By Kyle Klingman “TWM Columnist
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Where would we be without message boards?
Posting on Internet message boards has become commonplace for every subject, topic, or sport imaginable, thanks to the world of cyberspace and the Internet. KFAN.com, the Web site of sports talk radio AM 1130 in Minneapolis has what is called Rube Chat, a forum for faithful followers of the radio station who spout off about anything and everything. Join a Yahoo! Fantasy Football league and message boards are a forum to discuss league issues, potential trades, and talk smack. Go to the online version of your local daily paper and you can access message boards to talk about local and national topics.
Why are they so popular? Because message boards are a unique blend of information, conversation, gossip, news, pictures, rumors, intelligence, updates, hearsay, chitchat, scandal, and more.
In the world of amateur wrestling, message boards have become one of the most powerful forces in the wrestling world. Many people go to their state forum before they go to any other resource. They can access results, updates, match analysis and all of the above in a matter of minutes after a topic is posted. Nobody is safe from the possibility of appearing in wrestling cyberspace in some capacity. At the same time message boards have the ability to shove 10 pieces of humble pie down your throat.
The power of the message boards became clear when I invited a friend to look into the possibility of working out with the Northern Iowa wrestling team for the day when he was visiting my parents in Cedar Falls. He declined, stating he didn’t want to risk hearing about it on the message boards later that day. There have been other instances where the first words out of someone’s mouth when I see them are “don’t believe what the message boards are saying about me.”
While this is the downside of public Internet forums the upside is tremendous. Most of the discussions that go on related to the sport of amateur wrestling is good for the advancement of wrestling and allow interaction between wrestlers and fans alike.
It should be noted that I never post on any type of message board. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t checked things out. Not everyone takes part in posting, most are interested to see what people are saying. It can be argued that message boards are democracy in its purest form because everyone has a vote and a voice that counts.
One of my favorite message boards and the most-widely used forum is that provided by USA Wrestling – TheMat.com. Users have the option to post on a variety of topics within the scope of wrestling (there is also a non-related link for topics outside of the sport). Every time a post is made you are telling the people at USA Wrestling and the wrestling world what subject is most important, because it is “bumped” (more on that below) to the top of the page. In terms of numbers, high school and college wrestling are the most popular subjects to the wrestling public. The forum also covers women’s wrestling, Real Pro Wrestling, international wrestling and youth wrestling, among others.
Even if you don’t post you are being counted. If you enter a college wrestling thread and view a topic it is tabulated simply because you opened that particular link. This allows for instantaneous and cumulative feedback for everyone to view. Good topics have the potential to last for weeks with hundreds of posts and views credited to that particular link. Uninteresting topics can tank within an hour.
Ah, but there is a catch. Part of the allure to posting on a public forum is that you can write under a screen name and post in complete anonymity. I’ve never delved into the world of drinking but in some ways the message boards are similar to consuming massive amounts of alcohol because you lose your inhibitions and are more forthcoming with what you’re willing to say and do.
Continute reading at the Wrestling Mall.
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