Around the 'Shoe

the difference between 4 stars and 5 stars....At Auburn its about 50,000 dollars :)

I've been good man! Just trying to make it through the off season, and another quarter of college

You are making some good points, but I wouldn't take the ratings that seriously.

I post what I think, regardless of the majority position. While I do not always succeed, I make an effort to come to the table with an informed opinion or speculation based on rational thinking. In other words, I try to follow the Jim Rome philosophy of have a take and don't suck. I call out posters and use my downvotes for posters who don't pass my two-part test. Number one, they disagree with my position. But much more importantly, for me to downvote, the poster must also make a stupid, uninformed, and irrational or emotional argument that goes beyond objective criticism . For example, I don't like personal attacks on players and coaches. I've been battling on the basketball board with posters making it personal against Buford and Sullinger, posting really stupid stuff because the posters let their emotions get the best of them after a tough loss. By the time I got out of my teens, I learned that getting mad and holding grudges against players or coaches on my favorite teams was a stupid thing to do. No matter how good, well prepared, hard they try, or their skill level, every player and coach will at some point make mistakes, have a bad game, or just get outplayed or out coached by a better opponent. A little luck is always a factor and I believe our fanbase can get so negative from time to time that we create some bad energy and karma.

I'll take my rather low 80-rating without a second thought. Some disagreement and arguing is part of the fun of posting on the board. While some posters offer some really good insight (those I upvote), when I get sick of arguing with awful posters and run out of down votes, my solution is to take a couple days or weeks off the board to recharge the batteries. There's no reason to quit or make a formal letter of resignation because of down votes.