In the interests of transparency, we wanted to let the community know about the following...
The DBR Mod team has had a long discussion about how to handle discussion of UNC and the cheating scandal. There are, understandably, many Duke fans who feel bitter anger at the decades of unrepentant cheating involving Carolina (as well as the school’s decision to refuse to own up to their bad deeds and take punishment). But, it is also understandable that there are many Duke fans who want to have a rational discussion about the Heels (a prominent team in the ACC race) without having said discussion devolve into taunts, name-calling, and anger.
So, in order to maintain the DBR’s high standards of both decorum and rational conversation, we want to lay out the following thoughts/rules from the mod team.
1. Carolina is no different from any other ACC team. Like we've done in the past, the only UNC games that warrant their own thread on the DBR will be those games with Duke (and possibly special threads when they get shellacked, after the fact) or if there is significant news about the team. They are no different from any other ACC team in this regard. We will not allow more than 1 thread for anything else about Carolina on the front page of the forum. We have closed the one started to talk about the pre-season Carolina team, as it has served its purpose.
2. Whining about cheating. We don't want to look like IC. If your thought works into and advances the conversation, that's fine. But some of what we read on the UNC Skates thread was clearly venting and repetitive rants. As in all other threads, you must bring something new to the conversation. We all know they cheated. There's absolutely nothing we can do to change the NCAA's refusal to punish them. Our community prides itself on being a cut above other message boards; we don't allow rants and vents on other topics, so we won't allow it on UNC cheating. We all feel angry about the NCAA's decision. But bringing it up in every thread, multiple times, just makes our community look petty.
Imagine a thread like this:
* So what do you think about Duke playing so much zone this year?
* Lance Thomas bought all that jewelry, something nefarious went on with him. Bring down the banner.
* Whatever. So, will the freshmen be able to play much M2M this year?
* Cory Magette -- D.o.o.k knew. Should have been punished.
* But really, about the defensive sets.
* Ratface runs a dirty program.
Sounds like IC, right? How is that any different than:
* What about those defending national champions that we'll play twice this year. Think they'll be any good?
* Lyin', stinkin' Cheaters. Bring down the banners.
* Whatever. Who do you think will be the best player this year?
* Paper classes. Dean knew. Should have been punished.
* But really, about the opponent we'll face twice this year.
* Cheaters. For decades. Still do.
3. Signatures and Avatars. Our community is a creative bunch, and it's only a matter of time (meaning about 14 nanoseconds) before someone decides to use their signature as a soapbox. Signatures and avatars are subject to the same posted rules. Please keep it family friendly. If you despise Carolina that much, we respectfully request that you do not use their logo or symbols at all -- don't give them any more airtime. This is a Duke board, so we would prefer that you remain pro-Duke with messages you attach to your name. You may put something in your signature if you feel strongly -- but it must adhere to the posting guidelines and not be visually noxious for other readers when scrolling through a thread (including, but not limited to, limiting your font size, colors, and the total length of your message).
4. Threads on the scandal. As we've done in the past, if there is a significant new development on the Carolina scandal, a new thread can be opened with new information. No new information means no new threads. The last thread devolved into gratuitous bashing, which we allowed for a while to collectively work through our reactions. It has served its purpose. We've now got some awesome Duke basketball to talk about; we can move on. Note that moving on does NOT mean forgetting. It does NOT mean that we condone what they did. It does mean that we choose the high road and to support OUR team. (Don't you just hate it when they bring up the long-dead negative Duke stories?) This topic is becoming divisive and a distraction from our season. Let's take a break for a while and focus on the reason why we joined this board: Duke Basketball.
So, what does all this mean?
At the moment, it means Carolina talk is confined to the “This Week in the ACC” threads, just like for any other ACC team. We would ask that you keep mentions of the scandal/cheating toned down a bit. If there is a clear opportunity to bring it up that seems to be in the context of a natural conversation, that is fine, but don’t just reflexively say “cheaters!!” every time you see the letters U-N-C strung together. If the mod team finds you are continually bringing up the scandal and will not drop it, you may find yourself getting a Repetitive Rant infraction, which is one of the more serious infractions we hand out and quite often results in a “time out” from reading or posting to the DBR.
We appreciate the community holding itself to high standards and love that you guys largely make the mod team’s job very easy. Thanks for understanding. As always, if you have questions or concerns about this or any other issue related to moderation, feel free to post a note or to PM one of us.
Sincerely,
The DBR Boards Moderation Team