Wisconsin Wrestling Online

Would you like to make the forum more attractive to potential new wrestling fans by showing them that we discuss wrestling in depth and with passion? Thereby helping Tom grow this forum as a great place for Wisconsin Wrestling.
Or should we keep it the same as it has been for years with the same people arguing about the same non-wrestling topics with the same stances over and over and over?

It would seem that this question/poll could be better parameterized if the vote was on whether Tom should keep the Misc. forum or just get rid of it. That said, there is an argument to be made that the Misc. forum sets up a place where all of the non-wrestling talk can congregate and thus, not permeate all of the many wrestling forums the forum has.

Moral of the story - be careful what you wish for.

The poll question itself is written in a way to try to get the response he is looking for.  While many don't appreciate the talk on the misc. forum , many wrestling fans do participate, learn from each other and share ideas.  The real solution here is that if you don't like it ....then don't read it.  Any time wrestling fans can get together and share ideas is a good thing. ;)

It would be interesting if there was a separate category for "Politics" what the "The New Misc" would become... :-)

Also, when people are alerted about updated topics, perhaps those could be limited the wrestling only ones as a solution?

Probably not easy to do it that way however...

Quote from: aarons23 on May 28, 2014, 11:09:12 AM
The poll question itself is written in a way to try to get the response he is looking for.  While many don't appreciate the talk on the misc. forum , many wrestling fans do participate, learn from each other and share ideas.  The real solution here is that if you don't like it ....then don't read it.  Any time wrestling fans can get together and share ideas is a good thing. ;)

Like I said, when I hit "show unread posts since last visit" it shows me all of the useless stuff and I have to wade through a couple pages of topics to try and find anything about wrestling.

How about it being what I actually said? Don't show me the non-wrestling threads in the list.

Give me a way to never show parts of the forum again.

Many people here for wrestling probably never even visit the Misc. section. At times you have very little news in the world of wrestling but something might be going on with Brewers, Packers or the world we live. You would be asking Tom to get rid of a lot of traffic by getting rid of those forums and that would be bad for business as this site is not free and a small amount is made off traffic and advertising. I say that using assumption but that is how most of these forums make it.

OldPanther, It takes just the smallest amount of effort on your part to make you completely happy rather than having TomM do some major changes to the forum to make you happy. It's really very easy and manageable to avoid any and all non-wrestling talk or any subject for that matter.

Here's how:
1. Click on the home page of the forum.
2. Go to the sections of the forum that you want to read and click on them.
3.The newest topics, or those with the newest replies will be at the top of that list.
4. Avoid clicking on the sections you don't want to read.  


Good luck. I hope you can do it and it will make you happy.

LOL! There are 66 wrestling related forums and 10 non-wrestling! All I have to do when I come to the forum and want to see what's new since the last time is check through 66 forums.

It does make a statement about those that consider "Misc" more important. Non-wrestling makes up only 13% of the potential topic forums, yet well over 90% of the posts are in that 13%.

Quote from: Greco on May 28, 2014, 01:30:57 PM
LOL! There are 66 wrestling related forums and 10 non-wrestling! All I have to do when I come to the forum and want to see what's new since the last time is check through 66 forums.

It does make a statement about those that consider "Misc" more important. Non-wrestling makes up only 13% of the potential topic forums, yet well over 90% of the posts are in that 13%.

Old wrestlers with an opinion to share (on anything) - go figger  ;)

Quote from: Greco on May 28, 2014, 01:30:57 PM
LOL! There are 66 wrestling related forums and 10 non-wrestling! All I have to do when I come to the forum and want to see what's new since the last time is check through 66 forums.

It does make a statement about those that consider "Misc" more important. Non-wrestling makes up only 13% of the potential topic forums, yet well over 90% of the posts are in that 13%.

Ok, solution #2 for you.
1. Click on unread topics since last visit.
2. Click only on the topics that you want to read.

It's so easy a caveman can do it. 

Have a happy day and happy reading.

I agree with the idea of too much non-wrestling stuff.  I have stopped looking at the forum due to this issue.  When I go 2-3 days without visiting and then I hit unread posts since last visit there are 2-3 pages of 'misc. stuff' and 3-4 posts about wrestling.  This past weekend Wisconsin wrestlers had some great battles at the FILA nationals.  Very little discussion if any.  How may wrestling fans get turned off by all of the noise.  When my HS boys, who are die hard wrestler's, ask me 'why is there so much junk on the forum', then maybe we have a problem.  This used to be a great place to read and discuss Wisconsin Wrestling. I would like to know what percent of posts are now about wrestling?  How many fans/wrester's are now gone?  How many posts are by the same group of 10-15 people? Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

So would this be a wrestling or non wrestling series?
Just kidding.

I too thought there would be more wrestling talk here but it shows a little about the state of wrestling for the UW and for Wisconsin. I would like to see both get stronger and I think they are.

I do enjoy some of the non wrestling trends but most I don't look at. I don't think that it would be good to not have them as it would cut traffic to the web site even more.

Greco - I say we get more trends going and really dug in to wrestling in the State (youth and HS) and with the UW and UW system schools.

So here is my challenge to all of us.


For every non wrestling post we put up we put up a post that has something to do with wrestling!

Any takers?

Quote from: FIRECAT on May 28, 2014, 04:50:42 PM
I agree with the idea of too much non-wrestling stuff.  I have stopped looking at the forum due to this issue.  When I go 2-3 days without visiting and then I hit unread posts since last visit there are 2-3 pages of 'misc. stuff' and 3-4 posts about wrestling.  This past weekend Wisconsin wrestlers had some great battles at the FILA nationals.  Very little discussion if any.  How may wrestling fans get turned off by all of the noise.  When my HS boys, who are die hard wrestler's, ask me 'why is there so much junk on the forum', then maybe we have a problem.  This used to be a great place to read and discuss Wisconsin Wrestling. I would like to know what percent of posts are now about wrestling?  How many fans/wrester's are now gone?  How many posts are by the same group of 10-15 people? Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

Old Panther stated that there are 66 sections, and only 10 are non-wrestling. I'm not sure how that adds up to too many non-wrestling. Those of you who want to talk more about wrestling, go ahead and get after it. There are 56 sections about wrestling. Choose a few and start some threads. If you are simply waiting around to see what someone else says that is new, then perhaps you are part of the reason why it is dead. All of you that want more wrestling posts, AWESOME! Get going on it, start some chatter and then you will see more wrestling topics on the "updated topics" link.  Simple solution. Sheesh.

