Misery loves company

[Don't Panic]

I noticed a trend on here that there seem to be a lot more active posters (or at least more posts) when we are losing than when we are winning. So I crunched some numbers about the match threads from our competitive games this season.

The average number of pages on the threads is:

20 pages when we lose
17.5 pages when we draw (skewed by that crazy Wimbledon game - 26 pages!)
12.6 pages when we win.

Longest thread: 30 pages vs Rochdale.
Shortest thread: 8 pages vs Northampton.

Not sure what point I'm making, if any, but thought it was an interesting reflection.

Thanks for doing that - some evidence to back up an impression. A bit like the domination of good news by bad news in journalism. Having a moan and going over the top about football is a common pleasure, but it's generally more palatable when people are in the same room or on the terraces. In a context like PASOTI, it's text-based and most people don't know each other except through the evidence of the page. The majority would just be lurkers, reading without posting.

This means - and there is plenty of academic and industry research on the subject - that a small cohort of commenters provides most of the posts. Encouraged by an unaccustomed wider profile, they'll push their barrows ad nauseum and are not too bothered about the types of commenting etiquette rule that Plymouth Live has tried but clearly failed to sustain. Quite a lot of the discussion involves commenters insulting each other, as if the others online are caught up in some private spat.

So, yes, 'misery loves company' and miseries love digital megaphones. The Argyle Fans Forum would be a more engaging space if those who like to sound off had some awareness that their (mostly) poorly expressed tirades reflect less favourably on themselves than on their usual targets.

Excellent posts from Lobster and Antipodean, agree with points made. I think the Pasoti forum would be a much healthier place if the people who generally read and don't post contributed more. On this thread alone I see a lot of new people who have not contributed before, it is great to hear new and different perspectives. Personally I have been one of those passive forum members for a long time and while I appreciate much of what is said on here as ultimately we are all Argyle fans, I think sometimes this can over represent the views of a minority rather than the majority.

I do believe that the sentiment on Pasoti even when the club and team are doing really well is pessimistic, we seem happier when moaning rather than enjoying the high points!..which there have been a lot of these past 2 seasons. Having followed Argyle for 40 years, the high points should be savoured as they don't akways last - Dave Smith years, FA Cup, Dalton/Buszaky/ Friio, Ebanks Blake, Sturrock #1, Holloway, Adams promotion, Carey/Lamerias, Lowe promotion , Mayor Hallett ownership etc.

Good post. I’m someone who mostly reads & rarely posts. The issue I find with the style of some posters isn’t so much what they post but the volume of repeated, over the top, thread dominating comments they feel the need to ram down everyone’s throat. Like you say I think a lot of people just read because they’ve either tried to get involved but can’t be bothered dealing with the flack, or just can’t keep up the commitment to do so as often as those that almost live on this site. These posters don’t have to change their style of posting if that’s how they think is best to communicate with others & clearly feel “You don’t have to read it” & “Block me then” is a good enough grown up response to other people’s opinion to counter theirs. For me this site sometimes seems less about the actual club & more about the ‘personalities’ of some of the more vocal residents with nothing better to do, so it’s purely here to briefly amuse whilst using the bathroom or waiting for anything.

 

[Metal Green Mickey]

I’m not sure l want to be under any category but l dare say people have decided that along time ago.

I find the internet strange. In the sense that most people form opinions but most have never met each other. Personally l love the positive and the pessimistic opinions and the reason for that are is that if you take a strand of well constructive arguments it ends up forming more of a balance opinion of the truth of our current plight.

I don’t get why people antagonise each other but then sometimes l think it is because of habit.

I think it’s difficult to explain why you form an opinion, which is deemed to be negative by some, but actually you just watch the games and it’s a gut feeling you have.

For example, l believed Canavan and Wootton weren’t good enough for league two, let alone league one. They proved it under Adams they were too slow in league one and it’s not like they were going to get any quicker. However, after a promotion it isn’t what some want to hear on here.

I know l fall into the poster that says more comments after defeats. However, within those comments are also positive opinion. For example, l have raved about Camara a lot because l think we have got ourselves a gem.

Everyone has seen a lot of football. People must watch the games and know when the teams feels like it’s clicking. Even last season we just gave away too many ‘easy’ chances to score. Higher standard of league, so better teams punish us. Best example is Mansfield. Blew us away last season. Wasn’t clinical. I see no difference to the chances we gave people in that game to the ones we do now.

I posted less under Adams when Argyle won and l post less now too. The reason is lm not convinced what l’ve seen. For example, only a month ago people were banging the playoff drum. The difference l feel between then and now is that the opposition are punishing us for our mistakes.

Having said all this lm fully behind Lowe for two main reasons.

1). A manager needs at least TWO years in the job to bring in the players he needs for the system he wants to play.

