At a certain point last year, it seemed that the comment section of every post MLBTR wrote involving domestic violence, politics, or COVID-19 devolved into a trainwreck of insults and arguments. Rather than use our employees’ time to moderate the comment section, I decided to close comments entirely on these topics. I didn’t start MLBTR with the goal of hosting or moderating arguments on these topics, but they are inextricably linked with baseball. Judging from the emails I received last week and the comments left on unrelated posts, many MLBTR readers would like a space in our commenting section to discuss MLB’s decision to move the All-Star Game out of Georgia.
I think one potential improvement we can make is to introduce a mute button, giving you the power to mute all the comments and threads by a particular person. I’ve talked to our developers, and this is a feature we can create. We will probably have it ready by the end of the month.
MLB Trade Rumors wouldn’t exist without you, and if the majority of our reader base wants open commenting on sensitive topics, it’s something I have to consider. I’m not sure yet whether it is a majority, but it’s time to find out. Before any decisions are made, I’d like to gather poll data to see specifically what MLBTR readers want. Please take a few minutes and fill out this survey. Click here to view the survey results.
This was all started by burrow_is_a_bust
What a dumb name because Burrow looked nothing like a bust last year.
Agreed but he/she made a complete mess on the football page
All I know is that I hope this place doesn’t go the censorship route like most social media has. I think the mute feature is great, but topics like the All-Star Game move should allow comments as it’s a major talking point for baseball fans. Only personal insults and the usual childish nonsense should be removed. People need to learn it’s not only possible to respect other opinions without necessarily agreeing with them, but it’s the right thing to do.
I agree with you wholeheartedly, FP, but I also don’t think MLBTR should have to spend valuable employee hours monitoring the maturity level of buffoons. The mute button seems like a decent compromise. Now if we only had one of those for the real world…
Can we close the comment section on all articles related to the Yankees? That’s some toxicity reading that fanbase’s nonsensical dribble.
Nice hat Stevie.
I have a much better idea.
NO CENSORSHIP AT ALL. AND LIMIT COMMENTS TO ONE PER PERSON
IF SOMEONE DOES NOT LIKE WHAT A COMMENTER IS WRITING, YOU SIMPLY STOP READING
THIS ELIMINATES ANY BACK AND FORTH ESCALATION AS WELL AS FILLING UP THE CHAT BOARD WITH DRIVEL
The correct word is drivel
@Steve.. what they should do is stop forcing you to read them if you don’t like them.
Or, as an alternative to that, have certain issues limited to one comment, like the ASG. Say your piece and move on.
Other issues, like are the RS the best team in BB, can be argued back and forth by folks with nothing better to do.
OIC21: You’re an intelligent individual and I like how you’re thinking about compromise while keeping convos in check; but the purpose of the comments section is conversation, and that’s impossible if limited to one comment. That would quickly lose the interest of many, I assume.
Again, I think it’s a great out-of-the-box idea and at least your coming up with different solutions, man. Thank you, sincerely.
Joe: It’s strange that he comments so often on so many responses within the Yankees articles and hey, here he is, creating toxic commentary while accusing Yankee fans of doing precisely what he is actually acting out. It’s truly amazing.
Anytime there is anonymous commenting, this happens. Don’t be Facebook or Twitter though, censorship is not the answer. Big yes to the mute button! I have a feeling I would use it quite a bit here. But at the end of the day we could have REAL baseball discussions without the filler.
“No censorship at all”
“Limit to one comment per person”
So you’re suggesting they not give ppl the ability to comment freely as much as they want…what do you think we should call that…
@DHud.. or
“MLBTR shouldn’t censor people.”
“Give me a mute button so I can censor people.”
Ban caps lock
Why should any baseball related comments by limited or censored? Last I checked we all have the right to freedom of speech and especially if we are paying a fee per month we shouldn’t have to be limited to what we post on here as long as it is not rude or abusive. If they censor anything on this site I will no longer be a pay a monthly fee if I can’t post or comment on what I want.
DHud I will call that I WILL NO LONGER BE PAYING A MONTHLY FEE FOR THIS SERVICE. They are begging people to subscribe to keep this awesome site going and now they are talking about censoring or limiting what you can post. Make the mute button happen but if you guys are stupid enough to censor or limit what people can post this site will go belly up in a few months. Like I posted above as long as the posts are about baseball and they are civil then we should be able to post what we want and how many times we want. I hope the people that run this actually read these comments because they are playing a dangerous game especially when we are paying a monthly fee to keep them in business.
Dodger Jr: I recommended @TIM DEIRKES looking into a PC (private chat/room/discussion off the main thread) option so fans can enter into a discussion without having the conversation hijacked, which happens all too often.
Tim hasn’t answered me, which is no surprise, but what are your thoughts on that?
@Yankee Clipper.. We do have the Trade Rumors Chat Forum app for the paid subscribers. I’m a little surprised a discussion hasn’t started on it.
“right to freedom of speech”
That is the right to not be sent to jail for saying things.
Stop yelling
Honestly I’ve never used it…. maybe we should start while Tim considers his options. I just wish he would let me know if it’s possible to do that. Either way, it would be nice to select those with whom we discuss the content of these articles. Thanks Joe! We should try that on one of the newer articles.
What fee? Isn’t this site free? Am I paying something that I am not aware of?
What fee? Isn’t this site free?
Yes it’s free, unless you choose to pay and get extra benefits.
Can’t wait to mute you
@Joe
Wait…what’s this? I joined to try & support these guys (I actually miss the ads I got. They had me figured out. I honestly wonder if MLBTR is actually losing money on my membership as opposed to collecting their commission) not for any particular benefit.
I’m not even sure what they are…
But Chat forum? No idea what that is.
MZ311: Who are you speaking to?
@Ducky.. I was sent an email with a link that I downloaded. Not sure how to get it without. As I want to install it on my tablet, I’ll look into it. I’ll let you know what I find.
Three things. First, the freedom of speech (1st Amendment) relates to government. MLBTraderumors is a private enterprise and freedom of speech is not relevant. Second, freedom of speech is not an absolute, there are and always have been limits. Third, any freedom involves not just a right but also a responsibility, the responsibility to use that right wisely or maturely. Unfortunately, in our current society, responsibility and respect for others is not valued.
@Joe
Merci.
If I get desperate, I’ll enlist my son’s help. Just trying to avoid the deep sigh & ” yeah I can help you with it Dad” that would be part of it lol.
I agree, we don’t need more censorship. People need to learn to ignore comments.
Absolutely right, it’s not a conversation if you are allowed only one post. I agree sometimes there’s offtopic back-and-forth that disrupts the comments section, but preventing everyone from posting multiple times because of the actions of a few is not the way to go.
Personally, I don’t care about what people post. I just ignore the off topic comments I don’t agree with. I think a mute button should exist but I would never use it. I think people can choose to filter out posts themselves that they find offensive. I never like talking about politics. I come to sports to get away from it. That is getting increasingly harder to do though. I know a lot of people that spent thousands of dollars to by Braves season tickets this year just because Truist Park was known to be hosting the All-Star game for years. Most of the did it because they wanted to take their kids to the game and the home run derby. These are people that didn’t even support the new law in Georgia. I feel really bad for them. They have been punished for something out of their control. They don’t even live in the same county that law was passed and they have been hyping their kids up for this “once in a lifetime chance” to go to an All-Star game. What I mean is I see why other people feel like they should be able to talk about it because it DOES pertain to MLB. They feel they have been punished for something they didn’t do by people who they thought appreciated their support. I personally don’t talk about politics but if MLB hyped up a reason to by season tickets for years and convinced me to pay thousands of dollars for this once in a generation chance and then turned their back on me just a few months before it happened… I might feel like my voice should hold a little more weight than someone who has never gone through that. Anyway… That’s my 2 cents. Bring on the mute button so people don’t have an excuse to be offended because they could block it if they want. Everyone try to consider other peoples point of view and don’t be offensive. To the ones that won’t do that: You might get muted by everyone and no one will pay attention to you. To the ones that think the topics should just be shut down if they don’t like it: Don’t worry about what other people say to each other. You can mute it and stay out of the conversation. Just because you don’t like something someone has to say doesn’t mean you should try to prevent other people from saying to each other if you can mute it and don’t have to listen or read.
Good job replying to get to the top of the page.
Not quite as good as you though, despicable_you.
If they spent the money to be season ticket holders though, they likely have the money to spend on a plane ticket to Denver, no? Denver’s a beautiful city to visit anyway…
One thing’s for sure, the Home Run Derby will be epic.
They took the game out of Atlanta because players were already saying they weren’t going to play if the game was held there. Dave “BLM Lover” Roberts had already said he didn’t think he was going to be able to manage the AS game so what was MLB supposed to do? I guarantee you that sponsors were saying they would bail on MLB so if the best players are boycotting the game they had no choice but to move the game. Who is going to watch the game if your top players aren’t there. The ratings are already crap for the AS with everyone there. The bottom line is baseball is a business and Manfred was told by the majority of owners to move the game.
For the record, Roberts never really said one way or another about managing the game. He only said he wasn’t sure and was thinking about it. An important point often overlooked is that baseball is more than a business, it’s the hundreds of people who work in the game as athletes and elsewhere. I don’t know why it shocks or surprises anyone that these people have their own minds about things. Look at all the posts here from fans who believe they should be able to say whatever they like wherever they like, but when it comes to people in baseball they think they should keep their mouths shut.
Thank you Tim for asking us! I’m fine with however you and your staff feel it is best to proceed. I love the site. Thank you!!
Agreed – that guy was horrible and constantly saying ridiculous things to seek attention. Glad he is gone and the people who are like him make this a fantastic idea. Kudos to MLBTR for coming up with this idea!
Do you feel blame?
Some people get reincarnated………
Cool.
I’m here for the news, just close the comments permanently.
Like many other sites, if people want to comment or carry the story further, they could be using the links you already provide to share on FB, or Twitter.
This is a great site, I’ve been a longtime reader. Don’t waste your teams’ time sifting through comments.
Or you can just skip the comments……
Politics will always lead to violence, aggression, and arguments. Blocking comments was the right move.
MLB’s decision was a bad move but as stated before, they had to pick the socially acceptable side.
Why host a city who will have only 25 wins by the all star break anyway?
– it’s a big park, – they were already in running for ASG so had started the logistical requirements to have the game, it’s a big city so plenty of hotels and, here’s the politics, they are one of the top mail in voting states in the US, which is exactly against Georgia’s laws aimed at limiting people’s ability to vote in person+mail
Don’t shoot the messenger. Those were some of the talking points i saw from Col elected officials when it was announced
It wasn’t simply the socially acceptable side – you’re not giving enough credit in my opinion. It is the morally correct side, and it uses its powerful platform to communicate that point. They see the future and understand where this society is headed, and want to be on the right side of history. If you don’t believe that, in a business driven by making money in a capitalist society, you’re just not paying attention in high school level marketing classes.
Companies and organizations making a play in to policies and politics is bad news for everyone. It’s virtue signalling at its finest.
Companies who have dealings in China and other human rights violators who are condemning GA is a joke. It’s like Nike supporting feminism but then having factories full of small girls making shoes to increase their profits. All smoke and mirrors, that’s all that’s happening.
“Companies and organizations making a play in to policies and politics is bad news for everyone. It’s virtue signalling at its finest.”
Republicans (and conservative Supreme Court justices) are the ones who vehemently argued that corporations are people and can participate in politics via public comments (First Amendment) and political donations. Now those same people are mad and think corporations should stay out of politics because they’re against a GOP/conservative policy. Rich to say the least.
See what you did there? You assumed someone’s political alignment and based your response on whataboutism instead of the actually comment. The eye for an eye politics is blinding everyone.
@Dusty
Nah bud. Citizens United. Look it up. Conservative appointed justices affirmed political rights and protections for corporations.
Those are facts, not politics.
Democrat companies are way more in politics and the reason there’s a cancel culture that’s ruining our country. Not to mention democrats receive millions more in donations from big business than republicans each election cycle. I agree that companies have a right to engage in politics but they have to be willing to accept the risks of it
Cancel culture is as American as apple pie. I’m currently reading a book that covers different aspects of McCarthyism, so I find your comment particularly hilarious.
Edit: never mind. I don’t need moderation.
I’ve been on a dns sinkhole bc your ads are the absolute worst. I’ll moderate myself out of here indefinitely.
You’re not making sense here, I don’t even know what you’re replying to. I say companies getting involved in politics isn’t good, you say well it’s republicans fault… who cares who fault or why it’s happening, it’s still not good, especially when it’s just to appease 51% of the population.
MLB moved it’s all star game out of a state but they still have a major league team in the state playing 81 games. Lol it makes absolutely zero sense whatsoever. It’s just optics. Total fluff.
Spot on
This. Nothing more, or less.
Awesome!
One of the few interesting articles from ESPN that highlights that team owners make far more donations to the GOP: espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30155186/election-2020-pol…
@ dusty
It was McConnell that made the statement that corporations should stay out of politics this week. When the Supreme Court was deciding if Corporations should be treated as people when it came to politics(and giving political contributions), it was the same McConnell that supported them, because he wanted their money. Can’t have it both ways!
Phattboy…. The Gov of Georgia had a right to sign the voting law that he did but guess what? He is now going to have to be willing to accept the risks of it and losing the AS game is one of the risks.
So the ASG was cancelled because MLB didn’t like Georgia’s policies? Are they now going to cancel all the games in cities where they don’t approve of the states policies? This is a very dangerous path we are travelling. I like the idea of the mute button.
Just found out the ASG was moved to Colorado, a Democratic state. And there are still folks out there who think this wasn’t political? Take your heads out of the sand people.
@kripes
“Morally correct side” ?
I believe that our government has a moral and legal duty to prevent election fraud, to require American citizens to prove they are in-fact American citizens when it comes to something so important as deciding who we want to dictate the laws our lives are beholden.
Perhaps you disagree, it is your right. But whether or not it is “morally correct” is a matter of opinion, and it might be your opinion, but it certainly is not mine.
If being able to produce a valid government issued ID is too difficult for someone then that person probably isn’t smart enough to be voting anyway.
Yeah you got some reading to do.
When has a non-citizen cast a vote in an election? Please provide a link, I’m curious.
@ CalcetinesBlancos;
L O L
@Calcentines
I’m sure you’re capable of googling it yourself, but here’s an example:
ice.gov/news/releases/19-foreign-nationals-indicte…
Sadler:
That is a great example! 19 people, and it seems the they were caught and held accountable. So why are people so worked up?
@Calcentines
Because facts often play second fiddle to emotion.
Whose morals are you referring to? I always find it amusing when someone talks about morals. The people making these decisions are not basing these decisions on morality, that’s simply naive and counter to what is going on in this country. The Georgia voting law makes it EASIER for people to vote as long as they can prove citizenship. That’s why Democrats hate it, it lessens the chance of fraud. And what do Democrats do when they hate something……wait for it…..RACIST!!!!! JIM CROW!!!!! It’s all just performance art at this point. Go look at other states voting laws and tell me that Georgia’s is racist. If they are then Delaware, New York, and Colorado are all Jim Crow states.
@Jones
There were more recounts in GA than any previous election and no fraud was found, according to the Republican Sec of State. So, changing laws that already prevented fraud, cannot be to reduce something that did not occur.
@stymeedone
There were more than 2.3 million votes cast in the Georgia runoff and you’re saying that of those 2.3 million, there was exactly 0 fraudulent votes cast? I have some beach front property in Kansas I’d like to sell you.
If thousands of years of human history has taught us anything, its that human beings will cheat when they can and the easier it is to cheat, the more we do it. As a baseball fan, the steroid era should be evidence enough of that.
@ Sadler
google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j…
As you can see from the study done by The Heritage Foundation, a right leaning source, there were zero cases of voter fraud in Georgia in 2020.
google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j…
Hudson6: Although I don’t necessarily agree with you, this is awesome! I love the information you posted from Heritage, This helps further discussions. Fact-based information from non-biased sources. I say non-biased because they’re right-leaning yet they found what seems to contradict what most believe to be the Right’s common philosophy on this subject.
What high school has marketing classes??
Baseball should have stayed out of politics in general, but they just couldn’t help themselves. I hope it has similar results for them as it does for the NFL, maybe then they’ll learn.
The NFL is doing just fine, so I’m not sure what lessons you’re hoping are imparted here.
The NFL is lowering its salary cap for only the second time since the cap was introduced in 1994. The only other time it was lowered was in 2011, as a result of a labor lockout.
But your point is probably still valid. Surely this is entirely about concussions, cheating, stupid rules and bad officiating.
I kneel to your wisdom.
I’m sure a pandemic that wiped out crowds had absolutely NOTHING to do with the NFL revenue being lower and an adjustment downward in the cap. Yep. Absolutely NO IMPACT AT ALL.
It was definitely because of kneeling for the anthem…
/s
They actually specifically attributed it to the kneeling, and it was before the pandemic. Lol.
Pay attention, MLB is going to go through the same thing only it will be exponentially worse with the impending labor strike coming next year.
They admitted the kneeling hurt them.
MLB crossed that bridge a long time ago with the antiTrust exemption
Last I checked they’re both still billion $ companies. I define that as successful.
1984 – Exactly! Stay out of politics.
Agreed @1984. I’m not a political person. I want sports to be an escape. I’m probably not informed enough on political issues to argue anything, so I won’t.
Here is the issue with baseball- or any sport- diving into politics: you have players and fans on both sides of the aisle. It’s complicated. Furthermore, an entire city was just punished for something not everyone was onboard with. Fans in Atlanta, regardless of what they believe, won’t get to see an ASG. Jobs were lost. Generally, it’s why it’s best sports stay out of it. If baseball wanted to do something, run ads or put up banners or something that’d be visible on tv.
You guys are failing to realize that if MLB took no stance then the players would by boycotting the All Star Game, which would require a statement by the commissioner that would tick you off for politics being in baseball.
They had to take a stance and they decided to be proactive instead of reactive. And for as many times as we say “so and so was traded because it’s a business” why are so many people having a hard time understanding that this business is allowed to make whatever statements it wants? It’s already been determined that businesses are people just like the rest of us, and as people they have as much of a right to protest voting laws as you do to protest the MLB.
Just because you don’t agree with them doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to say and do as they please.
1984 Are you referring to the NFL which just signed a new 11 year TV deal with ESPN, FOX, CBS, NBC and AMAZON for billions of dollars? I hope MLB has similar results as the NFL had.
Actually, MLB did not have to pick the socially acceptable side…. incorrect. Nothing had to be done, yet a change was made.
BaseballGuy1: Exactly! They didn’t have to “Be on the right side of history”. They already are with fully integrated sports.
It’s funny how everyone on one particular side applauds these efforts, but let MLB switch sides, and support the other partisan political agenda and they would be calling for an outright ban on all things MLB.
The righteous indignation is incredible. But, this is precisely why I view this objectively and affirm my position that MLB should not take a side or be politically aligned at all. It’s a huge mistake. They are entertainment sports, nothing more, nothing less.
Yep. We don’t look back at every World Series win to find out where the team stood politically. Game is played on the field and that’s where the focus should remain.
You’re right, they should have just left it to the individual players to decide whether to play or not, because y’all have shown such compassion when individual athletes stand up for what they believe in.
Ian Theodore Fanthemson –
Care to wager on your 25 win prediction? I’ll give you 3 to 1 odds….
Didn’t think so….but it’s fun for you to talk like a smarta** isn’t it?
