I thank everyone for the feedback I received about whether I should start commenter registration. It was a close call for me – the votes were for, but the passion I got in a number of emails was against – and I’ve decided to leave things as they are for now.
That being said, if I get the sense that it’s getting worse, I reserve the right to change my mind. And I won’t put it up for your thoughts the next time.
If I can just take a minute to reiterate what this is and isn’t about, I’d appreciate your patience. I have no desire to censor anyone’s opinion and I think if you’re fair-minded about that, you’ll acknowledge that the comments section at GTP is pretty free wheeling. But you’re all guests here, and just like I wouldn’t expect you to walk into someone’s house you’ve been invited to and take a dump on the rug, I hope you’d have enough respect for everyone else here not to behave badly.
I’ve nuked people from the site for three reasons. None of them were because of certain opinions being expressed.
- Sockpuppetry. I understand the psychology, but it’s still weird to me that someone posts under one pseudonym to give another pseudonym fake support. Also, on a related front, I’ve nuked one commenter for trying to pass himself off as another blogger. Be satisfied with being yourself, even if that’s under a fake name.
- Spam trolling. You don’t like Mike Bobo? Think Hutson Mason should be starting ahead of Aaron Murray? Believe Mark Richt sucks as Georgia’s head coach? Fine, fine and fine. Lay it on us. Just don’t repeat the same arguments in support of it over and over and over again. It’s boring and worse, it turns off others from participating. Believe me, we all got your point that Murray’s never won a game on Thursday nights against a ranked opponent wearing blue uniforms the seventeenth time you brought it up. And you didn’t need to hijack a comment thread on an entirely different subject to get our attention about it, either.
- The “Thomas Brown” Affair. Granted, his was a special case, but really, if you don’t think I’m going to have a problem with you cutting and pasting a rant the length of a short story you posted on another blog here, just try me.
I’m not giving second chances for this sort of stuff any more and I won’t give warnings again. Those of you who are better at catching this than I’ve been on occasion, please let me know by email. I promise I’ll take care of it promptly.
And now, I return you to your regularly scheduled grousing. GATA!
Get The Picture 
I had no idea some of these things were going on, and i consider myself a fairly regular reader of most of the comments. I have chimed in with an alias on rare occasions, but mostly just for humor and not to shill or falsely berrate anyone. I like the anoniminity just because I’m a little paranoid of the internet and its ability to come back and haunt you over misunderstandings or similar. I’ll just chime in and say while I like the ability to keep things as they are, I’ll have no problem registering and continuing to be an active participant in what goes on here at GTP.. the heart of the constituency here seem to be great people, (even those that aren’t Dawg fans), and most conversations here don’t devolve into bitch fests and finger pointing about how stupid others opinions are. It’s why I like posting here and keep coming back.
LikeLike
What a stupid opinion!!!! You must be a closet nerd fan posting in your mama’s basement in between cheese sandwiches with the crust cut off!!! Get a life!!!! Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LikeLike
touche 😉
LikeLike
Love the blog! However, I am confused as to what the Thomas brown affair is…?
LikeLike
If you don’t know about the Thomas Brown affair, then just drop to your knees and thank whatever deity you worship.
In all seriousness, he was a poster on numerous blogs that put up repeated posts of great length to make his point. He could and would hijack any thread and went by a couple of names, such as the aforementioned Thomas Brown and BuLLdawg ( I think). On top of everything, he was a poor writer.
LikeLike
Doug provided the ultimate BuLLdawg takedown at the late, lamented HJS:
That managed to beat out the likes of Jimmy Clausen and Craig James as loathsome people go. I’m not gonna argue.
LikeLike
So that’s how the “Great Dawg of Bull” became known as #39 on the AJC. Cuz would say “Ok, who woke up #39” and ol’ Bull would get really pissed.
LikeLike
I love to read the articles on Google Reader however I rarely read the comments because of the things listed above.
LikeLike
That’s too bad, because the comments here are pretty interesting, generally. A lot of insight to be had, and the craziness seems limited to me, anyway.
