What the hell were you thinking...

[apaladino]

Just like Amanda Braun screwed up, the admins of this board screwed up... What were you thinking? People's feelings were hurt so you locked everyone out? I am calling for you admins to resign your position. You pulled an Amanda Braun and drove this board into the ground. I guess I will go to PantherU.com just like the rest.....

[gman2]

Farewell. I came here during the 16 to express my love for UWM and UWM athletic. Now, like many I have moved on to PantherU. Farewell. It has been a great 11 plus years for me. One final thought. Though I wasn't the biggest Jeter fan and supporter, I will say that Amanda Braun handled this so poorly that I have no faith in her to lead UWM athletics. She has to go.

[buppie05]

A ghost admin now shuts down a message board for days? How deep does this Amanda Braun thing go? Is she illuminati or something? We've been able to discuss firing Jeter for years without interruption (and I was usually on the fire Jeter side) but now all of a sudden a line has been crossed? i guess I'll check out PantherU

[pnthr97]

Awww, poor "admin." Did someone hurt your feelings?

Seriously, shutting down the board was bullsh*t. Nothing like censorship. If people can't take disagreement in a public forum, that is a reflection of them and they should just stop reading and stop posting.

Admin, while you're at it, just delete my profile. No need for me to come back here after knowing open thought is not just discouraged, but banned.

Classless and pathetic.

[73withharoldlee]

I actually missed the discussions even though I did think things were getting out of hand. I began to wonder when posters were going to move on. Braun is not going to be fired. A new coach will be named and the program will not fall apart. I was always hoping that discussions would revolve around a new coach. That however seemed to lead to more discussion about the incompetence of the AD. Committees can hire a coach, firms can do the search based upon salaries, experience, and desires of the applicants. Everyone knows who is ready at the assistant d1 level. D2 and D3 head coaches can be googled easy enough as their success is self evident. Do we want a guy from Mississippi with a drawl like Charlie Parsley? Probably not. Finally I used this alone time to look at other Pro Boards. They are not that much different. Everyone seems to think their programs are falling apart. It seems the HL is going small. Every teams recruits were generally small and thin. Wright States firing of Donlon created a yawn. Now after watching this guy coach the last few years I felt incredulous. Thought he was on of best coaches in the HL. Great game coach. Keep Calm and Drink Wine!

[theDarkHawkReturns]

So, we have a "discussion board" where "discussion" is only allowed if the shadow admin (a person who is nameless and faceless) deems the discussion to be a) worthy and b) not critical of the program or of the administration?

From the admin post on why the site was down, there is this gem: "Posts here are a reflection on the university and athletic programs we all love so much. Yes, you are a reflection on the university."

Ummm...no they are not, and no we are not.  Comments here are a reflection of the opinion of private individuals, and in no way reflect anything other than that person's opinion. To state otherwise misses the point of a PRIVATELY run FAN forum. That statement by the admin is frankly absurd.

Are we similarly going to discover that we are not allowed to boo at games as well, because it hurts the feelings of some in the administration?

Some other gems from admin:

"You’ll see some threads have been locked or deleted, and some posts have gone missing. We need to bring civility back to the board, no matter which side of the issue at hand you fall on." - Well, since all the threads started after March 8th are locked, I guess that means that only threads that have no criticism of the AD are considered "civil".

A thread I started that asked for answers to very relevant, substantive questions dealing with the specific responsibilities of the Athletic Director has been locked.  There was no reference to the firing, or alleged actions she has taken.  There were only real, serious questions, no name calling, and not even calls for her termination.

Yet this thread has been locked like all the others.  So is my take away that even asking substantive questions about the performance of Amanda Braun is now considered to be uncivil, and not allowed as a topic of discussion?  

Again, from the admin's post "This is not the place to bash players, coaches, or the administration."

I guess that all the calls for firing Jeter on this board - For many years now - were not bashing of the coaches.  That was "civil discourse".  But calling for the firing of the AD for 1 week is uncivil and cannot be tolerated.  Good to know.  I guess we all must tow the line for the AD, whoever that is, and never demand change at THAT level.  Coaches, though, are open season.

Finally, there is this gem from admin:  "This board, while not previously moderated very strictly, will not tolerate violations of the guidelines outlined above going forward. Posts/threads violating these guidelines will removed, and posters will be warned and potentially removed from the forum."

Ladies and gentlemen, witness the new definition of "discussion".  This is now a safe space where dissent, criticism, or free thought WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

I fully expect to soon be "warned" by the admin for this post, and subsequently banned because I refuse to allow a nameless, faceless party to control the conversation and censor people's expression....and I would feel this way regardless of who the AD is.

[gaseousclay]

This is awesome.  Total meltdown by the university and now total meltdown by this board to the point they are shutting down conversation.

Couldn't happen to a better fan base.....all 14 of them.

[uwm97]

I guess that means you're part of an exclusive club.

[PantherNation]

MU fans only troll this board when one of two things happen: 1) Milwaukee has a better team or 2) Their dicks are still hard from the Badgers losing.

