Commenting on a social media website for the first time isn’t much different than being the new kid at school and walking around the cafeteria on your first day and looking for a table to join. There’s some unspoken ‘rules of engagement’ that must be followed. They are different if you are looking to join a group of males or a group of females. Football fan forums are mostly male-dominated. (If you want to appreciate how females interact in groups, watch the movie ‘Mean Girls.’)
Male group dynamics were forged back when males had the primary responsibility to (1) hunt and bring home the food, and (2) defend the group at risk of injury/death to yourself for the protection of the women/children/other males in the group. Young males must pass a gauntlet of challenges meant to determine if they pass muster to be allowed into the group. These initiation rites of passage continue in the modern world—boot camp in the military, hazing to get into a fraternity, ‘jumping in’ to a street gang, training camp and tryouts for a sports team . . . and yes, group reaction and acceptance into a social media group.
Look at the stats under each poster’s avatar and screen name. It is a tally of how long they have been with the group and how many comments they have made and also how they have been received. Why should those stats be of importance if you just want to ‘talk football?’ Those simple numbers indicate the ‘cred’ that poster has. A newbie stands to get the ‘initation’ treatment’ before his/her comments are given positive acceptance.
(1) NO WHINING. How you respond to a negative reaction to one of your comments provides vital information. If you get emotional or offended by a simple joke or jab—how will you react when put to the test in ‘battle.’ You are being judged if you are worthy of sitting at the table of your choice (with the jocks, the cool kids, the nerds, the geeks). The worst shun is to not have anything---be it good or bad---to your comments. Even a negative nickname is better than no nickname. You are a part of the group when others 'joke' about your comments,your manhood, your sanity.
An example of Whining that will undermine your membership on the team: Consider the player and fan reaction to KM when he refused to take the field for the final series in the playoff loss to the Rams. He broke a key rule of being a team member. He didn't stand with the others in defeat. He was good-as-gone going forward.
Check out the TV series ‘Freaks and Geeks’ available for free on-demand on the Pluto streaming channel.
If you want to investigate further, do a web-search on ‘the treatment of a newcomer into a social media group of males.’ or ‘male initiation rites.’
The following are a few of the interesting (read:insane and crazy) male rite of passage rituals that existed (and in some cases still exist) around the world.
www.artofmanliness.com