This thread is a great example of why these sort of comments don’t belong here. Great job everyone, another pointless argument that convinced no one
I think this works better than not having discussions at all. Some people just don’t get along and that’s okay.
“I didn’t start MLBTR with the goal of hosting or moderating arguments…”. Who would?
But you do want to do the work when it comes to selling front-office subscriptions and ad-views? You can’t have it both ways. Write about controversial topics, get more clicks, then cut the comments… If the you truly believe this, cut the ads on the controversial articles with closed comments..
If you draw enough people to the site you’ll need to spend resources moderating, and mute button could help with this. Seems like you only want to focus on the tasks that make money…
Let me let you in on a secret. The app has no ads
My app has ads. What type of phone do you use?
iPad 7th gen
Despicable this site has Ad’s if you don’t pay the monthly subscription fees.
I’m literally on the app the only ad that I’ve ever seen was the recently posted ad for thrive fantasy
We do plenty of stuff that doesn’t make money. But our employees do have a finite amount of time. Is moderating comments a good use of it? Is this effort worthwhile if a majority of readers prefer comments closed on those topics?
Then don’t put ads on the comment closed articles.
You are using controversial topics to generate additional clicks, views, and revenue. Then you all of a sudden are missing when it comes time to moderate. Embarrassing “If it bleeds it leads” behavior.
So your position is that websites cannot make money if they don’t allow comments on what they write. Is that a rule somewhere?
If you’re accusing us of being sensational to make money, that is ridiculous.
Off subject, but any update on the force out app coming to android?
Just don’t be annoyed if owners treat this incredibly awesome game as a business as well.
if you are going to make extra money from controversial topics, then you should have plenty to put some toward moderation.
The fact that you moderate less the more money you make is the scary part.
75%+ of users expect you to moderate. Stop complaining and put some money toward moderation.
Bruce Sherman over here…
I don’t expect them to moderate. Adults should be able to get by without a babysitter. If you can’t then a mute button will work fine.
unfortunately 74% of MLBTR readers disagree with you surveymonkey.com/results/SM-H2G87KP89/
The majority of readers disagree with you. I am disappointed about not having baseball-relevant comments on controversial posts but it won’t keep me up at night and I will open this app a billion times per day regardless. Keep up the great work Tim.
link?
Should MLBTR attempt to remove comments that are unrelated to the topic of the post?
ANSWER CHOICES
Yes, remove off-topic comments when possible
74.26%
Do not remove off-topic comments
25.74%
Perhaps you should check again SFBay314. That survey just confirmed what I said.
74% said that yes, I will occasionally mute someone.
A paid moderator is something we tried for several years. It was subjective and people hated it.
No problem Tim. We are not your children. As adults (most of us) we should be able to police ourselves.
Unfortunately, no.
We should be able to but we are not. The mute button will help.
SFBay, you are being a complete tool. It’s people like YOU that make these boards suck. Just on here to argue and be a confrontational idiot. Mission accomplished.
@ Tim Dierkes;
Two things I see:
1. There is an overriding theme to your blogs articles that has been reflected in your comment section for some time, and it’s coming home to roost. That somehow being in business and making money is bad (as if businesses never lose money). Why do you expect the literally daily demagoguery of the MLB franchise owners to take hold here before it boomerangs.
I don’t love the owners and have problems with more than a few. But as you know, running a business is 24/7/365 with new challenges coming up even before the old ones at fully resolved. Those challenges never end.
Respect works 2 ways.
2. MLB made a terrible mistake in moving the All-Star Game over a political issue. I don’t even know all the specifics, as it’s a compilated situation and things are slowly coming out. But today I saw that the Presidential Press Secretary had to address charges that the voting laws in Colorado (where the All Star game was moved to) are basically the same as those enacted in Georgia.
My point is not to get into the specifics of the two states. My point is that MLB is becoming an activist player in American politics, and that no good can come from that. It forces fans to take sides on issues that have nothing to do with their being fans.
Additionally, I participated in Civil Rights marches in the 60’s. This
concept that we’re in some sort of Jim Crow era in 2021 is beyond ridiculous. All one has to do is look at the makeup of rosters today (or the employee makeup of any enterprise in America), containing players from America and all over the world. There is no evidence whatsoever that any franchise is losing games by discriminating regarding playing time to any group of people. MLB should be something that is celebrated – instead it has elected to become an activist participant in political issues. Am sorry MLBTR got suckered in as well.
An article that has comments closed is what leads to several of the “off topic” comments on other articles. If the topic is to controversial to allow comments then don’t post the article. We’ll find out from another source. I appreciate this site. We’re human so we all have our own issues. We “should” be able to agree & disagree and to debate on this site but we get emotional way to often.
It is kinda crazy that you writers read the comments at all. I couldn’t take the survey, btw, it just showed results.
I think the problem is that smacks of hit-and-run journalism.
You like the sizzle, but you don’t like the hot oil and resulting mess.
If you keep the comments open on the three types of issues then they don’t have to moderate the huge increase in extraneous comments that spill over from the closed articles. That makes 74% happy for no extraneous comments, 25 to 40 percent happy who wants comments open on the three types of articles and Tim’s staff is better off not policing 100percent of their articles. Everyone wins.
Oh , for the morally outraged crowd here’s a suggestion: Don’t read any of the comments on those few types of articles. You know make believe they are still closed and there were never any comments
I’ll take you at your word and thank you for participating in the Civil Rights marches.
I would say this is called “Jim Crow 2.0” and not Jim Crow Part 2 because it is attempted to be smarter and cleverer than Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were pretty obvious. It’s why we got the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Generally in the last 20 years or so we’ve referred to something as “2.0” when it’s a rebrand and done in a ‘smarter’ way. That’s kind of what these types of laws are.
When you see an aspect of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was in place for nearly 50 years overturned by a Conservative majority on the Supreme Court (in 2012 the Supreme Court ruled on a case that basically allowed states to close polling locations in minority areas WITHOUT federal approval)
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 stipulated that according to written formulas if counties had a certain % of minorities that a state must receive federal clearance to REDUCE polling locations. This was in order to not have minorities forced to vote in a few locations that made their travel time longer and also the wait time significantly longer in an attempt to dissuade them from voting.
Since 2012 we have seen states like South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, etc… reduce polling locations in minority areas which has INCREASED the time it takes for people in those areas to vote. It’s why we see huge lines in some Texas areas, or Georgia areas. There was a study done and found that in the 9 counties in and around Atlanta that the average polling location in 2012 had 2600 voters assigned to it.
By October of last year that number has swelled to 3600 because of increases in voter applications PLUS *CLOSURES* of voting locations.
We have seen states caught trying to find out which ID’s minorities and white voters are more likely to possess and using THAT STANDARD to set which ID’s are valid for voter ID.
Yea. These are not your ‘old Jim Crow laws’. There is more attention played to ‘optics’ and trying to finesse the message. The amount of minorities who would be negatively impacted by these changes are also not on the level of what original Jim Crow laws were.
But the attempt to specifically REDUCE and disenfranchise minorities by these laws are one of the two main reasons for the branding as “Jim Crow 2.0”, the other obvious reason for the branding is for sound bites/attention.
Timpa:
Please tell me you’re kidding, right? This is why people are responding the way they do – nobody wants to hear your assertion of how there’s some massive conspiratorial systematic oppression going on across the entire south. It’s not happening and nobody wants your lecture here. Read the responses. That whole bit about politics? You’re facts are false as is your toxic narrative. Yep, they’re talking about YOU.
I have not contributed ANY political discussion in ANY topic about the all-star game until this specific thread and only did so in a specific reply to someone with comments about why and how some of the laws enacted (yes in many southern states) are done so in attempt to disenfranchise minority voters..
That can be backed up by links.
npr.org/2020/10/17/924527679/why-do-nonwhite-georg…
brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/effect…
(FWIW I believe banning all political discourse in MLBTR comments is what should be the ongoing thing. I am stating my own political views in this specific thread in response to other political comments)
SFBay314 –
You’re fighting a losing battle, and you clearly don’t understand that the poll question has nothing to do with what you are arguing about. Give it up. Look at the reply comments and up arrows going against you, as well as the owner of the website.
I would suggest at least occasional active moderation. When posts are being deleted, explain why they violate the rules. It won’t make everyone happy or behave but the more responsible can take a hint. I’ve seen fewer food fights on boards where this is done. It’s the posts that disappear for no known reason that tends to tick people off and that’s when you get what you get.
TrueBrew: THANK YOU! What you said is what I was trying to say, but you said it better.
Timpa:
Look, I respect what you’re trying to do and I believe you believe you’re being objectively accurate. But as someone who truly has stepped back from “political affiliation” years ago, may I ask, how would you interpret data that I gave you from say…… Ben’s Shapiro’s The Daily Wire and Rush’s EIB Network? Because that’s the political equivalent of the data source your asking folks to trust here.
– Don’t get sucked in to all the garbage and false narratives. It’s constant spin, and they’re using an emotional appeal to light up an intrinsic morale / value system you possess. The problem is it’s putting you at complete odds with anyone and everyone who suffered from you because it’s so extreme – and that’s the rub. Division. Our country divided cannot stand. As long as 50% is fighting the other 50% Washington Elite wins. We aren’t worried about their corruption, we simply go in, check the emotional R or D, feel like a better human being and continue hating our neighbor.
I loathe politics because it’s a dirty scheme to kee Americans fighting each other over issues and lies, that if we all simply started from the truth, we’d be able to get through damn near anything as we have in the past.
Now? They’re well on their way to ruining baseball. You see they need this to permeate every single aspect of American life to keep us engaged and make this our priority in life above all else, I using family, friends, God, etc. I say – screw the politicians. Get them out of baseball!
Samuel, your post was written extraordinarily well. Your cogent points are obviously resonating with a lot of people on here, and they are succinct and accurate. Nice job on this Samuel, nice job.
The first link can be blown up easily and quickly. Won’t bother with the second link. If the first one is BS, the second one isn’t far behind.
Yankee Clipper summed it up perfect to your first incorrect post.
Do you even realize how racist the position against voter id is? Do you really think that a persons skin color decreases their ability to get an Id? It does not have to even be a drivers license, there are state issued Id cards in every state. They do not even have to be renewed in mine. I can tell you i had no issue getting an Id nor did any member of my family save one who had outstanding warrants and did not wish to enter the court house for a picture Id.
Breckdog: It is t only that though. Many of these same people do a litany of other activities that also require ID to perform those functions, ie, drink/purchase alcohol, go into establishments requiring ID to establish age, purchase firearms, receive certain benefits, etc, etc.
It is a straw man. It’s another pivot to draw attention away from the real problems and justify voter fraud that took place. I saw on here someone posted this was the most secure election ever? What? There was picture and video evidence contrary to that security proving otherwise. Frankly I don’t care who wins if he is duly elected. I do care about our right to vote and abuse of that right by the politicians fabricating votes to gain or stay in power.
This alleged systemic racism via voter ID requirement is a hoax. It’s a non-issue masked as a nation-wide conspiracy, even though the worst areas for voter fraud / registration issues, by far, are also those same areas where the Left has been in charge for decades upon decades. Now that’s interesting….. One may even conclude that it is the Left that has been the oppressor and is now strong-arming or coercing voters through promise of return benefits…..
Who’s disenfranchising voters in the African-American community again? But as long as those votes are coming, cancel culture seems okay with this behavior.
I think this very thread answers all your poll questions. And the results are very conclusive on the poll too. Closed articles, and a mute button are both perfectly fine. What I would appreciate, if possible, is some way to block the trolls who keep coming back with the same comments on certain teams. A mute button solves this nicely. Closed articles are a good idea, as this thread goes to show. More power to you.
Were you crying when you typed this out?
What “voter fraud” are you referring to? Were you as worked up over people being kicked off ballots, votes being tossed, etc in past elections as you are over whatever gripes you have about the 2020 election?
I don’t get why you people get so bent out of shape over both small and make believe voting issues, but don’t care about say, the 70,000 votes that were tossed in Detroit in 2016.
thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/national-party-news…
Oh wait, nevermind lol. I know why.
Why would you need a mute button on closed articles?
Blancos: It doesn’t say, and it’s difficult to tell who you’re responding to in this thread.
@timpa … of course you want to ban all non-left thinking, communist endorsement thought … if people have discourse, the uninformed become informed and see what socialism/communism is taking from them…ie. THEIR FREEDOM.
BLANCOS CALCETINES:
Your post doesn’t say to whom you were asking the questions. I can say this, I don’t doubt that 2016 and every single damned election before had fraud. I am vehemently opposed to any fraud and believe in a duly elected president regardless of who that is. I read the article you posted and I appreciate the link, but probably not the best reference for a couple reasons.
All in all, people can seldom separate the self rom their political parties, which lie to you, and use you to keep power. MLB for example espouses these BLM/Left-leaning ideological views to keep the cancel culture at bay. The reality is, they are more conservative than most and contribute likewise. It’s all a dog and pony show. They don’t care about anything except power and money – same as politicians.
This election had a lot of fraud, just as many in the past have. Any spin from that point forward is useless because pieces that are written, like The Hill, are not objective news sources anymore. They are op-eds, with very few exception. Fox, CNN, MSNBC, etc etc etc. all about spin for confirmation bias, to appeal for money. That’s it!
Distance, distrust, and scrutiny are our only friends in this climate. Reliance on our foundational values and principles. But if we can’t get out of our own way, we are all screwed.
Politics is what has turned me off of fangraphs. Baseball should be an escape from it. I love the fact you have comments off and do not show right or left leanings. I want baseball news, not writers trying to show how woke they are. I appreciate your site and hope you make a ton of money.
Yankee Clipper:
I agree; maybe the biggest problem currently facing our society is that many people no longer seem to have any static morals or beliefs. It seems so many have “principles” that can either be followed or ignored based on who is doing the talking.
As for your thought on the “BLM/Left” being the ones driving cancel culture, do you think the Dixie Chicks would agree with your assessment?
The “voting fraud” most prevalent in our country isn’t some make-believe scheme where people who shouldn’t vote (such as illegal aliens) do; that stuff is easy to catch and it rarely if ever happens. The real fraud (which is much harder to detect and catch) is where they toss ballots, cancel voting registration, etc. And for some reason it usually happens to black people.
Hopefully sometime soon we can all agree that voting is good and that it should be easy for people to do. But that time is not the present unfortunately.
SFBay they have the right to remove comments that are unrelated to MLB but guess what? We also have the right to stop paying for monthly subscriptions if we aren’t satisfied with the product MLB Rumors is providing. They were already crying about needing monthly subscriptions during the shorten season last year so they need to decide what is more important?
Hey Blancos, I missed your response to this… But yes, Dixie Chicks were one group that weren’t canceled though. For the sake of this conversation I’ll stipulate they were, and say that one….. then you have a thousand(s) on the other side?
So, yes, it happens one side, but it’s the business model for the other.
As to your static morals point? Absolutely brilliant. That is a huge part of the problem often overlooked. Great catch on that. I enjoy speaking with you, you come to the table with facts, not ramblings, and converse through those facts – thank you for that!
Voter fraud challenges? Again, yes, very different kinds of voter fraud and one instance of an alien voting, for example, will get lumped in with 500 ballots that were turned in improperly and all deemed voter fraud. So it all gets conflated.
This all goes to my very point. This is happening on both sides of the aisle. It gets messy quickly. It’s hyperbole for hyperbole sake. The only ones benefitting? Washington Elite. My aunt is from Mexico, came over when she was 18. Came in legally, registered to vote, and is legal. I don’t want this poison out there and I despise the politicians for doing this.
Yes it might be a good use of your time. I got kicked off this site a decade ago for using a word I shouldn’t have used. Cancel culture doesn’t really work in your business I like the site but I don’t spend a ton of time here because I couldn’t comment for years just recently signed back up. It was my fault I used a bad word but who won? Not me. Not you. So yeah it might be a good use of your time. It really might. It’s your site dude.
I don’t have an issue with comments closed on DV issues. Is I’ve had questions it’s on when MLBTR rolls Covid news up with regular news and then we can’t comment on the other topics. A simple editorial decision on MLBTR’s side to always keep a Covid mention as a stand-alone story will prevent frustration from commenters.
Politics is a tricky issue, but sometimes it can’t be avoided. The All-Star game decision fits under that bucket. Yes, it would get ugly. I’d let the animals have it at it, and if you actually provide a mute button, it will give us control over the handful of abusers.
“Mute” or “hide” options would be great.
Tim – you’re catching on. Don’t try to control what people want to think about, talk about or put out as their opinion.
It’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Far better to install a lightning rod (metaphor for opening the comments to give people a small number of places to vent to vent rather than have them sshhiitt all over every article
Imagine a business owner focusing on making money. Wild.
I have very liberal opinions. I recognized the intent of the site and have decided to stay strictly to baseball. The only times (which did pop up during COVID comments) I went against that where if there were long replies of an extreme political nature that were left-up and I personally felt they were spreading disinformation.
MLBTR has no requirement to allow us to make comments. They can limit them however they like.
The only consideration to MLBTR should basically be “If I do X do I lose/gain more readers than if I do Y”
Timpa. Do you realize the definition of liberal is basically “willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from ones own, open to new ideas”?
Remember when liberals were – ya know – liberal? Ahhh…the good old days.
I don’t exactly know how to define them now. But it ain’t liberal. Seems quite the opposite. A “shut up or die!” kind of mentality. Makes me wonder what they intend to do with my guns they’re threatening to take…
Yes sir, they’re called extremists, or self-classified as post-Progressives. It’s incredibly frightening to consider how some come to conclusions to vote.
It is certainly a sea change.
Good example: there’s a poster on here who follows me around accusing me of bigotry. Bro. I spent multiple years of my life physically fighting ethnic cleansing on behalf of the UN. That’s about as far from bigoted as a fella can get. & it’s documented!
Years ago, my son found the stuff they gave me. Think he still has those things. What I’m willing to share about that is, in some circles I was considered pretty good at it.
& I never even liked Rush Limbaugh.
He did way more harm than good to the Republican party & he was a wacko. Hell, most of the people he drew to him I would never allow in my home.
It’s all just so inaccurate it’s irritating sometimes. I snapped on him the other day because I firmly believe he is not fit to even address me.
Ya know?
Hey Ducky, on behalf of our brothers and sisters who served man, thank you! Thanks for serving, thanks for protecting, thanks for having my back.
And, yes, I get it. That’s why all these people trying to shut everything down on the premise that if we leave it open people will discuss how they’re trying to shut it down pisses me off. What happens to America/freedom/individualism ? Where did our Nationalism go? Why do we hate our own country and always look for the absolute worst in our own people like this.
And why do white men always pretend to be so offended and misappropriate comments they misconstrue as racist unto themselves for the purpose of outrage against their own demographic?
It’s ……. weird.
Yeah, there are definitely no “shut up or die!” people who aren’t liberals lol.
I see how you may have gotten that from my post, @Blancos.
Wasn’t my intent as you are certainly correct.
Rather, I was just noting something that’s a pretty significant & recent change. Traditionally, the liberals have provided a platform for all voices. That just doesn’t seem to be case anymore & I don’t think that’s a very hot take. I live in a DFL state. My friends of that political persuasion are saying the same thing.
Hope that clears up what I was (perhaps poorly) stating. Good catch.
I appreciate your gratitude, @Clip.
I was just using that as an example of how extreme this has all become. I know a lot of it is just: internet. But I think it shows the real danger of being able to make unfounded & – quite frankly – pretty horrific accusations with no repercussions.