This site is a microcosm of the wrestling community.  Most of us have wrestled enough to know that the sport holds us together, but that unity allows us to share other interests and ideas.  Even the most intense wrestlers must step away from the mat and let off some steam.  The adult manifestation of that is found in our diversionary explorations of non-wrestling topics.  Those discussion threads keep us engaged on here and increase our awareness of wrestling topics when they appear.  Those of us who participate in this manner are also very active in many of the wrestling topics that appear on the forum.  There are plenty of participatory options on here for people to exercise, ranging from topic choices to navigation paths.  Having those options allows us a variety of ways to bond as an online community, with the understanding that wrestling is still the basis for our participation.  It's like guys on a team.  In college, we used to play cards and chess during road trips; we got in arguments, discussed girls and politics, laughed together, razzed each other, competed for starting positions, and did a variety of things to connect on as many levels as possible.  Ultimately, we bonded into a team that competed for each other and loved being there.  Our coaches were smart enough to allow us the latitude to have those diversions, as they were critical to team unity.  Wrestlers don't just wrestle 24/7/365 and always play nice.  We're not wired that way.  Tom's smart enough to recognize that and "coach" us accordingly.

Yes. This.

Great post Fish.

Quote from: Handles II on May 28, 2014, 05:19:14 PM

Quote from: FIRECAT on May 28, 2014, 04:50:42 PM
I agree with the idea of too much non-wrestling stuff.  I have stopped looking at the forum due to this issue.  When I go 2-3 days without visiting and then I hit unread posts since last visit there are 2-3 pages of 'misc. stuff' and 3-4 posts about wrestling.  This past weekend Wisconsin wrestlers had some great battles at the FILA nationals.  Very little discussion if any.  How may wrestling fans get turned off by all of the noise.  When my HS boys, who are die hard wrestler's, ask me 'why is there so much junk on the forum', then maybe we have a problem.  This used to be a great place to read and discuss Wisconsin Wrestling. I would like to know what percent of posts are now about wrestling?  How many fans/wrester's are now gone?  How many posts are by the same group of 10-15 people? Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

Old Panther stated that there are 66 sections, and only 10 are non-wrestling. I'm not sure how that adds up to too many non-wrestling. Those of you who want to talk more about wrestling, go ahead and get after it. There are 56 sections about wrestling. Choose a few and start some threads. If you are simply waiting around to see what someone else says that is new, then perhaps you are part of the reason why it is dead. All of you that want more wrestling posts, AWESOME! Get going on it, start some chatter and then you will see more wrestling topics on the "updated topics" link.  Simple solution. Sheesh.

Handles, I said that there are 66 wrestling related forums, not 66 total. The total is 76, 10 are non-wrestling. The problem with that, and I state it again, is that the 13% make up 90% of the content.

Quote from: FIRECAT on May 28, 2014, 04:50:42 PM
I agree with the idea of too much non-wrestling stuff.  I have stopped looking at the forum due to this issue.  When I go 2-3 days without visiting and then I hit unread posts since last visit there are 2-3 pages of 'misc. stuff' and 3-4 posts about wrestling.  This past weekend Wisconsin wrestlers had some great battles at the FILA nationals.  Very little discussion if any.  How may wrestling fans get turned off by all of the noise.  When my HS boys, who are die hard wrestler's, ask me 'why is there so much junk on the forum', then maybe we have a problem.  This used to be a great place to read and discuss Wisconsin Wrestling. I would like to know what percent of posts are now about wrestling?  How many fans/wrester's are now gone?  How many posts are by the same group of 10-15 people? Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

BINGO!!!

Your boys are an example of what the non-wrestling content turns away. Talk about lost revenue for Tom. Turning away new forum members isn't a good business model. Kind of like running a tree nursery and displaying your various composting options near the front door.

If you look at the main page, the list will tell you when the last post was. Click on UW, main, college, etc where there is a recent post. I read a lot about wrestling and post a lot of misc junk.

Nice throw by Thielke.

Quote from: bigoil on May 28, 2014, 11:15:04 PM
If you look at the main page, the list will tell you when the last post was. Click on UW, main, college, etc where there is a recent post. I read a lot about wrestling and post a lot of misc junk.

Nice throw by Thielke.

+1

Quote from: Greco on May 28, 2014, 10:27:19 PM

Quote from: Handles II on May 28, 2014, 05:19:14 PM

Quote from: FIRECAT on May 28, 2014, 04:50:42 PM
I agree with the idea of too much non-wrestling stuff.  I have stopped looking at the forum due to this issue.  When I go 2-3 days without visiting and then I hit unread posts since last visit there are 2-3 pages of 'misc. stuff' and 3-4 posts about wrestling.  This past weekend Wisconsin wrestlers had some great battles at the FILA nationals.  Very little discussion if any.  How may wrestling fans get turned off by all of the noise.  When my HS boys, who are die hard wrestler's, ask me 'why is there so much junk on the forum', then maybe we have a problem.  This used to be a great place to read and discuss Wisconsin Wrestling. I would like to know what percent of posts are now about wrestling?  How many fans/wrester's are now gone?  How many posts are by the same group of 10-15 people? Thanks for letting me share my thoughts.

Old Panther stated that there are 66 sections, and only 10 are non-wrestling. I'm not sure how that adds up to too many non-wrestling. Those of you who want to talk more about wrestling, go ahead and get after it. There are 56 sections about wrestling. Choose a few and start some threads. If you are simply waiting around to see what someone else says that is new, then perhaps you are part of the reason why it is dead. All of you that want more wrestling posts, AWESOME! Get going on it, start some chatter and then you will see more wrestling topics on the "updated topics" link.  Simple solution. Sheesh.

