I've been a lurker since the late 1990's on the site. I know that political threads were a big thing back then and I get why they were banned. They became a cesspool of personal attacks.
I'm more thinking in general- this site used to be hopping- there would be plenty of good quality discussion threads and specifically so much good NFT content that I just don't see anymore.
It seems that the number of posts is not even half of what I remember it being on a daily basis. It didn't matter whether the Giants were good or bad this site was much more of a general social hub.
Am I just remembering wrong? Is it because the Giants have been dreadful for the past decade plus?
In the Inside BBI podcast review of the Bengals game Eric said over and over how "done" he is with all of it surrounding Jones. Outside of the Simmons FG return at Seattle and some early Nabers highlights then is so little fun energy around this team... The D has played well, avg points allowed 21, but when your O is avg 16, and that's raised by 1 game with a ST TD and they haven't breached 30 yet, I don't blame Eric. While any given Sunday... I'm pretty resigned to the fact there's no chance against the Eagles this week.
I'm apathetic over them. I come on here to rant about how awful Jones is, anyone who thinks otherwise isn't watching what is happening on the field. The fact that no QB with any chance at competing for the starting job has been brought in the entire time he has been here, despite this being what he has always been is freaking mind boggling.... Don't care what happens to Scheon, Daboll or Jones at this point... It's all amateur hour.
I don't think that's it, I think this place is for diehard Giant fans and bad seasons, even multiple bad seasons, should be good for business here.
I think it's more the youth movement, and how young kids prefer social media. My 14 year old son is becoming a huge Giants fan, but he' all over YouTube, Snapchat, and Tik Tok.
Hard to see young kids flocking to this website.
The Rangers look very good and the Knicks are just around the corner.
I'm optimistic that this is the end of Jones or the beginning of the end of him ...
So I think ...
The game thread is a total cesspool.
1. The team sucks and seems to be stuck in neutral for years. What needs to be discussed has been discussed many, many times which leads to point 2...
2. The repetitive and ad nauseum threads (on Jones specifically) is sometimes just too much. Not that we shouldnt be discussing him or the position - but people say the same thing over and over and over.
3. I am sure I can speak for others with young children that there are much other things to do an being busy to spend more time here.
4. I al so think the game itself has gotten worse where now it is on ALL the time. EVery day you are bombarded with shows, games, analaysis - that sometimes you need a break from it.
5. There are also other social media outlets which people go to like (X, reddit, etc..) that sme people may prefer.
And please no to Political threads or forum. This election sucks. It needs to end. I dont care who you side with. I am tired of all them. And stop airing your dumbass ads every 5 seconds on my TV!
When I found this site, my alternative for Giants news and insight was The Giant Insider. When I saw I could get Giants news within hours, or even minutes, I was sold. But nowadays, if I want the latest, I usually hit Twitter, just a difference in technology.
I also used to spend hours on here reading even non-football threads, because there were a lot of interesting, funny and engaging people on here. Sometimes it turned into a shitshow, but that was part of the appeal. So many of the collective best memories of the site are of posters losing their shit, melting down, threatening to fight each other. Good or bad, it was a must read. Its a LOT blander here than it used to be.
There were some really engaging posters who are no longer around. Lots of them. Some died. Some moved on to other things. Others couldn't abide by the rules and were either banned, left of their own volition, or just don't post much anymore, probably for the reasons listed.
Personally, I think fantasy football/sports gambling is destroying much of the fan base ecosystem that was in place for decades. People are less interested in the details of the actual game, in the specific plays, than they are in either W/L and points or how "their" players did in fantasy.
Some of the post-game breakdowns of the plays of the game here used to be great to read. Less of that nowadays.
BBI used to be the site that statistically took up the most of my internet hours, but it isn't anymore.
When I found this site, my alternative for Giants news and insight was The Giant Insider. When I saw I could get Giants news within hours, or even minutes, I was sold. But nowadays, if I want the latest, I usually hit Twitter, just a difference in technology.
