META: MGoStaff's antagonist twitter behavior
What is going in here, the official @Mgoblog account has tweet out that Ant Wright is a "petty, small motherfucker" for being critical of Ace's behaviour towards people on twitter
Ace is known for his being very active and his constant high horsevtowards those he interacts with, along with attacking people with slightly different views. Just today he has spent a ton of time blocking hundreds of people for following Ant Wright or oikinh any of his tweets. Including many of those who donated to his GoFundMe and never said a bad word to him, leaving a bad taste for those that supported him when he needed it.
Ace is now threatening a lawsuit against Ant Wright for cyberbullying because Ant has said his behaviour is uncalled for and he's being a dick
The entire MGOStaff needs to step away from the platform for the day, and evaluate how they should represent the blog in the future. Just not a good look for the business
January 20th, 2020 at 12:21 AM ^
{deleted, dumb comment was dumb}
January 20th, 2020 at 8:12 AM ^
...you were expecting a thank you from Brian for giving you a platform for stuff you wanted to write?
January 20th, 2020 at 8:58 AM ^
The fuck?
January 20th, 2020 at 2:47 PM ^
Why would he thank you for writing on his forum? Did he ask you to write diaries for him? WTF
January 21st, 2020 at 9:03 AM ^
This is the social equivalent of the "nice guy" that expects sex from the chick he opened a door for. Good lord.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:00 PM ^
Last sentence. Gold.
may it ever be so.
and bando, don't be mad, take it as something you might do well to really ponder deeply.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
Last sentence. Gold.
may it ever be so.
and bando, don't be mad, take it as something you might do well to really ponder deeply.
January 20th, 2020 at 12:46 AM ^
So you're bitching about entitlement and feel entitled to a thank you? That's rich even for you Don.
January 20th, 2020 at 7:11 AM ^
Wow, this here is getting way too personal.
January 19th, 2020 at 10:54 PM ^
I remember him saying it on the podcast as well. He sounded quite emotional when he said it.
January 19th, 2020 at 8:27 PM ^
It seems most people sharing his beliefs feel they are owed things just for existing. They also are notorious for not accepting anyone else's beliefs that are not in lockstep with theirs. It's laughable and pathetic.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:21 PM ^
Sir I’ve met dickheads on both sides of the political spectrum....please don’t let this thread go down that path.
January 19th, 2020 at 8:56 PM ^
Fuck finally someone said it. Thank you. I donated as well, and i hope it helped him in anyway,..sunk cost for me so whatever. But i specifically started listening and reading all his shit when he got back to work to hear those two words...and i never heard them. (Correct me if I’m wrong please) That part sucks and stings a bit. Or it did, don’t give a hell now but dude..that was a miss.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:12 PM ^
People are manipulative. I have a terrible chronic illness and have never asked for shit. Eat better. Stay healthy. Do what you can.
January 20th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Same. Nor would I.
January 20th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
O wow, thank you for your service. The trophy is in the mail.
I have Hodgkin's Lymphoma and I've been blessed enough to afford my medical bills and I'll also be able to weather an upcoming unpaid leave of absence from work financially without any help.
So what I do is, I monitor GoFundMe's for other Hodgkin's patients and I contact the organizer and tell them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Just kidding. What I actually do is choose a random fundraiser every month and donate $25 to a total stranger.
I hope you can reevaluate your life and try to live with a little more compassion.
January 20th, 2020 at 5:23 PM ^
So your shame prevents you from asking for help. That's on you. Quit shitting on others who do ask for help.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:34 PM ^
I don't care if this gets negged to oblivion:
If you gave to Ace expecting anything beyond his well being, that's on you. People crying or attacking him or having some sort of expectation on how their donations were spent are acting soft and entitled.
There seems to be a combination of jealousy because other people suffer and don't get six figures, and people who have unreachable expectations:
"Look how he's spending the money..."
"I expected a thank you..." (Ace had a thank you thread shortly after the donation, and even if he didn't it's a soft, bullshit expectation regardless of how you were raised.)
I have yet to see how Ace legitimately mistreated someone other than blocking people who insulted him, liked insults directed toward him, etc., which itself is a sort of projected victimhood. The only reason to give should be Ace's well being, and how that happens or how the money was spent or how grateful you expect Ace to be is beside the point.
I find it funny how old school, tough guy posters who defend "doing things the right way" are the biggest and loudest bitches when things don't go their way. It reminds me of the guy who starts something in hockey and then turtles when they get retaliated against. I don't blame Brian one bit for telling people to "shut the fuck up" even if I would have used different language.
January 20th, 2020 at 10:42 AM ^
100% correct, jsquigg.
I may (or may not) have given a small donation or a moderate one, but I did (or did not) donate without any expectation whatsoever of a personal "thank you" note in return. And when I do donate, I almost always do so anonymously.
