[Inviere]

I've only started lurking again recently, after someone tipped me off that all the 'celeb gossip' style of posting here had been cut out. I stopped browsing, reading, and posting in the forum for a good while because of that type of content; if I don't want to read how many babies McGregor has, and wasn't too interested in Tony McGregor's latest musings on life in After Hours, I hardly want to read it here in a sporting forum dedicated to MMA, so I just quit using the forum altogether.

That said, I think it's gone to the other extreme now, in that you can only talk about MMA related topics. I'd imagine it'd be fine to discuss Ferguson's ongoing mental health issues, fine to discuss McGregor's latest phone incident, and fine to discuss the more personal side to the lives of fighters - with one HUGE proviso - the charter mention of 'no fighter bashing' be strictly enforced. The overall goal should be to create a friendly environment where people can discuss MMA, the the stars of the sport, without creating a cesspit where trolls can thrive. Similarly, discussion should only relate to the fighters themselves, all due respect to Tony McGregor, but fooked if he's remotely relevant in an MMA forum, leave that type of tripe to AH where it belongs.

I also think another few mods are needed, maybe two. So much seems to fall on Axwell, and while we mightn't see eye to eye on things, he is now the sole mod of the forum, and that just can't be a good idea, for various reasons (burnout, possibly inadvertently biased modding, lack of a mod team to discuss/develop/build the forum, fresh faces/fresh ideas, etc etc). Similarly, I personally find the "don't post like that or I'll ban you" type mod warnings as massively blunt, and they don't reflect well on moderators as a whole - you can get a warning across without writing in a threatening manner, it just looks amateurish (and again, no disrespect to Axwell, it's just an observation).

To summarise, I think it's good that the celeb/tmz tripe has been nuked, but I'm not sure it's a good idea outlawing everything outside of MMA. Allow chat that's directly related to fighters (not their families, and not rumours/accusations), implement a hard and fast ban system for fighter bashing to keep the habitual moaners that get a hard on for bashing away (they only ever cause angst anyway), and get some new modding blood on board to create a cohesive modding team, one that can continue to develop/grow the forum for the future.

[dave1982]

Axell seems to threaten with ban hammer alot. Mma forum only talk about fights only. Yet he is in mcgregor thread now on about stocks and shares. Its my impression he is total conor fan and wont have anything bad said about conor. People should be allowed discuss whats in the news on conor, good or bad. Ironicaly he will threaten me with ban for smart comment..with a smart comment of his own in his [B] do that and your gone[B] nonsense
If a mod is setting rules fight talk only in mma forum then stick to it.. talking about conor private life smashing guys phones has something to do with his mind frame why would he do it etc. Is he mentaly there etc is he going off rails, will this cause him to be out longer and stuff like that has a lot more to do with mma than stocks and shares of a company but what do i know its his playground.
Being threaten with a ban dont bother btw

[Steve]

So, just to throw it out there:

What about a dedicated MMA celebrity gossip thread?

Anything non fight / sport related goes in there.

Whiskey / new cars / boats / shares etc.. obviously nothing that is sub-judice or related to illegal activity.

[Inviere]

Originally Posted by Steve

So, just to throw it out there:

What about a dedicated MMA celebrity gossip thread?

Anything non fight / sport related goes in there.

Whiskey / new cars / boats / shares etc.. obviously nothing that is sub-judice or related to illegal activity.

The only issue I'd have with that is, how do you draw the line between relevant conversation and gossip. For instance, I'd love to keep up to speed with Tony's mental health struggles at the moment, he's actively posting about it on social media. I'd hate to have to wade through absolute crap related to Proper 12 though to keep up.

[CQD]

Originally Posted by Steve

So, just to throw it out there:

What about a dedicated MMA celebrity gossip thread?

Anything non fight / sport related goes in there.

Whiskey / new cars / boats / shares etc.. obviously nothing that is sub-judice or related to illegal activity.

