The death of the Buffalo Bills Message Board - how did it happen?

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

6 hours ago, Billsfansinceday1 said:

This has come up a number of times both here and on other message boards so I thought I would chime in to answer some questions and perhaps correct some misconceptions.  On the BBMB, I was known as MASH/BFID and was one of the mods for the last 3+ years of the BBMB's existence.  I registered here under a new user name, to get a new start, but have been "outed" previously so I am comfortable stating the following things as far as I know them to be true.

 

1.  The mods had as much advance notice of the closure of the board as everyone else (ie none).

2.  With #1 stated, it was pretty clear for a very long time that OBD had lost interest in the BBMB.  There was no support at all from OBD and tech support was non-existent.  As a result, spambots were rampant.  Being the early bird mod, I would routinely ban 50-100 spambots every morning so they could infect the board with trash or porn or whatever.

3.  The mods were not picked per se nor were we compensated (we did receive signed mini helmets one year from Gregg Pastore...mine is here on my desk signed by Kyle Williams).  Mods did come and go for a variety of reasons and one was even banned for being so extremely abusive (Teratoma, who was before my time as a mod).  Essentially, we volunteered and had a clean posting history, and there was a need for additional support.

4.  The BBMB was certainly read by some at OBD, although, we really didn't know who.  I receive the Bills Digest and the last page of every episode was all quotes from members of the BBMB with comments from OBD staff to summarize the view of the topic from the top.  They obviously knew who was good and who was bad.

5.  There are a lot of comments here about the degree of moderation and I tend to agree with a lot of it but not all of it.  Early on, I talked at length with Robyn (WYO) who was the lead mod at the time and the co-author of the Code of Conduct.  Tom Donahoe, the previous Bills GM,  was a regular reader of the BBMB and despised all the negativity toward him and the organization...to the point that he threatened to shut it down.  As a result, a fairly stringent CoC was written to ensure the survival of the board.

6.  Regarding #5, was there some abuse by mods, sure.  Personally, I started out being too adherent to the CoC and infracted or banned some people who shouldn't have been.  As time went on, I tapered my moderating style while others may not have.  WYO tended to advocate for the "scalpel" approach rather than the "hammer".  Once she was gone, we migrated toward our own personal styles for better or for worse.

7.  Some members there did get extremely personal and abusive, especially on game day and around the draft.  If it carried over, they may have gone away, many who returned under another name.

8.  There was a fair amount of disagreement behind the scene about some of the infractions and bans, some of it quite accusatory.  Without a strong lead mod, there was no "referee" so things tended to get more personal and vindictive, or at least that was my impression.  Others would probably disagree with this, but se la vie.

9.  I am not aware of any new member being banned, unless their IP address was that of a PBU (Previously Banned User) or an address identified as a spam address.  

10.  It was stated here that mods had 2nd accounts.  The only occasion that I can think of was when we needed to test a new feature and needed an account other than our main user name.  

11.  I am also happy to be able to type "vague" without it hitting a language filter.  No idea how that happened, but it was clearly unintended consequences.

 

That's about it.  I really did enjoy the BBMB and there were a lot of very valuable contributors there, many of whom are now here.  I do enjoy it here and appreciate the discussion.

 

Edit:  Bills Chick was a mod.

 

...thanks for sharing your perspective bud......although I used to tease the MODS about their 150 grand a year pay and did get some infractions NOT about the tease), all in all they were doing a thankless job.....was it power for some?....yup.....JAYHAWK was on a huge trip......people here have mentioned others they had run ins with.....unfortunately, they want to come here with their football knowledge and conjecture, but feel their mere presence will dredge up "old times and unhealed wounds"......and for those TBD pundits lookin' down their nose at the" infiltration of refugees", maybe SDS could create a LEPER COLONY forum solely for BBMB refugees and boat people" ....as if TBD doesn't have its own share of home bred "real prizes" like EVERY message board does....attrition eventually weeds them out or a little D-Con does the trick............

Edited December 1, 2017 by OldTimeAFLGuy

[BadLandsMeanie]

5 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I think they did it abruptly for a couple of reasons. 

 

First, if they'd given notice, they would have been getting phone calls and emails and stuff asking them to reconsider.   They didn't want to waste any time on it. 

