Charles Fischer

Your comment is completely correct, as I am not easy to work with. Here is the reality; if you bend to what each person wants in order to have their volunteer efforts--eventually you no longer have a forum that is yours, what you intended. It becomes a mish-mash of strange rules and exceptions with a ton of ridiculous conflicts among rules that don't make sense. How do I know this? Been-there-and-done-that. In the beginning, I did not know how to manage a site/forum and volunteers and tried to please all the most important contributors of content and help. Then I got into big messes that took a ton of time and sapped my energy as I was dealing with people...and then they left anyway! So I determined to figure out what works, stick to it. There is a former corporate attorney who used to post a couple of times a day with his insights about college football, the state of the conference and even betting lines. He is a very talented writer and wrote a ton of articles for us on the FishDuck article blog as well. He is no longer with the site in any way as I would not yield to his new demands for exceptions and separate rules that benefit him, or other rules that would not apply to him. Nobody knows all the headaches I had behind the scenes, and I finally cut the cord. No exceptions, and I don't care who you are. I want low-maintenance people, as I have enough problems in my life. Keep in mind that according the ranking agency of Alexa (An Amazon Analytics company) and confirmed by Google Analytics....my FishDuck Article Blog was in the Top 1% in the World for 2020 (again) for pages read. The writers and editors will tell you that yes....I am anal about how things are done. But it works... So should I have to change what works from one of the best in the world with all-volunteers and only one article a day.....just to please someone? I would be an idiot to change what I'm doing over there. But that site is steadily declining as I am not recruiting, training and monitoring new writers. As people cycle out--they are not being replaced as I am tired of the volunteer rat-race. That might define the most what the real problem here is... The method of moderating the comments over there has been transferred to the forum; they have worked for the past three years and I see no reason to change them. I did want to apply publishing principles to some aspects of the forum--things that would not apply to members, but to moderators. But not enough people are available to cover/moderate during the day so... It's OK. I've had a good run, helped a ton of people gain skills that allowed them to get hired elsewhere, and made some great friends along the way like you. And yes...I would love to have that craft beer someday. I got a big kick out of the Media GameDay passes....

I can't do that during the weekday, as that is when most people post. But I do appreciate you thinking on our behalf for solutions...

You are very kind and I thank you. No, groups of people cannot moderate themselves. Keep in mind--back over in the comments below articles--I used to give warnings and explain our rules as they occurred. Then I switched to simply editing or removing the comment, and dealing with the offender privately by email. So you and everyone else did not/does not actually see the offending posts/comments unless you were one of the few that read it before one of us did in management. The rate of violations is quite low, but if left unchecked--they expand quickly as human nature takes over. (People become emboldened) I know people here have well-meaning thoughts, but they have not had the years of experience doing this that I've had. "Whatever you allow, you will see again." (Guaranteed) EVERYBODY messes up on occasion, that includes me as well. And in the past we fix the post, (edit or delete) and privately remind the regular, and then we forget about it and life goes on. My point is...even regulars mess up and with posts that can start WWIII if left alone. In the end...it has my name on it, and I would rather have no forum, than a cesspool. (Because within a month--that is what will happen) My thanks for your consideration.

I've been in this "volunteer" business for nine+ years, and I may have enough for one stretch, but not enough four months later. And then a year later?

The problem is the same with going to the old format of moderating comments below an article; somebody has to have the time during the day to do it. We cannot lock threads, and even with one unlocked....unless someone is watching--we have misbehavior or mistakes by members posting. I must have enough moderators and we don't...

