Fools Gold
 

Typically for TheWarpath.net, we consider our "offseason" to be after the NFL draft and before Training Camp. May and June is the time that all the mods try to finalize all new ideas for the upcoming season. These include changes in forum rules, added/deleted or modified content, new moderators and possible partnerships.

Every year we seek the input of our members before we meet in our own forum and discuss the ideas we think would work best. And this year is no different.

However, we decided this time to make things a bit different by starting it off with an April Fool's joke that as moderators there was too much internal strife going on so some of us were defecting. Some of you took the joke quite personally and are angry. I guess that's part of what makes an April Fool's joke good. More importantly it shows the passion we all have for the Redskins and this site. We did the joke a day early so it wouldn't be as obvious, and in fact it was supposed to extend well into Saturday with even Extremeskins moderators getting involved. Thanks also to Schneed10 and TheMalcolmConnection for playing along. Don't worry, banning TMC was all part of the hoax.

But we don't want to mislead you guys any further. And we apologize that a lot of you got quite upset.

We assure you that there will be no split. All the moderators are fully dedicated to making this site the best. And to do that we need all of you. So please check out the [url=http://www.thewarpath.net/showthread.php?t=11873]"How Can We Improve"[/url] thread and give us suggestions of what you want to see for the 2006 season.

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Imagine that.:cheeky-sm

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That wasn't a cool joke

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[QUOTE=jdlea]That wasn't a cool joke[/QUOTE]

Honestly we didn't think it would elicit this strong a response. The other ideas we had were considerably more intense.

Hope you can forgive us and keep contributing.

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Nah, I think it was fun. I was back and forth about 30 times on whether I believed it or not. So at least it was well executed. I didn't believe it until Sheriff flat out said it was true. Everyone else was avoiding saying that.

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I kept going back on forth on it as well, but the banning of Malcolm certainly sold me on it being true. I have to tip my cap to the planning. However, I'm not particularly happy about the way it went down...

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damn...i wanted there to be a new site. i think some members are gone for good from here tho after that.

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For the record, did Schneed know about the whole thing, or did he just know what you told him? If he knew, he did a superb sell job.

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[QUOTE=GTripp0012]For the record, did Schneed know about the whole thing, or did he just know what you told him? If he knew, he did a superb sell job.[/QUOTE]

We told him everything this morning.

Big C, we sure hope people don't leave because of this. It was all in jest.

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[QUOTE=TAFKAS]

Big C, we sure hope people don't leave because of this. It was all in jest.[/QUOTE]

yeah i know, i just remember reading in that massive thread that some people were gone no matter what. was pretty good i must admit. i bet u guys were laughing it up so hard, especially at the people who wrote these massive responses

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One last question: did you tell anyone who chose not to participate?

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[QUOTE=GTripp0012]One last question: did you tell anyone who chose not to participate?[/QUOTE]

What do you mean?

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Did you tell anyone about it who decided not to go along with it, and rather told people commenting on the thread that it was an elaborate hoax?

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i was 50/50 on whether it was actually a hoax or not. I didn't know what to believe, although towards the end you guys did an excellent job of selling it, i thought that because of all the harsh words being spoken, it was actually for real. Unfortunately, it provoked some strong responses from some of the members, and because of how much people believed it, including myself, there are going to be some members who will leave. For the future, i'd suggest an april fools joke that is more funny to everyone involved.

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[quote=mooby]i was 50/50 on whether it was actually a hoax or not. I didn't know what to believe, although towards the end you guys did an excellent job of selling it, i thought that because of all the harsh words being spoken, it was actually for real. Unfortunately, it provoked some strong responses from some of the members, and because of how much people believed it, including myself, i'm going to take the opportunity to move to another site, Extremeskins, where i believe the mods wouldn't do such a harsh thing to the members. ttyl guys.[/quote]

lol it's still march 31 CST for one more minute.

-EDIT- Ok you can jump out and yell april fools now.

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[quote=GTripp0012]lol it's still march 31 CST for one more minute.[/quote]

lol i edited my post above. Anyways, it's been April 1st for about an hour on the east coast, where i live.

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Yeah I know, I'm a minority around here. It's me, the Texas guys and that one guy from Iowa.

