[Ed. note: Sideout11 with some excellent advice regarding BEdgers and any other "drive-by trollers" from other teams. He is absolutely right; I'll be taking his advice, and I hope you will, too. Please rec this FanPost so that it stays near the top for a while.]
If you are a regular here on SS&R then the following post is a must read. It is meant as a response to all of the inflammatory and baiting remarks coming from other fans, or what are known as drive-by posts. Together we can ensure that their presence does not clog up our message boards, while keeping SS&R and inviting and open forum to those who wish to make intelligent, open-minded comments.
Other team's fans will often troll throught SB blogs, looking to dump feelings and opinions that would likely be rejected from their own blog. This is a problem we a currently experiencing with certain Blazers "fans," but rest assured the radicals of every team will do this depending on when they play the Lakers. If these people wish to bitch and moan about how our ideas are unfair to their team or just plain hate on the Lakers, there is nothing we can do other than ignore them. By doing so we deprive them of the satisfaction of their arrow hitting its target, whereas arguing with them will only validate their purpose, which is to illicit a reaction.
The trollers will demean, disregard, bait, poke, and prod each and every one of us into giving them a vessel through which they can vent their frustrations, but we mustn't give them the satisfaction. The moderators will kick out those who cross the line (it is obvious when someone does), but as for the rest we must stand strong and endure. Just like the child crying out for attention, once these trollers realize that their provocations are falling on deaf ears, they will leave in search of a new audience. Until then, just act like they don't even exist. They cannot continue to argue if they have no one to argue with.
The Lakers are one of the two most successful franchises in NBA history, but with such success comes a lot of bitterness and ill will. We, just like the Lakers when they hit the road, must endure. Eventually members of this community will become familiar with one another and be able to moderate and defend their own comments by using the arguments of others. Until that time, please use this model of giving the cold shoulder as a means of defense. I know that all of us deep down want to put these trollers in their place, but we will only end up wearing ourselves out because these people do not listen to reason. If they did, their ideas would be welcome on their own blogs and there would be no need for them to come here.
Lastly, this post is not meant as a mandate, but rather a guideline. Comments from other perspectives are more than welcome, even encouraged. This diversity is what makes the SB community such a unique tool. So long as the comments are done in a respectful and well-supported manner, feel free to respond and debate the topic at hand. Just remember to apply the same standards of respect and evidenciary support that we require of them. Also, please act accordingly when visiting other SB blogs. Do not retaliate to drive-bys by firebombing another blog with hate, as the trollers responsible are often not even associated with their teams blog. Here at SS&R, we want to present ourselves to the online community as intelligent and thoughtful fans while building a strong reputation for this up and coming blog.
One day this will all get better, I promise. To quote an annonymous person:
“The light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion. The tunnel is.”
(Please rec this comment so that it can stay up long enough for everyone to see it)
Go Purple & Gold!
[Ed. note: Another thought. When I was a child, my younger sister loved to bait me, hoping to illicit a response. My parents insisted that if she got one, she "won," and that all I had to do to "win" was not let it bother me, and not react. It took me until the age of 15 to listen to them, but when I did, it worked like a charm.]