I also used to spend hours on here reading even non-football threads, because there were a lot of interesting, funny and engaging people on here. Sometimes it turned into a shitshow, but that was part of the appeal. So many of the collective best memories of the site are of posters losing their shit, melting down, threatening to fight each other. Good or bad, it was a must read. Its a LOT blander here than it used to be.
There were some really engaging posters who are no longer around. Lots of them. Some died. Some moved on to other things. Others couldn't abide by the rules and were either banned, left of their own volition, or just don't post much anymore, probably for the reasons listed.
Personally, I think fantasy football/sports gambling is destroying much of the fanbase ecosystem that was in place for decades. People are less interested in the details of the actual game, in the specific plays, than they are in either W/L and points or how "their" players did in fantasy.
Some of the post-game breakdowns of the plays of the game here used to be great to read. Less of that nowadays.
BBI used to be the site that statistically took up the most of my internet hours, but it isn't anymore.
We're basically reduced to NFTs on other sports, movies/books/music, RIP threads, and the weather.
- How many different ways can we re-frame the same DJ argument...he's still the QB
- It's not the assistant coaches or head coach....they've all been swapped out with new ones and the same problems exist.
- It's not the GM, front office, or scouts...they've all been swapped out with news and the same problems exist.
So long as Jints Central is still in charge and insist on DJ being the QB...what's the point?
We're basically reduced to NFTs on other sports, movies/books/music, RIP threads, and the weather.
This is a great post. There used to be some ridiculously high level conversation around a number of topics led by posters with real world knowledge here.....economics being one of the big ones. But everything eveually turns political, which did not used to be the case. Now we live in a society where everything ultimately turns into tribal warfare.
The ultimate irony here is that sports is essentially a replacement for the actual tribal warfare we used to have and is deeply rooted in our DNA. But it's no longer a sufficient outlet for that instinct in us.
There are very few Giants-related topics to discuss that are both honest and relevant to what is going on with the team.
We are all rooting for this team out of inertia, and that isn't going to last forever.
I think a great point was made about social media being an easier way for people to get news and engage. I didn't consider that.
There are very few Giants-related topics to discuss that are both honest and relevant to what is going on with the team.
We are all rooting for this team out of inertia, and that isn't going to last forever.
I know you say the problems are deeper than QB, but man if you placed Jayden Daniels on this team things would feel a helluva lot different. I'd also sense a renewed energy around the team.
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and for good reason. Even with the political ban, we'd have awesome discussions about economics/finance, history, international geopolitics, culture, etc. But at some point, people just could not help injecting politics into all of those discussions even though they knew/know it was not allowed. So from my perspective, it's really not worth engaging on those topics knowing that someone's gonna come along 20 messages in and blame everything on one of the political factions. It's a very sad commentary on our frayed social fabric--it's just pure antisocial behavior in this situation but people just cannot help themselves.
We're basically reduced to NFTs on other sports, movies/books/music, RIP threads, and the weather.
This is a great post. There used to be some ridiculously high level conversation around a number of topics led by posters with real world knowledge here.....economics being one of the big ones. But everything eveually turns political, which did not used to be the case. Now we live in a society where everything ultimately turns into tribal warfare.
The ultimate irony here is that sports is essentially a replacement for the actual tribal warfare we used to have and is deeply rooted in our DNA. But it's no longer a sufficient outlet for that instinct in us.
Yup completely agree. A lot of finance/econ wisdom from guys like Bill2 and manhgeorge. We also had a few actual professors posting on important subjects. One of the really smart posters who is now a professor seems to be back, I hope he sticks around.
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Go ahead and start a thread on how well Runyan or Flott are playing, and see how many people post on it. It's deck chairs on the Titanic.
There are very few Giants-related topics to discuss that are both honest and relevant to what is going on with the team.
We are all rooting for this team out of inertia, and that isn't going to last forever.
