USM fans not believing it really is Rick V....

[SouthernMissFan]

Posting here. If it is, he is losing friends fast.

http://southernmiss.rivals.com/showmsg.asp...3293175&style=1

[Tramp96]

Rv's obligation is to UNT, not Southern Miss.

[Quoner]

Why don't USM fans think an AD positing on a message board is the coolest thing ever?

Idiots.

[madison eagle]

Why don't USM fans think an AD positing on a message board is the coolest thing ever?

Idiots.

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BECAUSE THIS ISNT HIGH SCHOOL

[Quoner]

BECAUSE THIS ISNT HIGH SCHOOL

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In high school they can catch sarcasm.

I'm agreeing with you to a point, jackass.

[meangreendork]

Posting here. If it is, he is losing friends fast.

http://southernmiss.rivals.com/showmsg.asp...3293175&style=1

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What the heck does it matter to you? If RV chooses the wrong coach, UNT suffers for it, not you. If RV says something stupid here (which will probably never happen), UNT suffers for it, not you.

So like I said...

What the heck does it matter to you? I'm glad our AD cares enough to do so, even if it's just to clear up some stink.

[SouthernMissFan]

What the heck does it matter to you? If RV chooses the wrong coach, UNT suffers for it, not you. If RV says something stupid here (which will probably never happen), UNT suffers for it, not you.

So like I said...

What the heck does it matter to you? I'm glad our AD cares enough to do so, even if it's just to clear up some stink.

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Easy. This situation involves a coach from USM. If it didn't, I could care less. I don't think any AD would post on a message board to deny a rumor. If he actually did, then that is just about as unprofessional as it could get.

[El Paso Eagle]

Easy. This situation involves a coach from USM. If it didn't, I could care less. I don't think any AD would post on a message board to deny a rumor. If he actually did, then that is just about as unprofessional as it could get.

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So OUR AD trying to keep fans updated is a bad thing??? How is it unprofessional to communicate with the fan base? If he told a reporter would that be OK?

Remember you do not have to post on this board if you do not want to

[Eagle Man]

Rv's obligation is to UNT, not Southern Miss.

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ASOLUTELY! RV works for UNT not USM! I appreciate that RV would take time to communicate with the fans about one of the most important decisions facing UNT.

If you at USM don't like that than too bad.

[Cowtown]

You are wrong, in highschool I once caught sarcasm, but a quick shot of penicillin fixed me right up.

In high school they can catch sarcasm.

I'm agreeing with you to a point, jackass.

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[VideoEagle]

Easy. This situation involves a coach from USM. If it didn't, I could care less. I don't think any AD would post on a message board to deny a rumor. If he actually did, then that is just about as unprofessional as it could get.

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Wait, you’re saying getting correct information out to the fan base in the quickest way possible is “unprofessional?” It’s better to let the fans get angry and start the emails, phone calls and letters flowing over an erroneous internet rumor when a very short explanation stops it in it’s tracks is more “professional?”

A short statement to the fans fixes the problem without the office staff being hit with 500 phone calls and thousands of emails. Dealing with all of that would be a waste of time and resources.

That would appear to be better management.

[CaribbeanGreen]

My gut instinct was to agree with you about the level of professionalism, SoMissFan, but then I thought about it -- it's a brave new world out there. You've got high profile figures like Mark Cuban and his ilk communicating almost exclusively through e-mails and his blogmaverick.com, you have stories breaking daily through various online blogs and message boards (see Rhett Bomar). Every media outlet worth its salt has moved resources into an online format and into the blogosphere -- maybe accuracy has suffered for it, but it's the way of the day. It's the most instant and direct method of contact with the masses... both media and general public. What's the difference between that and a generic press release?? Only the speed of distribution and the appearance of "direct" contact with the people. It's not like RV is online getting into pissing contests with some of us blowhards -- not hardly. But this is a great way to take the temperature of a small but passionate group of his fanbase, and a great PR tool.

Things are changing -- and sometimes that forces conventional wisdom to be examined.

[Guest JohnDenver]

They have the reputation* of being slow on picking up of new technology in Mississippi and Louisiana. The Ragin' Cajuns don't even have a message board (well at least one with functioning members). ET is a good site.. but it is a shame it is a Rivals.com site. It would be more "fan site" if it were independent.

