if I’m wrong, I could be way off since I was still getting naps at school.

Broad Street Hockey -
Makin' it look mean since 1967.

by Geoff Detweiler on Aug 18, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Answers

We did reacquire Steve Duchesne at the 1999 trade deadline, but he was a rental. I guess he went to the Sens afterwards but I’m too lazy to look it up right now.

Cechmanek got the job because Boucher had a lousy start to 2000-01. As for Roussel, he played fairly well in 1991-92 and 1992-93. Tommy Soderstrom came along in 1992-93 and impressed everyone. Soderstrom was horrible in 1993-94, and Roussel wasn’t much better. The two of them didn’t get along, either. We ditched Soderstrom for Ron Hextall version 2.0. Roussel was our backup for a little while but the writing was on the wall for him once we acquired Garth Snow.

Neither Roussel nor Soderstrom really amounted to anything, though Dominic stuck around in the NHL longer. Plus, he’s still involved in hockey.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Aug 18, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

At least there is one thing Pens fans and Flyers fans can agree on:

Rick Tocchet was the man.

by Link_Gaetz on Oct 9, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Totally Agree.

Whenever I travel to other SB Nation blogs there is so much personal bashing and childish name calling that eventually ends up spiraling down to unintelligent cursing and back and forth tit-for-tat.

I have always loved how we just don’t have that here at BSH! It is refreshing (and ironic considering we are so passionate about a team that is considered, by most, to be goons wearing ice skates and the fact that we are Philadelphia fans. We aren’t helping out the stereotype are we? haha)

Disagreeing is good, especially when the arguments are supported with evidence, stats, and well thought out responses, but not when it becomes back and forth personal insulting. I love when someone disagrees with me and shows me a new way to think about the topic of discussion with stats and evidence.

Total props to Mike for doing this. We don’t want to let things get out of control. Everyone deserves to be respected, despite how “dumb” or “idiotic” they seem. If anything, we can help each other learn and continue to make BSH an intelligent site for discussion and conversation, all the while, being patient and graceful with one another.

by flyrsfrk05 on Aug 18, 2009 12:26 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

GREAT POINTS!

I see nothing but bashing and incoherent babble from others on so many other forums. I don’t even read comments after Yahoo sports articles anymore. Let’s rise about the garbage out there and show them class.

by Mike B on D on Aug 20, 2009 9:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Totally Agree

…and I’ve been around less as a result, unfortunately.

Early last season we started a thread where a lot of users had a chance to introduce themselves to a degree that they were comfortable with. Maybe we should do that again. If we can all find some kind of common ground that reminds us we’re all just Flyers fans rooting for our team and a fantastic sport, maybe some people would be less prone to trash talk.

by Have a Seat on Oct 9, 2009 1:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You know, we’re living in a society! We’re supposed to act in a civilized way!

ahh the best quote of the quote world.

by phish'n on Oct 9, 2009 2:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i dont even bother with Bleeding Green Nation anymore what with all the negativity and such banter i dont have time for

by fitzy first on Oct 9, 2009 2:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The worst sites are philly.com and espn.com. No one ever wants to really talk about hockey or the games; they just want to trash and bash each other.

by doubleh on Oct 9, 2009 2:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great post Mikefive. Bill Preston Esquire, Ted Theodore Logan and Rufus would most totally agree.

Follow the Penguins on SBN @ Pensburgh.com and twitter.

by FrankD on Oct 9, 2009 3:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

....And....PARTY ON DUDES

Check out nickandroll.blogspot.com

by n1ck34 on Oct 11, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Nice!

You win. San Dimas is cheering for you now.

Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?

by mikefive on Oct 11, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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