Abuse of GAA people on Discussion Boards

[Milltown Row2]

Colm Bradley has also written about the 'boards' and has given decent spin on it, basically saying that in the main the posters are knowledgeable and mainly contribute to the GAA within their clubs or county. Obviously there are some posts that are over the top but he said if he were involved with management or playing he had the simple solution, DON'T READ THEM

[SLIGONIAN]

^{Now, you know I'm not being personal here when I say that you don't seem to realise that you are seeking to deny to others the rights you claim for yourself.
Put it this way; you post something that is critical of some player  and feel you are entitled to do so because you are expressing your personal opinions and should be entitled to do so.}

But he's not really. There is nothing to stop someone Who disagrees with him doing exactly what he does and challange him on here on any of his opinions rather than calling round to his house.

Yeah but the problem is that you don't know who is going to read what you post and you can't tell them how they are go about responding to you.
Remember Tony Fearon and the fuss about his personal details being published on OWC?
Tony made a big laugh out of some OWC lads calling around to his place of work for a chat. Now, I wouldn't be too worried about those who called openly. I'd be more worried, if I were Tony, about some f**ker who might be lying in wait for me some night with a baseball bat.
Now, as I see it, poor Sligonian is having a rough time of it with people who know his identity giving him abuse. I do know the man and I take him to be an honest individual who wouldn't dream of posting anything he doesn't believe to be true.
However, his identity is well-known at this stage and he really should know what to expect if others object to what he posts. I don't see any point in using a screen name when your cover is blown and you know you will meet people who are going to abuse you over what you have posted.
I agree that there is nothing to stop people who disagree with him coming on here to challenge him and anybody else on any of their opinions but nobody has to do that. Why should they?  As long as they stay within the law, they have the freedom to react in any way they choose. There isn't much to stop them coming on here but there is nothing to force them to do it either.

I'm certainly not saying that he deserves the abuse he gets but he has to expect it if he keeps posting under his present alias and continues to give outspoken opinions when he does.

Ya but Lar jees ive improved on here over the yrs, and no ones perfect and that goes for people who react negatively to me. But fight fire with fire, when that person threatened me at my door after my intial upset it turned to anger on my part, is it within the law to go threatening people on there doorstep for saying your son aint good enough for intercounty, imo no but i let it go due to hassle. Of course i know theres probably a handful of people in Sligo who if they had a chance to get a box at me id expect them to take it. But the funny thing is in this last 6 months i havent posted once on HS and on here i dont mention players names anymore but yet the Sligonian comments in the niteclubs are way more frequent than before. As i said previously i will stopping and move on, hopefully the same will happen off the board.

Recently i should add a fake facebook profile was set up with "Sligonian "my surname"" and pictures from my real profile copyed over, again funnigly enough most of the Sligo players were this fellas friends so either they were in on it or im not as hated as i thought. I got it deleted but it was 6 months on the go.

I think it will all die down though, longer i dont post, people will eventually lose interest and HS sligo is a dead duck since i left. All my detractors will be happy though and its a win for them. I still disclose my opinion regarding players privately .

[Lar Naparka]

^{Now, you know I'm not being personal here when I say that you don't seem to realise that you are seeking to deny to others the rights you claim for yourself.
Put it this way; you post something that is critical of some player  and feel you are entitled to do so because you are expressing your personal opinions and should be entitled to do so.}

But he's not really. There is nothing to stop someone Who disagrees with him doing exactly what he does and challange him on here on any of his opinions rather than calling round to his house.

Yeah but the problem is that you don't know who is going to read what you post and you can't tell them how they are go about responding to you.
Remember Tony Fearon and the fuss about his personal details being published on OWC?
Tony made a big laugh out of some OWC lads calling around to his place of work for a chat. Now, I wouldn't be too worried about those who called openly. I'd be more worried, if I were Tony, about some f**ker who might be lying in wait for me some night with a baseball bat.
Now, as I see it, poor Sligonian is having a rough time of it with people who know his identity giving him abuse. I do know the man and I take him to be an honest individual who wouldn't dream of posting anything he doesn't believe to be true.
However, his identity is well-known at this stage and he really should know what to expect if others object to what he posts. I don't see any point in using a screen name when your cover is blown and you know you will meet people who are going to abuse you over what you have posted.
I agree that there is nothing to stop people who disagree with him coming on here to challenge him and anybody else on any of their opinions but nobody has to do that. Why should they?  As long as they stay within the law, they have the freedom to react in any way they choose. There isn't much to stop them coming on here but there is nothing to force them to do it either.