I know you say the problems are deeper than QB, but man if you placed Jayden Daniels on this team things would feel a helluva lot different. I'd also sense a renewed energy around the team.
The deeper problems are the main reason they don't have a promising QB like Daniels. Their priorities are completely out of whack. It's their good fortune that the league is designed to help the incompetent, otherwise it would look a lot worse.
Absolutely.
The ex-girlfriend-turned-into-a-lesbian story warrants further discussion and exploration.
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In comment 16651159 Go Terps said:
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Go ahead and start a thread on how well Runyan or Flott are playing, and see how many people post on it. It's deck chairs on the Titanic.
There are very few Giants-related topics to discuss that are both honest and relevant to what is going on with the team.
We are all rooting for this team out of inertia, and that isn't going to last forever.
I know you say the problems are deeper than QB, but man if you placed Jayden Daniels on this team things would feel a helluva lot different. I'd also sense a renewed energy around the team.
The deeper problems are the main reason they don't have a promising QB like Daniels. Their priorities are completely out of whack. It's their good fortune that the league is designed to help the incompetent, otherwise it would look a lot worse.
The Giants are not trying to compete for championships and haven't for some time. Everything else flows from that IMO.
Other teams try and do it incredibly stupidly and they deserve criticism too.
But this franchise has been ran for the QB--first Eli, then Jones--since McAdoo benched Eli for Geno Smith.
Yes please.
Also, when I first discovered BBI there was barely (if any) social media. Now there are millions of Giants related things to follow on every social media platform. There’s only so much time in the day and everything is over saturated. BBI is still my go to for Giants, Yankees and pretty much any type of discussion. But social media inevitably takes up some of the time I’m on my phone or online.
When I discovered the site I was a freshman in college in 2001. Twitter, Reddit, and other social weren't even a thing. The only real alternative was the Giants.com forum, when that used to exist, and BBI always kicked their ass because the posters here were far more intelligent, asshats began breaking news, and it was overall much more exciting. To think I can come to the Corner Forum and listen to random Giants fans talk amongst themselves anonymously was awesome to me, and even cooler to learn these strangers began to form an actual community and got to know each other. It was something special. And because it was the Wild West it made it fun. The intelligent lurkers and posters could see through the shit and find the real gem insights and perspectives. To FacePeplr's point, I kind of wish Eric would take Elon's approach with X and just let things fly again (at least to some extent).
People joke about if you don't want to hear people bitch about Jones then don't open the thread. Ok, then don't open a political thread or some other NFT. People of the same tribe want to relate to one another and share, or even debate. Those who understand the content business know that community is important, controversy creates cash, and negative news drives more engagement than content that is milquetoast or positive. Having a little more variety is the spice of life. It was must-see-TV on BBI to see a dumb 3/05er get demolished by the well-seasoned well-meaning crew. I thought the good posters helped self police this site pretty well. I think over time banning became more prominent, then disagreements over banning, what a poster could or couldn't say, and general disagreements, resulted in a BBI fork where some long time posters left to their own closed community shadow BBI. It was sad to see that.
Add to this, as Eric points out regarding this generation of kids, they do not need to watch the Giants amidst all of the various content options. They can listen to long form content that does not include needing to bang you head against the wall being forced to watch a mediocre QB's 6th year. There is no fast forwarding through Daniel Jones to some more enjoyable Giants product, and this is a key frustration we have with the Giants Franchise... So how can you blame our kids watching us like drug addicts scream at the TV, before they decide, "Um, I don't want to subject myself to that, it doesn't look fun, and there are a variety of options to me." This downstream effect poses a challenge to BBI's ability to engage. As JonC alluded to, most of us are 35+ on this site. Younger kids can engage on various other platforms in a variety of formats they find entertaining, or that can perhaps turn them into some internet star. That's what a lot of kids are doing.
I give Eric and John credit for doing the podcast and putting themselves out there. It's a nice way to allow us to have another level of shared experience, but it can also be a good way to market the site to ensure there is a pipeline for continuing to bring new readers and posters to the site. I hope the site and the level of engagement can thrive, but the Giants product isn't doing it any favors.
