http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl...4-19742,00.html

I'm hopping mad at Mark Robinson's sensationalist article in today's Herald Sun - Players cop a blogging.

It seems to me that he hasn't read most blogs very carefully at all. Most certainly there is some negative comment about players on all fansites but I doubt whether this journalist took the time to check with the people who run these blogs as to the lengths we go to in order to ensure that our message boards are well moderated, always remembering that we live in a democracy and people do have a right to their opinions.

I doubt whether he is aware of the contributions we make to the club - for instance on Monday night we had a successful evening with Clint Bartram as part of the Demonland/Demonolgy Sponsorship which over the years has raised several thousands of dollars for the club.

I think that by and large we are more supportive of our club and its players than are some of the hyenas in the media and it might be time for Robinson to read some of the stuff that he sometimes writes about footballers before he mouths off at the fan sites.

I agree completely Jack.

Yes we bag the players and some tend to concentrate their efforts on one particular person (who could i possibly be talking about?) but we have passion for the club, we are not in the best of positions this year, as was the case with last year, and we need to vent our anger at the club we love so much.

I wonder if he read the David Neitz thread on this board? Then he would see why these boards exsist!

I agree completely Jack.

Yes we bag the players and some tend to concentrate their efforts on one particular person (who could i possibly be talking about?) but we have passion for the club, we are not in the best of positions this year, as was the case with last year, and we need to vent our anger at the club we love so much.

I wonder if he read the David Neitz thread on this board? Then he would see why these boards exsist!

I hear what you are saying and there is a lot of good stuff here - by the same token a lot of what is written would do a players head in and that is what he is trying to say.

"You've got to understand the ego of players and fragility comes with that as well."

This comment says alot about the players really, and it's not positive.

It's what makes moderating a forum like this hard. Ultimately we all want the one thing -- success for our footy team. We're well within our rights to voice our opinions and share our thoughts with one another, it's what makes forums fun. I do understand what an impact this can have on the players as individuals, and it has had very real consequences in the past. It's why I'll happily let posters go hell for leather against each other all day long (and sometimes engage in it myself), but I will not stand for undue heavily personal criticism against players or staff. Yes, free speech and all that, but in my opinion far too many forum members (and I'm talking about forums in general, not Demonland specifically) take on the right to post without taking on the responsibility that comes with it.

It's a pretty tricky issue and it's one where the line is often very grey.

I often think that some of the posts that blow copious amounts of smoke up the players' behinds are just as unconstructive as the negative ones too.

Spot on Nasher, all we want is for the club to do well. Voiceing our opinions is our way of feeling like we are helping.

It's what makes moderating a forum like this hard...

It's a difficult issue and sometimes the lines get blurred, I'll give Cameron Bruce and Adem Yze as an example. We've all seen the miltitude of negative threads and posts towards these guys, mostly they're content like 'can't kick' or other such critiques, but often they transcend down to another level with accusations of softness and alike. This type of insult could definitely be taken as a slur against their character. Where to draw the line is the question, because one day an internet forum will be the cause of some sort of legal action taking place.

Generally the 'mood' of a forum is generated by the mods. If mods are abrasive and aggresive then the posters will respond in kind - I'll give bigfooty as an example. There was a mod there by the name of Porthous who definitely fitted into that category. He was a mod in the Port Adelaide forum but his signature carried the mod title.

Often he'd be seen having one on one very personal and insulting arguments with others on the main board, now other posters would witness this and think that because a mod is undertaking in this behavoir then that is the acceptable level to post at, which really isn't unreasonable. This standard of posting eventually gets directed at the players.

If the mods behave responsibly in the first place then policing attitudes is a much easier task, and I know from personan experience because I've been one before.

Yeah it's a tough situation. I'm not against Robinson writing it though, as it most likely is an issue for many footballers who have a lot of time on their hands and probably do check the boards seeking "feedback."

I think this forum, without doing much searching around others it must be said, is one of the better ones as some other forums i've seen have no structure, and seem overly critical all the time.

Robbo should to writing about Essendon like he does every second day. Hello it's the AFL not the EFL. Cry over this blog you bald fat sook.

I blame Joeboy and his three word analysis for all this

So are players banned from reading the papers when players get questioned or watching tv ?

Will they stop appearing on the footy show?

Clubs cant have it both ways, accept adulation and reject 'legitimate"(personal slurs etc are not on) criticism.

Does the ban expand to presidents? I know one president who reads and responds on these fan web sites .

"You've got to understand the ego of players and fragility comes with that as well."

This comment says alot about the players really, and it's not positive.

I had a bit of a chuckle on this one.. I mean...the poor diddums !! Hard done by lot that they are.. struggling to make ends meet on only a couple hundred thou a year. Tough!!

Oh precious precous little ones !! give me a break !! lol

Other than the odd lash out Id say most posts reamin in the vogue of reality..and thats all it is ..a perspective on the reality that is footy. Its called a spotlight and it goes with the job. Robbo is a [censored]..what mmore can I say... but best HE doesnt read any of this or HIS fragile ego might be damaged also !! ffs!!

I'm hopping mad at Mark Robinson's sensationalist article in today's Herald Sun -

I agree with Mark Robinson Jack, and I don't see what freedom of speech has to do with it. There is a large amount of absolute rubbish written on all supporter websites. While some of it is harmless and sometimes funny as well, often there are personal attacks on players. Wanting some dropped for some reason is one thing, but chucking anonymous insults at players is stepping over the line IMO. The Bruce\Green are soft threads and posts on here are perfect examples. When Mark Robinson pots players in his articles he isn't doing it anonymously.