I'm certainly not saying that he deserves the abuse he gets but he has to expect it if he keeps posting under his present alias and continues to give outspoken opinions when he does.

Ya but Lar jees ive improved on here over the yrs, and no ones perfect and that goes for people who react negatively to me. But fight fire with fire, when that person threatened me at my door after my intial upset it turned to anger on my part, is it within the law to go threatening people on there doorstep for saying your son aint good enough for intercounty, imo no but i let it go due to hassle. Of course i know theres probably a handful of people in Sligo who if they had a chance to get a box at me id expect them to take it. But the funny thing is in this last 6 months i havent posted once on HS and on here i dont mention players names anymore but yet the Sligonian comments in the niteclubs are way more frequent than before. As i said previously i will stopping and move on, hopefully the same will happen off the board.

Recently i should add a fake facebook profile was set up with "Sligonian "my surname"" and pictures from my real profile copyed over, again funnigly enough most of the Sligo players were this fellas friends so either they were in on it or im not as hated as i thought. I got it deleted but it was 6 months on the go.

I think it will all die down though, longer i dont post, people will eventually lose interest and HS sligo is a dead duck since i left. All my detractors will be happy though and its a win for them. I still disclose my opinion regarding players privately .

Okay, my real worry about you is that some bastard, some night, will let fly at you in a pub or clubhouse or whatever.
I don't doubt your sincerity in any way and I'm glad you are toning your posts down. 

It isn't the man who called to your door that worries me. It's the guy with a bellyful of porter, who hasn't read what you posted but who is going by what somebody else may have told him, that's the real danger.

When you give your honest opinion there is no guarantee that someone won't go berserk and blame you for a lot of things you never even say.
I learned this lesson many years ago:
Padraig Flynn had made a total jackass of himself one day in a RTE radio interview when Brian Lenihan Snr. was running for the Presidency. Flynn blew Lenihan's chances that night and Lenihan had been well ahead of Mary Robinson in the polls.
So,, one night in my local pub I said to an old friend that Flynn shouldn't be let out without a minder. This gent was an out and out FF supporter. Jaysus, he blew his fuse and invited me out to fight.
Thjat was bad enough but worse was to follow.
I was feeling a bit hurt and I  told another rold guy what had happened. He was a Blue Shirt and surely to God, he'd agree with me.
Did he f**k!
As soon as I said that Lenihan could do without the likes of Long Paddy Flynn in his corner, he too was up on his feet and calling me all sorts of names. Like the other bollix, he didn't listen to anything I had said but went for me straightaway. What I had said to either of those buckos wasn't listened to at all.
The fact that I was fairly fit back then and was about five inches taller and a few stone heavier than either of them didn't bother them at all.
I decided that night that I'd keep my opinions to myself in future unless I was prepared to stand up and fight for them.
Unless, of course, I was posting them on an anonymous internet board. 

[SLIGONIAN]

^{Now, you know I'm not being personal here when I say that you don't seem to realise that you are seeking to deny to others the rights you claim for yourself.
Put it this way; you post something that is critical of some player  and feel you are entitled to do so because you are expressing your personal opinions and should be entitled to do so.}

But he's not really. There is nothing to stop someone Who disagrees with him doing exactly what he does and challange him on here on any of his opinions rather than calling round to his house.

Yeah but the problem is that you don't know who is going to read what you post and you can't tell them how they are go about responding to you.
Remember Tony Fearon and the fuss about his personal details being published on OWC?
Tony made a big laugh out of some OWC lads calling around to his place of work for a chat. Now, I wouldn't be too worried about those who called openly. I'd be more worried, if I were Tony, about some f**ker who might be lying in wait for me some night with a baseball bat.
Now, as I see it, poor Sligonian is having a rough time of it with people who know his identity giving him abuse. I do know the man and I take him to be an honest individual who wouldn't dream of posting anything he doesn't believe to be true.
However, his identity is well-known at this stage and he really should know what to expect if others object to what he posts. I don't see any point in using a screen name when your cover is blown and you know you will meet people who are going to abuse you over what you have posted.
I agree that there is nothing to stop people who disagree with him coming on here to challenge him and anybody else on any of their opinions but nobody has to do that. Why should they?  As long as they stay within the law, they have the freedom to react in any way they choose. There isn't much to stop them coming on here but there is nothing to force them to do it either.

I'm certainly not saying that he deserves the abuse he gets but he has to expect it if he keeps posting under his present alias and continues to give outspoken opinions when he does.