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[QUOTE=GTripp0012]Did you tell anyone about it who decided not to go along with it, and rather told people commenting on the thread that it was an elaborate hoax?[/QUOTE]

We didn't tell all that many people. Just a couple really, Malcolm, Schneed and a couple of others who were going to join in on the hoax in the evening. There wasn't anyone who we told that wouldn't go along with it.

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i want another site damnit...

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I personally loved the Brudlee remarks to 'Mr Kyer'

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Man, you didn't even drag me into the flamefest, (i can be an a-hole, dammit!), i feel ignored :P

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Take care alll....How F'n stupid was that. YW for my donations and product purchases. Wonder what gay shit you'll come up with next...Extreme skins here i come...

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[QUOTE=44deisel44]Take care alll....How F'n stupid was that. YW for my donations and product purchases. Wonder what gay shit you'll come up with next...Extreme skins here i come...[/QUOTE]

:pimp: :pimp: :pimp:

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I'm glad i didnt get into all the b.s.,I thought it was a good idea,I was looking forward to the new site,I think you should still do it,maybe thats the april fools joke

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What have you done? You've made a fool of everyone. But you''ll get your's yet. Signed,

Louis Friend

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Great job guys. If I may, I'd like to throw out an idea for next year. Let's craft some elaborate 20+ hour ruse to make the little kid who lives down the street from me think mommy & daddy were killed in some horrific car wreck. We will then vehemently deny it all when he questions the coincidence of it all, even getting his aunt's & uncle's help add to the authenticity. Then, when the clock strikes 12 we will pull back the curtain of deception we've thrown over this poor sap, for all to see...

I enjoy a good joke just as much as everyone else (perhaps even more), but I don't honestly see how this idea got passed around between at least 10 people or so without someone bringing up the fact that "hey, if people get pissed off to the point of even thinking about leaving the forum, we should probably come clean..." The fact that after 12thMan left (I don't think he was in on it) & others brought up the possibility of leaving (myself included), you continued this charade for another 8 hours is clear evidence that whoever was involved in this thing needs to pull their heads out of their asses.

All I can say is when considering the next April Fool's / conspiracy / whatever crap, ask if it could result in even one member leaving. If so, then maybe that should be a sign to back it off a bit.

Look at how PFT handled their April Fool's stuff: Hilarious, but very evident it was a joke. If that wasn't already known, they have a note at the bottom of the page. Total time of joke: 10 minutes & I'd bet money they didn't lose any readers over it. I know some have already left & while I'm sure I'll still visit now & then, for the most part I'm going to be checking out other sites. Most of the people here are very cool, keep it up.

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A Lie is a LIE. Not a joke.

I'm very disappointed at the mod and owners if this was a joke. As a member that posts here I was insulted several times by these so called defectors.


If are going to LIE about something so important and trusted when should expect you not to be lying.

Jot me down as one of the pissed off members over this.
mike
Hail to Redskins and responsible site owners and mods

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Are there going to be prizes or what? Defectors. Man that thread was CRAZY!!!!!!!!!

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[quote=GTripp0012]For the record, did Schneed know about the whole thing, or did he just know what you told him? If he knew, he did a superb sell job.[/quote]

Thanks for the props. At first I wasn't part of the whole thing but I got brought into it mid-morning yesterday.

To anyone that got upset by this farce, I'd like to say I'm sorry that it upset you so. I was a willing participant in what I perceived as a pretty funny April Fool's joke, definitely did not want to scare, anger, or disappoint anyone.

That Guy and everyone else, my derogatory comments directed at CrazyCanuck were all part of the joke. Since I couldn't play like I knew about the mods' dispute between one another, I took the angle of creating a fight between the Warpath's salary cap guru and me, the supposed salary cap guru of this new site being created by the defectors. CC knows, I have nothing but respect for him and absolutely love the work he does. Before I came to the Warpath a year ago, I searched far and wide on the internet, and nobody ANYWHERE keeps the Redskins cap numbers so completely and comprehensively as he does. I just thought it would be funny, and make it more believable, if I started taking a few shots at him as a defector.

Anyway, I'd like to comment real quick. I think the mods thought an April Fool's joke would work well around here because we all have such a good sense of fellowship. We joke around and get along great around here, and I think the mods thought this would be yet another way to have fun. In the end, the angry reactions just show how passionate people are about this forum, and how much they care about it. It shows just how great you think this forum is.

