ETHICAL: trolling opponent's websites?

I do it. Along with youtube, local papers and anything else

I don't think so, but then again I don't know of any where a strategical advantage could be gained, i mean unless the coach is on there talking about schemes etc, what is there to lose.

I do love to watch opponents highlight videos that they feel inclined to put up on youtube though

I don't see anything unethical about it at all. It is kind of like kids posting all their personal business on facebook for everyone to see. In my opinion, they forfeit their right to whine and complain when they get into trouble based on what they have posted. If a coach allows stuff on the internet, he has to know that opponents will find it sooner or later.

A coach once said I use System XYZ from his press release. I used that information and poof, I had their playbook and our scout team ran it that week, would that ethical? Probably not but we had lost like 18 straight and at that moment, I had no ethics....

I don't see anything wrong with it at all. I just know better than to put anything I do on a website.
(disclaimer here, thanks to all y'all who put game film on websites, I've learned a ton of stuff)

We do everything we can to know as much as possible about who we are playing. I want to know who they are and what they are thinking. I want the names and sizes of as many starters as possible. I'm not going to tap their phone lines, but espionage is our friend. We read as many newspaper articles as we can, get as many game films from whatever source we can, and check every website possible.

Unethical is when you are filming their game without permission or sneaking into a tree next to their practice field.
I've had that done to me though.

I also do as much "reverse" planting of information as possible.
In the newspaper articles I will not lie, but I'm not going to say anything that will tell my opponents anything either.

We are running the DW this year, but there is no way anybody is going to know that until they see me. I will tell the newspapers guys just about anything else but that.
Tomorrow we have the TV cameras at practice, there is no cotton-picken way I'm going to run one single DW play for the camera.
We will be throwing the ball the entire time from Trips.

A few years ago, we were playing our main rival and they were doing something that I couldn't figure out from any game film I had. It was just something that I couldn't tell and it was maddening. That week while on their school's football website they had a number of still shots from previous games.
Low and behold if there wasn't pictures of how they ran that series. They thought they were putting stuff on there for the world to see and admire, they were-me.
Although they were favored, we beat them by 30 based on how I was able to shut down their offense from that series of still shots.
If you don't want people to get it, don't put it out there.

Last year, I totally freaked out several coaches in our conference by knowing personal information about their kids.
One guy was particularly amazed when I told him what his starting offensive tackle was planning to study in college, or what nickname his Tailback's Mother called him.
Just to plant a little doubt that I might know his game plan too.

I have a coach who is in charge of espionage, I consider it important. I actually get reports.
Sure I'm nuts.

OJW

Public domain = public domain. Nothing wrong with that. Now as far as reading msg boards I have come to find out that most of what the fans/parents put up is usually very biased and of no help what so ever. I have even know people who plant false info on the msg board around here.

So basically if someone posts something on a web site that's their fault for putting it out there.

No, as long as you are not being deceptive in your communications with them, e.g. say you are team A and team B has the message board and you post on game week with them that your star qb will not play in the game due to injury when in fact he is fine... other than that, if they are stupid enough to post critical information on a public website then have at it

To totally hijack this thread,
I know a coach that I consider a great guy who was "taken" by someone posing as a coach from another state.
This guy was not only NOT from another state, he was in his conference. You have to be careful out there.

I consider it a far cry from gathering information to lying about who you are and where you are from.

OJW

My only concern would be if you used the message board to try to stir up trouble for the coach by posing as a disgruntled parent or something to that effect. Other than that, I agree with the idea that public domain is fair game.

I'd say anything another team puts out on the web for public consuption is fair game. If you lied, cheated, or stole to get a password in order to gain access to sensitive information, that would cross the line, but if membership is open to the general public...it's all fair game. Also agree with OJW and others...if you have to use deception about who you are to obtain the info, that's out of line too.

no different than reading local paper, listening to coach's show on radio or interview by local tv station, etc...public informatin...just don't cross the line and hack into team's computer

I dont see anything wrong with it. It is out in the public so fair game. Plus realy, how much can you gain from an oppoenent's website besides maybe a few pictures of alignments etc.

Unethical? Maybe. Childish? FOR SURE!