* I am not saying this IS the case. They just have that reputation.

[Quoner]

Wait, you’re saying getting correct information out to the fan base in the quickest way possible is “unprofessional?” It’s better to let the fans get angry and start the emails, phone calls and letters flowing over an erroneous internet rumor when a very short explanation stops it in it’s tracks is more “professional?”

A short statement to the fans fixes the problem without the office staff being hit with 500 phone calls and thousands of emails. Dealing with all of that would be a waste of time and resources.

That would appear to be better management.

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Seems to me that responding to reporter calls (a few stories have been lacking comment - not just this one) would be even more efficient because there would be nothing to clean up.

RV had a much more direct way to do this by just talking to the reporter - he chose the easiest way. He could have been busy that day or any number of other circumstances, but I am not a fan of the AD making reactionary posts on a message board and the way it makes my school look to other programs. If you tell anyone from another school your AD posts on a fan message board openly they will laugh at you. He has a right to do this his way, and that's fine - this is just MY opinion.

RV could easily create a blog or any other consistent forum to address fans the way Cuban did and I would be very impressed. Having a message board posts or two every few months should not be praised as an effective form of communication strategy. Its better than the usual silence, but, like so many other things, the bar is so low around here for so many things that any move towards competency or average is rejoiced as the second coming.

Just my two cents. I'm gay.

[meangreendork]

Going through the news outlets to put out info also means you have to go through their filter. If RV has something to say, he knows he can post it here without any initial changes. Interpretations will follow, but you know the initial post isn't edited.

And, I still don't know why a USM fan would care, or at least, crap bricks over the fact RV posted on the board. See, I understand that you'd be concerned about the possible loss of a USM coach. You're free to rant and rave about that, regardless of what RV says.

But to have a stroke over the fact RV skipped traditional media outlets is pretty backwards. It's a new age of high-speed communications that allow for direct contact between source and target with little-to-no middleman. Keep up, kid.

Edited November 16, 2006 by meangreendork

[Stan R]

But to have a stroke over the fact RV skipped traditional media outlets is pretty backwards. It's a new age of high-speed communications that allow for direct contact between source and target with little-to-no middleman.  Keep up, kid.

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This is Mississippi we're talking about here. I'm not shocked.

[Quoner]

Going through the news outlets to put out info also means you have to go through their filter. If RV has something to say, he knows he can post it here without any initial changes. Interpretations will follow, but you know the initial post isn't edited.

And, I still don't know why a USM fan would care, or at least, crap bricks over the fact RV posted on the board. See, I understand that you'd be concerned about the possible loss of a USM coach. You're free to rant and rave about that, regardless of what RV says.

But to have a stroke over the fact RV skipped traditional media outlets is pretty backwards. It's a new age of high-speed communications that allow for direct contact between source and target with little-to-no middleman.  Keep up, kid.

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Well then let's just make him a myspace page and be done with it then.

If you speak on the record to a reporter, no one will change your statement. The gray areas come when you go off the record. I acknowledge he could have conflicts, but all it would have taken is one 2 minute conversation to make this all not occur. If he couldn't do it fine - all I am saying is maybe in the future make it a higher priority to respond to media inquiries. Why is that a bad approach? I'm not adovcating he issue a press release to respond to each dumbass theory posted on the internet.

I love that the decades old concept of the message board is part of the new age of high speed communications. These things have been around since you were suckling up to Scrappy's molted teat. Yes there is more face to face communication and there has been much documentation and analysis of this in the media that we can all point to (txags OU thread, deadspin, Eustachy, etc.)

Anyone who studies or does this stuff for a living would perhaps suggest that a few misc. posts on a message board are not the proper way to go. What if Bill Gates cleared up company rumors on the (fictional) goMicrosoft.com website instead of using media, releases, or other outlets? Would that not appear bush to you? Keep up, kid.

There is no company or organization I can think of that has their figurehead posting as himself on a website like this. The closest thing I can think of is Curt Schilling on the SOS boards. and I'm sure Curt never shot down an organizational rumor or disparaged a prospect or coach to (possibly) save face.

[Cerebus]

There is no company or organization I can think of that has their figurehead posting as himself on a website like this.

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I read four or five of these today alone. Granted, mostly tech companies, but you have Mark Cuban in the sports world.