Yes, very true. But, right now, there is only one side permitted to make any and all accusations against anyone and everyone. As soon as that happens, cancel culture action.
It’s funniest when the cancel culture turns internally and the chickens come home to roost, so to speak.
So to speak.
Yee-up.
DBF:
I do agree that people need to be better about listening to opposing viewpoints and different people in general. Have you had the recent pleasure of an in-person conversation with someone where you calmly disagreed with them? It’s actually hilarious (and sad) because they don’t know how to react to it. With many people in that situation you can actually tell that they’re disappointed and would be more comfortable if the conversation devolved into a screaming clusterf**k.
There are plenty of “opinions” that are straight-up bigotry (or something similar) that I will not tolerate or listen to. But many things that people seem to get worked up over do not meet that criteria, in my opinion.
Blancos: I think we all agree with that. I also believe that text is painfully misleading because there’s no additional measure by which one can interpret what the inference from the other individual is; hence the inherent danger of all the suggestions of bigotry that run rampant on these forums.
I just would like us to be able to select some cool people to break into a group and have some good convo about…… whatever the article of the day is, or family, or whatever.
Yankee Clipper:
Yeah, the lesson of the day here should probably be that a comments section is not the place to have an in-depth, productive discussion lol.
True, but I think it could be done, if we could isolate and select the people with whom we do it. When it’s open, and trolls like MaximumGarbageVelocity follow and insert, and hijack conversations, it turns the content hostile.
You and I can disagree and discuss it without resorting to that. We may vehemently disagree on certain issues. But at least we would know we could talk, and we may be able to provide each other with good info as well.
I don’t know the answers, man. But we, as a people, need to get better. Look, it’s an easy, easy default for me to cite racism if I disagree with someone; but, I won’t because I don’t believe it is (I don’t know them), and I know that immediately destroys any and all possibility for an exchange of any value, both with the subject of the sentence and the audience readers.
Anyway, GO YANKEES!!!!!!
To be honest, I have not, @Blanco.
I own an essential industry company, so I’ve been out in the world the whole time.
My experience is, we are all more decent towards one another face to face as opposed to what happens here. & I include myself in that sadly enough.
I’m trying.
But – as of now – it’s a batting average kinda thing for me.
Here is the deal with the poster I am talking about. He admitted on the board that he could go back to work but is not due to fear.
I find that unacceptable, man. I just do.
Told him that.
Made him “mad”. So in retaliation he has taken to posting things like; “be specific as to why you are the biggest racist here. Sorry about your hero Rush.”
I know I shouldn’t let that bother me.
But it does. Ya know?
Especially in light of my personal history. & it’s being done out of spite because I made him “look bad” – or whatever – but not for any real reason in regards to his accusations. My girlfriend is Native American for gosh sakes!
It’s all just so *stupid* & that word is being used as a weapon. That’s not going to do any good, man.
Ya know?
what actually do those two have to do with each other?
Are you referring to Ducky and Yankee?
Hey, now.
It’s not like we can’t read this lol.
Ducky! I had no idea you felt that way…. I’m, I’m, flattered, but sadly, taken. Door is open Hokum! Lol.
Is it bad that we get along or something?
Perhaps this is Hokum’s way of trying to befriend us?
Let’s see what ya got, Hokum. We’re decent fellas.
It’s the typical jealousy, man. Like everywhere people see something positive, good, and fruitful, they want to attack it. I think he was joking, of course, but he’s welcome to come join the band. We need a drummer anyway.
If we were actually paying for the site access and its resources, I might go along with your points. The site is free, the content is outstanding and many things here are found no where else online. Resources in any organization are expended where they get their largest bang for the buck. Monitoring and policing all the keyboard clowns regarding off the wall comments on articles and particularly comments on top of comments is not worth anyone’s time, unless they are being paid to do so. Simply, say thank you for all the outstanding content they provide.
Whether we pay or not isn’t really relevant. You can pay to subscribe to any newspaper and find that their comments are moderated. You also can’t expect that writing a letter to the editor automatically gets you published.
I don’t pay for a subscription, and the only ad I ever see is the one begging for us to pay.. I pay for other sites, but not this one.
Mike Pelfrey
To those that select the option indicating you would rather the comments be closed for any of the above 3 topics, couldn’t you just as effectively NOT visit the comment section?
Me.
When it’s clearly about politics, then sure.
But people turn things into politics.
I don’t want to hear about politics. People don’t talk to each other, they talk at each other. When people talk at each other… what’s the point?
However, many of us are still pretty isolated when it comes to Covid. I want to know how people are doing. How family members are doing. Their personal experiences. Not what politicians are telling us. This is helpful information.
Very little information about politics or domestic violence is helpful or informative.
I don’t want to hear about Politics either. Unfortunately baseball has decided to allow politics to be injected in their sport and their decision-making. We can’t run from it when the league allows it into the game.
The ASG decision should come as no surprise when a money hungry hypocrite like Manfred runs the show. He needs to go. Wobbly-legged Tony Clark needs to go. Manfred needs to give up his membership at Augusta National. A strong, baseball-minded person with appreciation of baseball history should be commissioner – regardless of race. Have savvy digital media minds close by and inject the great games into the social media veins of the next generation.
First time I ever thought he needed to go.
I got a text from a liberal friend who asked me what the voting difference was between Colorado and Georgia. He knew the answer, it wasn’t much.
Do you think we can have an honest conversation about that? I don’t. People are lying through their teeth. People don’t care.
One side wants to change the way elections are run. If there was a way we could honestly discuss it, I’d be thrilled.
We can’t.
“I got a text from a liberal friend who asked me what the voting difference was between Colorado and Georgia. He knew the answer, it wasn’t much.”
Then he did not know the answer, but there’s a huge difference.
“Do you think we can have an honest conversation about that?”
Apparently not. Colorado has same-day registration and automatically sends out mail-in ballots to every eligible voter. Georgia does not. That is a HUGE difference.
Colorado conducts their elections largely via mail-in. 94% of voters used mail-in in 2020 and was in the 90s in 2016 as well. Compare/contrast this with Georgia, who was down around 25% in 2020. Massive difference in how they conduct elections.
So this is about same day registration and automatic mail in ballots?
Seriously? I mean SERIOUSLY? That you for making my point that one side wants to change the way elections are run.
Boycott the all-star game for that? On what planet does that limit a person’s right to vote. States have no rights on this?
As I said, we can’t discuss it honestly. This is nothing. NOTHING.
The Washington Post, not a bastion of conservative thought, gave our President four Pinocchios.
The fact you got seven positive votes on that is proof we can’t talk about this honestly.
Unless a state capitulates to absurd federal mandates, they are ostracized and boycotted.
No honest, fair minded person could object to a state enforcing such minuscule election law differences.
To werealljustguestshere…
Well said. And as Halo11 put it, we talk AT each other rather than with.
Civility seems to have gone away with the anonymity of social media. Sadly, it’s not always just about politics. Someone getting hurt (Tatis), or testicular cancer (Bettis). There’s really no other way to put it, the comments were just plain cruel. Even those along the lines of “that guy’s garbage”, etc, are uncalled for. A sad commentary on where all of us are as a society.
Thanks Tim for addressing the issue and collecting research data. Keep up the good work.
appreciate you guys doing this. sure somebody will still complain.
The split here is more even than I thought, so I’m glad I’m running a poll. The emails I received suggested the vast majority wanted comments open on everything.
euh thats response bias. the more passionate people tend to reach out, and id imagine most passion lies with the pro-conment side.
A vocal minority is still a minority.
Personally I Appreciate you putting it to the website and then making your decisions with the data Tim
Actually if you look at the poll results they are pretty one-sided on all but one question. And THAT was about politics!
Hudson6: The % is bigger than the voting difference if 6 of 10 vote 1 way it’s 60%-40%. Also applies 11 of 20 is 55%-45%. In both cases if 1 was taken fr the larger & added to the smaller it would be even. Look at the actual voting numbers and it’s actually closer than the % indicates.
1720 people have taken the poll. So it’s actually 172 people who would need to change their vote to go from 60% to 50%. That is how polls work.
and for what it’s worth, my one critique would be separating some of the Covid articles a bit. an article that only mentions covid a little bit may be closed, but if i’d prefer non-covid parts of the same article seperated so as not all parts of said article are off topic.
Agreed. I think you’re naturally only gonna see those who want to speak their minds speaking their mind via email.
the only thing in my opinion that comes from keeping the comment section open is that it makes it easy to distinguish the people that shouldn’t be allowed to comment at all. People posting anonymously gives people a little extra motivation to be their true selves.
Is there a way to remove racist posters for example without having to hire a full time moderator. Like could other commenters flag a comment that could lead to the posters removal
There is already a flag option.
not on the app
I appreciate what you guys are doing
for us fans. However, I think that if you’re going to post an article, we the readers of the article should have the option whether or not to respond to the article. If we only wanted to know the info, we could find out by several ways. Closing comments on an article is what directly leads people to comment about the closed article on a completely different article. I think the “mute button” option would help as well.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Here we go with that “silent majority” paradox lol
People are more likely to write a ‘complaint’ than they are to write a ‘compliment’
Does the mute button really work
Deletions
People are still going to find a way to argue
The one thing that would be nice is if the notification system worked the same way as disqus
We don’t have a mute button yet.
Well I mean if you get one
Unless there is a major crisis of bad language, smoking grass, starting fights, Caddyshack reference, why not just let it go.
At least that is how I feels about Really how much arguing can happen per se on this kind of comment section?
It is hard to respond quickly in a way
You missed his point. I think he’s suggesting they don’t provide the benefits you think they do. But I disagree. Might even be of some liability benefit.
Impressed with your action to ask the audience what they wanted. No one else does this and definitely not a site that is not charging a fee for content. Impressed with what all you and your group generate and share online for us baseball junkies to read. Thanks.
Thank you MLBTradeRumors.
I second this!
I almost never read the comments on any articles. Some people like to “engage” (ie troll) in that sort of thing, but it doesn’t interest me. Let those people have their playground, the rest of us are still free to ignore it.
Engage=troll?
Reads like you are part of the problem. Please, continue to move on.
It’s called an “ignore” button, not “mute”. We’re all mute on the internet.
lol
Honestly, I am fine if you keep them closed on sensitive topics. It would be fine to keep them open if people had respectful reasonable discussions on such topics. But that never seems to happen. There is always at least a few commenters who drag the discussion down into the muck. And sometimes the animosity bleeds into other discussions. So opening such topics back up is just going to create more problems for you Tim. You don’t need those headaches.
The problem: Who defines sensitive? And what about when sensitive needs to be discussed because it’s at the heart of MLB. Just like how MLB is currently engaging in partisan politics? You won’t find common ground on sensitive all the way around.
Open discourse about controversial topics is essential in a free society. Yes, there are those cannot be cordial or have any decorum. With the mute feature we solve that problem. Don’t punish those that want the healthy discourse for those that don’t have the intellectual capacity to debate without insults.
it’s fine, but it doesn’t need to be here. there are other places to duscuss things like this.
If it’s relevant to the topic as it correlates to MLB then it is definitely in scope for discussion. If you don’t want to participate in the post you are welcome to scroll to the next one.
most things really arent discussions. ie DV suspensions are going to happen whether you like it or not. likewise covid rules exist and we aren’t going to convince the MLB to get rid of them. how the league acts within political spheres can be better dictated by not buying merchandise/tickets if you so chose to.
Closing comments is a fairly recent thing for us, and prior to that I would not say I saw a lot of healthy discourse.
Tom- I appreciate the work that you all do.
But there are enough places online where people can argue politics. If there are comments sections on political issues, I will open it up because I can be a fool sometimes. And then I get PO’ed about something or another. You all did well to close comments sections on certain issues and I hope that you continue..
it’s tim, tango
It saddens me that the current societal climate forces you to this decision point. I am against any form of speech suppression but I totally understand if you close comments on controversial subjects. I have a possible alternate solution. How about you flag a post as “controversial” and create a user profile flag to either render the comments section or not for those controversial posts? That way, those that don’t want to see comments won’t even know they exist.
Tim if you saw one type of behaviour ( a lot of healthy discourse) and now see more rancor then maybe you should ask what changed?
A global pandemic of over a year is a damn good culprit IMHO. You might also consider that closing comments exasperated the situation.
You have control of the actions you take. My gut says that not trying to fight a battle you can’t win is the way to go
We need open dialogue. The reason so many topics get so heated is because everything is shut down. To Darkside’s point, where? These ideas are progressively shut down everywhere. And if we cannot converse about MLB topics on an MLB site, based on information written in an MLB article?
Yes, open. Mute button, fine. But we need to discuss the issues permeating MLB – and unfortunately, that issue is partisan politics.
People naturally cannot disassociate emotions from politics because in society today, political affiliation has risen to become the most important identity, above family, religion, etc.
My main concern with opening posts on these issues is that the comments section will likely devolve into a disinformation cesspool that can cause real damage. If MLBTR doesn’t want to expend the resources policing comments I don’t think it should just let the disinformation machine run rampant. We’ve seen the consequences of that on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Exactly, closing all comments sections really is the best thing for this site, in my opinion.
Yes, misinformation was a big problem on COVID posts and part of the decision to close comments on those.
I didn’t realize you were qualified to judge information/misinformation and how that could even be adjudicated in a comments section on a baseball website. These are comments sections, not the NYT, not peer review, not Reuters news service, right? Just let people talk. Sometimes venting and a back and forth discussion can bring clarity or at least some entertainment. Anyone who falls for any ‘misinformation’ on MLBTR has bigger problems than what your interpretation of ‘misinformation’ is, anyway. Let the kids play!
I mean I remember at the beginning of covid, people on here were posting stuff saying that covid was no worse than the flu, that people were overreacting, etc. That sort of stuff is objectively false and platforms have a responsibility to monitor that type of conduct. Even though this is a baseball site, for many people it may have been one of their only forms of daily interaction during the lockdown. And when you’re repeatedly being misled by a community you’ve come to rely on and don’t check the facts for yourself, that can have damaging consequences not just for you but for people outside of this community. The amount of times I’ve seen a productive conversation on social media in which one person changes their opinion or affords respect to another’s is exceedingly rare. And allowing dangerous misinformation to spread for pure “entertainment” is immoral. Full stop.
Well, alt2, people will still argue it isn’t worse than the flu. What does it matter? If you are relying on a baseball forum of anonymous opinions for your pandemic medical guidance, you have much bigger problems. If that’s why you want to shut down the comments, I feels perfectly comfortable saying leave them wide open.
@PHD
Or, they can just not deal with the headache, and continue to close comments on controversial topics.
If people want to talk about something there are literally thousands of sites for people to entertain themselves or let of steam. This site has no obligation to provide forum for anything it doesn’t deem appropriate.
@maxvelo, how is it a headache if they just let it go without monitoring? You’re right I could go chat about all kinds of garbage on other garbage social media sites. I’d like to discuss baseball with other baseball fans. That’s here. Oh, that’s right MLBTR will probably get sued if they don’t moderate. Someone will break the law and then try to get out of breaking the law by blaming it on a comment on MLBTR. Sad that we have fallen so far in this country that people cannot just take words at face value and live their lives without finding excuses for bad behavior.
there’s still disinformation out there. no one actually knows the truth
FB simply kills anything it sees fit to remove including users that express an opinion different than what FB supports. It is not universal in limiting commentary on specific topics, FB “allows” its viewpoint to remain and eliminates alternative, conflicting viewpoints as well as users with conflicting viewpoints. That is a big difference and why alternative social media websites will be forthcoming in the near future.
Thank you Mr Dierkes.
I was not able to come up with any solution. It seems like you have. I absolutely appreciate you listening to us.
As a lot of really good, level headed (I don’t necessarily count myself in that group sadly enough) posters were reacting to it in a pretty outspoken & negative fashion it was obviously a tough situation.
The reason I actually became a member was because there was an noticeable effort being made to try & allow a discourse. These things – like it or not – are now a part of the game we love.
This is my baseball community. I don’t think I’m alone in that.
I hope your faith in us is rewarded.
Leave it for Twitter, Facebook and other cesspools of opinion. Trade Rumors has always been a great gathering of mostly intelligent baseball fans who like to talk baseball. If people have opinions on controversial subjects other than baseball there are plenty of platforms for them to share those opinions. If it’s not baseball, we don’t need it here.
I have seen almost zero intelligent discussion here. Someone called me, a 47 year old with 5 kids “a small child” in a means to belittle what I said that they didn’t like. That person was probably 15 themselves. I’m older than Yadi, I’m allowed to say he’s overrated, because he is. I’m allowed to have that opinion, and you can feel free to show me via facts and stats why he is underrated, but commenters here would rather go to rubbish level discourse.
A’sfaninUK: I agree with you on this comment. However I STRONGLY DISAGREE on other comments that you left in this thread.
I’m with you on Yadi.
There’s always going to be trolls, or people who act immature when they hear something they don’t agree with. You know you are not a small child, so if I were you I would let comments like that roll off my back and let it reflect on the commenter instead of taking offense. Having said that, I appreciate this site being non political and not having the comment section full of people arguing about left vs right, ‘woke’ vs whatever non woke is, etc. If you disagree you are more than entitled to your opinion.
Well mate you still come off poorly because the site has a broad mix of opinions. The fact that you think having 5 kids is some indicator of you being an accomplished adult with a defacto right of deference makes a statement. All that affirms is that you had 5 to 7 minutes of focused attention over the course of several years.
@TrueBrew No, I think its ridiculous to be labeled a child when I am a homeowner with kids who are all doing well in school. The fact you immediately go to the gutter with me says more about you – you just really want to hate anyone, and if given any crumb of info about me you will use it against me to paint me as anything but who I am – we should be talking about baseball, not me, by the by. Who cares about me? People losing arguments who have nothing factual to back themselves up with – that’s who.
All I see is you throwing insults and generalizations around. Where are these facts that you speak of?
I can see why someone called you a child based upon the majority of your comments here…
BigStinkDaddy, it is too late. The woke mob has come for all sports and now for MLB. Like you, I want politics out of baseball and don’t want it here on MLBTR, but rather than succumbing to the current groupthink, people who feel differently deserve to be heard-about baseball and how these societal issues affect baseball. MLB will begin to lose fans precipitously if this situation is not fixed. A discussion about how non-baseball issues is ruining baseball is essential here because those other cesspool social media sites are a waste of time for people trying to save baseball. Do you think it’s ok to talk about collective bargaining, but not how collectivism is ruining the sport?
My personal opinion is I appreciate the news being delivered as it is, just news, and the reader can decide their opinion on the matter. What are we really going to gain from the comment section of this website arguing their political or philosophical beliefs? I don’t think it serves a positive purpose on this particular platform, but again just my opinion.
Bigstinkdaddy, I agree with you to a point, but I’ll give you just three possible reasons MLBTR would be adding to their customer base by alllowing ‘controversial’ comments on ‘controversial’ topics:
1. Entertainment value
2. Produce meaningful discussion that could make people think, especially that others may think differently than they do and maybe help people find common ground.
3. Let people that share opinions with those that are not openly allowed to be expressed in today’s society know that there are others out there similar to them (kindred spirits).
None of those are valid reasons.
1. Anyone who thinks ‘controversial’ opinions are ‘entertaining’ can find plenty of those on Twitter or thousands of other places. Based on the poll results, though, it seems clear that those people are in the minority.