Handles, I said that there are 66 wrestling related forums, not 66 total. The total is 76, 10 are non-wrestling. The problem with that, and I state it again, is that the 13% make up 90% of the content.

So it's even more than I stated. Well looks like there are plenty of opportunities for people to post about wrestling as do the 10-15 regulars who also post on the other sections of this forum. You want a different percentage of posts, then quit whining, warm up your fingers and start typing. Problem solved.

I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates? 

I have been on this forum over 10 years.... never once have I hit "new posts since last visit" I check the UW forum if I wish to see new posts, I checked the general forum if I want to see new posts or I check whatever other forum if I want to see new posts. The main part of wrestling is from December to March so from April through November we need some filler... doesn't mean we don't still talk wrestling when there is news but not a lot of news in the state to talk about in the off months. Some people come here to get news on the UW but don't care who won WWF kids state, so they turn to Packers and Brewers news instead, nothing wrong with that. If you want a forum strictly for wrestling.... start one, pay for it, monitor it and then see how you feel about it.

Should we also get rid of the MMA section? I mean that has little to do with wrestling.

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 09:05:45 AM
I have been on this forum over 10 years.... never once have I hit "new posts since last visit" I check the UW forum if I wish to see new posts, I checked the general forum if I want to see new posts or I check whatever other forum if I want to see new posts. The main part of wrestling is from December to March so from April through November we need some filler... doesn't mean we don't still talk wrestling when there is news but not a lot of news in the state to talk about in the off months. Some people come here to get news on the UW but don't care who won WWF kids state, so they turn to Packers and Brewers news instead, nothing wrong with that. If you want a forum strictly for wrestling.... start one, pay for it, monitor it and then see how you feel about it.

Should we also get rid of the MMA section? I mean that has little to do with wrestling.

How about discussions that attempt to micromanage content and member participation?  My take is that I participate in, and monitor, threads throughout the site.  Posting and reading are both valid methods of participation, but the latter leaves only an anonymous record of my involvement.  Does that fact yield a relevant statistic?  Should "big brother" be using that statistical difference to limit my options? 

Many people never post, or hardly ever post... maybe if more people posted about wrestling we would have more wrestling content. We can't just leave it up to the core of 50 or so people to keep the forum up to date. Many people come here to read only... just look at how many "guests" are on here.

As far as turning people away... I don't get that one, I mean I never once read a Misc. post without going into the Misc. section. If I am here to check on the General Wrestling forum I don't see any of the other "noise" nothing about college, national or Olympic, MMA or anything else so what would be turning me away. If you don't like the off topic stuff............ don't read it, a fairly simple concept.

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 09:52:11 AM
Many people never post, or hardly ever post... maybe if more people posted about wrestling we would have more wrestling content. We can't just leave it up to the core of 50 or so people to keep the forum up to date. Many people come here to read only... just look at how many "guests" are on here.

As far as turning people away... I don't get that one, I mean I never once read a Misc. post without going into the Misc. section. If I am here to check on the General Wrestling forum I don't see any of the other "noise" nothing about college, national or Olympic, MMA or anything else so what would be turning me away. If you don't like the off topic stuff............ don't read it, a fairly simple concept.

Out of all of the sites available on the internet, I visit this one most often.  The others just don't contain as much content that interests me.  Since it's all about me, I think we should just shut down the rest of the internet.  Then, everyone would spend all of their time on this site.  While we are at it, let's make it mandatory that all visitors post something on every thread that they visit, so I can track their participation.  Additionally, each post must meet certain content standards, based upon my personal preferences and preconceived notions about what is appropriate.  People who fail to meet my personal requirements should be banned from the internet, which should be pretty easy to do if my recommendations are followed.   ;)

So is this thread really about wrestling?????

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates? 

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 10:27:24 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates? 

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Your statistics show that fewer people follow wrestling in Wisconsin, but provide no hard statistical evidence that non-wrestling topics are a significant causative agent in that trend.  The stats on this particular thread apparently support my assertion.  If you feel that more wrestling-specific discussion is the key to increasing site participation and contentious bickering is counterproductive, wouldn't it make more sense for you to start (and participate in) more wrestling threads, rather than attacking a segment of the membership here?  Is this thread promoting bickering, or discussion of wrestling?

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 10:43:30 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 10:27:24 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates?  

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Your statistics show that fewer people follow wrestling in Wisconsin, but provide no hard statistical evidence that non-wrestling topics are a significant causative agent in that trend.  The stats on this particular thread apparently support my assertion.  If you feel that more wrestling-specific discussion is the key to increasing site participation and contentious bickering is counterproductive, wouldn't it make more sense for you to start (and participate in) more wrestling threads, rather than attacking a segment of the membership here?  Is this thread promoting bickering, or discussion of wrestling?

I had to chuckle a bit.  These stats do not show that fewer people are interested or follow wrestling in Wisconsin.  It would appear you have been out of Wisconsin wrestling for a long time.  If you want me to show you those stats show you those as well--I'd suspect Wisconsin has some of the highest participation numbers in out of state tournaments than most states!  The numbers I provided above show few people participate in this forum.  For you to say few people post on the forum shows Wisconsin has fewer people interested int he sport is silly and proves one thing--stubbornness.  To say that you feel fewer people in Wisconsin follow wrestling is silly, especially when you look at the participation at the BIG10 and Wisconsin has been chosen for the World Team Trials.  It also looks like WI will be hosting other national events next year as well.  Have you seen how many high schoolers we currently have participating in Freestyle/Greco right now?  It's incredible!

You mentioned why don't I try to help the forum instead of attaching a segment of the membership.  That's the problem.  No one is attacking you.  No one is attacking your opinions or views.  We would love to hear  your thoughts on wrestling because this is a wrestling forum.  What we are all tired of is the non-wrestling topics.  Look around (I have) other states don't do that.  You said before that you really enjoy this forum because it's a one stop shopping place for all your interests.  You are concerned about your own interest and that is more important to you than Wisconsin wrestling.  You are NOT concerned about the interest of others.  I'm concerned about getting more people on the forum thus helping the sport of wrestling.