"Intrusive" is an interesting word you choose, as it implies that the writer is given rights as-per his interpretation of what he can post, and anything different is "intrusive." By contrast....I have not been secretive...but blatant as heck; "Be polite and respectful, keep it clean and no politics." What could be misconstrued with that? And yet it happens a few times a week! An attorney told me a week ago he was leaving the forum because I deleted a line where he took a nasty shot at our own beloved "BigDucksFan" and while I left everything else he wrote--he left "because I like the rough-and-tumble of other boards." Baloney. He wanted free license to insult people. I asked him that "if you cannot make your point without belittling someone....how intellectual is that?" But in the big picture--you are right, in that it does turn a percentage away and I am fine with it. This software has a WONDERFUL function in that our moderators can "hide" a problem post so that no one can see it further and I can deal with it at night. Moderators do not have to deal with violators; I do at night. But yes...I want every post read and checked, and that is how I protect everyone from the Trolls, and from each other. WE ALL MESS UP on occasion, and both former moderators confronted me twice about posts I wrote that violated my own rules. They were right, and I deleted my posts. (And took a ruler to my knuckles) My point is, the work is hardly work--it is easy. But you are coming in every half hour and reading posts....and posting three articles a day. Not hard but you must have the time... I love what I created, but if the interest to keep it alive by doing your part is not there...then it is not there. I've done my part; I've spent the money and three months of my life perfecting it, and I was hoping that since it was a free forum--people would be willing to chip in some time and do their part. (But I know that is contrary to what most people feel, and I do understand) But heck....I HAD TO TRY IT. I've wanted to try to create a forum for years, and frankly--I am pleased with the result. But I have to go back to real work, and I am OK with hiding it and keeping it alive, but in mothballs. I know others would say, "Charles....let us moderate ourselves. We're adults!" Nope...nine years of moderating thousands of posts gives me reality. With no moderators--it turns into the cesspool that OregonLive comments were before they finally took them down. This sounds TERRIBLE, but I'd rather have no forum, than one like OregonLive had. I will miss this and all of you. Taking notes at a Spring Football Scrimmage years ago. (When scrimmages were open...)

Oh the pride of North Eugene, (Robert Ahlstrom) was a surprise start to me. He was beat-up a bit last year, was a stud before that and only pitched four innings last week, although did well. Today he was devastating for seven innings as the Beaver batters could not string anything together against his nasty left-handed wide curve-ball. Rico Tellache (the pride of Canby!) closed out the ninth inning after a superb inning from Hunter Breault in the eighth. The usual suspects, (Tanner Smith and Oregonian Kenyon Yovan) came through with big hits to drive in run totals that we've rarely seen in Corvallis. The only negative? Too bad there wasn't a crowd there to disappoint! Go to GoDucks.com for an update at 10:00 PM and all the official stats. My FishDuck Friends....this was a GREAT win from so many angles. The offense is already better than the prior coach, and the line-up has so many Oregonians, that it makes it so much more interesting for us. The way it breaks across the plate...whew!

I used to use a ton of UO students for the article blog, and in fact one year had the most UO Internships of any company registered with the Career Center at UO. Without going too much into it--let's just say that students have changed...a LOT in just five years concerning their attitudes, expectations and work habits. I have the occasional exception to that, (Alex Heining is our Editor-in-Chief and has been exceptional) but you have to go through too much of a haystack to find such a person--when it used to be the norm. So....their values are different than mine, and thus why I would not want a college student moderating my forum. I am very old-school, and let's just say that I have some legendary stories about students over the past nine years that back up my concerns. We do not have critical mass yet--not even close-to charge a subscription, and the other routes are more work than what the results would generate. I do have a running joke about the sites; they are not non-profit, but have always operated that way! My thanks.

There are some local radio guys bringing this up along with the scuttlebutt on Twitter; a number of big-name teams are out of their conference tourney and the NCAAs due to COVID transmission such as Duke, Virginia and Kansas. The thinking goes is that many think Oregon is now a No. 6 seed and you may not want to try to slide up. Keep your health and go home? I do see the other side of it; regardless of the NCAAs....you like to win the Conference tournament championship to stick-it to the other league members. And there is payback as USC did kick our butt recently, and the darn Buffalos have our number in their house--how about at Las Vegas? Also....they said that both OSU and Oregon have been tested and are fine for tonight's contest. I see value in both sides of this... What would Dillon say?

Oh baby....this is precisely what I hoped you would do Bruce and THANKS! It would be so cool to win one again... We have so much fun dumping on the Huskies in Football and Basketball--to see it in Track & Field as well is just too funny!

I would doubt that anyone would want to take over all the tech issues and the bills of the forum, but I thought I would reach out to everyone before I made any changes. Thanks Duckdude, as I appreciate your replies to posts.

The challenge is nobody being available to moderate posts during the weekday; I will not allow a free-for-all, which is what it would evolve into once people saw that there were no immediate consequences for impolite behavior, a bad word, or worse yet--a political comment. There could be an all-out political war that happened during the day before I see it in the evening. I need 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM covered during the week, as I will be responsible for the other 12 hours and for all of the weekend. (60 hours to my 108 hours, but the 60 are during the prime-time) Fixing the number of posts is something learned over time, and is not a biggie because people still like to read them, even if they don't respond. But enough people to rotate as moderators during the work-week? Without that the forum will have to be hidden from view, and we all lose in that scenario. You have been a GREAT member here Haywarduck--thank you.

