Re: Why is anyone surprised at ref problems?

[Alan Anderson]

Why wouldn't I want to post under my normal screen name? Because the posts of that ref raise some character concerns to me that there could be retaliation against our team for airing these views. We play next week and still hope to maybe play in Atlanta, so I don't want to put my students at risk for any retribution.

I have a hard time believing that someone would honestly fear retribution against a team for having expressed an opinion about an official's attitude. It's also not that difficult to figure out who this "anonymous" poster is, so going against policy and creating a second account is unhelpful in that regard. I personally have a tendency to treat most things posted under a false name as exaggerated, unreliable, and generally not worth taking too seriously. The presentation interferes with the message.

I also have a hard time understanding why this is being discussed in a public forum full of people who have no power to act (i.e. students) and who can only be affected negatively by the various comments and complaints. There are better channels for addressing this.

I am not suggesting that such issues be swept under the rug. They just should not be hung out in public. I know of other concerns that have been resolved satisfactorily behind the scenes without being turned into a spectacle on the Chief Delphi forums. This strikes me as a situation that should receive the same treatment.