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Hello BTB Community,
It's time for another reminder about conduct on the blog. Recently, there has been a number of people flat-out breaking rules and others who are just skirting the rules trying to get by. The mods have been doing a heroic job of trying to keep things from spiraling out of control, but they need help. That help should come from me, and it should come from you.
So let's start with my help. It comes in the form of this post. I'm going to be reiterating some things but I'm letting everyone know, we'll be extra-attentive in the next few weeks, we're determined to keep things clean here at BTB, so don't dismiss this post. I know some old-timers here feel they have some leeway, and maybe they do to an extent, but please don't test that going forward. Warnings and Bans will be coming freely.
Please review the guidelines here, if you just follow these in the spirit they're intended instead of trying to find loopholes or ways to get around them, you'll be fine here at BTB.
1. The moderators. They have my full trust and backing. They have a very tough job and they do it voluntarily. They also do a fantastic job. It's very hard making determinations about comments sometimes, so if they err on the side of caution, then you should accept that. Don't fight them. Don't start arguing with them in the comments. You'll lose because in the end I will back them. So just don't do it. If you have a concern about any of the mods, send email directly to me. That way we can handle it off the board. Really, follow this rule, I beg of you.
2. Not everything is life and death, not every principle has to be defended until the bitter end. Sometimes commenters can't believe anybody would disagree with them. Why, it's unconscionable! Stop with the dramatics. Not every comment has to be followed up with a rebuttal comment followed up by another rebuttal until the bitter end. People take comments and disassemble them into single sentences (out of context) so they can try to score points. This method of argument is petty and lazy. We don't all have to be lawyers on here (sorry to the lawyers out there). Just settle down everybody, it's all good and we all have opinions. We shouldn't have to battle every time we post something.
3. Profanity. On game threads it's getting out of hand. We sent some warnings last week, we'll be much more vigilant this week and the following weeks. Also, trying to get around the profanity rules by using &*%$# characters or *** or whatever is not going to fly. If you can't express yourself without using profanity, then BTB isn't the place for you. Move on. The tolerance for this is about to go to zero.
4. Personal scores. This isn't the place to settle them. We are not going to be calling people out in an egregious way to score points or settle grudges or disagreements. This includes people from other blogs that come to visit. If you disagree with someone's message, simply reference that message then move on to your reasoning. There is no need to continually hammer them by name or inference. If your argument has strength, we'll recognize it without the need to belittle the other guy. It's always about the MESSAGE and never about the MESSENGER!
5. Labeling people by clan. This one is not necessarily in the rules but it might be soon. Stop forming cliques, this isn't grade school. Kool-Aid drinkers, Apologists, Haters, etc. Once you label me, you negate me. Stop with the lazy short-hand of lumping people into a clan. Each person here is an individual and holds individual opinions. Respect that!
6. **** references. They've been cropping up a lot lately. Just stop it. It's a touchy subject, so let's not touch it.
I hate doing posts like these, I mean I really hate it. But it was time, too many people are testing the rules, testing the moderators and fouling up the blog. We can't let that happen. So this post is doing my part to help, to clear up any confusion. Now, I ask that you do your part. Follow the rules, just be cool. Don't get all crazy because you're anonymous behind a keyboard. If other people are getting out of line, flag their posts so the moderators can see.
This is a great thing we have going here at BTB, but it won't remian great unless we're vigilant about it. So let's all help out.
Now let's get back to football!
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