I think the joke was started because the mods viewed this as a tremendous community, one where we could feel free to joke around with each other. And if you got upset at the joke, that's only because you genuinely care about being here at the Warpath. That's a good thing. So lets all keep it together. I think anyone that may have left is going to eventually come back to see if this was a hoax, and when they do, they'll be relieved. Sorry if you got upset, I don't want any of you to leave. I love this place and everything about it, and I think a lot of you do too.

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Respect & Trust are Earned or Lost by those who seek it.
[img]http://www.partyonthepotomac.com/forum/uploads/member_pics/PirateMike/room.jpg[/img]

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I still think we should add the naked cheerleaders picture section.

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[quote=Sammy Baugh Fan]Respect & Trust are Earned or Lost by those who seek it.[/quote]

I'd just like to urge everybody to [I]try[/I] to see the humor in all of this. If it's still not a laughing matter to you, please at least try to understand that the mods honestly meant no harm. They view the membership here as the vital cog in making the Warpath what it is. The quality of the membership, IMO, is what separates this place from ES. I can understand people being upset because you care about this place so much. But I just ask that everyone try to understand that nobody intended to upset you.

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I've given my opinion on this and will let it go. We've already wasted almost 500 Replies in the last 24 hours at this Redskins Forum on a topic other than Redskins.

peace
mike

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all cool, but that's 30 minutes i'll never get back :P

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If people want to leave the site over this, I say good riddance. The user base is in need of a good purge.

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[quote=cpayne5]If people want to leave the site over this, I say good riddance. The user base is in need of a good purge.[/quote]

Seriously. I'm not quite sure why some people are taking this so personally. And for the record, I knew it was a hoax from the moment Schneed went from regular, Matty Jr.-Schneed to defector in a span of three minutes. :silly:

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i think the upset people need to take a very BIG deep breath and exhale slowly.i am a natural born prankster and practical joker, and i know how sometimes some people dont find humor in things they are strongly passionate and or sensitive about.everybody is not geared the same way, and i think those of you that are upset and/or pissed should really just try to take it for what it was, an APRIL FOOLS DAY J O K E ! i think the mods learned alot more than they bargained for, but none the less i know they will put all to good use to make the site even better. most who leave will come back,cause the other sites simply dont compare. by the way,happy april fools day!!!

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Last year over at Extreme, we did a joke similar to this:

[url]http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97524[/url]

I think something like this can be pretty fun and enjoyable and it went over ok for us last year. As angry as some of you here are with the joke this year, just consider one thing. You wouldn't be so angry if you didn't love this place and these people so much. In the end, that's where your anger is. You love the community you've built and the thought of it going away, even jokingly in hindsight, was a very emotional thing for you.

In a way, that's probably something very good to keep with you going forward. Also remember, stuff like this is what gives a board character and flavor. It's FUN to look back at the reactions. Even if you don't think so today :).

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[QUOTE=ExtremeArt]Last year over at Extreme, we did a joke similar to this:

[url]http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97524[/url]

I think something like this can be pretty fun and enjoyable and it went over ok for us last year. As angry as some of you here are with the joke this year, just consider one thing. You wouldn't be so angry if you didn't love this place and these people so much. In the end, that's where your anger is. You love the community you've built and the thought of it going away, even jokingly in hindsight, was a very emotional thing for you.

In a way, that's probably something very good to keep with you going forward. Also remember, stuff like this is what gives a board character and flavor. It's FUN to look back at the reactions. Even if you don't think so today :).[/QUOTE]

Great!
I'll tell my wife I want a devorce and say angry things to her and the next day I'll tell her I was just joking and to not be mad and be happy cus her anger means she loves me.

~shakes head.

I guess it's a just a character thing guys.
There were 500 posts and 25 hours and who knows how many people's time being wasted so someone could Lie and think it's funny.

That's stupid.

peace and Hail Skins
mike

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While I won't admit I fell for this damn mockery (I did), this may have been the gayest thing ever done to a loyal fanbase. I understand the joke and all the stuff that went along with it, but the personal insults were out of line. We talk about maturity on this board and I must say there was a major lack of maturity from the staff on this hoax and it totally contradicts everything each of you preaches everyday on here.

Mark me as a pissed off one as well....but I love this place and will not be going anywhere.