1. "Boy, that escalated quickly...I mean, that really got out of hand fast."
2.If you're just tuning in, there was a FanPost yesterday on Hogs Haven posted by a fan who had experienced a chance run-in with Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. What followed was a spirited retelling of Jim Haslett apparently laying out the Redskins' offseason plans.
3. In the process of the story blowing up around here, it became unclear to many that this was not a story that was written by any of our writers. It circulated around the internet and the local media with the Hogs Haven handle and caused some rather...unpleasant reactions.
4. "Look, I'm not a cop. I'm no hero." We think extremely highly of the beat guys--guys like John Keim, Rich Campbell, Grant Paulsen, Mike Jones, etc. We hold them in the highest esteem. We don't do what they do. You don't have to be a professional member of the media though to know the difference between going up to a guy and saying, "My name is Ken Meringolo and I write for Hogs Haven...can I ask you a few questions?" and approaching someone as a fan and having a fun conversation. I can write about one and not the other. The same standard does not apply in our FanPost section, and it is probably wise to see about making it so that those posts are more clearly marked.
5. Not too long ago, this story would have been told by the water cooler at work or over a beer at the bar. There would have been a "Wow!" or two and that would have been mostly it. Now, that story is told via FanPost on a site like Hogs Haven--again, to share with buddies--and it blows up into something people at Redskins Park can't be happy about.
6. We continue to encourage you to share your stories. While there is always the potential for unintended consequences, the FanPost section here is our water cooler. The truth is that we have seen things in our FanPost section far nuttier and significantly more ridiculous than what we read yesterday. This one clearly had a lot of legs and part of that is due to Hogs Haven being looked upon rather favorably by a lot of the folks we mentioned above. So when a person clicks on a link taking him or her to a story on Hogs Haven, it is hard for them to discern between what is a FanPost and what is something one of the staff writers puts out there.
7. While regrettable, this whole incident underlines just how crazy we are when it comes to the Redskins, and especially at this time of year. By tomorrow, there will be yet another wild rumor about this team that will capture our attention.
8. One thing we have done here is try and move away from the practice of using nicknames or handles on our staff. We're happy to stand by our names when it comes to the things we write.
9. Some of the best ideas and opinions are expressed in our FanPost section. One day of madness shouldn't detract from what has become a source of great content for us. As I said above, it is likely worth the effort to do more to distinguish FanPosts from stories created by our writers (aside from the byline.)
10. If we aren't happy with any of the rookie quarterbacks after Luck and Griffin, it would make sense we would be strongly considering the free agent route. If that is true, and Manning's arm is spaghetti, it sounds like Kyle Orton is a real possibility, eh?