Isn't that what the McGregor thread is supposed to be though?.. just the nonsense related to him..and the ridiculous subject matter is more down to his antics than anything else..
And like, seriously, could you have a balanced conversation about him these last few years without mentioning cocaine?..

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Inviere

The only issue I'd have with that is, how do you draw the line between relevant conversation and gossip. For instance, I'd love to keep up to speed with Tony's mental health struggles at the moment, he's actively posting about it on social media. I'd hate to have to wade through absolute crap related to Proper 12 though to keep up.

Feel free to suggest how best to do that... that's what threads like this are for!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by CQD

Isn't that what the McGregor thread is supposed to be though?.. just the nonsense related to him..and the ridiculous subject matter is more down to his antics than anything else..
And like, seriously, could you have a balanced conversation about him these last few years without mentioning cocaine?..

No, this is supposed to be a MMA forum not a gossip forum.

However, if most users want gossip allowed, we will listen and figure out a way to accommodate it. If they don't then we can also accommodate.

[Inviere]

Originally Posted by Steve

Feel free to suggest how best to do that... that's what threads like this are for!

I don't think I'd advocate for going that 'celeb gossip thread' route at all tbh, it seems a needless complication. As I posted about in this post, I think the current rules should be somewhat relaxed so as to allow for discussion on news directly related to fighters. I believe Tony's mental health struggles, Conor's latest incident with the phone, and so forth, are viable topics of discussion. What I would change though, is if a wider subject matter is to be allowed again, is to enforce a strict "no fighter bashing" rule (it's already in the charter). I'd go very heavy handed on this, so it won't take trolls long at all to get the message, that trolling/bashing/antagonising just won't fly here.

[Inviere]

Originally Posted by Steve

No, this is supposed to be a MMA forum not a gossip forum.

I completely agree. If I'm to visit this forum, I only come here for news on fighters, fighters, and so forth. We need to realise though, that the fighters we all know and love have lives outside of fighting, and people are going to want to discuss that, within the bounds of the forum. We need to strike a balance between just how off topic we can get though. Personally I don't think Proper 12 discussion, Tony McGregor, etc, have any place here. I do believe though, that situations like Tony's mental health problems are relevant here, because it may impact when/if we see him fight again.

However, if most users want gossip allowed, we will listen and figure out a way to accommodate it. If they don't then we can also accommodate.

The gossip stuff belongs in AH imo, it's beyond painful to read.

[EagererBeaver]

The UFC, having taken so much of its operating model from professional wrestling, has a large aspect of pantomime to it.

"MMA related" isn't strictly related to training or fights. Some other stuff had to be allowed in, and generally it is.

Libellous ****e or discussing what McGregor had for breakfast or whether he cheated on Dee is just tabloid nonsense though.

It should be a forum for fans but not fanboys, which is pretty much how it's run at the minute.

[AlmightyCushion]

Originally Posted by Inviere

I completely agree. If I'm to visit this forum, I only come here for news on fighters, fighters, and so forth. We need to realise though, that the fighters we all know and love have lives outside of fighting, and people are going to want to discuss that, within the bounds of the forum. We need to strike a balance between just how off topic we can get though. Personally I don't think Proper 12 discussion, Tony McGregor, etc, have any place here. I do believe though, that situations like Tony's mental health problems are relevant here, because it may impact when/if we see him fight again.

However, if most users want gossip allowed, we will listen and figure out a way to accommodate it. If they don't then we can also accommodate.

The gossip stuff belongs in AH imo, it's beyond painful to read.

How do you determine what is relevant though? Mental health issues are ok, smashing a phone is ok but whiskey isn't. What's the criteria and how do you determine it?

I think the sports only rule is ridiculous and should be done away with. If it's relevant to the fighter than allow discussion of it (obvious legal issues aside). Most of the extreme gossipy stuff is about McGregor anyway so will largely be contained to the McGregor thread.

[Beasty]

A lot of forums have "Off topic" threads - what about trying that here? Try and ring fence the "non-sporting" stuff so those who don't want to engage in that can steer clear of the thread

I appreciate it will be very McGregor dominated, certainly in the short to medium term. However the sport will survive when he's ridden off into the sunset (if he's not already pretty much done so!)