LikeLike
I agree. The comments are, on the whole, good enough to justify suffering the occasional troll.
LikeLike
Indeed
LikeLike
Senator,
Thanks for running such an insightful and up to date blog. I never post my own comments, but this is the only blog I take time to read the comments of others. As a cautionary note, a once very popular blog adopted the registration approach to combat similar issues. It was once a very popular blog. Just ask PWD.
LikeLike
Not sure if your cautionary note is genuine, but the registration approach was the least of that blog’s issues.
LikeLike
Reasonable as always. Just another reason why this blog is like your favorite pair of sneakers… it just feels right.
LikeLike
I like the decision; seems the changes considered would do more potential harm to an excellent product than it would be worth to deal with just a few abusers. Your warnings are fair and anyone that cannot work within those boundaries needs to be banned without further notice. Thanks for your efforts and level approach, it is the reason your blog is succeeding to the degree it is and why so many visit every day. Now can you help with OL recruiting/development?
LikeLike
I agree with my Scotch lovin’ friend, as I do on almost everything he says. And Rusty below. Thanks Senator and keep up the fantastic work.
LikeLike
Somehow, some way…I’m going to figure out a way to blame Bobo for this!
LikeLike
Yep, and opine about some recruits who were here for the weekend in order to get the taste of last week out of our psyche. Thanks for the passes you have afforded me, intentional or not.
LikeLike
Senator to quote my favorite book-Those that are with you are far greater than those that are against you !–keep up the great work my brother
LikeLike
I’ve kept up with a lot of Georgia blogs. Over time, and almost unconsciously, I’ve quit the others and only read this one. Not that the others aren’t good but like most people my time is limited and yours is just better.
Great job you do here. It’s easy to tell that it’s a labor of love…or obsession,whatever;-)
LikeLike
Senator,
Love the Blog buddie. Please keep it up. Down with the Trolls!
LikeLike
At least we haven’t seen Pawsie round here.
LikeLike
Unlike others here, I believe you are a genuine (if moderate) libertarian at heart, and that your trigger finger is, if anything, too slow. Keep up the good work, and thx for allowing anonymity.
LikeLike
Thanks for all your hard work, and providing a forum for discussing what is quickly dying.
LikeLike
Love the blot and the intelligent comments. This is on of the few places a woman DAWG fan can enjoy the comments.
LikeLike
As a Florida fan, I can attest to the Good Senator’s tolerance. Rumors are that I can get a bit snippy from time to time, but Senator Blutarsky allows me and some of the other regulars to get into it. By coming here, I guess I ignore the ageless aphorism to not to lie with dogs, unless one wants to get fleas.
LikeLike
You do realize Mike that a dawg with fleas is a step up from the slimy, scaly types you have been associating with don’t you? And fleas can be removed/prevented, but those problems with reptiles….they last forever. Might be a good time to step your game up.
LikeLike
I prefer my animals to have stood the test of time, from an evolutionary standpoint. This compared to being a part a over-bred species that serially suffers from a myriad of congenital problems. When the zombie apocalypse decimates mankind, the Gator will survive. I am not so sure about the Bulldog.
By the by, my nephew was given a bottle of 18 year old Macallan for his good work as a geek. He was good enough to share some of it with his Uncle Mike. I am currently a dedicated bourbon drinker, but that was some smooth scotch.
LikeLike
Mick, you are the flea.
LikeLike
Who is Mick?
LikeLike
Hope everyone enjoys their 4th. 4th. What an American number. 4. Has a ring to it, don’t you think, Cojones?
Seriously, thanks to everyone for being part of great group, and Senator, thanks for setting the tone and creating the space.
LikeLike
The 4th! I could not think of a better number to agree upon. Regardless of your opinion of the Dawgs or Richt. Hope everyone enjoys this blog as much as they do the 4th if July! God bless America! It is great to be an American! Long live Lee Greenwood.
LikeLike
Senator,
As I’ve said on a couple of occasions you put out the best product on the market. I will stay a regular reader even if DNA samples are required to do so.
