GDA vs. ECNL

[Unregistered]

I disagree. When a naïve visitor to the forum visits for the first time (moved into Florida and looking for a club for example), and 4 of the top 5 threads are bashing one club in particular (WFF), it doesn't bode well for the club subject to the negativity (whether legit or not). That is why supporters of competing clubs continually do this, to try to portray a rival club in a negative light and therefore harm the club financially. Anyone who frequents this site knows this, it is the same clubs over and over that are bashed, probably by a handful of hateful people. That is not what this forum is about (based on the owners deletion of these threads which they have every right to do).

I guess if one's feelings are that strong, they could start an entire new site dedicated to bashing one particular club, as long as they are prepared for a legal mess if any of the assertions are not valid.

I respectfully disagree with you. I think most people are NOT naive enough to believe things posted on an anonymous forum. The agendas are obvious. The idea that anyone is deciding what clubs to join based on what they read here is one of the biggest fallacies on TS. Any adult preparing to spend thousands of dollars will consult with more trusted sources.

If you believe people ARE being influenced by what they read here, then what do you think they conclude when a moderator deletes a thread bashing his club? As a previous poster pointed out, that action probably has the opposite effect from what the mod intended.

The problem with controlling the bashing in the manner you describe is that is allows the personal affiliations and biases of the moderator to influence the process. Will you delete the bashing of your own club but allow threads bashing your hated rival to remain? Will you delete threads that are COMPLIMENTARY of your hated rival?

It's a slippery slope. I think the mods are starting to realize that. Which is why, if you intend to keep this site alive, you should explain the rules that you intend to enforce going forward. Otherwise you will lose me and most of your other readers.

[Unregistered]

Registration won't work-they tried it with another state board and it tanked...

How long did they give it? A registration requirement would drive away people who use the site for the wrong reasons, and attract people who use it for the right reasons. That would take some time, however.

Registration would make multi-threaded conversations easier to follow. Obvious agendas would be easier to spot. You could block specific individuals who offend you, without blocking them for everyone else. And the replying-to-yourself technique which runs rampant on TS would simply stop. Trolls would have to stop claiming, "hey look lots of people agree with me" because everyone could see that it's just one troll.

Registration works for thousands of other sites. You just need to set the rules and allow time to build followers. After a while you will have the kind of site you really want.

[Unregistered]

In the case of WFF, those threads were extremely accurate & spot on.

Fair criticism might be: Club X has inferior training, Club X has poor facilities, Club X is a disorganized mess, Club X underperforms in state cup, etc. All opinions and fair enough.

The line is crossed when names are mentioned and unfounded accusations are made: Coach X slept with a player while coaching college, Coach X had an affair with board member Y, etc. These types of accusations are made directly or inferred on this site daily. Unless someone has specific evidence to support their accusation, it is unfair to question someone's professionalism and character as it could have a negative impact on their ability to earn a living. I know for a fact that IP addresses associated with such harmful claims are being collected (including threads that have been removed). Be careful, its not worth it.

[Unregistered]

Fair criticism might be: Club X has inferior training, Club X has poor facilities, Club X is a disorganized mess, Club X underperforms in state cup, etc. All opinions and fair enough.

The line is crossed when names are mentioned and unfounded accusations are made: Coach X slept with a player while coaching college, Coach X had an affair with board member Y, etc. These types of accusations are made directly or inferred on this site daily. Unless someone has specific evidence to support their accusation, it is unfair to question someone's professionalism and character as it could have a negative impact on their ability to earn a living. I know for a fact that IP addresses associated with such harmful claims are being collected (including threads that have been removed). Be careful, its not worth it.

Nobody will argue with you on those points.

Please explain why the most recent Space Coast threads and any threads critical of GDA are being removed. Those were on-topic, civil, and fact-based. No harmful accusations.

[Unregistered]

Nobody will argue with you on those points.

Please explain why the most recent Space Coast threads and any threads critical of GDA are being removed. Those were on-topic, civil, and fact-based. No harmful accusations.

The threads critical of GDA are also critical of ECNL. It's called debate. Those threads deleted were moderately the cleanest on TS before axed. No one wants to spend time posting opinion when erased before people can read.

