Matt

Honestly, this sounds hilarious but I don't recall seeing it (which isn't entirely surprising since I'm not poking around every day). What's disappointing is that on a good number of those users we broke our own '3 Strikes' guideline in trying to keep things in line because some of them I considered valuable members. But continually violating the rules of the forum can't be ignored in the end. There were plenty of warnings and a monstrous amount of discussion among the moderators before decisions were made. 'Creepy' is the last word I'd use to describe that. And it's not about keeping the discourse on here "respectful" -- you can get heated, get animated... That's fine. But at least do so with some tact. Being an "adult man or woman" is a plainly ignorant way of putting it -- the moderators and myself have years upon years doing this job. Removing a 'page' from a thread isn't some huge deal -- 99% of the time it's because the topic at hand was derailed, quoted comments of something that had to be removed followed, etc., etc.. These aren't "yeah, I think that post sucked"-type removals. That doesn't happen. I have a feeling that some of you don't see the forest for the trees in the respect that your off-topic banter or derailment of threads makes it more difficult for casual (or new) visitors to follow along or try to jump into a topic mid-thread. I don't want the site to be clique-ish where potential new members are turned off from joining because they don't feel a part of the club. In small doses I have absolutely no problem with it, but when it starts to dominate a thread it either 1) needs to get dialed back, or 2) the thread needs to get split or a new one started. You're not being oppressed. Using the bar scenario, I would look at the off-topic derailment of someone jumping into a group conversation (where the discussion topic was already established) and trying to talk over everyone or change the subject. Now, some of your other concerns (the "this topic has been discussed at length...", "... this topic again!...") I do share on occasion. Sometimes the idea of 'mega-threads' or bumping old topics from a couple pages down to merge with a new post (on the same topic) isn't the best -- particularly if there has been a significant change from the time the original thread was started, etc... Every time Jimmy Howard has a bad stretch in net doesn't mean we need to bump a 3-year old "Howard is Average" thread to continue the discourse. The main intention with the duplicate thread remove/merge was to fix situations where there would be five "HOWARD SUCKS", "Howard is the Second Coming of Our Lord and Savior" or "Howard ________" on the main page. _____ I do want to add: I love discussing things like this. There's no reason for people to get hot and bothered and keep things pent up when we can just talk about it. You guys can air your thoughts and concerns, and the moderators and I can explain the other side of the coin and see what we can do together to continually improve things.

To each his own, but I don't recall seeing suggestions other than different screen resolution requests. It's not difficult to throw a red tint on a wood texture and just slap logos/times/tv on and call it a wallpaper. I prefer add more detail, additional time, etc., into these as I have done for well over a decade. That's all. As for everyone else: As long as they're the 16:10 and 16:9 aspect ratio re-sizing them is fine. What I may end up doing is the high-resolution version of each ratio, then allow your PCs/Macs to scale them down to fit.

Ha! I wasn't sure if there was a big demand for these anymore. It is getting a bit harder to produce them in a wide variety of screen resolutions, so if I go ahead with them I may trim them down. Now I could use Analytics data to get an idea on the general needs, but what resolution(s) do you guys primarily use?