LikeLike
If the Senator starts requiring drug testing, I have clean pee for sale
LikeLike
Senator,
Frankly, this whole thing runs the danger of suppressing people with the most powerful comminication skills. Why allow an idiot like the ‘Thomas Brown’ blogger to even have a hair of an effect on any decision you make, that’s exactly what he wants? It’s common for blog creators to just get rid of people who they can’t win arguments against. For example, you mentioned Aaron Murray in this article. Aaron probably had the worst Spring of any SEC QB, he threw 2 touchdowns, and completed @50%. This was over a total of 3 Spring scrimmages, which the statistics are public domain. What drives me nuts is passing out Spring MVP trophies to guys who don’t deserve them (Did you know Richt awared Murray a Spring MVP award for this SEC worst Spring?). On the other hand, there’s no denying Murray has thrown a lot of td’s, and thrown for a lot of yards over the past 2 seasons. But you in your comments about Murray, tend to minimize his poor play to games against jersey colors on spoecific nights, proving you still don’t get it about Murray and are missing the obvious disturbing facts that could derail another season (how about wins any team that finishes in the final top 25 poll, Murray is 0-9 there, and 4-10 against teams with winning records). Spin away, but those arn’t small matters. Seems to me, there shoud be a place where people can come and look at both sides of issues, and still be friends. Don’t you blame Bobo for nearly everything for example as a form of spam trolling? It’s just sports, we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously, enjoy the passion of it, instead of trying to censor ideas (I’m not saying that’s your intent, but it comes across that way to some).
LikeLike
BD, lot to unpack there.
Again, I have no interest in running people off because of opinions they express, even obnoxious ones. And this is a blog, not a debating society, so whether or not I win an argument with someone isn’t grounds for running him or her off.
I’m not sure what you mean by not letting Brown have an effect on my decision – he was nuked because he behaved badly. Are you saying that I should let commenters continue to misbehave to show that their actions haven’t had an effect on me? That seems self-defeating.
As for your points about my rhetoric regarding Murray and Bobo, I think there’s a lot of sarcasm on my part that you’re not picking up.
LikeLike
Totally agree on getting rid of Thomas Brown–right move. On the other hand, to get rid of intelligent people for merely offering a minority opinion (which is probably why the person created the Thomas Brown moniker in the first place– hoping these minority opinion folks would be banned so only majority opinions would be allowed) is a bad idea.
LikeLike
Why won’t you deny your love of censorship and desire to turn America in to a communist state, Senator? You have never denied this accusation, so therefore it must be true!
#Rememberthe5
LikeLike
Are you seriously trying to bash Murray using spring game stats, or am I missing the joke? Of all the anti-Murray arguments, that has to be by far the most idiotic ever crafted.
LikeLike
1. Jock Puppetry
I never understand why the Senator wants to apologize for the offensive line for going on seven straight seasons. When they have rushed for less than 4ypc against SEC competition every year. And also Murray’s give-aways.
2. Apology Trolling
If you want to defend Mark Richt after finishing outside the top twenty two years running or when we lost to Alabama 31 to 0 at halftime in front of a home crowd or after finishing 6-7 with a loss to UCF on national tv . Fine, fine and fine!
3. The BuLLdawg Affair
BuLLdawgs statistics are correct and show a more accurate and down to earth view of the real Mark Richt over the last six years,without an apology. The Theocratic Facists on this site require the “overzealous” apology instead of BuLLdawgs sober stats!
LikeLike
Are you banning me from GTP? 🙂
LikeLike
Mr Ga Football–that’s one of the all time lamest posts ever. Thomas Brown/Bulldawg was a failed attempt designed to shut down open dialogue on blogs, to force blogs to go to full registration, thereby cutting out pessimistic comments from those that prefer to remain anonymous due to the weirdos trying to turn the UGA blogosphere into a bunch of McGarity puppets. I would suspect the blog guys fear bansihment from UGA feeder sites like Dawgbone if they become too negative (remember how Sports & Grits, a really sarcastic and funny site, got banned from most feeder sites after becoming critical of UGA?).
LikeLike