More participation on the forum equals more participation at tournaments, more interest in camps and clinics, more attendance at events such as this weekend's trials in Madison.  Unless anyone is living in their own private hole in the ground you would know people have been complaining about the non-wrestling topics on this forum for a long time to the point some won't come on here.  People even take the time to complain on the forum itself about the bickering and non-wrestling topics.  The responses some of you give is like trying to preach to a group of drug addicts--"if you don't like what we do, go away".  It's silly.  The non-wrestling topics are not helping grow the sport here in the state of Wisconsin!  Don't believe me--go visit any tournament and ask if they even know that the forum is (most coaches don't promote it) and if they do ask them why they don't visit it--the answer is always the same.

Tom...I'm guessing you created this website a long time ago out of love for the sport.  I think it's time to re-evaluate if the non-wrestling topics is helping our sport and increasing participation or not.  I don't think the numbers lie.  

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 11:02:06 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 10:43:30 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 10:27:24 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates?  

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Your statistics show that fewer people follow wrestling in Wisconsin, but provide no hard statistical evidence that non-wrestling topics are a significant causative agent in that trend.  The stats on this particular thread apparently support my assertion.  If you feel that more wrestling-specific discussion is the key to increasing site participation and contentious bickering is counterproductive, wouldn't it make more sense for you to start (and participate in) more wrestling threads, rather than attacking a segment of the membership here?  Is this thread promoting bickering, or discussion of wrestling?

I had to chuckle a bit.  These stats do not show that fewer people are interested or follow wrestling in Wisconsin.  It would appear you have been out of Wisconsin wrestling for a long time.  If you want me to show you those stats show you those as well--I'd suspect Wisconsin has some of the highest participation numbers in out of state tournaments than most states!  The numbers I provided above show few people participate in this forum.  For you to say few people post on the forum shows Wisconsin has fewer people interested int he sport is silly and proves one thing--stubbornness.  To say that you feel fewer people in Wisconsin follow wrestling is silly, especially when you look at the participation at the BIG10 and Wisconsin has been chosen for the World Team Trials.  It also looks like WI will be hosting other national events next year as well.  Have you seen how many high schoolers we currently have participating in Freestyle/Greco right now?  It's incredible!

You mentioned why don't I try to help the forum instead of attaching a segment of the membership.  That's the problem.  No one is attacking you.  No one is attacking your opinions or views.  We would love to hear  your thoughts on wrestling because this is a wrestling forum.  What we are all tired of is the non-wrestling topics.  Look around (I have) other states don't do that.  You said before that you really enjoy this forum because it's a one stop shopping place for all your interests.  You are concerned about your own interest and that is more important to you than Wisconsin wrestling.  You are NOT concerned about the interest of others.  I'm concerned about getting more people on the forum thus helping the sport of wrestling.

More participation on the forum equals more participation at tournaments, more interest in camps and clinics, more attendance at events such as this weekend's trials in Madison.  Unless anyone is living in their own private hole in the ground you would know people have been complaining about the non-wrestling topics on this forum for a long time to the point some won't come on here.  People even take the time to complain on the forum itself about the bickering and non-wrestling topics.  The responses some of you give is like trying to preach to a group of drug addicts--"if you don't like what we do, go away".  It's silly.  The non-wrestling topics are not helping grow the sport here in the state of Wisconsin!  Don't believe me--go visit any tournament and ask if they even know that the forum is (most coaches don't promote it) and if they do ask them why they don't visit it--the answer is always the same.

Tom...I'm guessing you created this website a long time ago out of love for the sport.  I think it's time to re-evaluate if the non-wrestling topics is helping our sport and increasing participation or not.  I don't think the numbers lie.  

You keep referencing the fact that I have not coached for awhile.  That doesn't mean that I don't follow the sport.  At age 60, I have been around the sport since age 4, so it will always be relevant to me.  I do want people to participate, but I don't think aggressive micromanagement of public discussions will accomplish that.  You want more talk about wrestling?  Then talk about wrestling more.  Control your own actions, instead of trying to control everyone else. 

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 11:12:14 AM
You keep referencing the fact that I have not coached for awhile.  That doesn't mean that I don't follow the sport.  At age 60, I have been around the sport since age 4, so it will always be relevant to me.  I do want people to participate, but I don't think aggressive micromanagement of public discussions will accomplish that.  You want more talk about wrestling?  Then talk about wrestling more.  Control your own actions, instead of trying to control everyone else. 

I mentioned the coaching issue because you just mentioned in another topic you have been out of the game basically for 15 years and at the same time don't believe that the non-wrestling topics are an annoyance to many--to the point they won't visit the forum.  Again, I'm saying the people who are familiar with the forum talk about it.  It's talked about at practices and tournaments.  And time and time again, I hear people both new and old to the sport saying they don't visit it because of the stupid bickering in the non-wrestling areas.  That is what people are saying.  It really really is.  Look at why the other state's forums have a higher participation.

I find it ironic that many people have come on here saying "We need to increase participation in the sport so let's get rid of the singlet and let them where t-shirt and shorts" yet when we say let's increase participants to the forum by only focusing on wrestling topics people thinks their rights are being trampled on.

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 10:27:24 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates? 

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Funny that a person with 66 posts in 3 years is trying to say something about lack of participation. I mean you average less than 2 posts per month.

As far as comparing us to The Guillotine, they have been around for over 40 years, they have much more than just a forum, they also have more than 50% more members than wiwrestling... so it is apples to oranges.

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 11:33:31 AM
Funny that a person with 66 posts in 3 years is trying to say something about lack of participation. I mean you average less than 2 posts per month.

As far as comparing us to The Guillotine, they have been around for over 40 years, they have much more than just a forum, they also have more than 50% more members than wiwrestling... so it is apples to oranges.

LOL Actually..... I was not talking about the Guillotine.  I was talking about Iowa's other wrestling forum thepredicament.com.  Iowa has such better online internet participation that they have two wrestling forums which still dwarfs Wisconsin participation! 

And I do participate on the forum if I have something to contribute.  But for me to come on here everyday and post thousands of times like a tiny minority is not me.  There is some (not directing this at you, but a general comment) people who talk to hear themselves speak offering little substances with their words.  Honestly I would be too embarrassed to be on here that much!

