Community Guidelines

updated on Apr 16, 2008 1:42 AM EDT

Bullets Forever is designed to be a democratic and open community with few set rules and regulations, but there are some guidelines that exist for the sole purpose of making sure this remains a safe and enjoyable community. This site is a place for Wizards fans to participate in a non-threatening, respectful environment. Any action that threatens this environment is unacceptable, and I reserve the right to warn and ban members that engage in such behavior.

Respect each other

Bullets Forever is made up of some of the most passionate and knowledgable fans around, and anyone is welcome. Discussion and disagreement is not only allowed, but it is encouraged, and readers should feel free to express their opinion without any fear of retribution or ridicule.

However, even though Bullets Forever is for free speech, that does not mean that you have the right to say whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want. Excepting rare situations, the following actions are simply not acceptable on Bullets Forever.

1. Any personal attacks on other community members: This includes direct attacks (e.g. "You Suck," "You're an idiot," "You don't know anything about basketball") and sarcastic attacks ("You're a bigger homer than Bill Simmons," "Wow, what great analysis, idiot..."). If you disagree with someone, deconstruct their ideas, not their character.

2. Relentless harrasment, negativity, and baiting: Essentially, posting the same thought over and over is not tolerated. For example saying "Jarvis Hayes sucks" every time he misses a shot, or "The Wizards suck" over and over again without any constructive criticism. Those are qualities of bad message boards, and Bullets Forever strives to be better than that.

3. Homophobic or prejudiced remarks: For example, "Brendan Haywood's such a sissy," "the Wizards shouldn't sign black players." Even if the remarks are tounge in cheek, you never know who will be offended.

4. Comments that are blatantly off-topic: This includes political comments and anything in the wrong thread. If your comment is not related to the main post, it probably belongs as a diary.

Any violation of these standards is subject to a warning, and potentially, a banishment from Bullets Forever.

Profanity

Bullets Forever is a community about a sports team, so it's unrealistic and unproductive to eliminate profanity altogether. However, because this is the internet, and because we want this to be a community for all ages, please try to keep profanity to a minimum. There are some situations, such as below, where using profanity is the only adequate way to describe the moment.

In this situation, it's okay and understandable to say something like "HOLY #%$@, WE WON! ARENAS IS #$%@#$ AMAZING!!!!" Just use your best judgement with profanity, and if there's a cleaner way to make your point, do so. We don't want this turning into your stereotypical message board.

Copywright Material

Whether it's writing a comment, posting a diary, or anything else, you've probably thought of an idea because you got it from somewhere. When this happens, be sure to stick to copywright laws. It is illegal to copy an article from anywhere without saying the source and author. If you're referencing an article in a comment or diary, do not re-post the entire thing. Instead, excerpt a relevant section (preferably no longer than a paragraph or two) and summarize the rest in your own words.

Diaries

Diaries are one of the coolest parts of Bullets Forever, as they give you, the reader, a chance to start your own discussions. There are only a couple ground rules.

A diary must be a minimum of 300 characters. Otherwise, it's not substantial enough, and it probably belongs as a comment on a main post. Diaries that have no substance will be deleted.
A diary must relate to the Wizards or the NBA. In short, it must belong on Bullets Forever. Diaries that do not relate to the Wizards, but relate to the NBA, should be designated as "Off-Topic." Any other off-topic diaries will be deleted.
A diary must have a descriptive title so readers can identify what your thread is about. "Antawn Jamison trade proposal" is good, "I've been thinking" is not.
Be sure to format your diaries and make them easy to read. If you're unsure of the HTML - and believe me, I'm no expert myself - here's a tutorial on some basic tags.
Keep your diary unique. If someone else has posted a diary on your subject, don't post it twice. Instead, comment in the appropriate thread. It's confusing for readers to have to go to separate threads to discuss the same idea.

Here are some quick tips on how to make your diary sparkle.

Expand on an idea on the main page and lend a different perspective, using statistics, articles, and other measures of evidence. These are exactly the type of diaries that embody the spirit of embracing different points of view.
They discuss a topic that had not previously been discussed in length at Bullets Forever. This diary exemplifies this rule perfectly.
They're really, really funny. Specifically, if they're this one.

Anything Else?

If you think anything else should be added here, e-mail me at pradam@brandeis.edu.

These guidelines are adopted with the help of fellow SBNation blogs Athletics Nation, Black Shoe Diaries, Golden State of Mind, Blogabull, and Bleed Cubbie Blue.