Why do some feel it's necessary to get recognition for their "good deeds"? Why do some feel it's necessary to keep score by expecting a personal thank you?
I keep score only when it affects my tax return. Otherwise I try to help others if and when I can, and get my satisfaction out of believing I've done some good for someone in need.
January 19th, 2020 at 11:08 PM ^
I bought thank you cards for my 18 year old to send to every person that gave him graduation presents this year. I’m sure most of you that have graduates did the same. Showing individual appreciation isn’t a new thing and should still be encouraged. Ace should have taken the time to send an email, DM, or however he could reply to each person that donated to him. These people took time out of their life to earn the money that they gave him.
That being said, I didn’t donate shit. I’m now 43, but had a car accident in my mid twenties that has left me with significant back issues ever since (my back is crazy stiff as I’m typing this). I often wondered how I’m going to get through life like that, but I still tough it out. I had/have good and bad days, but I get up every day and take my ass to work. In my twenties, my career was much more strenuous on my body and it was miserable and depressing, but I chose to realize that I need me to provide form myself.
January 20th, 2020 at 1:33 AM ^
Are you sure he didn't? I swore that I got a thank you and sure enough just looked it up in my inbox.
I added a note to my donation to the effect of: "get well and you better get back to writing soon" and he clearly personally replied from his gmail on 1/14/2018 just one day after the campaign:
"Thank you so much for your support, (my name). I don't know what else I'd do and I certainly don't plan on stopping."
I would be shocked if he replied to my small donation and not yours. At least, I'm sure he didn't skip yours on purpose. You could have missed it, it could have gone to your spam, any number of things could have happened. Plus, he did thank supporters publicly.
January 20th, 2020 at 7:27 AM ^
Don't worry...I'm sure he used your donation to pay his rent in his three bedroom townhouse in AA, since adjusting his lifestyle to live within his means was out of the question.
January 20th, 2020 at 9:33 AM ^
"Got eeeeem" - Ace
January 20th, 2020 at 2:37 PM ^
This is exactly why I only give to animal charities or volunteer at shelters. The dog you save by giving to the anti-cruelty society or adopting into your home may never understand what you did, but he will be loyal and love his owner unconditionally. When they go from hungry and unloved, to loved and happy, they become that much more attached and grateful to those taking care of them. They don't feel entitled or dismissive.
I understand there are many people in need that would probably be very grateful and behave with great humility if they received help...I'm just not willing to bet on the human race over helpless animals. My $ and efforts will always go to help animals.
January 19th, 2020 at 7:37 PM ^
I don’t think Ace would go out his way to play Munchausen for some donations. Why do people have a problem with him buying recording equipment? Isn’t that how he makes like half his living outside of writing?
January 19th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
I dont understand the recording equipment freak out either. Some of the other stuff that is getting thrown in there too is unfortunately legit.
January 19th, 2020 at 9:24 PM ^
What other kind of stuff?
January 19th, 2020 at 9:32 PM ^
His shitty treatment of anyone or anything not in line with his beliefs.
January 19th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
I don't believe this is getting upvotes. How the hell do you know Ace conned people?
January 19th, 2020 at 10:07 PM ^
I think it was like 3 months.
January 19th, 2020 at 5:38 PM ^
On the meta: mgoblog, in many respects, has declined in quality over the past few years, and other sites for college football fandom have leapt them. Even reddit is able to garner a broad swath of fans from a variety of conferences, divisions, etc. and have them congregate on Saturdays in a fairly reasonable manner.
i realize this site relies upon a group of devoted contributors and site owners, and digital publishing is getting harder to do. But the combination of declining owner engagement, incessant ads, a poor mobile experience, and a far less level-headed fan base with a growing number of irrational trolls has made this site a little less enjoyable.
/end getoffmylawn
January 19th, 2020 at 7:04 PM ^
I'd take issue a bit with the notion that any other sites are much better (Reddit during gameday can be rough), but I largely agree with your assessment. The ads are annoying but tolerable, and my hope is that the new $5 signup fee cuts down on the trolls. But it's still a slog at times to keep one's head up, and I do feel like if the site took a vacation during the off-season everyone would be happier.
January 19th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
I suggest you go follow James Yoder to get your UM fix if you're so disappointed.
January 19th, 2020 at 7:57 PM ^
"Love it or leave it."
January 19th, 2020 at 7:25 PM ^
I think Brian experienced success so early that that his ego got of control. Now they’re focused more on their podcast which I guess I don’t blame since this site has gone down the shitter the last few years
January 19th, 2020 at 7:41 PM ^
I think content wise the narrative that it went "down the shitter" is a bit strong. The site has lost a lot of exceptional contributors for whatever reason over the past half decade. They have been replaced by BPONE drunk trolls. That sucks.