2). You need to give someone a chance. A manager will always have a sticky spell. They need time to figure out a plan and to make alterations to that plan if they feel it’s in the best interests of the team going forward.

Do l believe Lowe is a managerial messiah. No. Do I think Lowe is a crap manager? No. To be honest l don’t even know how anyone knows if he is the real deal or not yet. Promotion from league two was good. Adams achieved this though and he unravelled as time wore on.

Only time will tell if Lowe learns from his mistakes, unlike Adams.

If you look at us going forward we look blunt. It lacks a cutting edge in the final third. With an attack minded manager when you lose that then issues at the back are highlighted more. Like us winning against Swindon Town at home. The defensive vulnerability is forgotten because we scored four.

That’s what’s football fans do when you win. Sweep the vulnerabilities under the carpet. Then in defeat wonder why they are happening, when in winning games they may have already been signs.

Maybe l do highlight what l feel are our vulnerabilities too often. I don’t feel negative in what l write. Unfortunately, it’s just what l currently what l see. I’d like to wax lyrical about G Cooper, Hardie, Mayor, Nouble, Telford, Reeves etc....but unfortunately there is no consistency from these players. The odd moment of brilliance but all too brief and infrequent.

For me it’s never been about the results. It’s about performances. When they are good consistently then you know you have something. I’m still patiently waiting for that sign so l can flood this site with positivity. Currently, l just see football fans emotionally reacting and l think when you lose you need to release that frustration. When you win you care less about highlighting anything apart from the 3pts and upward league table movement. Hence why the imbalance of the posts on here.

 

[Antipodean]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

 

[Mike E]

When we win, after the initial euphoria, there is a quiet contentment. Sit back and enjoy the moment.

When we lose there is more of a sense of depression and temptation to vent your spleen or search for answers, so maybe come on here in search of solice.

As somone has already pointed out, game after game, year after year, you win some you lose some, same cycle of ups and downs, just different players, managers, and even board members. Coming on here won't change what happens out there but just enables you to let off steam.

Pasoti is a world of it's own, with many diifferent posters over the years, some permanent members propping up the bar and some fleeting visitors.

What we don't need when something bad happens out there, not related to football, is someone coming on here telling us all it puts life into perspective.

 

[Guiri Green]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

I thought that yesterday as soon as Rovers scored. I expected at least 20 pages on the matchday thread.

 

[davie nine]

It will be interesting to compare with WHEN we get 5, or more, wins on the trot.

 

[demportdave]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

I thought that yesterday as soon as Rovers scored. I expected at least 20 pages on the matchday thread.

Are you seriously saying that the very first thing that came into your head when Argyle conceded after 7 minutes was, what are they going to say on Pasoti and how many pages will there be?

You didn't question the marking or think, how did we concede there?

It also tells us what sort of person you are - negative - because the obvious implication from your comment is that you thought that we had already lost the game after only 7 minutes. Yet you appear to be critical of negative fans; how ironic.

What is your obsession with what people post? In the overall scheme of things it's largely irrelevant and no different to people talking in the Pub after a match.

We all see things differently, nobody is right and nobody is wrong, it's just a chance say what you think and also to see what others think. Its not to be taken quite so seriously as you and 1 or 2 others seem to take it.

 

[Antipodean]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

I thought that yesterday as soon as Rovers scored. I expected at least 20 pages on the matchday thread.

Are you seriously saying that the very first thing that came into your head when Argyle conceded after 7 minutes was, what are they going to say on Pasoti and how many pages will there be?

You didn't question the marking or think, how did we concede there?

It also tells us what sort of person you are - negative - because the obvious implication from your comment is that you thought that we had already lost the game after only 7 minutes. Yet you appear to be critical of negative fans; how ironic.

What is your obsession with what people post? In the overall scheme of things it's largely irrelevant and no different to people talking in the Pub after a match.

We all see things differently, nobody is right and nobody is wrong, it's just a chance say what you think and also to see what others think. Its not to be taken quite so seriously as you and 1 or 2 others seem to take it.

A post that confirms with unerring accuracy the arguments that it contests.

 

[Knibbsworth]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

The irony is the same posters who are suggesting the pressure is hot on Lowe now would have instead been critical of Hallett for not having Lowe signed up to a new long term deal before Christmas.

That is the difference between 5 wins and 5 defeats.

Hopefully there are calmer heads in the boardroom.

 

[Balham Green]

Interesting test case - 5 consecutive losses. Would there be as many posts if we'd had 5 consecutive wins? I somehow doubt it.

The irony is the same posters who are suggesting the pressure is hot on Lowe now would have instead been critical of Hallett for not having Lowe signed up to a new long term deal before Christmas.

That is the difference between 5 wins and 5 defeats.

Hopefully there are calmer heads in the boardroom.

So you know its the same posters do you?