...and theres a lot of rubbish spoken in pubs over beers..at bbq's after a few frothies.. at the coffee machine at work..... Lots of colourful descriptions from the stadia.. FFS. Lets ban all utterances !!

Footy players need to grow a hide comensurate with their egos..and Robbo needs to take a chill!!

Talk in pubs does not become concreted into words on a public forum. I wouldn't appreciate demonstrative comments about my working capabilities in a public forum

...and theres a lot of rubbish spoken in pubs over beers..at bbq's after a few frothies.. at the coffee machine at work..... Lots of colourful descriptions from the stadia.. FFS. Lets ban all utterances !!

There's a fairly substantial difference between having a few beers with your mates and having your opinion expressed in a semi-permanent written medium such as a forum.

Yes, but players don't hear what a couple of mates say to each other in the pub. Hence why a lot of clubs stop players going onto these websites.

At least most players would have the good sense to know that most people on these sites don't know what the hell they're talking about.

we need to remember a couple of points here however. when we write and post something on this forum it is not the equivalent of having a discussion with our mates at home. it is the equivalent of publishing our views on the record, in the media.

any slurs against a person could be argued to be defamatory (others with more legal knowledge would be able to enlighten us more on this).

our biggest problem is that too many people want to have a casual chat, and vent frustrations, when a public forum is really a place for thought out and researched discussion. if you want to say someone is soft, you need to back up specific examples. and there is a difference between saying 'doesnt always go hard at the footy' or saying 'hes an f*n weak dog, shouldnt be near a football field.' as much as we feel like saying it when we've had a horrible day at the g, we cant, what we are saying is on the public record.

Talk in pubs does not become concreted into words on a public forum. I wouldn't appreciate demonstrative comments about my working capabilities in a public forum

I'm betting you don't work in a public arena or get paid the same as footballers do.

Copping negative feedback is part of being a footballer, if they can't hack a few comments from internet heroes then maybe they should toughen up or find a new career.

I'm betting you don't have your name posted across public forums, copping vitriol from people who don't name themselves.

Being held accountable for being a footballer is one thing, the over the top bashing that goes on is the problem at heart here

it is all apart of football and being a player...if it affects you go see the teams physch...i think there is definately a line to draw .. football is fine but lay off on attacking a person himself.. his skill level and attributes on the field are a free for all.. if the comment is that wrong the poster will get shot down by one and all.. if the poster is right then maybe instead of dropping there heads a player might take the critism onboard and look to improve his game in that area...if indeed it is a fault...

i for one wouold love for players to be able to write back giving explainations if the feel hashly dealt with..

say you call bruce soft.. and then he replies his shoulder was stuffed and if he did but that bump on it would have popped.. well then you say fair enough.. dont want to loose him because of a bump..

the right to answer would be great..

to be honest most players seem to take it with a grain of salt anyway.. like all supporters when your losing its all bad and when your winning how good are they lol.

as far as forums there is always going to be one and like them or hate them they are here for supporters to express there opinion.. much rather do it here than a drukne brawl at the footy ..

Keeps it semi civilized

Criticism is fair so long as it's balanced, reasonable and thought out.

Some of the crap I've seen lately regarding players, Buckley and Garland as examples, has been simpy ridiculous.

And it probably comes from the same dills who scream out "play the kids, play the kids!"

The fact is, we all happily sit back here on our computers bashing away and churning out our opinons on posts like this one, armed with little more than our perception of what's going on.

No facts, no direct insight, nothing more than our view of the world, and how we see it, and most of the time people make the mistake of thinking their view on things is right.

Criticism is fair so long as it's balanced, reasonable and thought out.

Some of the crap I've seen lately regarding players, Buckley and Garland as examples, has been simpy ridiculous.

And it probably comes from the same dills who scream out "play the kids, play the kids!"

The fact is, we all happily sit back here on our computers bashing away and churning out our opinons on posts like this one, armed with little more than our perception of what's going on.

No facts, no direct insight, nothing more than our view of the world, and how we see it, and most of the time people make the mistake of thinking their view on things is right.

That's fair enough but Robbo's bagging of fansites is much more insiduous than that. What he's doing is painting us all in the same light as the idiot minority of posters on all sites who type first and think later. I don't agree that any of the fansites - particularly not this one - are anything like the picture Robinson painted in his article which makes it a bad piece of journalism.

it certainly didnt give them any credit for anything.. or even point out that it is just uninformed opinions.. surely he cnat be serious about fans wanting to talk about there club??? for good or bad... and the media start the whole mess normally with there predictions and opinions on what they think is right.. normally never having played the bloody gameIe caroline wilson.. not saying she doesnt have a clue lol but i think it helps to understand a player and his attitude and experience if you truly have played at that level..

Jon Ralph started this last week on SEN's Morning Glory and now Robbo has written this article, which has some valid points. However, it really annoys me that people like Ralph and Andrew Maher can accuse forum users as being cowardly hiding behind nicknames while potting players. They somehow think they are morally above us because they put their name out there.

There is one small point they missed, they put out their hand and take money to do it. What difference would it make if we put our real names to our posts, none of the players reading would know us anyway, say we would be no different to the faithful hanging over the fence at the game and yelling out the same(or worse) abuse.

If a journalist makes scathing attack on a player in a much larger medium such as the paper, radio or TV, does it hurt the players feelings any less that he knows the persons name making the attack?

What would be worse for Nick Stevens, having Andrew Maher accusing him of being fat and unfit on SEN, or some nobody on a Carlton forum saying the same thing?

IMO, It would be wise for players not to view many of these forums, but i think in most part if a player is attacked on these forums, he is more often than not equally defended.