I'll get these two out of the way first... This never happened. I checked, because getting a PM that puts a $ figure on the management decisions made on this site is a monstrous slap in the face and something I would've absolutely remembered if it, you know -- actually happened. There is no single faster way to get yourself perma-banned on this site (other than being a 1st-post blatant troll) than directly insulting the moderators on here. It's surprising how many people feel a persecution complex and think it's a personal vendetta when they have a posted edited/deleted. Now, this may sound harsh: You're not that important. Really. ___________ Now that that's out of the way... Moderating is an absolutely thankless job. It has been stated continuously that you simply cannot keep everyone happy. It's an accepted fact. What Harold, vladdy, MB, Jedi et al have stated is absolutely true. Every thread that gets removed, every post, gets moved to a special sub-forum within the moderator forum. It's all there. There's discussion on how to handle certain situations that come up if disciplining a member might be required. They volunteer their free time to help keep the ship righted. I'm immeasurably indebted to them for doing so. I've also stated repeatedly that I have absolutely no problem with dissenting opinions on this site -- it is what makes for a diverse community. Let's face it, no one wants to have the forum turn into one giant circlejerk where everyone agrees with each other and it's all lollipops and ponies. Now this may come as a surprise, but: I do reply to PMs. Yes, I'm incredibly busy day-to-day, but I do make time and I do get notified. Now, if you have a concern about the moderating or another poster, just let me know. Be an adult about it, and I reciprocate. "THANKS FOR THE POLICE STATE!!1!" PMs will be summarily ignored (you know who you are). It is very rare I get PMs relating to something like this at all. I'm not the boogieman. I have reversed moderating decisions. Now, it doesn't happen often, but it does. You know how that dialog gets started? PM me. Moderators make mistakes. I make mistakes. We're not above rectifying them. I do want your feedback! There are good reasons that this site has been around for over 18 years now -- this baby is already heading off to college. It's been built upon that sense of community, of taking care to listen to the suggestions and concerns that the members here share, and by a fantastic moderating crew. The last thing I'd want this site to become is over-moderated. I'd love it if the site didn't even need any. Anyone that knows me on here knows I'm all for no curse filter, some good animated banter that doesn't get personal, etc.. But I don't want comment spam. I don't want flame wars. I don't want cursing just for the sake of it. I'd like to think of this place as a virtual sports bar, with each of you pulled up on your own stool, with a cold beer in your hand and a hearty rant about the values of CORSI and Jimmy Howard's SV% on Saturday afternoon games during Leap Years when Mike Emrick is calling the game and Babcock is wearing his McGill tie at the tips of your fingers. Don't take it too seriously, and enjoy it in a manner that contributes to make the site better for everyone. Is that too much to ask?

Invites have been sent out to the remaining openings. If those invites are not accepted within the next couple of days they will be offered to those still looking for a spot!

Sign Up is CLOSED for the 8th Annual LGW.com Fantasy Hockey Buy-In Challenge! It's registration time for the 8th Annual LetsGoWings.com Fantasy Hockey Buy-In Challenge as we get ready to tackle the 2014-15 NHL season! This is a 12-team, head-to-head league hosted by Yahoo. Scoring and draft information is below: Cost: $25/team Draft: Sunday, October 5th @ 6:00pm ET Starting Positions: 2 Center, 2 LW, 2 RW, 4 D, 1 Util, 2 G (6 Bench, 1 IR) Scoring Categories: G, A, PTS, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, GWG, W, GAA, SV%, SHO Prizes: 1st Place = $175, 2nd Place = $90, 3rd Place = $35 ___________________________________________________________________________ Interested in Joining? All spots are currently spoken for. However, if you requested an invite and didn't receive one you are on the short list for replacements for anyone that must back out between now and the live draft. We currently have four spots left unclaimed from last year's competitive season. If you're interested in joining, PM me here and use the subject line to indicate that you're interested in the BUY-IN league. Invitations are handed out on a first come, first serve basis. Payment information for the $25 team fee will be included with your invitation through the PM system here on LGW. If you get an invitations please submit the $25 payment as soon as you can as it is the ONLY way to 100% lock in your team for this season. All team fees must be paid in full no later than Tuesday, September 30th. While attendance is not required for the live draft on Sunday, October 5th (@ 6:00pm ET) Live Draft, it may be in the best interests of your wallet to do so! (Or at least pre-rank your players.) If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Team availability will be updated as the remaining spots are filled.

First batch of invites have been sent. 2 spots remaining!

All 12 teams have been spoken for. Good luck to those participating this year!

