This, this and this. I've never been a recruit, but if I were, "stability" would be a factor in choosing a school. I want to know that the coach who recruits me is going to be there for my 4 years. I also know that fans can pressure a school into making a coaching change. So - elevating my hypothetical status to that of 4-star recruit who is considering LSU and Alabama - when I see one program's fan base constantly bashing its coach, and the other school erecting a statue to its coach, I'm putting the checkmark for stability firmly in the Alabama column.
Then we may as well quit recruiting, b/c that probably describes a majority of the 16-18 y/o being recruited. They are impacted by the information they hear, whether it's from the coaches from the school recruiting them, rival coaches recruiting them, active and former players, persons in their community, and, yes, message boards. That is the modern world we live in. To think it doesn't affect recruits, many of whom are quality athletes we want, and hopefully quality people (that's for the coaches to assess) is being naive, and quite honestly, close minded. It's easy to say you don't want them and they need to get thicker skin. They will in time, and part of that skin thickening is happening in adolescence, but they are not even adults yet and this will be a part of that growing process. Their skin will thicken over time, but we want that to take place in the environment of LSU and our coaches, not elsewhere, which is what this attitude promotes.
Criticism is natural, being someone who talks about kids being pussies but hides behind an avatar and a fake identity is a real man though right?
Poor coaching, poor player development, poor use of talent, losing to rivals or teams you should beat, losing bowl games have far more of a negative impact on recruiting than anyone posting on a forum.