I would love to see it grow but that will not happen until the non-wrestling areas are removed.  Don't believe me?  Ask around.

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 11:54:39 AM

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 11:33:31 AM
Funny that a person with 66 posts in 3 years is trying to say something about lack of participation. I mean you average less than 2 posts per month.

As far as comparing us to The Guillotine, they have been around for over 40 years, they have much more than just a forum, they also have more than 50% more members than wiwrestling... so it is apples to oranges.

LOL Actually..... I was not talking about the Guillotine.  I was talking about Iowa's other wrestling forum thepredicament.com.  Iowa has such better online internet participation that they have two wrestling forums which still dwarfs Wisconsin participation! 

And I do participate on the forum if I have something to contribute.  But for me to come on here everyday and post thousands of times like a tiny minority is not me.  There is some (not directing this at you, but a general comment) people who talk to hear themselves speak offering little substances with their words.  Honestly I would be too embarrassed to be on here that much!

I would love to see it grow but that will not happen until the non-wrestling areas are removed.  Don't believe me?  Ask around.

I have, but we don't hang out at the same barbershop.

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 11:54:39 AM

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 11:33:31 AM
Funny that a person with 66 posts in 3 years is trying to say something about lack of participation. I mean you average less than 2 posts per month.

As far as comparing us to The Guillotine, they have been around for over 40 years, they have much more than just a forum, they also have more than 50% more members than wiwrestling... so it is apples to oranges.

LOL Actually..... I was not talking about the Guillotine.  I was talking about Iowa's other wrestling forum thepredicament.com.  Iowa has such better online internet participation that they have two wrestling forums which still dwarfs Wisconsin participation!  

And I do participate on the forum if I have something to contribute.  But for me to come on here everyday and post thousands of times like a tiny minority is not me.  There is some (not directing this at you, but a general comment) people who talk to hear themselves speak offering little substances with their words.  Honestly I would be too embarrassed to be on here that much!

I would love to see it grow but that will not happen until the non-wrestling areas are removed.  Don't believe me?  Ask around.

Oh, when you talked about the MN forum it was not the Guillotine?

The Predicament has been around over 40 years, again... more than just a forum... I don't believe Tom has the time or funds to dedicate to this site to transform it into the sites your referring to. He is just one man, your comparing company sites to a site run by 1 person.

Again, I don't get the non-wrestling forums being a problem. That is like saying I won't watch TV unless they take down FOX or ESPN... if you don't like those channels don't tune in. I never read 1 single Misc. comment that I didn't want to read. The first 6 or 7 years I was on this site I never read any Misc. posts, I choose when to read them and when to stop reading them. If people want to come here and talk wrestling and read wrestling it is fairly simple.... just go to the topics on..... wrestling.

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 11:33:31 AM
Oh, when you talked about the MN forum it was not the Guillotine?

The Predicament has been around over 40 years, again... more than just a forum... I don't believe Tom has the time or funds to dedicate to this site to transform it into the sites your referring to. He is just one man, your comparing company sites to a site run by 1 person.

Again, I don't get the non-wrestling forums being a problem. That is like saying I won't watch TV unless they take down FOX or ESPN... if you don't like those channels don't tune in. I never read 1 single Misc. comment that I didn't want to read. The first 6 or 7 years I was on this site I never read any Misc. posts, I choose when to read them and when to stop reading them. If people want to come here and talk wrestling and read wrestling it is fairly simple.... just go to the topics on..... wrestling.

I understand what you are trying to say regarding comparing it to TV channels.  I can tell you this, I know a lot of parents who love HBO and Showtime, but won't subscribe to the channels because of some of content on there.  They like some shows but not the others so they won't get those added.  Yes, you and I know how to block the programs you don't want and/or we also have the ability to filter and choose what we want to watch.  But that is just me....others will choose to skip those channels because they don't like all of the content.  We see that same thing here with the forum.

You are talking about YOUR needs (as was IMNOFISH).  I am talking about the needs of the state and supporting an idea that would increase participation on the forum.  Is there anyone on here that disagrees with the notion that if more people participate in the forum we will see more people interested in tournaments, camps and events?  People on this very forum are saying they are tired of the non-wrestling topics.  People at tournaments are saying they don't come on the forum because of the bickering and non-wrestling topics.

Isn't promoting the sport more important than petty arguments on this forum?  Can't you guys take it elsewhere for the good of the sport? 

getting rid of the misc topics won't stop the bickering. Other forums also have bickering, if your checking out those other sites you already know they have bickering. Online forums are a place for bickering... if we all just agreed on everything it would be quite a boring place. If it was just a place to find out about tournaments, duals and results it would be quite boring. Why is it important for the general fan to participate in this arena? If we don't want people to bicker we better not talk about seeding state, expanding team state, number of weight classes, how to get more kids to participate, Barry Davis, Donny P and so on.

I still don't understand.... what even gets the people to click on non-wrestling in the misc. forum if they are here for wrestling. How would they even know people bicker over there if they didn't read it? So why are they reading it? I don't read about topics I don't care about, including wrestling topics.

Jag, most people use the "show unread posts since last visit" option instead of manually "checking around" to see if anything's changed. It's a turn off to potential forum members to see tons of non-sense in the list of unread posts while trying to find something related to wrestling.

Tom,

   Here is a solution option for you. It will allow those that wish to ramble on about miscellaneous stuff able to continue uninterrupted. But, at the same time potential forum members can be initially protected from such clutter and often embarrassing language.

• Enable "Ignore Board Options" for forum members.
    This allows members to choose what boards they do not want to see in the "unread since last visit" list.
    Set the non-wrestling boards to default to "ignored" for non-members so that we stop scaring away potential members.
  Ignore Boards Options
  If enabled by an administrator, users can choose to ignore any boards on the forum. When a board is ignored, it is still shown on the Board Index, but the New Posts icon will not show up for this board. In addition, new posts will not be shown for an ignored board when using the link Show unread posts since last visit. Neither will they be shown when using the link Unread posts next to the category names in the Board Index. However, when using the link Show new replies to your posts, new posts in an ignored board will still be shown. Also, when entering an ignored board via the Board Index, topics that have new posts will still be indicated with an icon.  See http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Profile
• Install the mod: Choose Ignorable Boards
    This allows you, the owner/administrator to set some boards as not ignorable, for boards that you deem important. See http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1451

how do we know "most" people use that option? This is the first time I have ever seen it, I had to look for it. I assume most people poke around, when you open a board it shows all the topics with new posts since you last checked it.

as of now the majority want to keep it, I would be up for a ignore button.

let us not forget, in the off-season, many may come here to check misc. topics and keep up traffic.