Sign Up is CLOSED for the FREE LGW.com Fantasy Hockey League! It's registration time for the free LetsGoWings.com Fantasy Hockey League as we get ready to tackle the 2014-15 NHL season! This is a 12-team, head-to-head league hosted by Yahoo. Scoring and draft information is below: Draft: Saturday, October 4th @ 6:00pm ET Starting Positions: 2 Center, 2 LW, 2 RW, 4 D, 1 Util, 2 G (6 Bench, 1 IR) Scoring Categories: G, A, PTS, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, GWG, W, GAA, SV%, SHO ___________________________________________________________________________ Interested in Joining? We currently have just two spots currently left unclaimed from last year's competitive season. If you're interested in joining, PM me here and use the subject line to indicate that you're interested in the FREE league. Invitations are handed out on a first come, first serve basis and these spots will be filled very quickly. Attendance is REQUIRED for the Saturday, October 4th (@ 6:00pm ET) LIVE DRAFT. If you cannot make the draft, do not request an invitation! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! Team availability will be updated as the remaining spots are filled.

In most, if not all, of these instances the duplicate threads are merged, with the one that was started first keeping the topic title (this is by default).

I love the Fitbit, actually. It's the primary reason this has worked so well. I'm down 42 pounds now, and getting close to the goal -- want to hit the gym and build up muscle mass as the weather starts to cool. (That and adding equipment in the basement.) The Fitbit + syncing with MyFitnessPal (watch calorie intake) and MapMyFitness is FANTASTIC. Can't recommend it enough. Has made this process tremendously easy.

I traded in my old 360 and a ton of games and turned it into a PS4. So I'm on both now: Xbox Live: Original6Shootr (yes, no 'e' due to 15-character limit) PS+: Original6Shooter Feel free to add me! My PS+ friends list is bare. (Only have "The Last of Us: Remastered" so far in the games library for it.) The One is definitely my primary console and I'll be getting NFL15, Halo: MCC, Destiny, GTAV, etc., etc., when they release...

Relax, fellas. You're not in a police state. A few years ago there was a rampant problem with overly gratuitous cursing on the forums (particularly in the GDTs, where scores of entire posts would be made up of nothing but f-bombs and such). The community was warned that if such behavior continued that a curse filter would be enabled. This curse filter is just a huge word blacklist that was loaded into the database -- it wasn't something that myself or one of the moderators simply added one by one, manually. That said, the behavior continued, it grew tiresome to continually delete/edit posts that were going over the line -- and the curse filter was enabled. I hate the fact we have to have a curse filter here. It annoys me to no end. But if the community can't handle that maturely then it's here to stay. "Dick" was an unfortunate victim of blacklist collateral damage. You should be happy to see your dicks have henceforth been freed. Enjoy.

Never posted in here before, but decided to stop with the excuses and get healthier back in late April. Bought a Fitbit and have been committed day-in and day-out since. Down almost 30lbs so far and averaging over 5 miles per day. Upping that over the summer to 7-10mi/day as long as the legs can take it. (So far, so good!) I had the "I work too much" and "too hard with the kids" excuses for the longest time. Changed that by getting up prior to dawn in the spring and getting in 5 miles before work. If the evening schedule works out, it's 4-5 more miles.

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3/Air: 2048x2048 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

No.

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3/Air: 2048x2048 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

A final reminder: Keep the banter civil, everyone, and within the forum rules. There have already been more than enough flame wars edited out of this thread, the next one will result in suspensions for all involved. If you're not sure your post is acceptable then don't bother posting it. Keep the forums a place inviting for all nationalities. The mods, and I, are indiscriminate when it comes to enforcing the forum rules. Implying that your place of citizenship has any bearing on how discipline is handed out is a quick way to make sure you're the first one to get reprimanded. As you (civilly) were.

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Widescreen: 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1600x900 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 | 1280x800 iPad/iPad2: 1024x1024 iPad3: 2048x2048 iPhone 4/4S*: 640x960 iPhone 5/5S*: 640x1136 Android: 480x800 (*For iOS mobile displays you'll likely have to disable the "moving" background image so the wallpaper displays correctly.) Enjoy!

Just to clarify this: the winning 50/50 ticket for the Winter Classic is worth $45,416 and still has not yet been claimed.