Obviously the post above was prompted by both. Hope you enjoy being in the bottom of the "Big East" for many years to come. Or are you guys in the SWAC now? Can't tell by your schedule.

Our athletics problems will eventually be fixed and all will be OK. But unfortunately for you... you'll always be a Marquette douche with nothing better to do during the postseason than go on other teams' messageboards. And that is sadder than the current state of our athletic department.

[PantherU]

Gaseous Clay = Admin? LOL

[Pounce Needs Pals]

Easy Barry, don't have few trolls, labeling as everyone.

[GoPanthers33]

The threads should be unlocked.

Many of them have no reason to be locked whatsoever.

[thepantherfan]

Have the board's servers been moved to North Korea?

The "admin's" actions remind me of the old Henry Ford quote [paraphrasing] "the customer can have any color they want, as long as it's black".

I've been a member of this board for 10 years, and I've abstained from the engaging in the latest conversation because, frankly, I had no value to add. But the spirit of these boards is to give everyone a venue for their oponion, good or bad. Apparently the admin believes that they own your opinion, because contrary to their "Welcome Back" post, this has nothing to do with civility (or this board would have experienced frequent "maintenance" over the last decade) but everything to do with censoring posts and shaping the narrative that fits the admins agenda. It doesn't take a detective to see the common theme of wich threads were locked and posts removed. Posts that are otherwise devoid of personal attacks or offensive language are being jettisoned at the sole discretion of the admin. How is this acceptable!?!?

[DunneDeal]

Whoever the admin of this board is. If you know me, I'd like to talk to you just straight up, voice a civil opinion.

What you did was wrong, nothing got out of hand, and there is thread locking, not shutting the whole thing down. Just sad that, because you wield some power you decide to dictate the discussion.

[Deleted]

Yes, we all have better things to do than read a college hoops message board. But what the heck was your "blackout" all about? That was incredibly weird (trust me- I KNOW weird) and reeks of being (subconsciously/unofficially/figuratively) in bed with the AD.

I posted on here ~3/4 years ago, when our team was going through some rough seas, and I was in a very dark place and looking to lash out (alcohol addiction is a helluva a thing-- stop now and don't look back if you or someone you know has a problem; you/they will thank me in a couple years). I disparaged players, coaches, fans, called Jimmy a 2 bit hustler- I called out pretty much everyone. Curse words galore. And I continued. And the board laughed. I never received any DM telling me to "moderate" my behavior. If all of that was "just peachy" with you- What the hell are you moderating?

There is no excuse that meshes with the explanation given other than..... "Nooooo!!!! We can't have people criticizing the Athletic Director!". That is just fricking sad. When you are in a position like hers you don't get a "free pass" from criticism- esp. after treating student-athletes like "entitled/whiny"() slave laborers who don't mean sh%% to you. You do your job in such a way to deflect or avoid criticism. The AD brought all of this upon herself.

I read almost every message on here. Did I completely miss the posts where people were threatening lives and wives and brandishing digital knives? Or.... are you just trying to protect someone from very (over)due criticism. I hope that BlakPantherMKE can successfully migrate everyone off of here-- AWAY from these sanctimonious blackguards-- and onto a new and improved forum. too bad so sad for whomever is collecting all those Ad dollars from this site... I know I am not alone in being sick and tired of "mod gods" telling pissed-off, confused and mourning Panther fans how to behave and support or talk about their team. Because... if we are not towing the Braun line.... We are not real Panther fans?

This entire ordeal has been a huge disappointment and has exposed the people who run this board to be.... exactly the kind of folks I thought they were. Uncivil? Umm.... Yeah. Where? That is what I thought.I get the message loud and clear: GET LOST. Got it.

Now- quick(!), delete this post before any other fans start to (gasp) think for themselves and voice their opinion! And move on to a freer discussion that isn't mingled with AD memos and "digital propagandists". I seriously feel like our Freedom of Speech was just trampled.... I've been on a zillion message boards and never seen such a weird turn of event. It is quite obvious that the AD is so happy with how you tow the line! So, at least you have that going for you. The letters to the editor in today's JS Sports section echo just how amazing this "gift from Geiger" has been to us and our basketball program. This is NOT going away simply because you pull the plug on a discussion board or threaten people's right to speak.

Now, carry on. Delete my profile. What the heck ever. Stop living in 2003. I just really hope that a new, much better discussion forum emerges over @ PantherU.com. That site has more Panther Pride in 2 paragraphs of a random article on women's soccer- than this entire site has in all 5 million posts- excepting the posts of the founder off PantherU and a few other great contributors that have been on here. Did Nighthawk really scare the Mods that bad? Geez. Grow up, grow a pair and save the propaganda for North Korea- I hear they are hiring 3rd party co.'s to develop advanced "controlled messaging" systems... Bingo! The uwmfreak site mods get the job on spot.

Later on.

GO PANTHERS!!!!