2. You must be joking.
No one who has been consciously active on the Internet for any length of time thinks that a baseball rumors site is going to be an effective forum for “meaningful discussion” on controversial topics that will make people “think differently” and “find common ground.” Sure, those are admirable goals, but they are very, VERY difficult to accomplish, and it requires a strictly moderated forum dedicated to civil discourse. Such communities sometimes form of their own accord amongst like-minded people looking for that kind of thing, but NEVER on some general interest or unrelated hobby site like this one. Come on.
3. Again, there are plenty of other places people can do this, and in forums more effective at fostering conversations and handling that kind of discourse. This site is not one of those places, and wasn’t designed to be.
@dan-9, those are your opinions and you are entitled to them. The fact that you think mine are ‘not valid’ rather than you just don’t agree with them, is proving my point. Thank you for making it obvious that I am right and you are wrong.
“But that’s just your opinion, man!!!”
Yeah, no kidding. It’s my opinion which I backed up with arguments, unlike your non-rebuttal. Not sure how you think that somehow “proved” *your* point, but I’m sure it will make you sleep better that you pulled old the Internet debate strategy of claiming victory without doing any work.
@dan-age9, I did all my ‘work’ in the first post. You actually had the so-called ‘claiming victory without doing any work’ in your post as you gave no counter arguments to mine. No need to counter your opinions, as they are just opinions. I slept fine last night and will every night, not giving you any thought. Just a chuckle here every time I read one of your witty retorts, which entertains me, which proves my point about this particular back and forth.
I’ve been visiting the site for a decade plus. Way back when the comment section was full of knowledgeable baseball fans having friendly debates.
The unfortunate state of the world now is so polarizing and sadly it’s penetrated in to sports. I support any decision that the MLBTR brass has to make. Unfortunately this is why we ‘can’t have nice things’
When the racists found there was an anonymous commenting section here, they flooded the site and made things terrible. Really wasn’t so bad up until a year or two ago. Magas are looking for any crumb of webspace to spew hate on, so yes, we really cant have nice things anymore.
A’sfaninUK: This is EXACTLY the type of comment that I’d use the mute/ignore,reject option on.
Ditto prospectnvstr
I’m skeptical that everything a particular commenter posts would be something I’d be wasting my time to read. Hence I wouldn’t expect to use a mute button. Our UK friend would be the exception that proves the rule
The ironic part about it is that many that champion keeping the comments closed are the same ones that create the atmosphere they pretend to despise, ie, race-baiting conversations, accusations of sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. It befuddled me.
@Prospectnvstr what’s so wrong about it? It’s merely describing all of the internet since 2016 or so. It’s the lay of the land whether you like it or not.
A certain group of people have poisoned online discourse, and they are all up and down these comments sections, it’s obvious to anyone reading them even casually.
@Yankee Clipper I’m not doing anything of the sort. But if you voted for the loser in the last US election, you apparently think this.
Other than this thread I will never comment anything not related directly to the topic that was posted. It will always be 100% baseball from me, because I love the game and think it’s the best one around – although footy is pretty ok too.
@a’sfanin UK It’s funny you should mention our political issues as a way to point the finger. I have family in the uk and it’s actually much worse there in terms of what it’s like to be “free” which pretty much explains your fact-less rhetoric.
> Complain about “rubbish level discourse”
> Call 70 million+ people racists who “spew hate” in the comment directly below it
There’s a reason we fought for independence from you Brits
How quickly we devolve into political insults and blame. Perfect example for why these changes are needed.
i dont think he was generalizing anyone as racists, just talking about people actually making such comments on this site, which do exist. (unless im missing some context here)
@FletcherFan69 You didn’t do a good enough job apparently, as your new billionaire masters decide your every move, just as our dated royal family still does with us (Im for neither btw).
70+ million people ARE those things though! They do spew hate no matter what you think! Why are you acting otherwise? Its night and day to the rest of the world how different America is now from 2016-2020. Sorry if reality offends you, you are indeed the problem here, as those who were not one of the “70” million (do we really think that many voted for him especially after Russia admitted to getting him more votes in ’16? Silly Americans…)
@DarkSide830 nailed it, as you nearly always do. You are one of the sensible ones around here imo.
@a’sfanin Uk really that’s intriguing because everyone I have met that have supported agent orange, have been people that listen to all sides of the story and make their own opinions and they don’t force on others to feel the same. You seem to be in the demographic of cancel culture that uses the “my way or the highway approach” forcing others to conform to your “way of thinking”
Our country is built on freedom of expression and speech, you won’t agree with everything you see or hear but that doesn’t mean it can’t exist.
I am not with you on this comment. Weak
Hope you realize how ironic your reply to me was.
A’sfaninUK: Label people racists without knowing them. Nice generalization. Why stop there? The next step is to blame systemic racism for every problem in the world; follow that up by promoting a victim mentality. The 3 aspects of a winning attitude that will take you far in life…yikes!
@Cambio If you voted for the loser in the last election, you made your stand. Zero of those voters were not racists. If that’s you, then take a look in the mirror at how the rest of the world sees you, and maybe try to be a better person? Nope, you’d rather keep on spewing hate.
My life is great btw, this is what I mean by spewing hate, you JUST proved it by how quickly you turned to a personal attack!
Many of my comments here were made simply to see how certain posters reacted, to out yourselves and provide a nice list of people to mute, when that function arrives.
The ignorance is just astounding. You should Google the word “hypocrite’ and also ‘self-awareness’ because you are clearly lacking in those areas.
@uk doesn’t seem like it, you have a chip and it shows. For someone as liberal as you, you aren’t very accepting to others with differing opinions. Probably the same cat that worships aoc and wanting to round up all that support agent Orange and put them in re-education camps (got news for you that ain’t liberal that’s Marxism) Forcing someone to think a certain way isn’t anti American. You are someone I wouldn’t mind muting
Politics and sports are getting more intertwined than ever before, that’s the issue for me. I don’t watch sports to hear the athletes political stances. I get enough politics from the news, and sports used to be an escape from that.
Yet you love sports that play the American national anthem before games, nationalism = political. Get rid of the anthem and I’ll agree with you.
Yep I agree there too, the anthem shouldn’t be played at sporting events, especially considering the diverse backgrounds of the athletes coming from countries all over the world. That’s out of my control though.
Also…I’m Canadian so…I don’t much care if the American or Canadian anthems are played.
cjmask: This is one of the comments that could lead to back & forth debates and arguments. I respect your opinion even though I STRONGLY DISAGREE with it. This is a topic that I’d read and keep my 2 cents to myself on some days but I’d say (tap) what I truly felt on other days.
Why do you need to make a sporting event a nationalist one? I’m here to see athletes play, not have some terrible song lying about how great your nation is. (again my opinion here).
It’s almost like all Americans need to go back to school to learn how to do discourse again, because its one minor disagreement and suddenly you all hate each other. Social media is clearly to blame for this.
AsFan?: Brother, what’s with the USA hate and all the racist accusations today? I know these topics pull in our very last nerves but I don’t recall reading your posts quite so overgeneralized and disparaging towards US folks.
Why is it wrong to play American anthem we live in America? How very anti American of you uk, same dude that wants police and armed forces to protect him from bad people doesn’t want to respect the flag that defends his right to say what he wants. Ironic
Sports is, by its very nature, dramatic. Remember when Nick Castellanos got plunked the other night and started a brawl over it that got him suspended for a couple of games? Then remember how he blathered in the locker room afterwards about how much he “respected” Yadi Molina?
I do, but when I tried to remember who won the game, I had to look it up.
Thats a mix of the toxic sports media industry, who value “drama” over gameplay, combined with the phony “unwritten rules” that the media seems to think everyone who watches baseball cares about. I don’t at all. NC didn’t touch anyone and got suspended, but Yadi put his hands on another mans neck and got nothing. Dumb situation all-round, no one should have been ejected other than Woodford, and he’s the one who deliberately jumped into NC’s back, violating the clear path and runner protection rules. Manfred is bad at this.
Roll back the crash rule at the plate. Problem solved. No suspensions. But I’m sure you’d reject that one too UK. There is no winning on this one, nor can we be certain Woodford did what he did on-purpose.
dmacial. We have healthy discourse? I wish.
As with anything else of value, you must dig for it but it exists. I scroll past idiotic takes.
Survey is a step in the right direction
The mute button would be a huge bonus. There’s definitely people on here who come on for the sole reason to troll and insult people.
i hope if they do that you can see the number muting you. as someone who feels they get a lot annoyed for no reason that seems fun.
Does this mean you’d mute me immediately? Please?
My issue rests entirely on the fact that I’ve read this site for years and very much enjoy conversation with others. Obviously there will come subjects that will take a left turn away from an article’s pure scope but I also think that this is just social media as a whole. There will come a time eventually when these stories will always run parallel with potentially argumentative content but will that mean that everything will eventually be comment locked? I think the ‘ignore’ or ‘mute’ feature would be the common ground that comes as close to satisfying all involved who use this site.
The closure of comments on some posts has been pretty frustrating. I think there’s genuine conversation to be had on some topics. Appreciate the transparency here.
I have not seen any productive discussions here. Or Twitter or anywhere for that matter lol.
The middle is fading and people only see through their right or left lens. Unsure what needs to change but none of the discourse over the last few years has been productive.
There is exactly zero “genuine conversation” on any of these posts.
Everyone here is anonymous, how could it ever be “genuine”?
Thanks for the survey. Look, the country is polarized. There is some deep-rooted racism and bigotry baked into our society and we’re finally seeing a majority of people sick and tired of seeing/hearing/listening/reading it.
Politics does intertwine now and then, but this is a baseball site. I don’t want to read the hate-filled BS that comes from some of these folks. Yes, I’ll scroll past, but these people need to know that those thoughts are not welcome in today’s society. We need to move past that, and allowing that sort of speech passively makes them think it is acceptable. That’s not what you want your brand to be about.
I’m quite satisfied and appreciate the content and the comments and think your team is doing a great job in a tough situation. Thank you! Baseball is timeless and above this.
I would argue with you that anyone’s thoughts and opinions are valid. Just as you have a right to not agree with them. You only want to read or hear opinions you agree with?
Even when MLBTR writes about “controversial topics”, they never make it controversial. Moving the all star games, anything COVID related, domestic violence situations…you guys literally just give the facts, provide Twitter links and quotes, and how these situations affect things from a BASEBALL point of view. It is and will always be comment sections and users who leads these topics astray.
I think having no comments on these topics is perfect. It is not necessary and ensures MLBTR writers aren’t wasting their time deleting comments or threads that go off the rails. We’re here to read and discuss baseball situations and news, and I think it’s best we keep to that.
Or you could just not read the comments on those articles.
Well, I guess we know, now, that cancel culture is what folks want. If somebody has an opinion different than mine, mute them. If MLB takes a political position I might disagree with, shut up and obey!
Guys- I agree. This should be used for baseball, I mean we’re doing what we love after work talking about baseball. This is for baseball and I don’t care about your political beliefs that’s what Twitter is for. Also- the White Sox must trade for Mike Tauchman right now Or I will lose my mind.
What do you think?
Judging by the results of the survey, its clear that here, among most places nowadays, people love to silence dissent.
It’ll continue to work for awhile and then one day it won’t, and it’ll be disastrous for tens, if not hundreds of millions of people.
If MLB Trade Rumors closes comments on some posts, no one is being silenced. People can still shout there opinions out on a street corner, use Twitter/Facebook, start a blog…there are many options.
C’mon Tim. If you close comments on “some posts,” you are allowing only posts you personally agree with. Period.
Hey, I am grateful that you provide a great site like Trade Rumors. I am here several times a day and am happy you are making money. But you are still censoring opinions . But thanks for allowing folks to shout their opinions on street corners, whatever that means.
@fox
In my city, it means you get assaulted.
You don’t go to a plumber for medical advice and you don’t come to MLBTR for political discourse. That is what Twitter is for.
@Hudson
Then why is the article here in the first place?
@ Sadler
My response was intended for fox471. Also “vaccines are potentially dangerous” is a medical and political debate, not baseball.
If we close comments on a post, it means we don’t want to deal with the comments that post is going to generate. It doesn’t imply anything else.
It is possible that people want the baseball news and not the reader comments.
Tim, Sure, so they can read your interesting and engaging articles (except for those written by one of your writers, IMO) and then they can ignore the silly and/or rude comments section. Problem solved.
Or is it possible that your niche is differentiated & supported by comments ?
There’s not a lot of truly interesting stuff out there 7×24 for you to report. You are offering up baseball journalism not Pulitzer prize writing. Comments add a lot to your product’s appeal day in and day out
Hudson 6 – I don’t expect to see political discourse on MLBTR. I think I would rather have root canal than mix politics with baseball. However, if an article has a political component to it and people respond to the article, don’t censor those responses. That is all I am saying. And I go to my plumber for medical advice all the time.
@tim So then why post things that don’t pertain to baseball like domestic assault and covid stuff? You post things that have nothing to do with baseball then are surprised by results.
Tatsumaki:
You know you pissed me off the other day, but the digital punching aside, you made excellent points throughout. I’ve agreed with most of what you’ve written.
We know the answer to your question… they write it because it intersects with baseball and generates interest, which goes to the very heart of {our} position that comments should be open for discussion on these baseball articles.
If they close a DV article and it’s X player is suspended for X games for DV – whatever, fine. We all know what we think of the dude who hit his girl. But, a major topic like the ASG, and they’re deleting any comment related to it as well as keeping comments closed? It’s very frustrating and leads to more frustration expressed in other ways on the boards, imo.
It is MLBTR’s choice to censor or not censor. I am guessing they no longer want to deal with the trouble that political fights cause. It is their right as a business. The First Amendment guarantees us freedom from censorship by the government only.
If you walk into my house and call my mother a wh*re, I have the right to toss you out. We are currently in MLBTR’s house. They don’t owe us a place to get into fights. If they don’t like it they can put a stop to it. It’s their house.
Or continue to spill over on to other articles. We are watching it happen.
You try to silence people and sooner or later they act out. MLBTR is living that reality. It’s a microcosm of the RW. Silencing people won’t work. Have you seen any cases where people are acting out? Does heavy handedness work ? Does misrepresentation, suppression or canceling of inconvenient opinions work ?
If you enter Tim Dierkes house you play by his rules. Also MLBTR is not the government. They CAN restrict speech.
Or if comments are closed then extraneous comments can continue to spill over on to other articles. We are watching it happen.
You try to silence people and sooner or later they act out. MLBTR is living that reality. It’s a microcosm of the RW. Silencing people won’t work. Have you seen any cases where people are acting out? Does heavy handedness work ? Does misrepresentation, suppression or canceling of inconvenient opinions work ?
@TrueBrew Put your real name and email down and then post if you want rights.
You. Do. Not. Deserve. Rights. As. An. Anonymous. Commenter. Period.
@uk is the same dude probably upset about voting suppression but with the same click of a keyboard wants to punish people with opposing views. How ironic! Upset about taking away someone’s right with simultaneously take away someone else’s. LOGIC.
UKfan.
It’s amusing to see you get owned. The guy lives in your head.
True’s comments are either artfully done or serendipitously neutral and could reflect either a right or a left leaning perspective. Suppression of either point of view fails.
comment about it on another mlbtr article
There are plenty of places for you to rant on whatever political topic you choose. This doesn’t have to be one of those places.
Does Sadlers comment get muted when the button is available?
No one is culture canceling, its people saying you are racist, bigoted, whatever your spinelessness calls from you.
How about you being a traitor by your little insurrection, should people not have called you out and do you consider the murder of one cop, the suicide deaths of 2 others, the injuries of 140 more including one that permanently lost his sight, one that lost 3 fingers and one that was impaled by a metal pole or shou.ld you moan about exercising your 1st Amentment with no consequence whatsoeverer?
This is why we are divided, the rightwing lie, its all they do because its all they’ve got.
See? This is how it spirals.
You want baseball, then keep it baseball!
And that’s what the mute button is for, no? I voted Yes on mute button, yes on the opening up the comments section for everything, and no for moderators removing unrelated comments.
That allows everybody the opportunity to decide for themselves whether or not they want to take part in a discussion that dissolves into a rant.
With the exception of the Mute button, the survey results are the exact opposite; silence all people because you’re afraid it might turn into something you don’t like.
its not silencing dissent. no one’s allowed to comment agreeingly either. the idea that there is discourse between the writer and the commenter that disagrees makes no sense, and if not between the writer and someone else then why is it a matter of said comment section over another.
@Sadler oh please, “silence dissent” among 100% anonymous commenters? Hyperbole much? You are a nobody! No one knows who you are!
News flash: being anonymous means you get zero rights and privileges. I know how a lot of Americans have never once been “silenced” in their lives, and now you get one thing taken away while you arent even a publicly known person you can’t handle it and whine and cry like a baby. You are anonymous! You don’t DESERVE a single right! Maybe the stupidest comment here.
A mute button was one of the things that would greatly increase my chances of paying to use the site ( that and perhaps expanding to include English Premier League Rumors but doubt theres a calling for that just yet). My question is do you have to mute the person per comment section or just give them a blanket ban?
If you mute a person, you’ll never see their comments or the replies to any threads they start. If you change your mind you could un-mute them.
That would immediately run the trolls off. Can we get that now? Pretty please.
@JohnJaso
It’s a personal mute button, assuming I understand it correctly. You and I, for example, would have different lists of muted people.
Right. But I’d contend that there’s a handful of trolls (it’s likely the same 1-2 people with a bunch of accounts) who would be unanimously muted.
not me
Lol the mute button might get me too. I like to take the opposing view for the discussions sake. I might on occasion talk about how great someone is and list stats even if i do not believe it. This often draws comments telling me how wrong i am. Commentors who might not like a post or even back me up in a discussion because they want to be neutral and are afraid to show a leaning on a topic. I dont think i would mute anyone but i also see merit to the idea.
Would the person(s) you mute be able to reply to your comments even if you no longer see them?
I personally wouldn’t care, but it would probably help clean up and prevent some of the one-sided nastiness from some of the aggressive commenters that sparks further bickering among others.
Tim – you add the mute option I will gladly purchase a subscription..hell I will purchase one for me and maybe 1 or 2 gift ones if thats possible
Zero censorship.
I voted allow comments on all and yes to a mute button. Everyone should have an opportunity to say something constructive, opinionated, counter-argumentative, witty, etc. but I whole-heartedly believe everyone should be able to censor a.k.a. mute anyone else. We are all here for one reason: we love baseball. Every topic can be discussed constructively with those sport goggles on but, of course, not everybody will be constructive. Our personal definition of enjoyment would be formulated by the mute button. This would weed out the trolls and leave positive talk to the ones you enjoy talking to, reading their input, countering their queries, etc. I have enjoyed 99.9% of my interactions here but I would absolutely use the mute button when I deem it applicable. Trolls be warned, you shall be silenced into oblivion!
Only the government can censor. You are not entitled to an audience for your viewpoints on a private platform.
Honestly, if people want to get in debates about politics or COVID or whatever non-baseball topics (even as they delve into baseball), they can go to a myriad of other websites.
If you could mute commenters, it might be fine, but otherwise, I think leaving the comments closed is a good idea.
Thank y’all for your consideration of your readership’s options. Not everyone has modicum and decency when using comments sections on the interweb.
I personally read roughly 70% the articles, but avoid most non-Braves related comments sections due to the utter stupidity of a very few. The ability to ‘mute’ people is a valuable add.
