It was noted a few weeks back in the comments on the New Energy post that dcwilson40 had not posted in a while. In trying to determine the last time he commented, I noticed that his user page no longer exists on the site.
I talked to dcwilson40 a few days later, and he confirmed that he had been banned, most likely due to a comment he made about John Ballein. I won't repeat what he said, except to say that it's not the worst that has been said about him on this site. And a recent comment indicating that Ballein is on his way out may make this comment look a bit different in hindsight. (Edit: Okay, I'll repeat it. He said Ballein was a fungus, which I don't find particularly egregious, given the revelations from the ESPN piece on Tech's "unraveling".)
I won't lie and say that dcwilson40 isn't divisive, but I look at how he posted a few years back, and how he posts now, and I think that he has changed a little, but what has changed a lot is his perception. I think it's become more apparent the past few years that he really does have some good insights into football in general, and VT football in particular, along with some inside sauces to the program at the donor level. As for his posting style, he has admitted as much in his AMA that he does have some regrets about some comments he's made, but he also acknowledges that a small percentage of those would be taken much differently in person.
Look, I don't pretend to be unbiased about dcwilson40. I've known him since my very first day at Tech, over 36 years ago, and consider him a very close friend. I believe that at this point in time, his perspective on the team, the program, and the greater college football ecosystem are something that are needed here. But it's not about what I think, it's about what you as a community think, which ultimately should inform what Joe thinks about dcwilson40's ability to post here. And I hope that Joe and the community mods will leave this post up long enough to get some unsolicited, but IM(ns)HO needed, feedback about who I consider a valued poster here.
So, what say you, TKP? Should dcwilson40 be allowed to return?
Comments
I would have no problem with his return. I am actually surprised that he was banned. I thought he had left to avoid exploding over our football program.
A lot of times I have agreed with his points and comments even if I don't necessarily agree with how he stated it. I know that there are posters here that also seemed to deliberately try and strike up discord with him.
No. He made this place worse with his toxicity and it outweighed the positives.
edited for grammar. It was bothering me
Don't know him personally, but his online persona made the forums a pretty toxic place to lurk. His posts made me visit less, read less, and interact even less than I would have otherwise. You can tell he cares about the university and the program but I hope he's not back here beating the same dead horses over and over again anytime soon
I agree with this point. I visited less the more he posted.
Considered dropping my TKP membership because of him.
There were times it seemed like he was just an AI chatbot that was programmed to disagree with whatever point was being made.
It's just one opinion, but even if you agree with his criticism about our program, the way people say things and bring them up matters, and I'd rather not have that style of negativity here.
I support him being here. We didnt see eye to eye on much but he was a voice that was needed in some conversations.
Could he tone down the adversarial rabbit holes? Sure.
Do I remember the Ballein comment? No
Do I think vile thoughts about Ballein on my own? Absolutely...should have been shown the door as soon as Frank left.
Only advice I would give him is to take less personal shots in responses and stick to Hokiecentric information and respect that others don't see things the same way.
Yes, please allow the Prodigal Son to return.
would like to see him back here. would like to hear his thoughts about the current state of the program and the coaching search.
i actually agreed with a lot of what he said. i would personally have stated it differently...and arguing on message boards is not my type of thing...but i don't think he deserved to be banned as some others (trolls) have in the past.
First things first - this is Joe's site and I trust his judgement. It's my favorite internet community.
As for dcwilson40, I'll repeat my stance from a month ago:
He was polarizing, but also condescending and continually moved the goalposts if his initial argument was proven wrong.
I had several interactions with him like this. We all come here to talk VT football and to have fun. It's not fun when one guy is consistently being an ass and talking to you like you're a child.
I would welcome him back if he learns to interact with other adults like peers and not subordinates.
DC apparently violated guidelines. We all have opinions that, not properly understood, others would find either as offensive or as simply looking for conflict. The difference in DC (and a few others) and the majority of TKP is that most know (most of the time) how to keep such to ourselves or communicate it clearly enough to not offend. DC is an open book which I can appreciate and which certainly adds "flavor" to the community. I have never had any direct issue with DC, however I also don't TKP hard enough to typically get deep into any subject.
Not going to cast a vote except to say that I trust Joe and the mods judgement on this matter, especially the mods as I am sure DC added a significant amount to their mod workloads 😂😂
Yes, feel he should be let back in. He can be obnoxious. But so can we all.
As mas scott commented above, the just ad nauseam repeating of the same points over and over and over again was my biggest gripe.
I have to agree with VTMikeO - this is Joe's site. He decides.
I didnt have any issues with him. He was over the top some. We all are every once in a while - him more often.
This community can provide opinions here, but it's not really up to us... alone.
Hell yes
Yes.
His message is polarizing and at times repeated ad-nauseam but I never found anything that he posted to be completely out-of-bounds from a content standpoint. I did not see the "fungus" comment so I can't really comment on it.
Honestly, I think most of his disdain is from the fact that he doesn't have a rosy outlook towards VT Football. He was one of the first to turn on Fuente and he has been direct (but largely correct) about the overall direction of the Program.
I get that he is repetitive and digs in his heels, but there are plenty of people here who make a habit of nit-picking comments to death while ignoring the overall message---I find that just as annoying at times. And I do this: Ignore them--others can do the same to DC.
One of the reasons I choose this Board over others is that it has not traditionally been the "happy-go-lucky, lets just regurgitate the message from the PR department" Board that others are.
No. I know I don't participate much, but I read just about everything here.
He's the only individual person that made me consider cancelling my membership. He's literally a reminder of some of the worst comment sections/discussions that you see on other websites or social media. The amount of posts/discussions derailed by him was absurd.
This site is better off without him.
It's not a democracy -- take it up with Joe -- for what it's worth, there was not some backroom mod chat about it either
Nobody made similar threads for MacGruber or Leonard. Flying too close to the sun for too long and all that