Washington City Paper article on "The Redskins official fan message board"

[BDBohnzie]

I found the responses to be rather humorous...

Washington City Paper: News & Features: Blogs

Originally Posted by Dave McKenna

Chairman of the Bored
Posted by Dave McKenna on Feb. 5, 2008, at 3:18 pm

The Redskins official fan message board, extremeskins.com, has been a very fun read lately. Folks who hate everything Dan Snyder has done since Joe Gibbs fled are battling it out with folks who love everything done by the owner of the team, who happens to also be the owner of the board.

But not everybody’s enjoying the banter. I got an email over the weekend from an “Eric Smith,” a longtime extremeskins member who as of Saturday was banned from Snyder’s message board while defending, sort of, a City Paper story I wrote about the owner and his Redskins employees shared ties to investments in Six Flags, the amusement park chain.

Specifically, Smith, while posting as “Shadowplay,” was kicked off Snyder’s site after insulting one of his and my insulters, a veteran moderator named Gary Mark Steven.

The beginning of the end of Smith’s extremeskins membership came when Steven, who posts as “Om,” had followed up one of Smith’s posts in the thread about the City Paper column with some snark: “Yawn. Meet Dave McKenna’s target audience,” Steven posted.

Smith met Steven’s snarkiness and raised him: “Yawn. Meet Daniel Snyder’s pool cleaner,” Smith rebutted.

A chuckler of a comeback, I’d say.

Alas, Smith’s walking papers from Snyder’s site came quickly after that was posted. Steven emailed Smith to say he had been booted off “indefinitely.”

Steven, who in my recent email exchanges with him seems to be as whiny and humorless away from the message board as he is on it, is currently the most powerful moderator at extremeskins - his avatar caption describes him as “The President” of the site. He also freelances puff pieces for Snyder’s main website, Redskins.com. Steven gets access to the press box for Skins games and to team hotels on the road through the team.

Yet, far as I can tell, Steven, who inserts smiley faces into his message-board posts at a creepy rate for a 47-year-old guy (if his bio information on the site is to be believed), has never fully disclosed to extremeskins members the extent of the privileges granted him by the team for his attacks on critics of Skins management, let alone his apparent status as an employee of Snyder’s.

Even without the most basic disclosure, the uptick in insults members of the message board are now throwing Steven’s way makes it seem like posters have sniffed out his conflicts of interest just from his attack-dog act.

Smith, for one. In his email to me, Smith said he called Steven “Snyder’s pool cleaner” out of frustration with “the Snyder yes men who run the message board and effectively control the message if it’s critical of the owner” and “the system of intimidation and bullying that the extremeskins staff uses to keep the dissension to a minimum.”

Asked to respond to Smith’s charges about Snyder’s site and questions about the degree of his employment by the Redskins, Steven said via email that after reading my City Paper stories he regards me as being “completely unbound by any sense of objectivity, accountability or even a passing sense of honor” and declined.

Steven must really dislike me. His email didn’t include a single smiley face.

[DynamiteRave]

Man, I bet Matty wishes he could be in the box during the home and away games!

At least Matty's not a D-bag like that tool over at Extremeskins. Thats what I like about the WP. We can bash whoever and say pretty much whatever (so long as it's not completely asinine) and not get banned.

But I guess when you're all over Snyder's junk like the mods there (and when he's shoveling Redskins goodies at you), you don't really have a choice but to just be a spineless pool of jello.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by DynamiteRave

Man, I bet Matty wishes he could be in the box during the home and away games!

At least Matty's not a D-bag like that tool over at Extremeskins. Thats what I like about the WP. We can bash whoever and say pretty much whatever (so long as it's not completely asinine) and not get banned.

But I guess when you're all over Snyder's junk like the mods there (and when he's shoveling Redskins goodies at you), you don't really have a choice but to just be a spineless pool of jello.

Yeah Bash WHOEVER WE WANT SO D Rave SCREW YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Creepy Enough!

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I can't believe the City Paper wrote an article about ES banning a member.

[djnemo65]

I thought the pool cleaner line was great

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

I thought the pool cleaner line was great

You have to admit is was pretty good.:headbange

[Lady Brave]

From what I've read of McKenna in the past, he definately has his own agenda when it comes to ES. This isn't the first time he's tried to pick a fight. The fact that he actually spends time writing such articles shows his ineptness as being taken as a serious journalist.