I don't know, guys. I am a regular on this site - visit it about four times a day and been at it for about 10 years. I didn't even know a "New Posts" option existed. I go to a limited number of specific sub-forums to see what's new or what has been posted. If I'm interested, I read further and/or respond. I am completely indifferent as to whether a given sub-forum, e.g. Misc., is exploding with banter; if the general topics aren't my cup of tea I simply don't "check in."

The forum is nicely compartmentalized as it is. Don't go to a sub-forum if you aren't interested in the general content. And if you are dismayed at the ratio of posting, then post more in your chosen area of interest. It should matter to you that there are a zillion cat fights going on in the Misc. sub-forum, let them bicker among themselves. If you want more substantive wrestling stuff, then post it, darn it. I think we would all appreciate more wrestling content/comments being posted.

Quote from: Greco on May 29, 2014, 02:10:10 PM
Jag, most people use the "show unread posts since last visit" option instead of manually "checking around" to see if anything's changed. It's a turn off to potential forum members to see tons of non-sense in the list of unread posts while trying to find something related to wrestling.

Tom,

   Here is a solution option for you. It will allow those that wish to ramble on about miscellaneous stuff able to continue uninterrupted. But, at the same time potential forum members can be initially protected from such clutter and often embarrassing language.

• Enable "Ignore Board Options" for forum members.
    This allows members to choose what boards they do not want to see in the "unread since last visit" list.
    Set the non-wrestling boards to default to "ignored" for non-members so that we stop scaring away potential members.
  Ignore Boards Options
  If enabled by an administrator, users can choose to ignore any boards on the forum. When a board is ignored, it is still shown on the Board Index, but the New Posts icon will not show up for this board. In addition, new posts will not be shown for an ignored board when using the link Show unread posts since last visit. Neither will they be shown when using the link Unread posts next to the category names in the Board Index. However, when using the link Show new replies to your posts, new posts in an ignored board will still be shown. Also, when entering an ignored board via the Board Index, topics that have new posts will still be indicated with an icon.  See http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Profile
• Install the mod: Choose Ignorable Boards
    This allows you, the owner/administrator to set some boards as not ignorable, for boards that you deem important. See http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1451

Hey Panther, you want an "Ignore Board"? It's a combination of that thing between your ears and those things at the end of your hand. Figure out how to use them together and like every one of us who doesn't want to read something, we ignore it and don't click on it.
Problems solved once again. That's 3x that I've helped you out with this technology stuff buddy, you owe me.

Quote from: jaguarwrestler on May 29, 2014, 02:36:30 PM
how do we know "most" people use that option? This is the first time I have ever seen it, I had to look for it. I assume most people poke around, when you open a board it shows all the topics with new posts since you last checked it.

as of now the majority want to keep it, I would be up for a ignore button.

let us not forget, in the off-season, many may come here to check misc. topics and keep up traffic.

I did not even know about the "check last" and it even took me a little effort to find.

Guess no one want to take the challenge :)

Quote from: npope on May 29, 2014, 04:29:56 PM
I don't know, guys. I am a regular on this site - visit it about four times a day and been at it for about 10 years. I didn't even know a "New Posts" option existed. I go to a limited number of specific sub-forums to see what's new or what has been posted. If I'm interested, I read further and/or respond. I am completely indifferent as to whether a given sub-forum, e.g. Misc., is exploding with banter; if the general topics aren't my cup of tea I simply don't "check in."

The forum is nicely compartmentalized as it is. Don't go to a sub-forum if you aren't interested in the general content. And if you are dismayed at the ratio of posting, then post more in your chosen area of interest. It should matter to you that there are a zillion cat fights going on in the Misc. sub-forum, let them bicker among themselves. If you want more substantive wrestling stuff, then post it, darn it. I think we would all appreciate more wrestling content/comments being posted.

I understand. My dad still hasn't figured out that he could be texting with his phone.

Quote from: Handles II on May 29, 2014, 05:29:05 PM

Quote from: Greco on May 29, 2014, 02:10:10 PM
Jag, most people use the "show unread posts since last visit" option instead of manually "checking around" to see if anything's changed. It's a turn off to potential forum members to see tons of non-sense in the list of unread posts while trying to find something related to wrestling.

Tom,

   Here is a solution option for you. It will allow those that wish to ramble on about miscellaneous stuff able to continue uninterrupted. But, at the same time potential forum members can be initially protected from such clutter and often embarrassing language.

• Enable "Ignore Board Options" for forum members.
    This allows members to choose what boards they do not want to see in the "unread since last visit" list.
    Set the non-wrestling boards to default to "ignored" for non-members so that we stop scaring away potential members.
  Ignore Boards Options
  If enabled by an administrator, users can choose to ignore any boards on the forum. When a board is ignored, it is still shown on the Board Index, but the New Posts icon will not show up for this board. In addition, new posts will not be shown for an ignored board when using the link Show unread posts since last visit. Neither will they be shown when using the link Unread posts next to the category names in the Board Index. However, when using the link Show new replies to your posts, new posts in an ignored board will still be shown. Also, when entering an ignored board via the Board Index, topics that have new posts will still be indicated with an icon.  See http://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Profile
• Install the mod: Choose Ignorable Boards
    This allows you, the owner/administrator to set some boards as not ignorable, for boards that you deem important. See http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1451

Hey Panther, you want an "Ignore Board"? It's a combination of that thing between your ears and those things at the end of your hand. Figure out how to use them together and like every one of us who doesn't want to read something, we ignore it and don't click on it.
Problems solved once again. That's 3x that I've helped you out with this technology stuff buddy, you owe me.