 

Second, I think they figured it was easier to just do it and live through the cries of outrage.  They probably had a pretty good idea of how long the outcry would last, and then it would be over.   Like a week.   And there were only 2000 members, so what would you guess - 50 complained to the Bills.   Maybe 100.   No more.  I didn't bother, and I think most other people didn't bother, either.   So they got 50 irate emails and a few phone calls, then it was over.   

 

If they'd given notice first, they weren't going to change their minds, and then people would have been pissed that no one did anything about their complaints.   

 

SO they just pulled the plug.  

 

Is my life different today because of it?   No, because I started coming here more regularly.  I"d been a member for a while.  

 

And if this place pulled the plug?   Then I'd have no place to go and I wouldn't waste so much time.  

I don't know if anyone cares.   But it's something to talk about while we're waiting for the game.  Better than some thread about whether McDermott should have started Peterman.  

Ok but do you watch the Bills Facebook?

 

The howling there went on for months. They still get trolled there last I knew.

 

I would have taken the phone calls over that, because they annoyed many many more people who would otherwise not have been angry, by doing it the way they did.

[Nervous Guy]

1 hour ago, Air it out Fitzy said:

When do we smite the old mods for their war crimes ? 

Take it to the Hague bub.

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

3 minutes ago, Nervous Guy said:

Take it to the Hague bub.

 

 

...some of them stop by, stick their toe in the water to post, and wait to see what the backlash will be because their screen names are the same......

[Victory Formation]

It was shut down because after 17 years of no playoffs, the anger started to snowball to the point where censorship could no longer contain fan's collective thought processes. 

[bobobonators]

2 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

I think the mods have handled the influx well.  They quickly jettisoned the ones who were clearly here to make trouble.  Others, they've been pretty patient.  But in the last couple weeks, I've seen the "hammer" come down a little more, so I think the honeymoon is over.  I think it's pretty clear what the "culture" of the board is, and those who can't conform ... I think we'll see less and less of them.  I think a lot of high-quality posters came here.  As long as the clean-up continues, in the end, I think TBD will be better from the BBMB shutdown.

 

I agree that what the mods have done considering the influx of posters is great. The downside for me was this massive influx of posters that were completely unrecognizable.  It lost part of its charm. Hard to describe. 

[Beast]

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Binghamton Beast

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

They got tired of people being reported for spamming the word 

 

agenda 

[Billsfansinceday1]

11 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

A real source of pride.  Strong work.?

[OldTimeAFLGuy]

8 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

 

...ALMOST wasn't good enough....had a smoke with TD outside of Black 'N Blue restaurant in Pittsford one night way back when after training camp....he was very cordial, talkitive and engaging.....said , "we fell really good about our football team".....ZERO inclination that he was the absolute control freak that he was.....demanded that Ralph name him "El Presidente", which was the first in Buffalo history........you know the rest..................

[frostbitmic]

52 minutes ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

Best thread ever Beast

[BuffaloRush]

6 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

I was a mod and I sometimes communicated with T&C because I thought his take on applying the rules was stricter than it needed to be.   But I'll say this in his defense:  He had principles and he stood by them.   He had good reasons for why he saw it the way he did, and he stuck by his guns.   He may have been the hardest working mod I saw on that board for the 13 years I was there.   

 

It wasn't an easy job.   

Thanks for your insight Shaw.  I do remember you from the old BBMB and I believe you were pretty cool.

 

But to share the other perspective, I felt that many of the mods at the BBMB absolutely abused their power. Someone here mentioned how they got off on being an "administrator" of a message board and I completely agree.  The worst ones were WYO and T & C.    

 

What bothered me was getting infractions/banned for being critical of the Bills.  Because I had the audacity to say that I thought Ralph Wilson was a terrible owner the day that he hired Dick Jauron, I was banned.  Give me a break.  I also was also infracted for getting into it with other members.  The problem is, I never started anything - I only reacted and of course I was the only one who was punished.  What drove me crazy is that there were members who got a free pass to name call and mess with other members - Diesel USMC comes to mind.  He could take shots at anyone but the second you responded, YOU were one getting infractions.  Eventually I'd come back under different names.  Until old T & C must have blacklisted me.

