I have a confession, you guys. Over the past few days, I’ve been completely overwhelmed by both the opportunities afforded me by this website, and the incredible community interaction that this site fosters.
This weekend, I got to shake Ryan Miller’s hand as he said his goodbyes to Buffalo. I’ve had more interaction with media members I respect, fellow bloggers I read, and fans and commenters this week than I think at any point during my four years writing for Die By The Blade. And to all of you who’ve read, commented, and RT’d us over the past few days, thank you, from the bottom of may heart. You guys are what makes all this worth it.
Since we’ve had (and will hopefully continue to have) such a flurry of activity over the next days, weeks, and months, I wanted to give users new and old an idea of what Die By The Blade hopefully is, and strives to be every day.
Die By The Blade 101
I started writing for this website in 2009, when then-EIC David Oleksy put out the call for someone to collect the Daily Links – it’s a thankless job, but I was working part-time and bored in a city I didn’t know really well, so I said I’d do it. (Small aside: shout out to Jack Goods for taking over said thankless job – you certainly have my thanks.) I took the job, and found the site originally because I was looking for a place to hang out with Sabres fans that wasn’t as acidic a community as the rest of the internet. That’s not to say everyone here was a puppet of the team, but that the arguments were intelligent, the commenters respected each other’s opinions, and it was generally a fun place to hang out during the day.
Four years later, I’m living in Buffalo again, have taken over as the managing editor, and DBTB has grown by leaps and bounds. But I wanted to reiterate something for all users, new and old, one of the things that drew me to the site to begin with.
Die By The Blade exists to give Sabres fans all over the world a way to connect with each other and interact in a positive way. Positive doesn’t refer to our outlook on the team, but it does refer to the fact that this site is a place of support, intelligence, fun, and tolerance for fans of all types.
You don’t have to agree with everyone here. But you do have to respect their opinions. Similarly, when putting an opinion on our boards, you need to respect the intelligence of everyone else that posts here. Comments that put down or dismiss other users, such as “Do you even watch the games?” or “If you think that, you’re an idiot” will not be tolerated on this site. Neither will excessive swearing or relentless and unending negativity.
Over the next few days, everyone will have an opinion on the return Tim Murray gets for trades, on more news about Pat LaFontaine’s departure, and on the job Murray has done so far. No matter what your opinion, try to post your thoughts in an intelligent, coherent manner. We’re going to have a lot of fun over the next few days with all the rumors and trade speculation, so let’s make this a fun place to be for all involved.
Welcome to you all, and thank you for reading.
Lets go, Buffalo!