Hi CD,
I think I can help you here. I note you've been here a little over a year. A transient poster who reads much and contributes occasionally. I was a bit the same when I started here. Took a bit for me to dive in feet first after an introduction that had me feeling a bit similar to you.
You see, in order to understand The Kennel and how it operates, a few ground rules of thought need to be laid down to prepare your brain for what it's about to be subjected to.
1st : Lets get to grips with what we're dealing with : From humble and good-intentioned beginnings, The Kennel is now a 24hour, non-stop, living, breathing, BEAST with it's own pulse and hunger demands. It's been alive for 10 years. It's been a battle-ground for a dozen scandals of varying size. When shit hits the fan, approx 1500 signed-up users will flood this place at any given time. On a slow day, 300 might 'sign-in'. Add 3-4 times as many lurkers.
It's not an 'official' site. It does not report directly to anyone.
That being said, we are all equally passionate (good or bad) about the same cause. We love the Bulldogs.
At any tick of a clock, if the Bulldogs so decided, they could start their own forum (and over recent years they kind of did, ie: Facebook pages, etc), but for 10+years now they've been happy to allow us our space to exist.
The mods here, are unpaid volunteers who take it upon themselves to proactively extinguish spot-fires that could land the club in trouble via the media. Compared to other forums, we allow the reign to be 'very' loose.
2nd : Throw logic out the window. Logic and tact, by and large have NO place here. I can save you months (if not years) of irritation, if you simply allow yourself to begin on the right foot. So from now, expect masses of illogical rantings from a multitude of sources. It's just a 'given'. For some this is an information source, for others it's a giant playground. Some come here to consume info. Some come here to escape.
Don't get me wrong. It's not all shitfights and outrage. There's plenty of posters here who have the ability to debate and converse with a level of civility, and you will see it from time to time. There's also a handful of posters who's content will have you giggling for days. But you'd be guaranteeing yourself an aneurysm if you come here with the mindset that you can expect sanity all the time here. Simply put, not everyone comes here with the same motivation or agenda.
3rd : The best analogy I can come up with is this - The Kennel is like 10pm on a Friday night at the local pub, but for people who don't have the ability to see. Loads of people, but no one can see each other. Lots of loud voices, in lots of directions, all trying to be heard or carry on their individual chats, who ALL sound like they've had a skinfull of beer.
Some voices you recognise immediately and gravitate to.
Some voices will get on your nerves and you'll wanna avoid.
Eventually, if you come here enough, you'll learn what works for you. You come here, find a nice stool to park yourself on and keep an ear out for those voices you like.
Finally : I'm not sure how often you traverse the interwebs, but I'm gonna take a punt and say this is probably one of the first 'forums' you've attached yourself to. 13 or so years ago I began my journey online into music forums. There I was with my egalitarian attitudes and forthright opinions, but what I've learned is that these types of places are better if you simply treat it like a giant ball-pit for adults.
Your well considered arguments can (and will) be shot down in flames for no other reason than "TL;DR" (and I'm willing to bet some smart arse will post exactly the same in the next 10-12 posts after I've done this). Your sexuality, intelligence and honesty will be questioned without reason. And when all else fails you might get told something like "Tits or GTFO !".
Welcome to The Kennel
Toilets are up the hall on the left ... :thumb:
Regards
CK.