 

As far as T &C, real talk here... I found hims to be a vindictive and overall sad individual.  100%.  After he gave me dumb infractions, I was banned and he must have searched the new members day and night to make sure I didn't create a new account because every time I tried adding a post, I'd get the message that T & C banned me - reason:  PBU.  

The funny thing is, shortly after the BBMB closed down, members fled here or to another Bills message board (whose name escapes me).  T & C was actually a regular member of that board.  I remember telling him that I thought he abused his power on the BBMB.   He seemed like a broken and downtrodden man - like the one thing he enjoyed most in life was taken away from him.  To his credit he did kind of apologize and never denied any of the claims that I made.  He just seemed a bit overzealous.

In any event, I am thrilled to be here at Two Bills Drive.  Everyone here has been cool and Scott has been the most helpful.  Good Riddance BBMB - we're in a much better place

Edited December 2, 2017 by BuffaloRush

[JPP]

Called Rex a buffon on two occassions.....got dinged on both times....guess they liked rex....

[4_kidd_4]

11 hours ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Yes, similar things like that happened to A LOT of people. It was stupid and a few of those mods had a big part in it.

 

Happened to me over there, wanted a fresh account and was gonna retire my 8_m_8  name/history.

 

New name was instant banned for no apparent reason.

 

Besides that, used to get the most random infractions for the silliest crap. Don’t miss that board at all, glad its demise led me here.

[WhoTom]

I started reading the BBMB in the early 2000s, mainly because I don't get a lot of Bills news in the Midwest. I joined around 2006, and only had one infraction: I posted a link to an Onion article (Bills related) that had the F word in it. The mod was cool about it and I never had any other problems, but then again, I make it a point not to insult people who I disagree with. Attack the idea, not the person.

 

When the BBMB abruptly shut down, I found three other Bills boards. TBD looked like the highest quality, both in content and usability, so I signed up. I'm glad I did.

 

 

[Sweats]

On 30/11/2017 at 7:45 PM, BuffaloRush said:

It's been quite some time since the Buffalo Bills Message Board was shut down.  In fact, that's how I landed here.  My question is - how did it all go down.  From my understanding the moderators were all volunteers and the head moderator was named Z-man.    How they became moderators and who made them moderators?  I have no idea.  I believe that Chris Brown oversaw the BBMB at one time but had very limited involvement with it. 

 

From what I can surmise, the board went down very shortly after Derek Boyko was hired.  So my guess is that he evaluated the website and decided the website had to go.  Clearly this was one area that Scott Berchtold must have not really paid much attention to.  

 

All I know is that one day, I went to log in and then there was a message that it was gone.

 

Here are my questions:

 

- Who was from the Bills organization was responsible for the BBMB?

- Who picked the moderators?

- Did anyone from the Bills even know or care that the BBMB existed?

- Who were the moderators exactly?

- How did the death of the BBMB occur and why was the decision made?

 -Who made the call and how were the moderators notified?

 

So many questions - but hopefully with the knowledge of this board we can get some answers.  I am really loving Two Bills Drive by the way.  Way better people and better conversation overall

 

 

 

 

 

I'm fairly certain that my excellent posting had something to do with the BBMB being shut down............i was loved by everyone.

[Punching Bag]

I believe it was an experiment in biowarfare. They incubated the vermin carriers as long as possible and then cut their home knowing they would rush out and flood other boards.

 

 

[The Frankish Reich]

17 hours ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

Love it. You've got to restart that!  Ask Whaley would have been good.  Ask The Pegulas?  Ask Rex? Too many choices!

[teef]

17 hours ago, Binghamton Beast said:

I had a running thread called “Ask Tom Donahue” while I played the role of our idiotic GM and posters asked me questions. This was about the time he wanted to ban signs in the stadium.

 

Wyo told me my thread almost sent Donahoe over the edge and he had a temper tantrum and wanted the boards shut down. I take great pride in that.

That is outstanding. I impersonated a mod once, and started getting everyone's panties in a knot. This caused them to change the coc, which made me proud, but this beats it by miles. 

[Billsfansinceday1]

42 minutes ago, teef said:

That is outstanding. I impersonated a mod once, and started getting everyone's panties in a knot. This caused them to change the coc, which made me proud, but this beats it by miles. 

Not sure about that.  There are still a few folks still working on those knots.  

 

I thought it it was hilarious. ?.