I'm not an ES apologist, but I do take issue with him calling out Om. McKenna's opinions about Om are baseless and without merit. There's good and bad things about ES. The idea that the mods are all yes men is far from the truth. The tirades from a lot of members over there, as of late, have been pretty hardcore and I've noticed no one has been banned because of it. It's the manner in which those opinions are expressed that the mods take issue with. Every board has rules. People are given ample warnings and when you don't follow the rules, you get banned. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.

[EternalEnigma21]

Originally Posted by Lady Brave

From what I've read of McKenna in the past, he definately has his own agenda when it comes to ES. This isn't the first time he's tried to pick a fight. The fact that he actually spends time writing such articles shows his ineptness as being taken as a serious journalist.

I'm not an ES apologist, but I do take issue with him calling out Om. McKenna's opinions about Om are baseless and without merit. There's good and bad things about ES. The idea that the mods are all yes men is far from the truth. The tirades from a lot of members over there, as of late, have been pretty hardcore and I've noticed no one has been banned because of it. It's the manner in which those opinions are expressed that the mods take issue with. Every board has rules. People are given ample warnings and when you don't follow the rules, you get banned. If you don't like it, go somewhere else.

I'll agree with the whole, "if you don't like it go elsewhere" thing... but I've butted heads with "om" on this site, over an article he posted on redskins.com that I commented on here. I didn't agree with him being able to post his view on fan behavior and opinion on the redskins team site. It's a place where rebuttals aren't posted and he can lump people in together that don't agree with his or the skins views and bash them publicly. Its not right.

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by canthetuna

I'll agree with the whole, "if you don't like it go elsewhere" thing... but I've butted heads with "om" on this site, over an article he posted on redskins.com that I commented on here. I didn't agree with him being able to post his view on fan behavior and opinion on the redskins team site. It's a place where rebuttals aren't posted and he can lump people in together that don't agree with his or the skins views and bash them publicly. Its not right.

Everything I said was based on my own perspective and experience. Take it for what it's worth.

If others have had a different experience with ES, then that's another argument all together. I was only addressing what McKenna had written. My guess is that he wrote it knowing the kind of drama it would create, thereby drawing in an audience he couldn't otherwise gain by writing something that is actually newsworthy.

[EternalEnigma21]

sure, I wasn't commenting on that at all, just saying that the "if you don't like it then leave" thing shouldn't exactly apply to Redskins.com, and the opinions of other fans. I've spoken with several people who don't visit any message boards at all, but go to redskins.com and read what is posted by fans and take it as if the redskins organization feels that way. You and I know (or assume) that his opinions are his own, but some get them confused with the feeling of team officials, as if they're sitting there sending messages to the fans on the site.

[Lady Brave]

I see your point about getting the two confused. It's usually noted that the columns Mark submits are written as a "fan view" and linked to ES.

I think overall he does a good job of capturing the mood and sentiments of most of the fans, depending on whatever situation the Redskins are in at the time. I actually like the fact that the organization chooses to showcase his work. However, I could see those that have a dissenting opinion taking issue that he speaks for everyone or for the organization.

I think most people realize that the opinions Mark expresses are not endorsed by the team, but it might be to their benefit to include a disclaimer in his articles.

[Schneed10]

Who cares about Extremeskins??

That board sucks balls.

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Who cares about Extremeskins??

That board sucks balls.

I'll never forgive those mangina mods for coming over to our board and badmouthing the legendary Joe Crisp. No amount of access and no number of presspasses can change they the fact that they are cocky cocks.

[Lady Brave]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

I'll never forgive those mangina mods for coming over to our board and badmouthing the legendary Joe Crisp. No amount of access and no number of presspasses can change they the fact that they are cocky cocks.

Was that just one mod or all of them? Granted, I wasn't here when that went down, but I read the thread. Only one of them chose to be antagonistic from what I recall.

With respect to the OP, nothing good will come of this thread. If people get their jollies from bashing other Redskins boards, then so be it. I personally don't see the point and I think there are better things right now to talk about.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I can't believe the City Paper wrote an article about ES banning a member.

That was the first thing I thought. I can't say I hate ES because they are fellow Redskins fans and all, but I'm sure glad I don't waste any time on their site.