Wrestling only forum, anyone?

[silent_but_deadly]

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.  

[imnofish]

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. 

[silent_but_deadly]

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.

[jaguarwrestler]

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.

[silent_but_deadly]

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.

[imnofish]

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.

[jaguarwrestler]

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.

[silent_but_deadly]

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? 

[jaguarwrestler]

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.

[Greco]

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

[jaguarwrestler]

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.

[npope]

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.

[Handles II]

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.

[dad 2 5]

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

[Greco]

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.