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In comment 16651146 Mike from SI said:
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and for good reason. Even with the political ban, we'd have awesome discussions about economics/finance, history, international geopolitics, culture, etc. But at some point, people just could not help injecting politics into all of those discussions even though they knew/know it was not allowed. So from my perspective, it's really not worth engaging on those topics knowing that someone's gonna come along 20 messages in and blame everything on one of the political factions. It's a very sad commentary on our frayed social fabric--it's just pure antisocial behavior in this situation but people just cannot help themselves.
We're basically reduced to NFTs on other sports, movies/books/music, RIP threads, and the weather.
This is a great post. There used to be some ridiculously high level conversation around a number of topics led by posters with real world knowledge here.....economics being one of the big ones. But everything eveually turns political, which did not used to be the case. Now we live in a society where everything ultimately turns into tribal warfare.
The ultimate irony here is that sports is essentially a replacement for the actual tribal warfare we used to have and is deeply rooted in our DNA. But it's no longer a sufficient outlet for that instinct in us.
Yup completely agree. A lot of finance/econ wisdom from guys like Bill2 and manhgeorge. We also had a few actual professors posting on important subjects. One of the really smart posters who is now a professor seems to be back, I hope he sticks around.
I know BBI is legacy internet, but instead of banning posters maybe providing a feature where we can mute specific posters, or use AI to allow each poster to sniff out specific kinds of posts (like political) and "hide" them could make the experience tolerable and enjoyable for people. Let the posters set the rules and determine what they do and don't want to be subjected to.
The fanbase is fed up. No one wants to watch a garbage team on Sunday and then listen to pollyanna bullshit from Monday to Saturday.
Exactly. The Giants are what we used to make fun of the Redskins for being. The offseason is the actual season, and the fanbase goes into September feeling like world beaters before reality sets in by Halloween.
There did certainly used to be more colorful characters on here, as well as more serious discussions about things like economics. I think a lot of people just move on. There are so many media of different types to tune into these days.
I actually agree with this. I don't think we ever fully recovered from the blues of 2020.
I'd say we're more so an even bigger joke than them. I'd say the Giants are like the Browns or what the Raiders have become, or have been, since they lost that Super Bowl to Tampa Bay.
+100
I can tell you that I have been spending less time simply because every thread turns into one about the QB and it is from the same people.
If you knew your wife was going to bring up the same thing every time you walked into the kitchen, then you may stay away from the kitchen because you are fucking tired of it. Even if you agree with her... it eventually gets old.
With stuff like twitter, facebook, discord, reddit, tiktok and other similar types of social media, the audience for these types of message boards is trending older and older and not being replaced by younger. Remember when BBI has lots of 20 year olds and college students? They are all in their mid-30s now and likely represent the younger group on the board.
The Giants being maybe the worst franchise in then NFL the past decade certainly hasn't helped matters, but the bigger issue is the older posters are dying off and not being replaced.
BBI is a a dinosaur with a limited shelf life, maybe another decade. At the same time, the site would be much more active if the team was winning (see 2022).
This site is excellent, the game day previews and reviews, the training camp updates, the front page and all the work Eric and his team (mods) do to upkeep the site.
What is not excellent is the corner forum, and simply that's because the level of tolerance people have for outside opinions has lessened due to the way the media has shaped us the last 20 years. Myself included.....Also I want to say...an I don't have it but X (twitter) has really lowered the bar IMO for human decency.
As far as with the team, that doesn't help either but some think going 10 years without a Super Bowl run is rock bottom and are frustrated, tired and embarrassed to wait any longer so quick snap judgements and changes are demanded. An a portion of those fans live their lives for Giants football so they have become the most vocal.
That said, BBI is top shelf. it's a special place with great people who contribute (shout out Mets thread team) and I cherish it greatly.