Just on the topic of mods, we have been trying for some time to identify some new blood. Unfortunately many are put off when they see the sort of shenanigans, particularly with some of the McGregor stuff. We are though actively looking for new mods. Please do not post any suggestions here, but if anyone has any ideas please feel free to drop me or the CMods a PM

Thanks

[riffmongous]

I'd +1 the idea of a off-topic/gossip/PPV numbers/whiskey etc thread separate to the normal McG thread. Then at least all that stuff is contained within one thread and for people who don't like it, they don't have to read it. If you ban all that stuff completely, we'll just end up with people re-doing the same handful of topics that have already been done to death (Mayweather, Aldo fight and so on), which is just as offputting tbh.

One thing I would like to see is the General News Thread being used less and more new threads being set up, or when something noteworthy happens the posts are split off from there and into a new thread by a mod, it might encourage people to post more and seems to work well in the Pro Wrestling forum.

[Inviere]

Originally Posted by AlmightyCushion

How do you determine what is relevant though? Mental health issues are ok, smashing a phone is ok but whiskey isn't. What's the criteria and how do you determine it?

I appreciate that what I personally feel is relevant, another poster might not, and vice versa. I used those examples for these reasons; Tony's mental health problems are just that, problems. It's not something that's going to cause trolling, offense, and arguing etc. It's directly connected to Tony's career, and will determine if and/or when we might see Tony in the ring again - we're all rooting for him I'm sure, so it's something that'd be good in terms of discussion, and community building.

Similarly, McGregor's beach antics could have an impact on his career also. It's another bump in the road, a very long and bumpy road of late, for McGregor. Ok, it's a subject that could harbour ill will/fighter bashing, but I think to outlaw discussion on it is really exposing the fact that we need more versatile definitions of acceptable/not acceptable topics here. It made headlines, so it should be acknowledged, with a heavy handed approach to fighter bashing/trolling.

Proper 12, Tony McGregor, Instagram Babies, and what not, have no relevance to fights, upcoming fights, potential fights, careers, UFC, MMA...those sort of things (imo) are completely and totally irrelevant here. They fuel fighter bashing, posts antagonise people, causes I'm sure a not insignificant extra work for Axwell, and are discussions of no value in an MMA forum. Boards will cater to that type of thing, just go to AH or the Celebrity forums to do it.

I think the sports only rule is ridiculous and should be done away with. If it's relevant to the fighter than allow discussion of it (obvious legal issues aside). Most of the extreme gossipy stuff is about McGregor anyway so will largely be contained to the McGregor thread.

But how many people here are interested in hearing about McGregor's career? Is he training again? He's been seen training here, there, somewhere else. Has he fallen out with Kavanagh? He's just promised Nate a trilogy match, can he possibly adapt to overcome Khabib? Will he get the winner of Poirier and Holloway? How will he fare against a much improved version of Max/Dustin if he does?

^^ Personally, I love all that stuff. Am I interested in Proper 12, Instagram rumours, Tony McGregor, Whatsaap groups that claim Conor's friends cousin's sister's Aunt knows a fella that seen McGregor do something bad? Fook no.

Originally Posted by Beasty

A lot of forums have "Off topic" threads - what about trying that here? Try and ring fence the "non-sporting" stuff so those who don't want to engage in that can steer clear of the thread

It's possibly the most flexible solution Beasty, but again, my only concern is that a thread such as that would encompass some of the good stuff too, meaning people might have to trawl through some serious OT stuff to get to it. I do agree though, how to determine "the good stuff" from the not so, is the problem.

[AlmightyCushion]

Originally Posted by riffmongous

One thing I would like to see is the General News Thread being used less and more new threads being set up, or when something noteworthy happens the posts are split off from there and into a new thread by a mod, it might encourage people to post more and seems to work well in the Pro Wrestling forum.

I'd definitely agree with this. Too many good topics can get lost in there.