In terms of content I don't read any other blog on Michigan that matches Seth's work on Neck Sharpies, FFFF and related game analysis. Opponent Watch used to be better but still solid. I'm less into the basketball so don't really comment on that work. The photography staff remains top notch and solid for desktop changes at work every few weeks.
Brian just seems checked out; maybe it's the family responsibilities or maybe the BPONE. Long way from "peanut butter jelly and a baseball bat" enthusiasm when his boy RichRod was hired.
January 20th, 2020 at 8:38 AM ^
I’d agree - the FFFF content is great as is the photography.
I think it’s the trolls - and the ads - that have been the more exasperating things of my grievances. And this, I suppose, is an indictment of the World Wide Web broadly, which in a short time has somehow even allowed Literal Nazis to once again find an audience.
January 20th, 2020 at 10:57 AM ^
I miss Heiko and presser coverage too. Yeah press conferences are mostly coach speak, but Heiko managed to get nuggets here and there, and eventually work his way into real access.
Seems like they've retreated to the basement since the whole Brandon demise thing.
Don't even get me started on the board. Used to be the place to come get the latest relay of information in the dark days of Rodriguez and Hoke, and has become a blizzard of snowflakes 24/7.
January 19th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
Without the message board, this site wouldn't exist. It's the only thing people routinely come back for. The content is more frequent at other sites, but none of them have captured a message board community like this one.
I've been coming here for a solid 10-15 years, and its become a bitter place to return to day after day. And I think a lot of that stems from the way Brian's attitude has changed over the last few years. Part of me wishes he'd just turn things over to a more energized group of writers. But the site clearly prints some level of money regardless of how much effort or care is put into things so...why bother, right?
January 20th, 2020 at 1:15 AM ^
There was a thread about this a while back.
The data says the front page gets the traffic. It may seem to us who frequent the boards this is where the action is... but the metrics don't support that. They could get rid of the message board and continue to do just fine.
January 20th, 2020 at 12:44 PM ^
The data could be misleading. For example, I come to the front page and only navigate to boards threads that show up in the Message Board section on the right (or at the bottom on a phone).
January 20th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
It's not. These are the front page numbers:
January 19th, 2020 at 8:09 PM ^
The front page content is still about as excellent as its been in years past (although some authors seem to be relentlessly pessimistic nowadays which - whatever - a lot of people are) but they're really let the board slide in favor of podcasts it seems. I do most of my casual discussions and gameday at reddit CFB now.
I guess if Brian & Co are seeing monetary success doing what they're doing then great. Good for them. But I do wonder if their core fanbase is eroding underneath them a bit
January 19th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
As someone who has been around for 10+ years your last paragraph is right on. Sad but true.
January 20th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^
Agree completely. I was in the Reddit game day feed for the OSU game and for the most part even the OSU fans were more reasonable there than the hot takes here. Also with Reddit you can actually follow along and see responses to your posts. I’m this far in this thread on mobile and I still barely have any idea what the fuck is going on because it’s 4 posts per page and you can’t see who replied to who????
January 19th, 2020 at 5:40 PM ^
In before delete
January 19th, 2020 at 6:03 PM ^
Since it's a doomed thread I'm going to go off-topic.
For anyone who was formerly using TurboTax but is now using something else for tax prep, what did you switch to, and why is it better? My returns are kinda complicated this year b/c of rental properties
Also, I like Ace. I have no idea who Ant Wright is.
January 19th, 2020 at 6:19 PM ^
I dumped TurboTax for HR Block Tax Cut.
EDIT: Why the switch?
- Great for complex situations... like when I have to pay income taxes to California even though I don't live there, don't have an office there, don't have property there, don't have a driver's license or a car registered there.
- Human, English-speaking tech support
- Human audit support
- Quick, fast, UI which doesn't try to be fancy for no good reason
- Haven't run into any bugs with it
Some nitpicks:
- The UI for printing your return to PDF is really convoluted. It tells you you need to install a driver when you don't.
- SAVE OFTEN. Every time you click the Next button in the UI, I press ctrl+S; TaxCut is great IMHO like I said but I recommend people just get in this habit. It's supposed to autosave but I got burned by that once.
January 19th, 2020 at 6:34 PM ^
Is it easy to switch over? I’ve used TT for about 5 years in a row and it’s pretty easy at this point. Is it a lot cheaper?
January 19th, 2020 at 7:37 PM ^
Have no idea if it's cheaper, as that's dependent upon which forms you need to use.
But as a 10-year plus user of H&R Block Tax Cut, it was good when it started, has gotten better every year and I am as happy with it as I can be with a software product for something as non-fun as figuring out taxes.