TexAgs
Encyclopedia
TexAgs is an independent Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 fan website. It features articles, chat, forums
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...

, and recruiting information about Texas A&M Aggie
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" is common at land-grant or "Ag" schools in many states. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports...

 sports. Receiving an average of 500,000 hits per day, , TexAgs was the sixth most-visited college sports website and the most visited NCAA Division I-A website. From May 2006 to June 2007, the website received an average of 196,000 monthly unique visitors.

TexAgs was created by Peter Kuo in May 1997 and sold to its current operators in December 1999. When it first debuted, TexAgs only had 2,000-3,000 members, and forums only discussed Aggie football
Texas A&M Aggies football
The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...

. In February 2007, The Association of Former Students
The Association of Former Students
The Association of Former Students is the official alumni association of Texas A&M University. The Association attracts over 400,000 members and has 242 clubs worldwide...

 announced a marketing partnership with TexAgs.com. Presently, there are more than 30 different forums and 60,000+ users. The website never used any form of advertising for promotion, as it grew popular via word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...

.

Notable forum posts include one that disclosed that former University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

 quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 Rhett Bomar
Rhett Bomar
Rhett Matthew Bomar is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...

 received payment for non-worked hours from a local auto dealership seven months before the University kicked the player off of the team and reported the infraction to the NCAA. Former University President and current U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....

 has posted as "Ranger65". In April 2010, TexAgs gained national attention when a forum member posting as "dermdoc" boasted of terminating an employee who voted for President Barack Obama. Texas A&M graduate and US Astronaut Mike Fossum posted late on July 29, 2011 from the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...

 using an account TexAgs staff set up for him earlier that day.

TexAgs has four full-time employees, including the owner, Brandon Jones. Message boards are moderated by twenty volunteers.

In 2009, the website became an affiliate of ESPN.com
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN and a division of ESPN Inc. Since launching in 1995 as ESPNet.SportsZone.com, the website has developed numerous sections including: Page 2, SportsNation, ESPN 3.com, ESPN Motion, My ESPN, ESPN Sports Travel, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Insider, ESPN.com's...

 as part the 20 college TEAM Sports Network.

On August 22, 2011, TexAgs radio was launched as a daily Aggie sports talk show on KZNE 1150 the Zone. Hosts include Gabe Bock and Billy Luicci.

Criticism

Some current and former members have criticized the operation of the message forums, particularly its moderation policies. Such criticisms include a policy of anonymous moderation by a staff of twenty, led by Brandon Jones, who are allowed to post alongside regular members. This is in contrast to similar websites that list their staff and moderators in an open fashion. Further, such moderation is sometimes seen as inconsistent.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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