Ya but Lar jees ive improved on here over the yrs, and no ones perfect and that goes for people who react negatively to me. But fight fire with fire, when that person threatened me at my door after my intial upset it turned to anger on my part, is it within the law to go threatening people on there doorstep for saying your son aint good enough for intercounty, imo no but i let it go due to hassle. Of course i know theres probably a handful of people in Sligo who if they had a chance to get a box at me id expect them to take it. But the funny thing is in this last 6 months i havent posted once on HS and on here i dont mention players names anymore but yet the Sligonian comments in the niteclubs are way more frequent than before. As i said previously i will stopping and move on, hopefully the same will happen off the board.

Recently i should add a fake facebook profile was set up with "Sligonian "my surname"" and pictures from my real profile copyed over, again funnigly enough most of the Sligo players were this fellas friends so either they were in on it or im not as hated as i thought. I got it deleted but it was 6 months on the go.

I think it will all die down though, longer i dont post, people will eventually lose interest and HS sligo is a dead duck since i left. All my detractors will be happy though and its a win for them. I still disclose my opinion regarding players privately .

Okay, my real worry about you is that some b**tard, some night, will let fly at you in a pub or clubhouse or whatever.
I don't doubt your sincerity in any way and I'm glad you are toning your posts down. 

It isn't the man who called to your door that worries me. It's the guy with a bellyful of porter, who hasn't read what you posted but who is going by what somebody else may have told him, that's the real danger.

When you give your honest opinion there is no guarantee that someone won't go berserk and blame you for a lot of things you never even say.
I learned this lesson many years ago:
Padraig Flynn had made a total jackass of himself one day in a RTE radio interview when Brian Lenihan Snr. was running for the Presidency. Flynn blew Lenihan's chances that night and Lenihan had been well ahead of Mary Robinson in the polls.
So,, one night in my local pub I said to an old friend that Flynn shouldn't be let out without a minder. This gent was an out and out FF supporter. Jaysus, he blew his fuse and invited me out to fight.
Thjat was bad enough but worse was to follow.
I was feeling a bit hurt and I  told another rold guy what had happened. He was a Blue Shirt and surely to God, he'd agree with me.
Did he f**k!
As soon as I said that Lenihan could do without the likes of Long Paddy Flynn in his corner, he too was up on his feet and calling me all sorts of names. Like the other bollix, he didn't listen to anything I had said but went for me straightaway. What I had said to either of those buckos wasn't listened to at all.
The fact that I was fairly fit back then and was about five inches taller and a few stone heavier than either of them didn't bother them at all.
I decided that night that I'd keep my opinions to myself in future unless I was prepared to stand up and fight for them.
Unless, of course, I was posting them on an anonymous internet board. 

For sure i agree but i wouldnt fight tbh as id lose, but i have plenty of protection when im out and rarely on my own. Ive never been in a fight in my life or assualted and im pretty fast and fit so i'll outrun them But all joking aside i appreciate your comments and i do heed your warnings, if someone wants to be sneaky there probably not much i can do about it and i wont be worrying about it either. Hopefully the fact im not commenting on it anymore should lessen the chances of it happening imo and its all i can do..

[Hardy]

I decided that night that I'd keep my opinions to myself in future unless I was prepared to stand up and fight for them.

I think you took the wrong lesson from your experience, Lar. I'd have decided to stop drinking with violent political yokels.

[bcarrier]

I listened to the worse verbal abuse of players I have ever heard in the " family " section of Croker yesterday. It went well beyond the usual . The individual in question had a Mayo jersey on but as is the way with this type of thug he started on the Kerry ones but eventually turned on his own.

The officials spoke to him a few times and I eventually pulled him up myself to be greeted by "who was talking to you" . I suspect the officials did not remove him as he was clearly angling for a fight and was from a " minority" . The kids with him were going down the same path , standing on seats and with no concept of others personal space.

All very sad/shameful and maybe I am being harsh but I was a bit disappointed that there wasnt a bigger effort by Mayo supporters in the vicinity to pull him up. We need to police our own.

[squire_in_navy_slacks]

It wasnt David Brady was it.........................great fella for putting manners on people, chuck norris hasnt a patch on him

[AZOffaly]

I listened to the worse verbal abuse of players I have ever heard in the " family " section of Croker yesterday. It went well beyond the usual . The individual in question had a Mayo jersey on but as is the way with this type of thug he started on the Kerry ones but eventually turned on his own.

