Hi all.
We are obviously going through a turbulent time in the Wizards history. Every day seems to bring with it a new story which makes it easy to criticize the franchise or start leveling blame at others who may have a different viewpoint than yourself. However, we first and foremost need to remember that this is a COMMUNITY, and the success of the community is predicated on having open and thoughtful dialogue on all things things related to the Wizards. Sometimes, that may lead to frustration when another poster's ideas or opinions do not mesh with your own. But under no circumstances is it okay to chastise other posters for not sharing this viewpoint and deciding to express an opinion. Once we get to the point where we're criticizing each other for wanting to put in their two cents about anything, we are going against the very nature of what this site is all about. If you have a legitimate counterpoint to make, that's one thing, but when your sole contribution is to tell other people that they need to chill out, that crosses the line.
When posting, use this thought experiment. Think of the site as Mike's house. Rook, myself, BNIE and the other moderators/contribs all rent space in that house. Mike loves to throw a good party. So if you come to the party and get a little too crazy or knock over a lamp, we are probably not going to yell at you the first time it happens. However, if you continue to come to the party and act like a drunken boor, you won't get invited anymore. The same rule applies to if you come to the party, make fun of the other attendees, and complain about the decor and how the punch sucks. You don't want to be that guy/girl. And you wouldn't want that person at your party.
Without further ado, here are some rules to keep in mind.
This will get you immediately banned
- PRIMARY RULE - No racism, sexism, homophobia ect is EVER tolerated on Bullets Forever. If we see it or it is brought to our attention, it means an instant ban.
- Excessive criticism of players in a hateful manner (read as descriptively derogatory) will also receive a warning or a possible ban for a "cooling off" period.
- Excessive hateful statements about anything, really. We understand frustration and the need for criticism, but let's not name-call our own players. "That was a lazy play by Andray Blatche" is OK. "Andray Blatche is a piece of crap" is not as OK.
- Any personal attacks or ad hominem attacks on other posters will receive a warning or a possible ban. EXAMPLES: Don't call another poster a "hater." Don't tell that poster "he knows nothing about basketball" because he disagrees with you. If we see this, we are going to say something. You all know where the line is.
Recommended practices that violating will cause you to be rebuked
- Excessive cursing without further thought. Example: It is OK to be enraged in a gamethread and let out an F bomb, but if you do so repeatedly or excessively, it will receive a warning or a a possible ban.
- Comments that criticize other posters' language, without any further thought.
- Comments that chastise others for speculating and making educated guesses, without further thought. Educated guesses are going to happen because no commenter is the Wizards' Deep Throat. We respect your right to waiting to let things play out, but if someone else would rather put in his two cents about something, we ask that you respect that because otherwise it's hard to discuss anything. Feel free to elaborate if you think it's too early to judge something, but that elaboration is all we ask.
Things that will make you awesome
- Using the rec button rather than saying "+1." It helps direct our eyes to the best comments and fanposts and allows us to post work other than our own on the frontpage. It also makes it easier for commenters to scroll through long comment thread.
- Be funny when you are critical. Humor (within bounds) always carries the day.
- Citing your sources. Anything that you can back up with further reading or information always makes your argument stronger, and will give your point more weight. If you cite something, you must always link it.
- Using gifs. I love them. Keep them coming. However, if you use a gif, make sure you give your comment a title. People log in on work computers and on browsers where gifs don't play well. They should be able to click the title and collapse the comment if they want.
- Learning to agree to disagree. I can't tell you how much more respected you will be on the board and how other posters will start responding to you positively if you cede ground and not fight a pyrrhic battle over every opinion that you might have. Saying "I see your point" or even "you're right about that" earns a lot of respect. Mike and I to this day disagree about Etan Thomas. Rook and I have a long running argument over the value of Nick Young. I think Antonio Daniels was the greatest Wizards' PG to ever don the uniform. We all have opinions that we hold dear, but we all need to respect that other people might think differently.
Bottom line: this goes back to the golden rule of the site. Be respectful. Understand that we're fans, and fans express opinions, speculate, make educated guesses and all that stuff. This site just cannot function if that quality is taken away. But let's do so respectfully and not say anything we wouldn't want to say to each other in person.
Comments have been closed. For any questions, email Mike or Sean.