GAA Forum - Thread Removed

[Jackass]

Hi,

I started a thread in the GAA forum today entitled "GAA - The Greatest Fraud of All time?"

In the thread, I bascially outlined how I was looking to get into GAA, and this season before the championship I went to buy a jersey at an outrageous price, then noticed the tickets are quite expensive...talked about how sponsorhip on jerseys (such as big companies like O2 etc.), sponsorship and media coverage of GAA, merchandising, attendences etc., and asked the question, were the GAA screwing over everybody? The fans, the players - this is supposed to be an amature sport, yet I pay more for merchadise and tickets than I do to watch a professional sport in Ireland with only a fraction of the attendences and merchandising, where players earn €350,000+ per year etc., and these are for sole teams who are very profitable, yet the GAA seems to be pocketing all of this money and where is it going???

And I asked people do they feel like they're being screwed over, both as fans and as players??

I very much wrote the post from an outsiders point of view who's trying to come into the sport and the senselessness of it to me, and how do the "GAA regulars" feel about it and how are the GAA getting away with it?

It was basically a thread outlining how people and players are being screwed also. But I wasn't writing it as a rant, merely as a topic to discuss (and a very relevant one surely?)

Anyway, within 1 minute, the thread was deleted, no explenation, not locked with an explenation, deleted from existance and from my previous posts list.

I find this bizzare and about as welcoming to the sport as the GAA attitude towards fans, but none the less, I don't think it's right that this should just be tossed away like that? At very least it's rude and disrespectful.

I would have liked at very least that if the moderators didn't want this thread for whatever reason that it could be locked, with an explenation posted, and people could read it, both for future reference, but also as I feel I had very valid points to make.

Would it be possible to explain why this isn't allowed? There's nothing I could see in the charter.

And could the charter at least be followed?

GAA Charter wrote:

Pointless Threads and Polls
- Posting any pointless thread or poll will result in the thread being locked. You can be banned for this. Think before you post. If you don't have anything to say then don't bother posting a new thread. Please try to comment as much as you can on any threads you create. If you create a thread in which you ask people to contribute in, contribute first.

If it was felt to be pointless or irrelevant, could you please put the thread back, lock it and post a message in the thread to that affect?

Thanks,

Nick

_blank_

You aren't allowed say anything negative about the GAA in the GAA or Soccer Forums.

Lest they get upset.

Present a positive picture of the association at all times, or gtfo.

Remind you of anywhere?

Xavi6

Sounds like a pretty interesting topic and certainly one worth debate.

I certainly wouldn't bin something like that in soccer if a parent came in and complained about jersey prices, weekend trips to Manchester and having to buy Ronaldo's latest boots.

Did you PM the mods OP?

[Jackass]

Well this is what really bothered me, I don't even know who deleted it or why, so I wasn't really in a position to go chasing all the mods to find out what happened. And I wasn't warned that I had done anything wrong or that I was in breach of some rule I had overlooked, which would have been fair enough, but I can't imagine what rules I could possibly have been even bending from my post.

Which is why I felt it was an arrogant and rude gesture by somebody with a personal agenda that has decided that he or she doesn't want this discussed, and therefore is removing any record of it for people to contribute to .

I smerked when reading the charter, that it opens with "Freedom of speech is not allowed" or something to that affect. I completely repsect the fact that this is a privately owned website and I completely respect the fact that if the owners don't want me to contribute any more or want to censor what I post however they see fit, then that is completely their choice, and I have no issues with it, I use this website often to discuss issues of interest to me and enjoy complete free accsess to the site at their expense.

But I very much doubt that the person who deleted the thread was the owner of the website and I very much doubt it was in anybodys interest but their own personal views to delete the topic at hand. And it's the deleting of it that bothers me. If it was locked and a fair enough explenation given then I wouldn't be moaning about it. I mean I took time to type that and was interested in it, not trying to stir anything up, but genuinely interested in discussing it and see what's going on with it.

Anyway, a moderators job is surely to monitor and follow whatever guidelines are set out to the general forums as a whole and ensure that these rules are adhered to. I doubt it is the intention that this becomes a moderators private forum to dictate what can and can't be discussed or even read based on personal taste or agendas. It's arrogant, autocratic and down right disrespectfull to show such contempt.

It's just really gotten under my skin, and I'd like the thread put back and locked - surely to at least explain to both myself and others who may have simular views, why this is being locked and why it can't be discussed. Otherwise I must just be correct in my assumption that this is something with a total agenda behind it that topics like this can't even be posted or to be referenced to for personal reasons of a moderator who's very function is to facilitate topical discussion and order to a forum without bias or abuse becoming an over bearing factor.

K4t

I agree with OP so far but I'd be interested to hear what the mod in question has to say on the matter.

_blank_

In fairness, the thread title could have been less inflammatory.

Apart from that, I can't see why the whole thread was deleted, Mods have the tools to alter thread titles.

stovelid

[Jackass] wrote: »

Hi,

I started a thread in the GAA forum today entitled "GAA - The Greatest Fraud of All time?"

In the thread, I bascially outlined how I was looking to get into GAA, and this season before the championship I went to buy a jersey at an outrageous price, then noticed the tickets are quite expensive...talked about how sponsorhip on jerseys (such as big companies like O2 etc.), sponsorship and media coverage of GAA, merchandising, attendences etc., and asked the question, were the GAA screwing over everybody? The fans, the players - this is supposed to be an amature sport, yet I pay more for merchadise and tickets than I do to watch a professional sport in Ireland with only a fraction of the attendences and merchandising, where players earn €350,000+ per year etc., and these are for sole teams who are very profitable, yet the GAA seems to be pocketing all of this money and where is it going???

And I asked people do they feel like they're being screwed over, both as fans and as players??

I very much wrote the post from an outsiders point of view who's trying to come into the sport and the senselessness of it to me, and how do the "GAA regulars" feel about it and how are the GAA getting away with it?

It was basically a thread outlining how people and players are being screwed also. But I wasn't writing it as a rant, merely as a topic to discuss (and a very relevant one surely?)

Anyway, within 1 minute, the thread was deleted, no explenation, not locked with an explenation, deleted from existance and from my previous posts list.

DeVore

I dont think you were looking for a reasonable discussion from that thread title and I see no reason why they should entertain you if you cant be more civil then that. I'll review the thread but frankly, next time be a bit more reasonable if you want a reasonable response.

Blackbelt removed the thread. For what its worth, I would probably have done the same. Take it up with him but the last paragraph reads like a sly kick in the nads/troll.

I'm locking this because I've reviewed the thread and this is just going to turn into another sh*t sandwich. PM me if you want to add anything.

DeV.

Gordon

blackbelt deleted the thread, try sending him a PM for now.