Thanks Again
Great decision to let people hash it out, even on controversial topics. If people don’t like it, they don’t have to read or get involved. They also have the mute option (I’d never use it but I think you need to include it). I’m very supportive that you are allowing discussion, even if it is crass or rude. I agree, too, it’s not worth your team’s time to moderate. Let people moderate and discuss. Mean and moronic posts will be shamed and handled by the other posters. A final suggestion is if it is clear that a poster is out of line, then you have the power to remove them from posting altogether.
I’ll throw in an opinion that is seemingly unpopular currently:
The free marketplace of ideas means that everyone should be free to express themselves without censorship.
Wild hot takes, political rants and general idiocy is quickly ignored and the best ideas, like cream, quickly flow to the top.
I have cancelled subscriptions and generally ignored 80% of websites in the last year due to rampant censorship. I have no issue reading things that make my blood boil or just are plain wrong.
Everyone should watch that movie American President starring Michael Douglas and realize that the last 12 months or so have been an epic disgrace on all sides.
Let’s talk baseball.
This guy gets it
Great take. Applause.
So you….censored websites, for censorship? Really smart fella. Another stupid comment here.
Really getting a great list of who to mute from this thread alone. Maybe thats one thing we all can agree on?
More name calling from the 47 year old mature adult….
I’m a firm believer in letting people voice their opinions. If they go against mine and they aren’t throwing insults then I can appreciate how the other side sees things. If they resort to name calling, belittling or just generally being a troll then the mute button would be fantastic way to silence them. With the mute option will there be multiple choices for length of mute or mute being permanent until removed? Cheers!
I agree. Hopefully people can act like adults, and respect opinions. The only question I was fine having open was the political debate about the MLB all star game. However, there should be strict standards of keeping it focused on the baseball side not go off into politics of election etc.
But, the entire reason for moving the game was….political. lol
its not a matter of opinions. it ends up devolving into mudslinging that goes beyond simply one’s opnions on a topic. if people were able to discuss these things civily then this wouldnt be an issue. yeah the few are ruining it for the masses. sucks but this hardly the end of the world.
I honestly wish Tim would have left the comments closed on this post. Just for sake of irony.
Leave them closed. That was the right move to begin with and continues to be the right move. Everything is sullied by political nonsense where there is otherwise no reason for it. Tired of it.
Crazy4
Here’s a simple solution. YOU STOP reading the comments. It’ll be just like having them closed for you personally. Everyone else will take responsibility for their own decisions
So don’t read it.
I come here for baseball news, insights, and commentary. Nothing saps my interest faster than snarky name calling and/or folks pushing a political or social agenda. Take that nonsense to Twitter.
Or just scroll past it.
Seems as though most aren’t really into exchange of dialogue civil or otherwise while at the same time if engaging in a back & forth, it seems more likely than not that if something disagreeable is mentioned, they’d be “muted” or personally silenced.
Boy we sure have gotten away from “Classic Liberal” philosophy pertaining to unfettered free speech/exchange of thought or ideas, etcetera.
Whether we like what’s being said or otherwise.
Talk about something legitimately systemic within modern society but I digress…
Classic liberal is right wing in today’s world. Sorry to shatter your reality. the left is authoritarian communists, at this point the constitution the conservatives are trying to conserve is a classic liberal document. The shift happened and the left can’t comprehend it.
If you tried to defend the last president here,and used his name,,this site banned you, trust me i was one of them..in fact you still cant write his name here or they won’t put it out
There are exactly zero communists in American politics. Two right wings is all you clowns have, yet one wants health care for free (a thing that exists in literally every other country) and theyre “commies”? Pathetic lot you all have become. Close all comments sections, this site literally does not need a peanut gallery if you are the type of person commenting.
TRIGGERED WOKE MOB UK. LMAO
Tats
Well said.
Wanna chuckle- picture UKfan in your mind. I see a tall, muscular guy with a full head of hair and a great tan. Woman flock to him and men want to be him. Rumors say he’s incredibly well endowed, educated and has great teeth.
Then I woke up up….
Open the comments. We are all adults here, if someone post ignorant stuff ignore them.
Closing the comments is/was pretty weak considering the approach you took with the very topics you mentioned leading to feedback conflict. The world of sports and media has brought all this nonsense into the mix, not the fans.
Your definition of who should be counted as belonging in the world of sports might be too narrow.
After seeing the dreck posted here over the last 12 months, I’m totally in favor of you guys just getting rid of these comments sections altogether. I mean, come on. They are anonymous. It’s worse than twitter, because at least there people are held to what they say and are banned for acting out.
Lets break it down here: Nothing, and I mean nothing, is being added to any topic, no one is changing their opinion, and it always just devolves into right wingers bullying people while claiming they are getting bullied themselves. What exactly, is the point of this? To blow off steam? To let old men whine about how the game aint like it used to be? We all know old people do nothing but hate and complain and that’s all I see in these comments sections.
That’s another bigger issue: MLB has become a sport of pure hate. Fans hate everyone: other fans, the players, the owners, the teams. It’s all just venomous hatred across the board, but why? Why not instead promote the players and make the game fun again? It’s as stupid as brawls breaking out in a non-contact sport – which is what old fans prefer to bat flips – see, my point here is the whole discourse around the game is rudderless and violently idiotic and no one is trying to change it for the better, because that involves ridding the toxic old guard who celebrate the “unwritten rules” instead of breaking them until they don’t exist anymore, like they should.
Removing comments entirely is the best thing MLBTR could do that this point. I really mean that. Why actively promote trolling like this?
if you really dislike the comments to the point where you want none then dont look at them i draw the line here. if your solution is to have no comment sections then chances are almost everyone gets mad.
There’s no real need for a peanut gallery on what is ostensibly a news site. Rotoworld has no comments on their news pieces on individual players and we don’t hear any anger about that.
Again, anger and hatred are what fuels these comments sections, they have become too toxic and that’s why I’d have no problem with MLBTR removing them. I would continue coming here every day to get content and news.
I’d support this site requiring a real ID to validate their account though, lets see who talks big then.
Let’s make it even simpler AinUK. YOU STOP reading the comments. It’ll be just like they’re closed for you personally. Everyone else will make their own decisions
Just don’t read them, scroll past them. You clearly are incapable of this and have to have your opinion heard. When someone dissents you get angry and threaten them. Grow up and don’t read the comments if you can’t handle them.
You are right, I “cant handle” seeing racists speak their minds, because it always ends with “non-white person is bad/white person is good”. Racists are the lowest level of intelligence, and that’s a scientific fact whether you like it or not.
You see race first in every aspect of life. Normal people don’t think this way. I’d say you’re the most racist person here, you just don’t know how to look in the mirror and see the truth.
@A’sfaninUK. I would not normally respond to a screed like this, but since I usually respect your comments, I have to tell you that you went over a wide, bright line with this one. Without getting into the specifics unnecessarily, the problem is you simply cannot make a case against espousing anger and hatred when you are doing it in an angry and hateful way. I hear this so much these days, with so many people believing that their anger and hatred is somehow special and completely justified. This is the root cause of why discussions that are ostensibly about the sport we all love turn into everything but. It’s because too many people are prepared to use every opportunity to spew venom at “them,” whomever “them” is in their world. As a wise man said, “if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Something to keep in mind, and not just here.
I think we keep the comments closed on political topics and add the mute button. There are people here who can’t even discuss baseball without resorting to insults. Would be nice to be able to mute them.
I like comment sections and generally visit sites less often (and spend less time on them) that have eliminated user comments entirely. I’m glad MLBTR is not moving in that direction.
I’m generally fine with your keeping comments open on all articles. The “hot button” issues only come up in a baseball context here, and I appreciate some of the conversations that are made in that context. If I know a topic might devolve into insults, etc., that I am not in the mood for, I can easily skip the comment sections on those articles all together. And I can easily stop reading comment sections that become too low-content for my tastes. But sometimes I like to read differing viewpoints and occasionally even gain some insights.
Re the Mute Button, if it were to be implemented, I would like it to show that a comment had been made by the muted commenter, bug with the comment hidden along with the option to unhide the comment. If their comments are completely invisible, it can make conversations difficult to follow. And many of the commenters who get out of hand on the hot topics will often be fine in pure baseball conversations, and it would be nice to still have the option to check their comments in other threads.
And if you are making improvements to the comments section, please work on better response threading or other identification of which replies go with which comments.
Lets me frank.
Opening the comments for topics like the ASG makes sense. People will share their side and there is room for debates.
Opening comments for domestic violence on the other hand is pointless. Unless of course people want to treat it as a self-help group therapy where they share their experiences with beating up their wives and kids.
Ian Theo
That’s not my ideal position, but it’s a reasonable take on things.
Would you consider that Marital Law can often be partisan, biased, flawed and a fair amount of he said/ she said? Further-
due process is a damn good part of our legal system. It’s my opinion that punishing a player, who has not been convicted of an offense, by taking away their livelihood is wrong as often as it’s right.
Doesn’t minimize actual crimes, but keeps judgement of guilt closer to the professionals who deal with it day in and day out rather than MLB that showed last summer that they can’t even effectively run the business they supposedly know about.
This is the type of discussion that is valid on a baseball site about DV.
Losing a player that hasn’t been convicted and sometimes not even charged has an impact on teams. Winning isn’t above preventing DV, but neither is falsely punishing a player the right approach
I absolutely love this. Don’t care too much either way about opening up the comments for controversial articles, but I’ve thought for a while now this site could use a friend/ignore option. Plenty of users I would love to never have to see anything from again, but there’s also some I’d like to follow. Like right now you only get notified of responses to your own comments, but there are some users I’d like to be notified of when they leave their own. You would also have one more premium subscriber, because that would definitely get me to start paying.
Pretty surprised by the results so far. If people have issues with the topic they don’t have to participate in the comment section. I don’t see why comments have to be closed.
Because some topics naturally devolve into a left vs right argument which will never be resolved. At least not on this forum.
And thats fine. Mlbtr should put out a disclaimer saying they encourage commenters to respect each other post their commenting policy but say they wont moderate due to other projects.
what’s the point of having a policy you dont enforce?
Simple:
The company has the right to enforce their policy as they see fit.
They can choose to enforce it, but choose to not enforce it if they know a topic will spark controversy. This isnt a huge business with 1000s of employees. They dont have the time or technological resources to constantly enforce the policy. Their time is better suited elsewhere.
But if someone goes on a political rant or something on a non controversial post like padres trade for james norwood they reserve the right to enforce the policy.
BASEBALL. BASEBALL. BASEBALL.
Otherwise go to Facebook.
BASEBALL. BASEBALL. BASEBALL.
Tim, you’re going to lose your mind trying to patrol the comments section, and/or spread your staff’s time thin. Every website that has comments sections has trolls and hate. You can leave comments open on whatever you want, but don’t patrol it. It’s the internet. You can’t police anonymous weirdos. Just continue to do all the great work you do by posting articles/rumors/news on all things baseball. I understand you kinda feel like since this is your site, you need to spend time policing the comments section and keep people happy, but you don’t, it’s the internet, and the times.
It’s not Tims personal web page. At this point the trade rumors family is a business operating in the public sphere.
the government of this country still doesn’t consider social media “the public sphere.” by that logic this site definitely is not, for better or for worse.
The North.
Good pragmatic advice. I hope he appreciates it.
We’re not curing cancer in the comments section. All posts are irrelevant about 12 hours after 1st being posted. Good , bad or indifferent they all fad to black
You don’t need to moderate anyone’s comments. If people are upset by the opinions of those who differ from their own, those people aren’t worth catering to. They have the ability to not read comments. Despite what the news tries to claim, words can’t actually hurt you. Democrats decided to politicize baseball, democrats can deal with the dissent. Otherwise, kiss your customer base goodbye. Can’t force a political agenda down everyone’s throats and then expect them to remain silent, that is not american, and baseball is as american a sport there is.
offensive or hateful comments are not “opinions.” to act as if every comment on this site is just an opinion is crazy.
I’m proud of the commentors for voting the same way I did. Will be a breath of fresh air if all of these changes are implemented
@ Dodgethis
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why political discourse does not belong on a baseball website.
It seems like someone is looking for a fight. The rest of us are not.
Leave it closed. I don’t care about the opinions of others on politics on a baseball site
So we all just mute each other to avoid an argument. Welcome to Amerika. Republicans decided to politicize baseball and decry cancel culture while demanding boycotts against anybody who disagreed with them. They’re babies, but that’s nothing new.
There is so much irony in your post, I can’t tell if it’s meant to be satire or not.
Hahaha.
I’m thinking the TX in the name means he’s from Austin.
Quite true.
Yea not so much.
Took the survey. Totally in favor of allowing Covid and All-Star game threads. I would keep DV permanently closed.
And a BIG yes to a mute button.
I’m in favor of opening comments so long as there are clear rules of conduct and moderators who can ban people who post things that go against the rules.
Banning usually doesn’t work — new email, new account, same stuff.
The mute button sounds like it might have a chance at being successful.
I’ve been reading and commenting on web sports for many years. I like reading perspectives from the readers at large.
When Yahoo Sports shut down last year, I shut them down. Please keep the comments open MLBTR.
Manfred made the decision to interject politics into baseball. We should have the ability to comment on it.
How do people feel about adding live daily game discussions? I think maybe this site can further expand and add this feature. If they do, then moderation will likely be required.
Ian Theodore Fanthemson,
I would be interested in live game threads to interact with others during games.
I like that idea
Websites like this are driven by robust user comment sections and regular participants. I personally don’t mind the back and forth between fans of rival teams flinging stats trying to one-up each other. That’s actually kind of fun and informative, as long as everything is kept relatively friendly and respectful.
Personally, I mentally mute the trolls when scanning MLBTR comments. But it would be nice not to have to look at the posts of some users who consistently don’t have anything to add.
Dr Dan you are recognizing the appeal of comments sections and enjoying them.
You’re acting in a mature manner too. In context of a baseball site you see something that’s not up your particular alley and decide to ignore it. Not get all upset (triggered being an extreme degree) or call for a total ban ( canceling) or much else.
I call it the turd in the street scenario – shouldn’t be there, but I’m not going to do anything about it beyond walk around it. It’ll dry up or wash away before long.
what a mess
I voted to open all comments and do not need a mute button. Also why let the site keepers censor the comments? I was in the minority for everything. Everyone should have a voice other than prohibiting posting vulgar comments and berating other people that post. As long as the line isn’t crossed censorship isn’t needed.
Let people comment on sensitive matters, but put a disclaimer out saying you arent responsible for what your commenters say nor do you support or condemn any opinion posted in this thread. Say we respect peoples right to discus and encourage positive interactions among our viewers, but due to limited staff and time we want to focus on putting out a quality product rather than policing a comment section on this post. Also post a link to commenter policy. Done deal.
The mute button is just about the most ridiculous idea I’ve heard in the history of the world. And a th r t I g, I t nk i s j t g .
I enjoy MLBTR as my lead site to follow baseball news and issues and believe in the first amendment allowing free press and speech.
I view myself as a compassionate fiscal conservative and social moderate who is pro immigration and human rights. I am open to discuss these contemporary issues which need to be discussed in an open forum as long as they are respectful.
I used to like this site. It has really turned into a haven for whiners.
Bob Gibson Fan,
I grew up watching and rooting for the Cardinals during mid 60s and can still remember their roster and lineup. Obviously I was a fan of Bob Gibson and Lou Brock who is embedded in my screen name together with my favorite NYC realty 30 Rockefeller Center.
LOL
Yes
I have the right to kick someone out of my house if they start a fight. That is MY RIGHT. It is my house. We are currently in MLBTR’s house. You start a fight they have the right to toss you out.
I’m in favor of entirely removing comments from every post. You’re not obligated to provide a platform for anyone (including myself) and it’s net negative to your team to have to babysit people. The entitlement from some folks is off the charts. Save your sanity.
I can’t speak to how the ad model revenue works exactly, but I suspect the comments section greatly increases the traffic.
A mute button won’t stop negative posts just don’t respond. Best course to take…
Close comments on everything.
98% of the stuff here is nonsense.
Just don’t click the comment tab then bruh
Thanks Tim. Classy move in an industry that shuns moves like this
Seems like mlbtr has turned more into a gossip column by posting the accused, not yet convicted mlb stars. And more garbage on who’s the latest with the highest salary. Surprised there wasn’t a section on tiger woods..
It’s a baseball news site with minimal writer conjecture. Quit complaining and go start PGA Golf Rumors.
your reply will garnish a mute comment.
I appreciate the ask. It takes a certain amount of guts to open yourself up to even more opprobrium, and I think Tim’s initiative is both a nice one and a good one., I’m generally in the camp of free speech, but found myself voting to keep the domestic violence comments muted–to me the “baseball: component of those discussions is far less than those about COVID or MLB moving the All Star Game.
Still, I’d really like to see true baseball sites stick to baseball. There’s so much noise out there in the world, so many places to gripe, that baseball is a haven. It would be nice if we could keep it that way, consistent with the First Amendment.
Tim
I may see this in a way you have not thought of
1) 25 to 40 percent want the three types of posts open. The vast majority don’t like extraneous comments. Important take away. 1/3 of your customers want you to do something. You can ignore if you think 2/3 of the customers are more important
2) I think if you ignore 1/3 of people they will be dissatisfied. They will continue to spill over into other articles and piss off everyone else. You will have succeeded in satisfying no one. Plus continued a practice which frustrates your staff. Good people are hard to find my friend. Expensive to train too.
3) What happens if you go back to Open Comments? 1/3 are happy and if the other 2/3 just don’t read the comments What have they really lost ? Nothing because Closed Articles have no comments. Your staff is much better off.
4) Please reconsider/ evaluate the mute button. Image how much content is lost across all articles when someone mutes one poster. The have issues with a few percent points of information, but lose 90%. This will also cause disjointed threads in the comments. Do you think that these people will enjoy your product as much?
5) you could close comments on all articles, but I suspect that would end your Effectiveness in this niche. Read further limit visits and whatever that does to your revenue
Please realize that a lot of the articles are relatively dull. Comments are the glue that many of use use to bridge the gap between interesting articles. Note – this isn’t a criticism of the staff writers as much of the material available to report on each day. Especially by what I perceive are part time writers who are as much baseball fans as journalists and do it for enjoyment as well as modest compensation
Comments eh? Although I am silently protesting MLB for a number of reasons including those noted in this article, I tuned in today’s Cubs Brewers game on SiriusXM…Cubs down 4-0 bottom of the seventh…Krissy Bryant goes down on three pitches including a called third strike fastball down the Shute…Joc Peterson next inexplicably squares around for a bunt attempt and pops out to the catcher…next Javy Baez goes down on three pitches…in the olden days when a team was down runs late, hitters automatically took strikes and protected the plate to try and put the ball in play and make pitchers work…not today’s ball…where the hell is the strategy? The Cubs let the Brewers reliever (Brent Suter) off with a seven pitch inning…Joc bunt attempts? He’s one of the slowest outfielders in the NL… MLB shuts down over the flu but not Walmart…
Joc Pederson is nowhere near one of the slowest outfielders in baseball, and he would’ve been bunting to beat the shift. You know, to get on base, being down 4-0 and all, and take advantage of what the defense gives him. I thought that’s what old school fans wanted to see?
And that’s Pederson with a D, not a T.
Ha! Ah yes beating the shift…
Joc is so fast that he has a total of three (3) stolen bases over the past five seasons…first pitch bunting with one out and down 4-0 in the seventh is a no-no….on the plus side, Joc is an improvement over Schwarber
I appreciate your attempts, even if it might prove futile.