The officials spoke to him a few times and I eventually pulled him up myself to be greeted by "who was talking to you" . I suspect the officials did not remove him as he was clearly angling for a fight and was from a " minority" . The kids with him were going down the same path , standing on seats and with no concept of others personal space.

All very sad/shameful and maybe I am being harsh but I was a bit disappointed that there wasnt a bigger effort by Mayo supporters in the vicinity to pull him up. We need to police our own.

I had a bit of an unpleasant experience with a lad there too yesterday. Unfortunately this lad was actually on duty in some capacity at the game. A load of lads about 16 or 17, dressed in the royal blue GAA wind breakers. They came up to sit behind us just before the start of the second half. I think they were involved with the Go Games or something.

Anyhow, when Galvin came on, and got an elbow in a tangle immediately, they started at him. 'Give it him, kn**ker'. etc. I turned around and gave the chief fella a glare. Of course that egged them on, so the next thing was 'Galvin's a f**king sc**bag'. There were kids around me as well, so I tried to be calm enough. I told the lad that he should be ashamed to wear the GAA top he had on him, and if he didn't have manners I'd make sure he never wore it again.

Of course all his mates started slagging him then, and they left about 5 minutes later, but I thought it was so sad that young lads obviously getting a free gig at Croke Park would behave like that towards our own players. These were neutrals as well, not supporters of Mayo, I should make that clear. Made it even sadder for me.

[Frank Casey]

I know we're all guilty of pushing our own opinions on this board and we've all let it rip at a game or two. There is however a line. I'm not sure which of these two incidents annoy me more but the las in the GAA bibs should be seen but never heard.

[AZOffaly]

I know we're all guilty of pushing our own opinions on this board and we've all let it rip at a game or two. There is however a line. I'm not sure which of these two incidents annoy me more but the las in the GAA bibs should be seen but never heard.

See we've all lost the rag at games where we/our teams are involved. On mature reflection we all say things we don't like, but I've never really heard neutrals having a go like it. It wasn't even emotional, just pure abuse.

[heffo]

It wasnt David Brady was it.........................great fella for putting manners on people, chuck norris hasnt a patch on him

Give it a rest Squire, cmon on.

[Offalylad]

Strange example of this on the uibhfhaili website today, player in question created a profile to defend himself, very unusual.

[AZOffaly]

I saw that. Unusual, but maybe a sign of things to come?

[Offalylad]

Perhaps, it should be a positive thing, but it does make for a strange atmosphere on the thread.

[mylestheslasher]

I listened to the worse verbal abuse of players I have ever heard in the " family " section of Croker yesterday. It went well beyond the usual . The individual in question had a Mayo jersey on but as is the way with this type of thug he started on the Kerry ones but eventually turned on his own.

The officials spoke to him a few times and I eventually pulled him up myself to be greeted by "who was talking to you" . I suspect the officials did not remove him as he was clearly angling for a fight and was from a " minority" . The kids with him were going down the same path , standing on seats and with no concept of others personal space.

All very sad/shameful and maybe I am being harsh but I was a bit disappointed that there wasnt a bigger effort by Mayo supporters in the vicinity to pull him up. We need to police our own.

I had a bit of an unpleasant experience with a lad there too yesterday. Unfortunately this lad was actually on duty in some capacity at the game. A load of lads about 16 or 17, dressed in the royal blue GAA wind breakers. They came up to sit behind us just before the start of the second half. I think they were involved with the Go Games or something.

Anyhow, when Galvin came on, and got an elbow in a tangle immediately, they started at him. 'Give it him, kn**ker'. etc. I turned around and gave the chief fella a glare. Of course that egged them on, so the next thing was 'Galvin's a f**king sc**bag'. There were kids around me as well, so I tried to be calm enough. I told the lad that he should be ashamed to wear the GAA top he had on him, and if he didn't have manners I'd make sure he never wore it again.

Of course all his mates started slagging him then, and they left about 5 minutes later, but I thought it was so sad that young lads obviously getting a free gig at Croke Park would behave like that towards our own players. These were neutrals as well, not supporters of Mayo, I should make that clear. Made it even sadder for me.

I was at a game in croker when Dublin and Tyrone played the day Owen Mulligan got that famous goal. A lad in front of me from Dubiln was wearing a liverpool jersey, had his wee daughter sitting on his knee (from memory i'd say she was 8 or 9 years old) and he spent the game calling Tyrones players "Orange bastards". What can you do about people like that - not a lot i'd imagine.