I have dedicated three months of my life and a couple of thousand dollars to create this forum, but I am looking to put it into mothballs in the next few days. It is a neat creation and one that I would not want to destroy, but simply bring back at a later time when I can put more money into it. (Hence in mothballs and unavailable to us for posting) Below are some Facts: --I have to resume full-time work soon, and will not be around during the weekdays to monitor things. Somebody has to or bad things happen.... (Been-there-and-done-that) --If a ton of new stuff is not posted every day, then readers go away nearly overnight; we saw this earlier this week when I took a few days off from this forum. (So somebody has to be posting stuff throughout the day) --I had two moderators, but for various reasons it did not work out. I do not have the time to constantly be begging for new volunteers, training them and monitoring them. --We have a 12 hour window each day during the weekdays that I will not be around, and even if I divide that into four hour slots--there are not enough volunteers and they quit within three months as the last two did. --Putting this forum into mothballs would be terrible, as I love this community and want to discuss Our Beloved Ducks with you. But no volunteer wants to be posting stuff and hanging around the site reading/moderating posts for tons of hours per day during the week. I don't blame them, as I cannot either. And they will not do it long before they get tired of it. (The "COOL" factor dissipates soon) If you have ideas....post them here or email me charles@fishduck.com

David, this is a very thoughtful and insightful article that certainly altered my mind-set about the development of Herbert. My thanks!

The number of great Oregon Sports to watch and appreciate this weekend is amazing. We have the No. 23 Mens Basketball going for a Pac-12 Tournament title, the Baseball team ranked at No. 23 going up to Corvallis to face the No. 16 Beavers. In addition to this, No. 5 Softball taking on three games while the No. 1 Mens Indoor Track & Field team is going for National Championship! Wow! And boy....this has to be the biggest rivalry weekend ever? The Mens Basketball play Oregon State tonight at 5:30 PM on the Pac-12 Network, while the Softball team has Oregon State visiting on Saturday afternoon and the Baseball team has three games in Corvallis! FIVE GAMES against the Beavers? That is way-too-much orange for my tastes...

The average number of players in the transfer portal from each Power-5 school is..... an amazing 8.5 players per team and that astonished me. This was brought up at another site, (subscription) but the real stunner is how many does Our Beloved Ducks have in the portal? Ten.

Look Duck fans....we cannot complain, as we are getting a ton of national love and respect despite the Duck-Egg laid in the Fiesta Bowl. I would be fuming if the Huskies got coverage like this, so that means that their fans must be ... incredibly thrilled for us? ESPN tabs Oregon as a Favorite to be Next CFB Superpower by 247Sports How I weave my irrational hatred of the Huskies into this is a mystery, or maybe I am just a great Oregon fan?

That is amazing considering we don't have any real "bigs!" Look at the bright side....at least he was talking about the game and not asking whether you've been to Uzbekistan!

That is a free site and in another article--they consider the dilemma the Huskies are in with their basketball coach and the dumpster-fire mens program. "That means next season’s team projects to be both the least talented of Hop’s tenure and that to improve it he will have to recruit to a team facing the likely prospect of its 3rd straight bottom-2 finish in the conference. Buckle up." You could say that "I feel their pain" and am enjoying it a bit too much!

You are quite right, and at this forum--we would be asking the tough questions and doing Critical Analysis. (As we have done concerning our own offensive production)

Oh that gets me wiggling uncontrollably!

Wow Bruce....you are a fan of Track & Field! We are fortunate and appreciative of your updates! Great to hear we are on track with the first event.

Good article, and losing that receiver absolutely hurts the Huskies next year. Isn't that two receivers for the Huskies that caught touchdowns against Oregon the last time the two teams played that have transferred out? Huskies celebrating a score against Oregon ... Oh yeah...we won that game.

We have a link to a nice game recap right here, and it was a nice way to start the conference tournament. Will Richardson had a superb game shooting 6-9 for 17 points, nine assists and led the team in rebounds with seven. LJ Figueroa led all scorers with 21 points on a superb 9-16 shooting, and the nice surprise was Chandler Lawson's 10 points in 15 minutes of action. Thoughts about tomorrow? Conference Tournament Semi-finals are at 5:30 PST on the Pac-12 Network.

Another great candidate that would not be a surprise coming from me is Steve Greatwood, as we lead the conference in rushing for nine years with primarily 3-Star guys who were coached up. Our offense has not been as productive since he left, IMHO.