The only way you could "help me" would be to show up at open mat sometime.

I guess if you want some coaching I could be for hire. If you are saying you want to rub my face in the mat, don't take any pride in being able to do it. It ain't much of an accomplishment. I'm as weak as a 3 day-old kitten and as coordinated as a new-born giraffe.
Glad I could help you with this computer stuff that has been stuck in your craw. Problem solved. Should be the end of this far-too-long and unnecessary thread. 

Quote from: dad 2 5 on May 28, 2014, 05:15:02 PM
So here is my challenge to all of us.


For every non wrestling post we put up we put up a post that has something to do with wrestling!

Any takers?

I like this. Too easy to forget the ties that bind us. That tie sure ain't suit and tie, panzy politicians.

Quote from: Greco on May 29, 2014, 06:03:59 PM

Quote from: npope on May 29, 2014, 04:29:56 PM
I don't know, guys. I am a regular on this site - visit it about four times a day and been at it for about 10 years. I didn't even know a "New Posts" option existed. I go to a limited number of specific sub-forums to see what's new or what has been posted. If I'm interested, I read further and/or respond. I am completely indifferent as to whether a given sub-forum, e.g. Misc., is exploding with banter; if the general topics aren't my cup of tea I simply don't "check in."

The forum is nicely compartmentalized as it is. Don't go to a sub-forum if you aren't interested in the general content. And if you are dismayed at the ratio of posting, then post more in your chosen area of interest. It should matter to you that there are a zillion cat fights going on in the Misc. sub-forum, let them bicker among themselves. If you want more substantive wrestling stuff, then post it, darn it. I think we would all appreciate more wrestling content/comments being posted.

I understand. My dad still hasn't figured out that he could be texting with his phone.

Say what?! You can text with your phone??!!

About 4 years ago, Tom allowed political debate.

The participation in the wrestling section hasn't changed one iota in the 10 years I've been around this site. There is more participation in the non-wrestling. But if there wasn't a soap opera to follow, most would check back once a week and when someone asked for help, who was there to help. We all were, for the kid doing the project and for a friend of Jags in need.

Unless it's sewing, or them little fish that eat the dead skin off your feet, in the skineatin'fishtankspah (I think that's Dutch ;)), I like talking about it. Can always learn; even from hard-headed rasslers. I even liked your take, Greco, even in, GULP!, political endeavors.

I will not talk: sewing nor them fish!

Deal?!

Honestly, there's no better forum moment than when we see a throw like one I remember from the Cheese and a young buck from Ells. and share that collective pride of seeing a wrestler go at it the way we could , or we wish we could. A nice debate about this or that call. Unreal we can rewind and watch each call and many will often still differ from the one person that's almost always right  :D. Course we all know who that is? :D :D

Wish I could go this weekend. Monumental. My son is not a wrestler. Track, CC guy who needs fishing time. Last weekend was great. This will be big or suck. Either way, I'll be glad spending quality time here or trying to catch the team trials.

A person who keep multipical screen names and acts as if those we can't tell...has a real pronlem...that'd all I got to say about that

Not a prayer someone does not check the wrestling forum because of miscellaneous chat. Wrestling is an obsession. If someone leaves because they looked in miscellaneous chat, and didn't like what they saw. they wouldn't do to well on many of the wrestling threads ether. Opinions are everywhere. Read this thread. Seems to be a total waste of time worrying about what others post about. You do realize that everyone who posts on the "misc" stuff also reads the wrestling stuff?...right?

Quote from: wraslfan on May 31, 2014, 07:23:33 AM
Not a prayer someone does not check the wrestling forum because of miscellaneous chat. Wrestling is an obsession. If someone leaves because they looked in miscellaneous chat, and didn't like what they saw. they wouldn't do to well on many of the wrestling threads ether. Opinions are everywhere. Read this thread. Seems to be a total waste of time worrying about what others post about. You do realize that everyone who posts on the "misc" stuff also reads the wrestling stuff?...right?

+1

Quote from: maggie on May 31, 2014, 04:42:31 AM
A person who keep multipical screen names and acts as if those we can't tell...has a real pronlem...that'd all I got to say about that

100% agree!!!!!

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 11:02:06 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 10:43:30 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 10:27:24 AM

Quote from: imnofish on May 29, 2014, 09:00:45 AM

Quote from: silent_but_deadly on May 29, 2014, 07:55:15 AM
I would suspect less than 5% of Wisconsin's wrestling community visits the forum (and that is a generous estimate).  Much less % of people even post on the forum.  The next wrestling event you visit, ask around if people are even familiar with the forum and if they are why they don't participate?  Few even know it exists, while those that do are turned off by the bickering and silly arguments.  

You see the same small handful of people posting daily and visiting their computers repeatedly throughout the day.  Some just looking for the opportunity to find fault with someone who previously argued with them in a previous post.  For many of these daily posters it is an addiction.  You have people trying to justify this obsessive behavior, but just imagine--they are on here several times a day reading and posting--throughout their work day, before work, after work, during family time--it's silly and does nothing to promote Wisconsin wrestling.  And there is some people who use this forum exclusively for advertising their business or to promote their own self interest (preseason nationals, Askren, etc.)

Yes, the rest of us can move on and not read this stuff.  But what these small percentage of posters don't realize is their posting addiction has driven away most of the Wisconsin wrestling community from the forum.  Don't believe me, ask around and see what responses you get--I have...

There is a reason that when you look at other state's forums they have more people participating online.

No offense, but I doubt that the actual statistics support your perspective on this.  I consistently see many visitors online and their views of topics (including non-wrestling) appear to far outpace what posters/members can generate.  BTW, when you are visiting other states' sites, do you post?  Also, how do their general populations compare to Wisconsin's?  Have you comparatively extrapolated that to determine per-capita participation rates?  

To answer your question, I do read other state's forums more than our own and yes I have on occasion posted there as well.  

Let me provide an example to further illustrate my perspective as to why the Wisconsin wrestling community is not using this forum:

MN vs WI Forum
Both MN and WI had the same number of kids quality for schoolboy duals coming up next week.  Same amount of wrestlers, same amount of parents and same amount of coaches from each state.  Also keep in mind we have a slightly larger population than MN....but....

