For the record, and for all reading...
I encourage people to use the reputation system. Leave comments for one another, and when you do, I'd like to highly recommend leaving some indication of who you are. I often (not all the time) leave '- C.' at the end of mine. Sometimes you're going to be entirely displeased with someone, and you're not going to want to leave some sort of signature. That's fine, but be responsible with your comments.
We all know that in this day and age, there's a record of everything. I can, and the other admins and senior mods can, go into the system and see who is leaving what. I don't want to do it, and I don't want them to do it. But there are going to be times that we have to. I respect that sometimes in the heat of the moment, things might be said that you wouldn't were you thinking clearly. That's fine. If you leave a comment that you later wish you hadn't, if it's extreme then contact me and I will edit or remove it for you.
The reputation system is controversial. I don't think it's something that JelSoft has really fleshed out into an ideal tool, but I think they're going to continue to tweak it with new vBulletin releases. I am also monitoring reputation-related hacks on a vB-related site, looking for user created modifications that make it a more logical and meaningful system. But all of that is beside the point, because each and every single user here has the ability to opt-out of the system entirely. If you do not wish to participate in reputation, then go to UserCP, User Options, and uncheck the box that mentioned reputation. It's that simple. If you ever change your mind, go back and recheck it.
People around here *should* have a thick skin. Louis, with all due respect, just mentioning 'Taco Bell' might be suggestive of a racial jab, but that's about it. It was a juvenile comment, I'm sure the person who did it posted it just to get under your skin, and clearly their mission was accomplished. This is a cause and effect scenario worthy of elementary school. One of the main philosophies behind this forum is that adults, with time and opportunity, can work through their problems. And if they can't, they're equipped to shut the person off completely who is causing problems. There is a Buddy feature on this site, and the Ignore feature compliments that. Anyone who doesn't like Louis can simply ignore him. Anyone Louis doesn't like, he has the option to ignore.
What kind of place am I running here? A forum. Which by definition is a medium of open discussion and the voicing of ideas. We're not all going to agree, but we're all better for it if we can discuss our disagreements, rather than just avoiding them, hiding from them, or dropping all tact and reason when we have to face them. It also helps if we're not over-sensitive. Louis likened BP to a locker room, and in many ways I like the analogy. Things are said in a locker room, that if repeated amongst strangers would come off incredibly poorly. Why? Because people LOVE to be outraged. Outrage has become America's favorite pastime. Screw baseball, Americans collectively are happiest when they're able to rage about some injustice or perceived slight. In fact, they'll go as far as to intentionally blow something trivial entirely out of proportion, just so they can get outraged. But in a locker room, despite that being a microcosm of society itself, with all different races, religious beliefs, financial backgrounds, upbringing, etc., they can joke about almost anything, and knowing that they're a team and things are indeed jokes, and are without true malice, they're able to laugh things off. Unless one of the guys in the locker room is named Tyson, but that's another subject for another time. Conversationally speaking, the modern locker room might be one of the healthiest places for conversation left in the country -- simply because almost nothing is off limits. It has a time and a place, and if someone has a beef with something someone else says, it's going to be addressed right then and there.
For the most part, I think barbs shot between Mili and Tibor are very much like those you'd hear in a locker room. If Tibor has ever been deeply offended by Mili's jokes about 7-11, he's certainly said nothing to me about it. But if he's not offended by it, then no one else should be -- even if they don't agree with the type of joke, find it tasteless, etc., this is still something between Mili and Tibs. If and when it becomes a problem, they'll deal with it, and if they can't (and that is something that's hard for me to fathom, believe it or not), then they'll address it on other ways. If Tibor came to me and said that it was a problem, then I'd address it with Mili and encourage Tibs to put Mils on ignore. Again, and this is something I keep saying, it's that easy.
Obviously the Mili/Tibor reference isn't entirely applicable to someone leaving you (Louis) an anonymous barb referencing Taco Bell in your reputation. But you must know that by making a huge deal about it, you've only given them exactly what they wanted. I have no problem if the comment really did deeply offend you. I don't think you're going to survive on this, or any other college football forum if that's really the case, but that's on you. You addressed it, I dealt with it, it's that simple. But sometimes, it's worth just blowing idiots off as idiots (where you, not me, define for yourself who is and who is not an idiot).
People on the forum are responsible for their own words. But they are just words. That doesn't mean we're going to let BP turn into a cesspool. It does mean that when different people are allowed to express themselves as they see fit, there are going to be some problems. We'll deal with those as best we can as they pop up, or better yet, the individuals with the issues will themselves. So yeah, "locker room" works just fine for me.