[Quoner]

I read four or five of these today alone.  Granted, mostly tech companies, but you have Mark Cuban in the sports world.

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They generally do this through the blogosphere (hate that word) and usually through their own site. I think I mentioned Cuban's site earlier in this discussion - if not my apologies. I know all sorts of company's have blogs and forums they create and manage. I know companies pay communications specialist to monitor and post on these forums. I do not know of many that engage other people's content as themselves - that is all.

I don't mind if he does it, but I just don't think it should have been the first communication out the door on this. I do like that this board got the answer before the wizards at the DRC.

I'm really not trying to pick fights - I just enjoy discussing this stuff.

[VideoEagle]

RV wanted to kill a bad rumor quickly. If you notice the time stamp, he posted at midnight. For most of us, the rumor was killed before 9am.

I don’t know if a reporter asked him about contacting the USM Coach. The first place I read about it was here. The first place anyone was upset about was here. And here is where RV fixed the problem by spending one minute to post a simple message.

If someone from another school thinks getting the accurate word out to the correct people faster, at a lower cost while involving few staff is some how “unprofessional,” why should I care? Let them go back to their mimeograph and spent the money for stamps and three days to get a letter delivered!

[MeanGreenBuzz]

RV wanted to kill a bad rumor quickly. If you notice the time stamp, he posted at midnight. For most of us, the rumor was killed before 9am.

I don’t know if a reporter asked him about contacting the USM Coach. The first place I read about it was here. The first place anyone was upset about was here. And here is where RV fixed the problem by spending one minute to post a simple message.

If someone from another school thinks getting the accurate word out to the correct people faster, at a lower cost while involving few staff is some how “unprofessional,” why should I care? Let them go back to their mimeograph and spent the money for stamps and three days to get a letter delivered!

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Yep. It seems like from RVs post that he informed Butler before he informed us and reporters. Whenever contact is made I am sure he has to make some sort of release whether he initiates contact or not and more than anything the media should have made it clear that contact was not initiated by RV before they printed the story. I commend him for the way he handled it.

[emmitt01]

Anyone notice that it is a USM coach who RV stated wasn't in contention and it's only USM fans who are quick to jump to his defense by calling RV "unprofessional"?

And, no, it's not that the USM coach is in contention and therefore USM fans are here to read about it...at least not entirely. I'm sure a UTEP fan or two or perhaps a Tech fan has dropped by to see what has been said about Price or Dykes. Yet, somehow, they haven't taken RV to task for publicly expressing his wishes. Gee, I wonder why. Could it be that Tech and UTEP fans haven't had their school's honor wounded by the suggestion that one of their own isn't good enough to be our next head coach? Frankly I'm sure it's the assumption of most if not all Southern Miss fans that ANYONE who is on their staff is good enough to be head coach at lil' ol' North Texas.

[Quoner]

RV wanted to kill a bad rumor quickly. If you notice the time stamp, he posted at midnight. For most of us, the rumor was killed before 9am.

I don’t know if a reporter asked him about contacting the USM Coach. The first place I read about it was here. The first place anyone was upset about was here. And here is where RV fixed the problem by spending one minute to post a simple message.

If someone from another school thinks getting the accurate word out to the correct people faster, at a lower cost while involving few staff is some how “unprofessional,” why should I care? Let them go back to their mimeograph and spent the money for stamps and three days to get a letter delivered!

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And that was almost a full day after the article came out. There would have been no article or a much different one if he had said the same thing to a reporter when they called him. How many resources does that take? Are there interns running on hamster wheels powering his office? Run Scrappy, Run!

I am indulging in the frivolous - and I love it.

[DeepGreen]

I don't think any AD would post on a message board to deny a rumor. If he actually did, then that is just about as unprofessional as it could get.

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Hey, blame Al Gore for the internet! It's his fault.

[TheTastyGreek]

And that was almost a full day after the article came out. There would have been no article or a much different one if he had said the same thing to a reporter when they called him. How many resources does that take? Are there interns running on hamster wheels powering his office? Run Scrappy, Run!

I am indulging in the frivolous - and I love it.

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I think they should all just be grateful that you don't just silence their posts entirely.

How would you know so much about hamster wheels, though? Does Quinn have a pet gerbil or something?