That said, I’m not sure how Covid can be a political or controversial.
But the ASG is so politicized now, it is a legit sports story.
So far just under 2000 users have voted on the poll. How many people subscribe to MLBTR? Just curious what percentage of users have taken the survey.
I took it.
So…at least 0.0005%.
I subscribe, I didn’t take it. I am for open speech on almost all issues. Don’t care about DV threads because we are all of the opinion you shouldn’t beat women (I hope). No need for a thread because it’ll be jackwagons using that to simply attack Yankees for Chappy, or German, Astros for Osuna, etc……
TIM DIERKES RULES! We trust your judgement and that’s why we are on your site.
Mixed responses on my part. I’m fine with the COVID and DV threads being closed. I wouldn’t close comments to news like the All-Star game. No doubt the thread would be messy, but I’d lean toward open speech on most. Don’t waste your time trying to police them. Give us a mute button so we can mute the worse offenders.
Tim
Another shorter take on things
You can’t legislate morality. Its not a perfect description of what you are doing, but it is close enough. Prohibition tried to outlaw drinking for the best of intended reasons. They failed there and gave rise to guys like Al Capone.
Your intentions may have been good, but 1/3 of your customers don’t seem happy about 3/4 of the polled types of articles. 2/3 of your customers are unhappy with the 4th question about extraneous comments. Your staff also unhappy
They repealed prohibition, you might consider repealing your ban on Comments. Your business isn’t worrying about some salty comments. Some you don’t agree with or find uncomfortable. Anyone who voted to keep comments closed can literally hit their very own personal ‘mute’ button and skip reading the comments 100 percent for those few articles.
Don’t let their moral outrage affect your business. They don’t pay your bills and all too often look for opportunities to be outraged when they don’t exist.
prohibition failed because it was an empty gesture. everyone with a brain knew speakeasys existed but the government willingly chose to do nothing about it, for better or for worse. the idea that “you cant police morality” implys this is simply a morality issue and suggests that because you can’t eradicate the problem that you shouldnt try, which is utterly defeatist.
Darkside830
Using the ” everyone knows ” construct is trying for justification where not exists. Saying “with a brain ” implies only your point of view is valid. Both are passive aggressive type behaviors used to avoid a factual discussion. It brings an emotional component to a discussion and avoids/ evades a rational one.
Sorry bubba, but you were outclassed intellectually. Move along
Well said BrewCrew. MLB’s following is not the same as NBA, most MLB fans value free speech and don’t believe in creating moral outrage for political purposes.
FPG: The scary thing is that some here believe NBA / NFL are a success model for the MLB to follow. That lease is so distorted to look past all the challenges they’ve had to go through, to literally overturn what they did (which is what MLB is trying to do now), so they could gain back their audience.
The biggest two challenges for MLB will be:
– MLB is not the NFL/NBA therefore will not recover their audience as quickly. Once the younger generation(s) shy away, a portion will not come back at all.
– And, MLB is facing the high probability of a strike which will compound the problem with fandom. It will exacerbate youth moving away from this game and finding something else, it will solidify the older generation’s feelings (in some) that MLB is lost and not worth their time or money.
Your site made it worse with anti-trump stuff being let in no matter how stupid it was,but you banned ppl for being pro trump, or even tried to refute what was written.. you deserve blame too.
Now thats been said.
Manfred has destroyed this game even without this a.s. fiasco.
7 inning doubleheaders
4 fingers up for intentional walk
Reliever must face 3 batters except if he gets 3rd out
Runner on 2nd to start extra innings
Sliding into 2nd and home rule changes
The d.h. in the n.l. in 2020
I know im missing a cpl, but ppl now miss selig because of Manfreds stupidity.
Tim is just transparent about an issue that is a downstream effect of a much larger issue. This is way bigger than MLBTR.
Internet regulation / filtering has already begun in the US but it’s done in the private sector (the companies are “policing” their own platforms). China, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia have full pervasive govt regulation of the internet. The US govt performs selective monitoring of the internet, but many experts say that more regulation is on the way.
Comments sections, while good in theory, have gone to the dark side and there’s little value in keeping them around.
Spend time with your family and don’t worry about the little inconsequential people that burrow in comment sections. That’s why they’re called Trolls.
+1 For mute button. Thanks!!!
For those of us that have abandoned Twitter and Facebook because of the extreme toxicity and divisiveness that inhabits those sites, I do appreciate you closing comments to controversial subjects. Unfortunate that it needs to be like this but necessary.
Many of our parents enforced that arguing religion and politics is a fruitless battle, but many still somehow believe by yelling at someone loud enough they can convince them to change their stance. Rather than push the divide, I like just getting the news and happenings of America’s Past time how you do it here closing comments when necessary.
Keep up the good work and +1 for the mute button!
This question “Should MLBTR attempt to remove comments that are unrelated to the topic of the post?” should be re-worded to read …. “Should MLBTR attempt to remove comments that are unrelated to the topic of the post in a direct attempt to circumvent a “Closed Comment Section”?
I say this because someone will eventually nit-pick. Somewhere, someone will type a simple “Hello, how are you? I haven’t seen you post in a while.” and someone with an axe to grind will whine and flag it as off topic.
Circumventing closed comment article just because you believe you must be heard should carry some consequences. Maybe a tiered system. 1st instance a warning posted in the comment section. 2nd instance banned for one day. 3rd instance ban for a month. 4th instance banned permanently.
This. Going off topic in the course of a normal conversation is not the same as “I’m going to post what I couldn’t on the last article.”
this. that’s the real problem here. dont need to moderate that much if people respect what’s off topic.
i’m all for muting certain writers of mlbtr
I’d like the comments from a select few on matters of politics or criminal proceedings. Those posters with actual experience in the fields abs knowledge. So about 2%.
This is a great baseball site. Nothing wrong with keeping it a baseball site.
People are gonna argue over anything. I disagree with a lot of post. But instead of arguing or giving them oxygen, I scroll past. There will be no minds changed, each side has their own opinion and refuse to hear opposing sides objectively.
Now with all that said, I am a free speech absolutist. Give them a platform to air their grievances on the internet. It’s better for someone to argue on the internet with someone from across the country, than taking your frustrations with society out on some random at the grocery store. Free speech isn’t there to protect the speech you like, it’s there to protect the speech you don’t like. There may come a day when society deems your speech as “wrong speech”, and when that day comes I will be there to back you too.
This gives a whole new meaning to Spring cleaning for me this year!
Add the mute option and then put all the effort into chasing rumors and your content. If you build it, we will come.
Tim, thank you to all that you & the MLBTR team provide for us. I love the insight you provide & the detailed info that goes into each article.
I’m grateful for a community of people to be able to talk about the game, gain more insight about their teams & hear about your personal experiences.
I do believe that if we were all gathered in a common location discussing the game, the personal attacks & venom would be non existent.
When we come against each other, we are simply taking the bait of the enemy.
Keeping the comments as discussions sure makes the reading much more enjoyable.
I pray Blessings over each of you.
I agree atmosphere. Too many people are big and tough and controversial when they know they can hide behind a keyword and never have to confront anyone. Some people will disagree with no matter what someone says. It’s up, no they say it’s down. It’s black, no it’s white. It’s left, no it’s right, etc.
Comments are already so useless and argumentative on average that I rarely read more than one or two. I would read zero of these. It’s not a big difference to me personally.
That said, I’m willing to bet you’ll drive away more people than you’ll gain by it. Most people won’t care, but of those who do, most of those will be mad the comments exist. There’s nothing constructive about them, so I wouldn’t bother were I in your place.
Keep the comments closed.
Contrary to what some commenters here seem to believe, you don’t owe your audience/users a platform. No one using this site/app is “entitled” to have it as a forum for sharing their opinion, political or otherwise. And I, for one, have no interest in what Joe Schmo’s hot take is on MLB’s Atlanta decision or any other controversial topic. That’s not what I come here for, and I doubt it’s what most other people come for either.
Yes, it’s important in general that there exists a good platform for people to discuss serious and controversial issues in a civil manner. But nothing requires *you* to provide that platform, and if past history was any indication, simply allowing comments on those subjects would not have been sufficient, unless you also employed multiple full-time moderators as well.
The internet is already a giant mass of outrage and hot takes. It’s exhausting. I watch baseball, and I come here, to get away from that stuff. Sports, at their best, are one of the few things that can unite people with diverse backgrounds and opinions. Please continue to embrace that side of things, and not have this site just devolve into another online shouting match.
The thing is, that the ability to comment on a story makes the whole platform much more compelling, which equals views, which equals revenue for mlbtr.
Dan-9. YOU STOP reading the comments. Problem solved. It’ll be like they don’t exist for you. So concise and easy. Everyone else can do as they see fit
Yeah I get it bud. You’re responding to everyone with the same thing. Stop it already.
In response, no. “Don’t don’t breathe the air if you don’t like the pollution!” “Just stop listening if you don’t like the screaming!”
I do like reading comments on some topics. Intelligent baseball-related comments, specifically. I have no interest in wading through dozens of worthless, toxic political or social takes to get to those.
No I have a better idea. Let’s recognize that unmoderated, free-for-all comment sections are terrible. Not “could be” terrible or “sometimes” are terrible. We have 20+ years of online discourse to look at, and we know that they ARE terrible, every single time. No reason to allow more of it when there’s no reason to.
Have you looked at WHY they’re terrible though? As I pointed out below with the gentleman who immediately and unjustifiably called someone racist, it usually stems from someone claiming such triggered status, that the comments devolve.
So, it’s the very individuals that are pining for absolute comment justice, if you will, that make the assertions leading to the devolution of discourse to begin with.
It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. If your worldview is that of wokeness, and your goal is to eradicate that, no matter where you go you will find it……..
Dan, my apologies, it was actually in the above threads, not below, that to which I was referring.
Dan9 – you were presented with a simple and logical solution. Don’t engage in something you don’t enjoy, but let others make their own choice.
You create the false comparison of ‘you not reading comments you don’t enjoy is equivalent to stopping to breathe air that is polluted ‘. Bad take bruh.
Here’s why you got it wrong. You’re solution is to close all comments. In your tautology that is equivalent to taking the air (polluted or not. Your value system implied but not accpted) away from everyone. So you can’t argue a point effectively or ignore something that you don’t like and your solution is to suffocate everyone.
Nope bruh he’s right. Let everyone make their own decisions.
Mjshof: Excellent writing and explanation of truth claims, while also drilling down on bait and switch narratives for coming emotional appeals instead of factual rebuttals.
I enjoyed your other responses as well. Very well articulated posts. This is why these comments need to be open!
Except I didn’t advocate closing “all” comments. Nowhere did I do that.
Acknowledge your poor reading comprehension, retract your statement and apologize.
Yankees Clipper
Thanks. Can I just call you Joe ?
PS huge NYY fan despite Philly-eaque avitar
Sure, I’ve been called a hell of a lot worse. AndC guess what’s I still believe I’m free speech even though my sensitive little ears didn’t like what they heard!
Good job man, you were on point and I seriously enjoyed the read. I know mine wasn’t nearly as articulate or enjoyable, but I can’t deal with these little trolls nipping at heels from behind a computer while thinking they’re funny. Someone needs to let them know they don’t get to bully everyone just because they think they own the race card – which ironically he pulled against me? Lolol. I shut his ass down with it too, the little demented troll. Ugh, there I go again, my bad.
Maybe it would help to have people who are experts in these areas weigh in with a post. People who crave disinformation can go to the dark webs for their fix. The problem is that commentators aren’t well versed in these issues and just need a place to go to be angry (and be anonymous doing it). Let them do that on Twitter.
Unfortunately conservatives aren’t welcome on twitter. They tried moving to Parler a couple months ago but google and amazon decided to shut that down. And fyi i haven’t had a Twitter or FB in years. Not into this look at me kind of scene.
Neverfollow
Go to YouTube for an old video ‘wed site story’ you’ll enjoy the satire
The one viewpoint that I don’t really understand is from those who think there shouldn’t be any comments on any articles. They can have that experience for themselves by just never reading the comments. It’s not that hard to do if you think comments are so bad. I don’t understand why they want to stop everyone else from participating in discussions about a sport they are interested in.
One other suggestion is that you could actually make it harder to flag comments. One of the reasons comment moderation can be burdensome when it is too easy for people to flag comments that just express opinions that someone disagrees with rather than being so bad that they need to be removed, and then moderators need to review too many unnecessarily flagged comments. You should still have a “flag” button, but it should provide instructions on how to contact moderators to register a complaint and maybe a link to a policy document that describes the limited types of comments/users that will be removed/banned, rather than having a one-click process.
IMO these kinds of posts (domestic violence, Covid etc.) should always just be closed for comments. I don’t comment often but I do take the time to read the comments and although this isn’t really your prototypical social media platform, it quickly devolves into the same stupidity you see elsewhere. Nothing but fights, name calling and complaining. The irony is the the people whining about “keeping politics out of sports” are always the ones speaking off-topic and making everything political. I come for the news and could most definitely live without the comments. Reader involvement is overrated and rarely leads to anything positive. That’s just my two cents.
Love the site, and generally approve of open comments, but totally understand the choice to close certain posts to comments. Very pro mute button.
I think the key is to isolate the posts that will produce the most controversial discussion, so that the baseball news/related comments are less likely to get muddled by trolls, or more political discussion. I would also add more polls. Take the ASG movement news. I’m guessing most of the readers do not comment, but often times read the comments to gage opinion of other baseball fans.
If you add a simple agree/disagree poll, then the folks who just want a quick straw poll are satisfied knowing the mood of the room. Maybe keep the comments closed, let the poll tell the story about how people feel. Or possibly consider running the poll 24 hours with closed comments, then open it up for discussion after a day passes, The commenters who want to argue get their forum, but hopefully can wait for the appropriate time. Also, finding out that issue X is a 75/25 split may bring down the temperature in the room. If its 50/50 and a known powder keg, maybe the fact that the discussion wouldn’t start right away would “bury” the story just enough to let those who just want to know about run of the mill roster moves to feel like they can reasonably avoid the fight . If someone brings up the hot-button issue in the comments of an unrelated article, it would seem to me that this person is a great candidate to be muted.
The other idea I thought of is having a daily “debate” article. When controversy is in the news, like the ASG, use it as the topic of the debate for the day. Slow news day? Then maybe the daily debate is more historical in nature: “best relief pitcher with less than 100 career saves?” Personally, the history debate would appeal FAR more to me, but those who like talking over the controversial stories, would have their opportunity to in the right place within your site.
Good luck Tim, I will be reading daily whatever choice you end up making.
PS: I would totally be down for a baseball history discussion question every day. 🙂
Its ironic the same people who want politics out of their sports, want the ability to anonymously argue about those same issues on a sports site.
In my opinion the comments section has gotten so much worse in the last couple years. Used to be you could talk about a baseball move and it would be civil and cordial, and maybe you could learn something from fans of the team who might know more about the players or management than you do. That still happens at times, but usually the comment thread devolves into hostility for no reason. Im not sure why this has happened. Maybe the site just got more popular and the people who feel the need to post are more unhappy than before. Anyway I don’t really care what you choose to do. I wouldn’t read comments on a political or domestoc violence post anyway.
Mikefetters – you’re observations are pretty accurate IMHO. There has been a huge recent surge of outrage when MLBTR extended the comments closure to more articles and in particular when they deleted 100’s of spill over comments on open articles.
The equivalent is taking away someone’s right to an opinion (good, bad or different) and then reacting harshly when they protest. Open comments are similar to peaceful protests and closed comments are people’s reactions to being denied the opportunity to be heard.
I may not agree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it. Paraphrasing of a pretty good sentiment. Ignoring some salty comments and some outlandish other things isn’t really that hard. Skipping entire comment sections for 2 or 3 articles every week or two is a rational approach.
Personally, i’d remove all comments sections forever. If people want to mouth off on a topic, plenty of other places to have those discussions, whether they are productive or not. I come here for news, that’s all, and seeing comments is nothing but an infuriating distraction.
Maybe they will offer you a Mute All to take care of that bother.
You don’t have to view the comments. And, you do realize there is no requirement for commenting either, right?
I’m confused as to why one would be so averse to any comments, yet go to comments and participate? I do not mean this as an insult, please don’t take it that way. I legitimately don’t understand this.
Keep the comments sections closed. There are plenty of rabbit holes on the internet where people can share their opinions on subjects such as the All Star Game move to their heart’s content. This isn’t the place for that. Your job is just to tell us that it’s been moved and where to. You’re under no obligation to provide a platform for opinions that are irrelevant to the actual game of baseball.
As far as I’m concerned we’re all better off if the comments remain closed on any story that’s primarily about off field issues. Comments not related to trades, signings, injuries, on field business matters, or on field play are irrelevant to the purpose of the site.
If an article is so ethically or politically charged that comments are not wanted it doesn’t belong on a rumors website. Rumors in itself are subjective and unsubstantiated by fact. Keep them to open debate or don’t post them at all.
Even the comments section of MLBTradeRumors shows how divided the US is…. Everything is political, everything is left or right… I’m so sick of it.
I agree
I come here for baseball. I hardly even comment on anything but I like to read comments to get the local fan base side in transactions and such. I skip over the political babble because this isn’t an avenue that I want to see that junk.
Why not just get rid of comments entirely?
The reason you do not get rid of comments is it can kill the site. Take Cord Cutters News. It was sold the new owners ended comments and now it is essentially dead.
NY Yankee
I believe you are correct. Looks like 1/3 of readers value open comments irrespective of the topic. There’s not enough interesting baseball news happening every day to make that 1/3 visit daily or multiple times per day.
Add in that the writing is pretty average (these guys are fulltime baseball fans writing articles on a part time basis not fulltime journalists writing about baseball part time) and revenue will drop to the point where the site might not continue.
Tim”s had a good run. Hope he recognizes that 1/3 of his customer base is significant in the sense of his business model.
Yes, not only will it kill the site as NY says but it provides for a mechanism by which some of us can socialize with other fans and have great discussions. It’s the incessant trolling and bashing that pisses me off to no end. But, if I have to deal with that for freedom to discuss stuff, I will.
Keep them closed.
just leave it be and let us use our freedom of speech. too much is being taken away on other sites.
Very glad to hear there will be a mute/ignore option. Some people here seem to just want to troll or start fights, and it will be nice to have an option to not even have to skip over their nonsense, but to avoid it altogether.
@Tim Dierkes: My be a bit premature but I may also facilitate communication and level out the offensive bantering if we could select groups, or friends in some manner. So we could essentially just find/follow our friends comments within threads and auto-bypass all the others.
It would be really cool for lying members to have a private discussion board. There are several people from different teams with whom we have had some really great baseball discussion threads, inevitably trolled and interrupted by someone who commandeers the conversation. A private message thread would permit certain responsible users to break off and co tj ue discussing the topic at hand without such an interruption, thereby making the user experience far less frustrating.
***Second paragraph, “lying” should read “paying” – autocorrect and site froze, I was unable to edit comment. ***
@Tim DIERKES : Is this a possibility or not?
The only problem I have is with trolls who show up and come up with crazy statements, just to aggravate people. They need to find something better to do with their lives then upset others. People whose opinions I disagree with are fine ( I do not expect a Red Sox or Met fan to agree with a Yankee fan like me).
All I have to say is I would mute most dodger fans.
Politics have no place here, the same with racism.