[Unregistered]

Fair criticism might be: Club X has inferior training, Club X has poor facilities, Club X is a disorganized mess, Club X underperforms in state cup, etc. All opinions and fair enough.

The line is crossed when names are mentioned and unfounded accusations are made: Coach X slept with a player while coaching college, Coach X had an affair with board member Y, etc. These types of accusations are made directly or inferred on this site daily. Unless someone has specific evidence to support their accusation, it is unfair to question someone's professionalism and character as it could have a negative impact on their ability to earn a living. I know for a fact that IP addresses associated with such harmful claims are being collected (including threads that have been removed). Be careful, its not worth it.

How do you know for fact? Are you the TS Big Brother?

[Unregistered]

The threads critical of GDA are also critical of ECNL. It's called debate. Those threads deleted were moderately the cleanest on TS before axed. No one wants to spend time posting opinion when erased before people can read.

And yet "Booty, booty, booty all day" and other threads containing sexual references remain alive. SMH

[Unregistered]

And yet "Booty, booty, booty all day" and other threads containing sexual references remain alive. SMH

Eat a Dick

[Unregistered]

Don't worry an Alternative is coming soon.

[Unregistered]

Eat a Dick

^^^ Perfect example why there needs to be a way to delete individual posts without deleting the entire thread.

So, if people are saying bad (maybe truthful) things about my club, all I have to do is post something profane and the mods will delete the thread? SMH

[Unregistered]

^^^ Perfect example why there needs to be a way to delete individual posts without deleting the entire thread.

So, if people are saying bad (maybe truthful) things about my club, all I have to do is post something profane and the mods will delete the thread? SMH

Agree there should be a way to delete individual threads. But TS has survived years this way.

[Unregistered]

Nobody will argue with you on those points.

Please explain why the most recent Space Coast threads and any threads critical of GDA are being removed. Those were on-topic, civil, and fact-based. No harmful accusations.

That's where the frustration lies - the post above lays it out well in terms of what is ok and not ok (in my book anyway). But when threads disappear about say Disney or a certain club over and over again. The bias is clear.

For me it's 95% entertainment, maybe I'll learn a bit of information (I do find info about leagues etc helpful). But I certainly won't decide on a club or a coach based on something posted here. There are 1000 hidden agendas here when it comes to clubs competing against one another, or a disgruntled parent or former coach trying to settle the score.

[Unregistered]

People are reporting that many, and in some cases a majority of top players are choosing NOT to sign up for GDA in their area if ECNL is available as an alternative. These players looked at their options and decided to stay with a proven program that allows high school soccer.

GDA players will look at all the talent that went elsewhere and second-guess their own decisions. They will see that GDA failed to live up to the grandiose predictions spouted by the the Federation, and will choose more wisely next year. These conversations are already happening before the new season even starts.

The handwriting is on the wall.

[Unregistered]

People are reporting that many, and in some cases a majority of top players are choosing NOT to sign up for GDA in their area if ECNL is available as an alternative. These players looked at their options and decided to stay with a proven program that allows high school soccer.

GDA players will look at all the talent that went elsewhere and second-guess their own decisions. They will see that GDA failed to live up to the grandiose predictions spouted by the the Federation, and will choose more wisely next year. These conversations are already happening before the new season even starts.

The handwriting is on the wall.

This last post will probably lead to the deletion of this entire thread. Common pattern is that any thread with any GDA comments (or related to any club that has GDA) gets deleted. The Federation has to protect the brand! We can't have consumers having objective, comparative exchanges about the merits of different options! No High School, no ODP and no open discussions!

[Unregistered]

This last post will probably lead to the deletion of this entire thread. Common pattern is that any thread with any GDA comments (or related to any club that has GDA) gets deleted. The Federation has to protect the brand! We can't have consumers having objective, comparative exchanges about the merits of different options! No High School, no ODP and no open discussions!

It could be deleted because of the mention of ECNL. Ecnl clubs are hypersensitive to GDA. GDA is allowing high school for some and that is part of the problem.