MN:  On 5/21 @ 1:23 PM someone in their state posted on their forum a question about schoolboy duals.  As of right now they have had 600 page views with 7 replies.
WI:  On 5/22 @ 10:48 AM someone in our state posted a question in our forum about schoolboy duals.  As of right now we have had only 105 page views with 0 replies.  

I'm no rocket scientist but that seems to be a bit of a clue that the MN forum has a lot more wrestling activity than ours does.  Why does MN have more people interested in their wrestling forum than here in WI?

IL vs WI Forum

Yes we have about 5.7 mil and IL has about 12.9 mil.  But take a look at these numbers.

WI:  In the kids forum in the past 30 days we have had 5 topics posted.
IL:  In their kids forum in the past 30 days they have had 38 topics posted.

IA vs WI Forum


The great state of Iowa has 3.1 mil population (just over half the size of WI) yet...

WI:  5 posts in kids topics for past 30 days
IA:  32 posts in kids topics for past 30 days

If a change isn't made soon, that is the future of our high school forums.  People will go elsewhere unless a change is made.

imnofish - I just saw that you posted in another topic that you no longer have kids wrestling nor have you coached for over 15 years.  It would appear you aren't as involved in the sport as much as of the rest of us so I'd suspect you perhaps don't go to as many events as some of us?  Here's what I can tell you--few people know of this forum and those that do complain about it frequently because of the non-wrestling topics and petty childish bickering that a few dozen people engage in on a daily basis.

Your statistics show that fewer people follow wrestling in Wisconsin, but provide no hard statistical evidence that non-wrestling topics are a significant causative agent in that trend.  The stats on this particular thread apparently support my assertion.  If you feel that more wrestling-specific discussion is the key to increasing site participation and contentious bickering is counterproductive, wouldn't it make more sense for you to start (and participate in) more wrestling threads, rather than attacking a segment of the membership here?  Is this thread promoting bickering, or discussion of wrestling?

I had to chuckle a bit.  These stats do not show that fewer people are interested or follow wrestling in Wisconsin.  It would appear you have been out of Wisconsin wrestling for a long time.  If you want me to show you those stats show you those as well--I'd suspect Wisconsin has some of the highest participation numbers in out of state tournaments than most states!  The numbers I provided above show few people participate in this forum.  For you to say few people post on the forum shows Wisconsin has fewer people interested int he sport is silly and proves one thing--stubbornness.  To say that you feel fewer people in Wisconsin follow wrestling is silly, especially when you look at the participation at the BIG10 and Wisconsin has been chosen for the World Team Trials.  It also looks like WI will be hosting other national events next year as well.  Have you seen how many high schoolers we currently have participating in Freestyle/Greco right now?  It's incredible!

You mentioned why don't I try to help the forum instead of attaching a segment of the membership.  That's the problem.  No one is attacking you.  No one is attacking your opinions or views.  We would love to hear  your thoughts on wrestling because this is a wrestling forum.  What we are all tired of is the non-wrestling topics.  Look around (I have) other states don't do that.  You said before that you really enjoy this forum because it's a one stop shopping place for all your interests.  You are concerned about your own interest and that is more important to you than Wisconsin wrestling.  You are NOT concerned about the interest of others.  I'm concerned about getting more people on the forum thus helping the sport of wrestling.

More participation on the forum equals more participation at tournaments, more interest in camps and clinics, more attendance at events such as this weekend's trials in Madison.  Unless anyone is living in their own private hole in the ground you would know people have been complaining about the non-wrestling topics on this forum for a long time to the point some won't come on here.  People even take the time to complain on the forum itself about the bickering and non-wrestling topics.  The responses some of you give is like trying to preach to a group of drug addicts--"if you don't like what we do, go away".  It's silly.  The non-wrestling topics are not helping grow the sport here in the state of Wisconsin!  Don't believe me--go visit any tournament and ask if they even know that the forum is (most coaches don't promote it) and if they do ask them why they don't visit it--the answer is always the same.

Tom...I'm guessing you created this website a long time ago out of love for the sport.  I think it's time to re-evaluate if the non-wrestling topics is helping our sport and increasing participation or not.  I don't think the numbers lie.  

No one else has rung you up on this so I will... Are you seriously, on a wrestling forum viewed by some of the state'sand nation's best wrestlers, suggesting that a better, more sport specific forum will get better overall wrestling results?

Well no wonder op grappler is so mad at Barry. All Barry has to do to compete with Iowa or the gophers is to force tom into making a better forum! Man, I wish I would have thought about that. Here's a suggestion, dedicate your time, start your own forum, moderate it so it doesn't dilute down to the trash levels so common In the national forums, and make the product you are looking for. My capitalist friends, howavi, dale, etc, would back up the idea that if you don't like it, build a better mouse trap.
By the way, the next time you want to be so condescending as to copy and paste options for the forum creator to use and create the forum, remember that he is a hall of famer, has dedicated his free and not so free time to this site, and is our friend. I don't know you but I know tom, and I bet he has done more for wrestling and promotion of wrestling in this state than you.
Sorry for the rant, I just couldn't take it any more.

+1000.

Ask Ben about what WI had for a forum a few years before this?

Great post, Stripes!   8)

That was funny/true.

Well put....

Quote from: bigG on May 29, 2014, 08:34:01 PM

Honestly, there's no better forum moment than when we see a throw like one I remember from the Cheese and a young buck from Ells. and share that collective pride of seeing a wrestler go at it the way we could , or we wish we could. A nice debate about this or that call. Unreal we can rewind and watch each call and many will often still differ from the one person that's almost always right  :D. Course we all know who that is? :D :D

My son got an autograph from that nice young buck from Ellsworth last night! You should have seen the look in my sons eyes when I introduced my son to that young buck from Ellsworth!!!!! and to get a t-shirt with his autograph........was something ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I think many know that I post alot and do in various areas with a stronge suit to the political end of it.

If you dont like it, then dont read it just like TV, newspapers, radio stations and so on.

Who cares?? I dont go into other areas that I do NOT have a tie with.

Each to their own.