Let the polls decide and re-post the results quarterly to remind the people complaining.
We are in the same boat I guess then, you would be one of the first I mute. You offer little to conversation in most instances, but because you were bullied by other dodgers fans on other platforms you come here to spew venom on almost every dodgers post. Continuing the cycle of hatred and animosity, instead of leading conversation and changing minds.
Unfortunately it is sad that Curt Schilling will probably be denied HOF entry because of his political views despite his worthy and heroic pitching. This is where our culture has taken us and I think it is wrong.
This comment thread is evidence of why comment threads should be closed on controversial topics.
I think this is evidence as to why they need to be open!
Why, so we can hear people rant about “cancel culture” all day?
Cancel culture is real and it’s done far more damage to our society than free speech. It is also the precursor to socialism.
Why should everyone be punished because you don’t want comments? Skip them.
Exactly, Yankee. People in other countries apparently think this country is insane with the cancel culture stuff, at least from things I’ve read. No one can just agree to disagree anymore. I don’t agree with some posters, but I don’t care. I read the comment and move on. It doesn’t cost me any sleep. I don’t know them. I like being able to voice my opinion, though. If people don’t agree, that’s fine. Don’t care. I’ll sleep just fine.
Censorship isn’t the way though.
There is no cancel culture. People have always distanced themselves from people or topics, and tastes on what is acceptable or not have always been in flux.
There was a time when beating a spouse was acceptable. Oh, and slavery. And smoking indoors. Were these also the victim of cancel culture?
Appalachian: Yes, absolutely! The other, arguably more important factor, for me anyway, is that when I discuss matters with people, I grow and learn. I’ve made several acquaintances through this medium and I’m truly thankful for that.
I don’t appreciate the little jabs from the cute posters. As a fighter, it reminds me of the kids that used to run their mouths when the teach was there only to run away later. But I don’t want their speech stifled because it’s much bigger than my feelings.
Look I’ve made stupid posts. I got tired of reading the little pissant comments yesterday and let a few people that thought they were being cute have it. I can’t stand the racism accusations. These people that throw around terms that are reserved for the most vile people in society have declawed the term altogether. People hear it now and it’s like calling someone a jerk. (See MaximumVelocity comments below). I tire quickly of that. I also tire quickly of the moral high-grounders that profess to be better and yet throw stones a everyone all the time, then play victims when it’s given back to them.
Nonetheless, I believe they should be allowed to express themselves. It’s important and people need to know how to navigate difficult people and difficult conversations.
@ Yankee Clipper and Ducky. As I Braves fan it’s unbelievable I agree with you guys. This must be progression!
You go Maximum
It’s “punishment” not to rant about socialism and cancel culture on a baseball trade rumors website? You’d be better served posting your political rants on Facebook. We don’t care about how evil you think “cancel culture” is.
Yeah, because all the people come sisterly liking the comments in support while you like your own reflect that. Go watch CNN I don’t have time for socialism. Had enough of that in my advanced education classes.
Nice pivot by slipping in punishment not to rant – very typical softening of unilateral decision making. I did not say comments on here reflected cancel culture BTW, but you’re advocating taking away paying customers’ services while you are not a paying customer. That is not “not ranting,” it’s silencing. Big difference although you know not the difference.
Your mind is slowly leaking information at a creeping pace whilst mine is blowing past at lightening speed. You can’t twist your words with me and I’m not intimidated because I’m from the culture you are trying to be a part of.
Plus it’s funny how you consider responses to leftists’ rants, rants… lolol. Imbecile. You should have to take an IQ test next time you want to author a message,,,,, we will set it at 78 so you won’t pass. Now go away, you’re boring.
I run my own comment section at sportsplusmore.net
We started out with a small group of posters. A real unique setting of Red Sox and Yankee fans. We are still a small group. The group gets along well, amazingly.
I agree with Tim D that paying a moderator to oversee comments is useless. People find the fringe of what’s allowed and what is not. The moderator is left with endless questions of “Why was my post deleted and not his/hers. The country is currently split down the middle.
I went with no censorship with three exceptions.
NO racial slurs
NO posting of others personal info.
You must contribute something other than continual taunting
The posters did there own moderation. There is a blocking option. I’ve banned one poster in five years. You can upload photo’s and memes.. The conservatives have won out. The liberals have left the site. No censorship of comments is not for the faint of heart. There is always an option for the poster. Adapt to the rules or leave. I’m not going to worry about it
Beware what you ask for, censorship will erode a site faster than the alternative.
Haha. Mr. Dierks outsmarted us. By posting this article, he just funneled all of the controversial comments to here, and away from all of the other articles.
Also, everything liberals touch turns to crap.
Hey, this is all politics on the site today!
Tim
This article has lots of comments. I’ll bet the other articles, that ran during the time this one has been here, didn’t have a lot of ‘spill over’ comments because of closed articles and deleted comments. Your staff probably had less moderation to do.
That pretty much shows you the value of open comments. Your move.
Also – open comments is a low tech, quick and cost effective way to address things. Programming and constant moderation of all articles is slow and expensive
Mute puts you in control over what you read rather than someone else dictating to you what you read. Isn’t that what a lot of the issues in this country is about? Others dictating your freedoms? And that goes both ways Both sides of the aisle. If things are written within the laws and rules than it should be up to the reader or public how they want to respond to it.
They are already in control of what they read and are still asking for someone else to control it. Think about it, people are asking for all comments to be shut off – but, they can also choose not to read the comments at all with the same resulting effect. And they’re still here, reading comments, participating in political discussions, and commenting……..
Yes and no. I hear you and you are right. But if I’m enjoying a productive debate on sports or sports politics and someone from either side says something not related or is antagonizing one side than mute allows me to get rid of an annoying entity and move on. I say my fair share of things that people would find annoying or borderline I’m sure, so i would also rather be muted by a person than have my point removed all together. Mute is a great compromise. Something else that is sorely missing from our country.
I agree wholeheartedly with the mute option….
“I’ve talked to our developers, and this a feature we can create” hmm You don’t talk to developers and ask to see if a feature can be made Lol you just tell them.
I don’t comment here often but it’s kind of shocking to see how many people don’t want to support open discussion on this site. People can discuss things that you disagree with or state their views that might differ then your own. Be an adult and be respectful or just ignore what you don’t like.
Yes, precisely. But, it’s a microcosmic society in general, so know we know why the 1/3 is trying to cancel the other 2/3’s speech.
If people were capable of having rational discussions, opening comments would be fine.
You know it’s going to devolve into a litany of racist and sexist comments, and trolling insults.
Take a hard pass.
Or people will accuse others of being racist/sexist because they’re looking for that everywhere in everything instead of just conversing. I have seen countless accusations of racism on these boards. Every single time the author’s opinion has been so overtly taken out of context it’s blatantly obvious to everyone except the offended party, who’s almost always a white male, coincidentally, whereas I’m never offended and don’t interpret the statement to be racist, at all.
Thank you for making my point.
I think you made your point just fine; I was just trying to contribute conversationally and add additional information based upon on what I’ve seen.
If you’re implying that was a racist comment, I’d ask you rethink that definition of racism.
Thank you for proving my point, again.
The only ones bringing up race or sex are people like you….oh the irony.
Ya know, I’m starting to think maybe, just maybe, he’s projecting; and actually since he keeps bringing it up, maybe he is racist, which is why he’s now so angry and trying to troll me, albeit doing an incredibly piss poor job of it.
Thoughts Johnny? Shall we cancel maximumgarbage?
Seriously, you keep proving my point about the inability to have conversations that are civil.
I’have been called a racist, told my thoughts are garbage, said I am harassing you, and told I should be canceled.
If I am running a for-profit site focused on baseball, and have to assign resources to various efforts, why in world would I wish to give myself the headache of trying to moderate such controversial topics, when the conversations get out of hand?
Should people be banned? How do you balance it so people feel heard and not attacked? Or does that even matter? Should people be able to just insult each other to no end? What about disinformation?
I mean, it literally has to be exhausting reading this entire thread. Which is why, if I am setting up rules, based on the overwhelming results of the vote, and what I’m seeing in real time, I’m not even thinking of changing the policy of not having comments on certain topics. It’s not worth the headache to please what looks like well under half of the population.
And I doubt they lose any significant number of users by continuing the policy.
Like I said, take a hard pass. It’s not worth it.
Comments often start with civilized exchanges, but inevitably and rapidly descend to the lowest common denominator. No need to read them, I suppose, but I’d just as soon not have (and pay for) a venue for oversimplification and ad hominem bomb throwing.
CENSORSHIP IN ANY FORM IS FLAT OUT WRONG
the Mute idea is a good one. No one should be forced to read any thing they don’t choose to read
OIC: how is one forced to read anything on this site, at all?
1. Its not censorship. You’re free to shake your fist at the moon from your lawn all you want. Those of us looking forward to meaningful discussion on baseball can be spared extraneous banter.
1A. Stop yelling.
Unfortunately, as a society it seems we are no longer capable of civil discourse on topics of politics or religion, and COVID along with MLB’s decision to move the ASG are of course political topics. We are incapable of discussing politics without the “agree with me or I will insult you” crowd turning it into a complete mess.
If you want to discuss politics, there are plenty of sites on the internet for that. I come to MLBTR for baseball news and baseball news ONLY. I DO NOT want to see political discussion here. I’ve had it with political discussion and I come to sites like MLBTR to GET AWAY from it.
Mr. Dierkes & MLBTR are not censoring you by disallowing this discussion. They are not violating your 1st Amendment rights. They are a private company free to manage their business as they choose. While yes they do operate in the public realm, their revenue is driven by attracting readers to specific topics, none of which are political even if sometimes there are political effects governing those topics.
Bottom line is MLBTR is a better site without these comments. I rarely read the comment section anyway. I understand the desire to discuss topics and express oneself, but it must be kept civil. I applaud Mr. Dierkes for making the effort to gauge what his readers want and following their direction.
Love the transparency! You guys are the best
And for the “censorship” people, a reminder that MLBTradeRumors is a private operation, so they are not censoring you, nor do they have any obligation to give you a forum to express your viewpoints. If you want to yell at a cloud, they don’t have to publicize it to make you happy.
if you plug your ears and close your eyes all of the bad things in the world go away.
SMH
And, FWIW, the ‘mute’ button is a great idea even if nothing else changes. There are some in here that want to do nothing but stir the pot, or know so little about BB that it is a waste of time to read them.
And I’d have no problem if folks wanted to put me on mute. This is just like the pub. It doesn’t make them bad people, but there are always people in everyone’s life that they find tiresome.
Right now i have a comment waiting for a moderator because i wrote the last presidents name in it…even tho the comment is mostly about manfred. .
This entire comment section is an exercise in irony.
The 400 or so posts makes obvious what is apparent; there’s profit in polarity. the way things are now, CNN makes money, Fox News make money. The NYT makes money; the NYPost makes money.
And THAT, my friends, is how the cookie crumbles. The metric in politics is to win, at any and all costs; you can’t do anything if you lose, as Daniel Patrick Moynihan said; if AOC knew she would win if she advocated concentration camps, she’d do it in a heartbeat. So would Ted Cruz.
It’s all a lot of theater.
I advocated the mute button, if for no other reason than I learn some things reading the comments, and consider the perspectives of various contributors. It doesn’t mean I agree or disagree; but I do learn some stuff.
Open discourse is essential for any political system, and by itself prevents many issues. So I watch Tucker Carlson, and watch Rachel Maddow. And filter both their remarks through a lens of understanding who they are. And how THEY are looking to increase their profits. .
.
That would all be relevant if MLBTR’s revenue was driven by political discussion. It is not.
@bobtillman Didn’t Fox news get legally barred from calling themselves anything but an entertainment service and they aren’t actually allowed to use the word “news” in their title, but still do it anyway? Tucker is one of the worst people in America by far. Maddow is meh whatever. Fox news provides no real news, just hatred and fear.
@aaron – nailed it.
And Maddow is a liar as fraud, and all of them created a nation of fear with Trump. They ALL lie, ALL are garbage, and have one of two motives – money/power.
They intentionally create this divide so none of us can speak to the other without quickly devolving to this uber-defensive, overly sensitive, self aggrandizing person. We should all turn against the media and demand more of them. Hold them accountable for the garbage they call News instead of sucking it up.
Please provide proof of Rachel Maddow’s lies. Cite an authoritative source.
NO. I’m not getting into a character trial over this. They all do. She lied several times. If you want to know look it up. I don’t care if she’s your hero.
Who the hell are you to say to cite an authoritative source? Lololol.
I think they call this showing your ***.
Blah blah blah she lied. They all do. If you want to know look it up. I’m right. Lolool. Genius.
Theo, please stop trolling. I’m not interested in discussing anything with you especially since you’re obviously an alias of someone too scared to use your actual moniker.
Basq: No, it’s not. It’s making a simple point. If you can come to this public forum and say Rachael Maddow never lied as a counter argument I don’t have time, or the inclination to debate that. Ky overarching point was about the two sides lying and disseminating misinformation on purpose.
I’m not going to get into the weeds about one anchor you happen to watch. If you’d like to know, genuinely, search out for when she did lie. I’m not a personal researcher and I’m not showing my ass.
She’s does opinion talk shows. There are inherent misleads within the context of that style of …..”journalism”. It’s pervasive on both sides though.
If you open it up you’re going to see a lot of crappy behavior between readers
There is a lot for me to think about here, in the survey data as well as all the comments written here. I’ll make some decisions at some point in the next few days.
Tim, did you see my suggestion for an isolated chat as well? That would also take care of a litany of issues stemming from these threads and won’t impinge anyone’s expression.
Is that possible? There is a select group with whom I enjoy writing back and forth on many articles before it gets hijacked by people that insult or moral high-grounders.
For the tenth time, you have no right to free expression on a private platform, and the platform has no obligation to give you a space to talk.
If you don’ t like the fact you can’t talk politics on a baseball blog, go to 8chan.
He’s asking for our input and you are proving my point on here. You are the exact troll that does not allow for normal conversations because you insert yourself. You obviously can’t read because I didn’t say anything about a right. I’m willing to bet on my legal education over yours, so spare me your roadside legal.
I don’t care what your opinion is. I’m expressing mine. I have a suggestion for TIM, not you. It wasn’t directed at you.
You’re the type of person who does not want to converse. You want to look for an opening to insert your opinion with an insult as noted when I tried to agree with you above.
You’re the reason so many want comments shut down yet you’re also the champion of such a stupid idea. Go away from me. I’m not asking for your opinion. But if you keep giving it to me I’ll give you mine, and you won’t like it.
Stop acting like a buffoon and try to converse, instead of trying to force your opinion down everyone’s throat.
I think this post above is a prime representation of why comments will never work, Tim.
And your posts are a prime representation of why we need a mute button.
Instead of opening your mouth where your contribution is negative value, maximumvelocity, why don’t you open your wallet and contribute. I do because I want a good system here. You are here to annoy like a pest, a tenant that won’t leave after being evicted, if you will.
You prove my point with each thread – you provide self-fulfilling conditions. You want threads / comments closed because of the comments, yet you create those very conditions. If TIM were smart, he would ban you, and his problems would start to resolve themselves.
All I”ve literally said is that they have no obligation to provide a forum for debate on controversial topics., and that comments on controversial topics tend to get out of hand.
Show me the lie.
Yank Clip….. Good post, exactly.
This category may fall under politics, but I was hoping I could vote on discussing team names. I am curious to know people’s ideas about what the Indians’ new name should be, not their opinions on whether it’s right or not.
Thoughts?
I think if comments are opened on an Indians name change post, you are going to get both suggestions for new names and opinions about the change itself. We could at some point do a poll among set name choices, though.
Yep, how about both Tim, call them the Cleveland Progressives.
Absolutely, the Cleveland Spiders!
I’m of the opinion it’s best to open everything. We can already hide comments. I think the mute button is a great option, though! If someone is routinely being too over the top, or just trolling… Bye!
I don’t care about other peoples comments, I hardly ever read them. Everyone has an opinion and they all stink just like mine.
If you REALLY want to improve the site, hire some actual writers or journalist because you currently don’t employ any. A writer or journalist proof-reads anything they write before they publish it. That doesn’t happen on the Trade Rumors sites
I have had a few comments deleted, but I don’t hold grudges.
There are some here who comment so often, it must be their job, or at least their second gig. Whatever makes them happy…However, some of them want to desperately foist their political and societal views on the rest of us. They cry “freedom of speech” while, at the same time, are often advocating against someone else’s freedom…Ironic, isn’t it?
There are many sites which cater to these people. They should go and comment on those. I am so very sick and tired of reading the same talking points at the other places available to them. The last things I wish to see here are more of those types of comments.
I hope that Mr. Dierkes does not let them rattle him because he has done nothing wrong. Like so many of these folks love to state, whenever and wherever possible, MLBTR and its associated sites are businesses. Business owners have the right to do what they think is best for their businesses. Right?
Either this is true all of the time, or it is true none of the time.
If you had posts deleted, they were probably replies to posts that were removed.
We’re dealing with a kind of mission mentality. Everything has to be about what I believe, and if the topic under discussion has nothing to do with what I believe, then the topic must be changed. Did you see what happened to the Dodgers offseason review? It was instantly taken over completely by political comments, and it’s generous to even call these random rantings politics. In the end the entire discussion was maybe a dozen on-topic comments. Ironically, the ranters who gripe the most about “censorship” and “cancel culture” are the ones who are actively trying to shut down any discussion that doesn’t serve their purposes. It you can’t delete, overwhelm. We see it everywhere now.
BlueSkies, I hadn’t considered that, so thank you.
I didn’t happen to see the comments under the Dodgers offseason review, but I am not surprised. After all, the team wears blue and is from California, and I guess these are two no-nos for some people..
It’s funny because the Angels share the same market, and their owner supported the previous President. That’s his right, and while I happen to disagree, that fact did not diminish my support of the Angels until the end of this just passed off season..
The only reason I no longer care about what happens to the Angels is because after all of these years of support, for the first time, I no longer have faith that the ownership is doing its utmost to field the best team possible.
Moreno seemingly only wants to sign offensive players, no great or even really good pitchers, and this has been going on for at least a few years now. These sluggers he covets can’t all be Ohtanis, and even Ohtani is still almost just a theory due to his history of injuries. It’s too bad Trout and Rendon can’t pitch!
If the Angels do not find a way to win a lot of 10-9 games, they will finish out of the playoffs yet again. If the owner draws the line at investing in a complete team, why should I spend a penny on following that team?
Moreno should cede control to another family member who actually cares, or else wake up to the fact that at worst, pitching is 50% of the game. I know that many, myself included, think it is a much higher percentage that that, but it seems that Moreno must think it is closer to 10 or 20 percent.
It’s never going to work out for the Angels this way, and it’s not on the GM or the manager. The Angels could hire Andrew Friedman away from the Dodgers, and take your pick of managers from any team, but if no decent pitching is signed or at least developed, and fast, the Angels are going nowhere any time soon–even with Trout.
I don’t remember what snarky political posts sunk the Dodgers offseason review discussion (most of them ended up being deleted) but I do know it created a black hole that even posters who usually don’t get sucked into political food fights could not resist. So the discussion about the World Series champs came to nothing. The wavers of the bloody flag of censorship aren’t going to own up to what actually happens when these discussions are taken over by political rants but this is it. What it comes down to, or should, is everyone asking themselves why they are here. Is it to discuss baseball with other baseball fans, or to further your ideological agenda? It’s the former who belong here and the latter who need to take a hike.
I agree, BlueSkies.
I seldom read the comments and always regret it when i do. Reading comments doesn’t make me feel like part of a MLB trade rumors community, it makes me want to avoid the site.
Here’s how every thread goes on a societal or quasi-political topic:
Poster A: Repeats some easily refuted right wing nonsense presented as a hard fact.
Post B: Points out the fallacies in the right wing nonsense.
Post A: Whaaaaah, you’re bringing politics into a sports discussion.
Repeat ad nauseam
Replace right wing with left wing and you’re correct.
As several others have mentioned, I view the comments on an article of interest to learn more about that topic, Tim.
Of course some comments may be considered off topic or not needed, but I have found most comments/commenters here to be civil, educated, and willing to share their knowledge.
That reader interaction is what makes a website great.
You can comment on this sites twitter without fear of being taken out
I’m cool with MLBTR blocking comments on hot topics. Honestly, no one is going to change their mind on a comment thread hearing bickering political opinions over COVID-19. It’s just pointless. People love to have their opinion “heard” for some reason, but no one is taking political opinions seriously on a sports trade rumors site. They can easily be ignored.
I’ve made plenty of dumb comments on here. I try to stay on topic, but if I stray off the course, delete away. This isn’t a political platform. And for all the people crying to keep politics out of baseball, how come you can’t keep politics out of a baseball fan comment section?
Just my two cents, but I’m here to catch up on all the transactions and rumors around the league, and that’s it.
Cannot wait for the mute button!!! So many self righteous turds here who think they are the moral authority for the entire world.
Can we all take a moment to acknowledge how well MLBTR has handled the comment policy? They consistently make bold decisions to improve the user experience (like removing COVID and politics comments) while also consistently seeking feedback from readers. Well done – I can’t think of another site that does it better
@henrys27 Just having this poll speaks volumes. This is a quality site run by quality folks.
removing covid comment posts isnt bold its probably prescribed by google adwords and i dont even understand the domestic violence thing, i remember it started w jose reyes right? was there alt right meanies in those comments too?
Who care what people post. If you’re offended by an internet post then you’ll always be a loser. Stop bending to the weak. Let everyone say anything.
@farts, best comment here.
Same thoughts here. Where is it written that everyone posting in a chat room has to agree? Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one. Isn’t posting opinions why chat rooms exist?
Why can’t people who don’t like the comment section just, I don’t know, not read the comment section? It would seem to be the most adult thing to do but I guess we are not living in very adult times right now.
“Why can’t people who don’t like me defecating on the street just, I don’t know, not walk down the street? It would seem to be the most adult thing to do but I guess we are not living in very adult times right now.”
To be fair, that’s a false equivalency.
You don’t need to read the comments section to get from one place to another.
The standard need not be “need”. Unless they “need” to walk down the street, it’s OK for him to defecate everywhere?
The question is whether one person or a small group gets to defecate all over the place and ruin something that many other people would otherwise use and enjoy were it not for them defecating everywhere.
Does the defecaters’ right to defecate wherever they please trump the other peoples’ right to walk down the street and keep their shoes clean?
Some here say “yes.”
Others know that’s juvenile.
If this site is going to perpetuate the lies around why they move the All-Star game or limit the speech of what actually happened what good is it? Free flow of ideas right wrong or indifferent but the fact that all these social media sites have woke up makes me sick keep it limited to Sports probably would be your best idea since I could care less what Sports does besidePlaying sports
I’m comfortable with the decision you guys made. Keeping the nonsense out of the comments keeps the whackos from spreading it
Self moderation is different from site moderation simply because its your choice and not someone else’s. Site moderation is never without bias and someone will always disagree with third party moderation or lack thereof, so inevitably it goes overboard into censorship. With site-led moderation, the only two choices that inevitably result from trying to stay out of trouble or avoid being overrun are to censor everything or block comments sections. This is partly why I don’t have accounts on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Eventually this will all end up in the Supreme Court and likely change how social media works forever (and probably result in fees being charged like anything else).
This is why I love the mute button idea. If I don’t want to hear about politics, I don’t have to with the push of a button or not scrolling to the comments section at all. If someone doesn’t want to see an argument about defensive metrics refuting opinions that Derek Jeter was a great defensive shortstop or that teams like the Orioles and Pirates have zero interest in ever winning, they don’t have to.
I hate that teams and leagues are becoming woke political activists. It has made sports much less enjoyable, and made me inclined not to spend my money on tickets and merchandise. I watch free games and pull up highlights and summaries.
One way to eliminate politics from the all-star game is to get rid of it.
Moderation can never go overboard into censorship, because it can’t be censorship at all. This isn’t a free speech zone, it’s a comment board owned by MLBTR. They are entitled to make the rules for commenting and enforce them entirely as they see fit, and if you or I don’t like them, we’re entitled to go elsewhere. There are simply no free speech issues involved in this. None whatsoever.
BlueSkies: Although you are 100% correct, Tim understands the demand from those he services also, particularly those who pay for the service; after all, it’s a business. So, yes, we can go elsewhere, but he doesn’t want us to, and therein lies the rub.
Yes, that was actually my point. Tim will make the decision that is best for his business. Some of us understand this. Others, clearly not, and they are the ones who are waving the bloody flag of censorship.
Cool. I hope they don’t sensor or whatever. I enjoy reading your posts when I come across them.
Why not have a “Daily Baseball Related Discussion Thread” where people can discuss whatever tangentially related baseball topics they like and ask that all other threads remain solely baseball focused?
Let the people who cancelled Kaepernick scream about cancel culture is wrong or whatever and the people who want to read it or respond to it can do so in one tidy forum, while letting the people who just want baseball avoid it.
On a similar but unrelated note, maybe a similar thing for fantasy baseball. A daily open forum so people can ask stuff like…
Who wins this trade:
A) Lindor
B) Correa, Kluber
Kaepernick was cancelled? His bank account disagrees.
ctrl+f and type in A’sFaninUK
i cant even explain whats going on right here…
Him and Metsfan22 will be the most muted users here once it gets implemented into the site.
As a person who is a firm believer in free speech – not just the 1A, but in fostering free speech as a cultural value – what you’re describing seems to be a great move.
The decision to move the ASG was (reportedly) made after Manfred discussed the option with 45-50 people in the Players Alliance. I think if more voices were heard, a better result would’ve been reached.
The point is, more speech is good and the counter to bad/stupid speech is not censorship, but better speech.
I hope MLBTR doesn’t get into the business of censoring or muting one side of the conversation, based on what they deem to be correct or politically correct.
please don’t add a way to post me me’s or gif’s
there dan be 300 comments on this page per article and the mlbtr facebook page might have two or three
MLBTR has to love this—-over 560 “comments” and of all things, “comments”!
I, for one, really don’t care about the political stuff, etc on here. That’s easy enough to skip. The second that I know the “mute” button works I will gladly become a member. My only issue with the site is getting to the comments section and having the same people (trolls) over and over and over hijack what could be constructive conversation and make the story just impossible to even sift through.
Kudos Tim and team—really, really, really appreciate this thought.
I know there are a lot of comparisons between MLB and the NBA and NFL but two big differences are. 1: The debate over should X go to the Hall of Fame. No one talks about the basketball Hall of Fame. The debate over Shilling, Bonds and Clemens is better then who cares. “Any publicity even bad publicity is better then no publicity.” ( Ronald Reagan). 2: People like to analyze trades ( even trades from years ago like Mark Langston for Randy Johnson). Fans need an outlet to discuss things like that. No one discusses NBA trades and NFL trades have a shelf life of 2 days ( even the John Elway and Hershel Walker trades combined do not generate discussion like Ruth to the Yankees. Baseball is better Why? It generates interest in baseball. Ending comments would be a disaster.
Great points, excellent thoughts on this.
Tim, would it be possible for the developers to create something along the lines of when something or someone gets muted a certain amount of times then you guys can ban them? That way it saves your team from having to do all the hunting and canceling?
Yes. All of my “yes.” The internet was meant to share ideas, not just certain ideas that are palatable to all. More speech is better than less speech. This is how we root out bad ideas with civility, by using our words.
The internet is the greatest propaganda device of all time.
It’s meant to spread ideas? Tell that to google, facebook and youtube.
It’s being used to indoctrinate.
Why does my account post twice? (Iphone app)
Must be because your comments are so good.
You go Maximum
I love the “mute button” idea, Tim. There are far too many Trolls ruining substantive baseball debates with their rubber-stamped and repeated baiting of fans from a team they don’t like. That isn’t to say conflicting ideas aren’t worthy, just that childish, boorish behavior is becoming more and more frequent on all Internet sites, not just MLBTR. I can also do without the snide political diatribes—as if anyone is going to change anyone’s opinion on this site. So just stuff it. But discussion about moving the MLB All-Star Game—I think—is worthy of discussion because it’s a baseball-centric issue.
Except I didn’t advocate closing “all” comments. Nowhere did I do that.
Acknowledge your poor reading comprehension, retract your statement and apologize.
Back in my day our mute button was ignore the person unless they were standing in front of you. Then the mute button was a bunch to the face.
You know what would be good. In addition to the up vote you also provide a down vote option. Those with too many negative votes would indicate that person makes comments the many oppose.
This board did have downvoting but it was dropped. It became just another way for rude people to express their rudeness and negativity.
down voting just because some dont agree? ah, censorship
Manfred needs to clean his house before he go after “perceived “ political by individual states.
Cut ALL ties to China. Get that swish off the uniforms, quit taking money and advertising from them too.
I despise the Nike swish. Classic uniforms like the Yankees and Tigers are messed up with it. This does not even include the slave wages that Nike pays in Vietnam. .30 cents an hour for $200:00 sneakers. If MLB and all sports really wanted to make a statement about stopping inequality, they would have cancelled their Nike Contracts
From the survey results looks like another defeat for free speech. It is a shame that there does not seem to be any outlet where someone can speak their opinion without censorship or nasty reprisals if your opinion differs. This is exactly what is going wrong with this country. A civil discussion of differing opinions is nearly impossible in today’s society.
After a divisive election year and a pandemic that killed a half million Americans and disrupted society in countless ways, the last thing we need is to have MLB wade into the political arena..
People look to sports for an escape, and it’s hard to imagine a time that we need such an outlet more. Furthermore, for the Commissioner to direct attention AWAY from the sport the day after Opening Day is incredibly poor stewardship and public relations.
I don’t tune into baseball for the politics. There are plenty of choices for that.
MLB, stay in your lane!
What lane is that, the one with no people in it?
Exactly: If I want politics there are CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other alternatives. I pay good money for MLB TV and NHL TV so that when I get home, I can unwind with teams that I root for ( the Yankees and Islanders), without politics ( regardless if I agree with the politics or not).
Liberty is dead. Free speech is dead. Just close the comments entirely. If i’m not entitled to free speech on controversial topics, then why bother on the non-controversial ones? The fact that locking & blocking is winning the poll in a landslide… just… almost brings me to tears. And that it’s overwhelmingly supported. Might as well let the Chinese take over. People are so hung up on the government attacking free speech, i.e. the 1st Amendment. Yet if private businesses do it… that’s ok. Nonsense. RIP freedom. “The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions”
I happen to agree with you. If someone does not like a topic then do not participate. I think the
MLB folded like a cheap suit on the All-Star Game and I should have the right to say it
without being censured.I am not abandoning MLB ( yet) like I did the NFL ( I do not watch the NBA), but if they start kneeling or playing bogus “National Anthem’s” I certainly will not hesitate.
If you lose the comments, you might lose the audience
WILL lose audience. You will kee the woke readers and some others who may want to catch up on news too. But they will lose money.
This cancel culture isnt gonna end well.
It’s great to see that ‘people who ‘believe in freedom of speech’, don’t really believe in it at all and wish to censor others on a whole range of topics. That is called wokeness, political correctness, hypocrisy, bigoted, but that is how farcical the world is in 2021. I don’t necessarily agree with what you say but I believe in your right to say it, no matter how much it ‘hurts my feelings’. What a sad sad society we live in. The land of the free? Nope. Overtaken by cancel culture, political correctness, and how woke you can be.
Fred Mcgriff. I couldn’t agree more. I’m shocked TD would even consider censoring.
You folks have a great site here. I would urge the owner not to censor. I read often. Great group. If the site becomes unbearable I welcome all the free speech proponents to sportsplusmore.net. to join a small group of Red Sox and Yankee fans with a conservative slant.
I
Fred McGriff: AKA Crime Dog (Should be HOFer!)
Saw your comments above and I appreciate it. Yeah man, I actually really like the Braves despite my generation’s dynasty being the 90s Yankees.
Anyways, you’re correct. The problem I read in this thread is also the problem culturally and with the ever present “hate speech” debate. People conflate two distinct ideas and two solutions. The first set are ideologies that set the framework for the inculcation of socially acceptable speech. The other idea, is the hyper vigilant notion that speech equates to real injury. Now people relate these because of their emotions. Emotional appeals are always successful which is why they’re utilized so often. People FEEL the point.
Second, are the solutions. People here are equating the fact that they may not want to read or see, or agree with authoring, certain comments or ideologies; therefore, when given the option, they advocate for outright banning so they “don’t have to see it” or “aren’t FORCED to read it.” Now, these are, of course terms of subjugation, used intentionally to hyperbolize the problem and effectuate their purpose. For, if they are forced to read narratives, they have psychological issues that need immediate attention. It’s completely illogical to write that’s exactly is forced to read anything online.
I believe most in fact love the discussions, they just don’t want.the opposing conservative viewpoints to have a platform. Read the comments above and it’s clear that’s the case. So, by banning it, they effectuate the same purpose as canceling, even though it is a private venue with autonomy to determine how they frame the comments section.
Just as they say there are other comment forums, so are there other baseball sites. Why should commenters in favor of free exchange of ideas go all somewhere else when those who don’t want to read can go to another baseball site without comments? Or just not view the comments?
It all boils down to the underlying philosophy that people simply don’t want others to have the platform to say what they want. The reader wants complete control and wants everyone else to be inconvenienced by going somewhere else, instead of just not reviewing what they don’t want to. Again, they can’t because they move to look at comment despite what they say. They just don’t want those with valid, legitimate opposing views to have a platform.
If you notice, whenever someone brought up great points above, the person in favor of shutting the site down went to insults, trolling, or default victimization. They simply have the same narrative PO er and over and over because that’s what they are indoctrinated with, not facts. Calcetines Blancos was the only person. I saw arguing back with actual facts and I respect the hell out of that. I love it – it’s th epitome of free exchange of ideas.
So, no, we don’t have a right as the extremists love to point out, but neither do they have a right to be protected from reading comments. Tim should see what potential this has and make it work. Great job, you guys were superlative throughout!
Free speech is awesome. It is necessary. But you having free speech does not allow you to force people to listen to you. If you go to church and start yammering out loud about the chick you boned last night guess what? The priest will toss you out. If I showed up at your family BBQ and started telling everyone what a dumb*ss you are or started some woke, victim mentality, you are a racist crap, I bet you would kick me out too. You aren’t there to have a political argument, you are there to have fun and eat. I have the right to say whatever I want, but not in YOUR house. This is Tim Dierkes house. It’s his and MLBTR’s choice. MLBTR wants to talk baseball, not politics. That is their right.
Why do I even bother? Everyone is here to spout their opinions. NOBODY is here to listen.
Hidson6: it’s very different. If you’re yelling in church or wherever, people are forced to listen and you’re interrupting their service.
Here people are choosing to read, whereas they don’t even have to open comments if they favor keeping comments closed.
Why, if you want comments closed, would you open them? And why would you read them? And why would you co tj ue to read them if you don’t like what you read? Saying forced is illogical equivalence. It’s a bait and switch narrative which is what the silence culture always does.
They’re incomparable. You know it. I know it. Nobody listens to you because you’re wrong. You just won’t admit it. Just as commenters can go to another site to comment, so to may you go to another site to read baseball without comments. Or JUST DON’T READ THE COMMENTS SECTION. You have to take an affirmative step to open the comments on the articles. Why? In case you don’t want to read them.
The argument is disingenuous so there will be no legitimate exchange until you stop authoring illogical, made-up, hostage situations.
The reason is some of us come here to talk about baseball (imagine that) because we enjoy talking baseball, and can actually talk baseball until someone(s) comes along and turns the baseball discussion into a random political food fight. This often happens now in a matter of minutes. The people who do this are destroying the opportunity to discuss baseball, which I don’t think I am being too cynical to assume, is deliberate. They behave as if everything has to serve their purposes and anything that doesn’t has to go. So telling those of us who actually come here for the baseball to just forget about it is hardly fair, and worst of all it hands a victory to those who believe that everything has to dance to their tune.
@ Yankee Clipper
So talking s*x in church is disrupting service but talking politics in a baseball article isn’t? You seemed to have missed most of what I said. The subject that is eligible for debate is up to the owner of the house, church or website. That is MLBTR. A private company. They have their own rights that are just as sacred as the First Amendment is. But somehow you believe that the 1st overrides all other rights? It does not.
This should be obvious to anyone considering that MLBTR has closed comment sections and is possibly planning to do so again. That is their right according to the law.
Have you ever even considered that YOU might be wrong?
Maybe show i.d. to post here?
Well played.
Wow I can’t believe how many people voted to censor comments. If you don’t like what someone said just ignore it and move on, it is not that hard. People need to stop being so offended by everything. Censorship is dangerous countries like China, Iran, and North Korea also censor information.
Wow, I can’t believe how many people can’t understand that no censorship is involved, no matter how often it’s explained.
@ Zerbs63
And if you want to talk about politics you can just move on. It’s not that hard. What you cannot do is force everyone on a baseball website to listen to your political views.
We are in MLBTR’s house people. Believe it or not they have rights too! It’s like a bar. If you get rowdy you get tossed.
google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j…
Right here you will notice that a man was tossed out of a rally for spewing divisive speech. Was that not the man who was speaking’s right to have him tossed for disruption? Was HE violating this man’s freedom of speech?
It works both ways.
There is nothing positive that can come from comments about domestic violence. What could a group of fans possibly say to add value to those cases? I would say nothing at all!
Politics are a bit weird. I personally do not believe they belong in the world of sports. In fact, I think sports should be what they have been for so long… a place void of politics where people of different views are able to unite and find common interests. Rob Manfred clearly does not agree. Maybe I’m just old and don’t remember how things were when I was younger… maybe I also looked at politics and the world in a different way back then… but it seems that in today’s polarized society, it is growing more and more difficult to disagree and discuss politics in a civil way. I voted in favor of keeping political content, because it absolutely can impact the world of sports. At the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if TR pulled the plug on comments for posts about politics just because people seem unable to deal with the topic in a civil manner – a sad reflection of what our world looks like.
COVID-19… I couldn’t care less. I’m soooo bored of this even being a topic that is on the tip of everyone’s tongues. Judging by all forms of social media, there are millions of online epidemiology experts apparently, yet nobody really seems to know squat about what is right or wrong. I have no opinion about this as it’s pretty much the same as what you encounter in the world. Lots of people with opinions but nobody really knows much. I think everyone will just be happy when this is all over and done with.
I want to finish with a kudos to the TR team for even involving its fans in these types of decisions and reaching out to explain why these kinds of measures are being taken. It would probably be easy to just say “nope, screw this” and just pull the plug. It’s a classy move even just explaining the reasoning behind why these topics are being mulled over. Classy move… respect!