Fan Forum Etiquette

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[faqborder][faqhead]BREWERFAN.NET Fan Forum Etiquette[/faqhead]

Like the constitution, only not as cool, Brewerfan.net's Fan Forum Etiquette is a living document, where we add and adjust content as needed.

 

[h1][ap=contents]Contents[/ap][/h1]

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• [a=whats_in_forum]What's in the forum?[/a]
  
• [a=discussion_allowed]What kind of discussion is allowed?[/a]
  
• [a=discussion_not_allowed]What kind of discussion is not allowed?[/a]
  
• [a=language_not_allowed]What kind of language is not allowed?[/a]
  
• [a=blog_website]Can I mention my blog or website here?[/a]
  
• [a=signature]What am I allowed to have in my signature?[/a]
  
• [a=images]What images am I allowed to include in posts or put in an avatar?[/a]
  
• [a=crossed_line]How will I know if I've "crossed the line"?[/a]
  
• [a=whatswith]What's with all the rules?[/a]

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[h1][ap=whats_in_forum]What's in the forum?[/ap][/h1]

Our subforums include:

 

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• Major Leagues: for discussion of [abbr=Major League Baseball]MLB[/abbr] issues (Brewers and non).
  
• Minor Leagues: Coverage of all levels of [abbr=Minor League Baseball]MiLB[/abbr] (Brewers and non).
  
• In-Game Threads: for posts relating directly to individual games.
  
• Trade Rumors/Proposals: a place to share your dream transactions, or read what others have heard.
  
• Off-Topic: for topics unrelated or barely related to baseball. (For football discussion, visit the fan forum at our sibling site, Lambeauleap.net.)
  
• Trading Post: trade or sell tickets, promotions, memorabilia, or non-baseball stuff. This forum is hidden from view unless you're a logged-in member. Posting access is available after one month of board membership and one post elsewhere on the forum.
  
• MLB Draft / International Talent: MLB Draft coverage, with more resources than you can shake a bat at.
  
• Statistical Analysis: paradise for the stat-head, useful background for the stats newbie.
  
• Brewerfan.net Softball: Follow our site softball team.
  
• Brewerfan.net Issues and Events: Discussions about the site itself, and information on bf.net social events. This subforum is the home of this rules document.

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A chat room is available, for Brewerfan members only. It is hidden from view unless you're logged in.

 

Some subforums have additional rules (besides those in this document) specific to the subforum. They are posted at or near the top of the subforum thread list.

 

 

[h1][ap=discussion_allowed]What kind of discussion is allowed?[/ap][/h1]

Discussion about baseball, and especially about the Milwaukee Brewers, is encouraged.

 

In all subforums, our goal is to maintain a civil and mature posting environment, where the discussion is thoughtful, substantive, and respectful.

 

 

[h1][ap=discussion_not_allowed]What kind of discussion is not allowed?[/ap][/h1]

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• Please keep politics, religion, and sex out of the forum. Fairly or not, these topics have regularly resulted in threads going out of control. Also, please avoid contentious topics such as racial and ethnic issues.
  If you're into discussing these topics, we recommend the separate forum Brewerfan Political Scene.
  
• Condescending talk toward other posters (including but not limited to name-calling, baiting and flaming) is not allowed. Other Brewers-related message boards are more tolerant of "talking smack" to other users, and we suggest you go there if that's what you're about.
  
• Following the Brewers means accepting their bad days as well as their good ones. If you want a place to blow off steam by declaring players or team staff worthless when the Brewers play poorly, Brewerfan is not the forum for you. Other sports message boards fill that niche better than Brewerfan does.
  This does not mean we allow only praise of the Brewers; but constructive criticism that remains civil and mature contributes more to the overall discussion than saying "TurnbLow SUX!!!11!!" or "I hate this team," or declaring a game "over" in the 3rd inning.
  Please refrain from impulsive posts expressing knee-jerk frustration in the form of vents, rants and complaints. If you find that most of your posts take this path, you may want to switch to a forum that's more your style than Brewerfan is.
  
• "Official" threads (like Official Opening Day Thread) are reserved for topics started by a Brewerfan staff member or moderator. If you are craving an "official" thread on a particular topic, please ask a staff member or moderator to start one, instead of starting it yourself.
  
• Keep basic play-by-play action out of the In-Game Threads. It's fine to describe the details of a particular play for posters who lack video, but in an age of online real-time game updates, play-by-play one-liners (e.g. "Kapellusch with a single, Brewers up 2-1") are unnecessary.
  
• Avoid repetition. It doesn't take long for an initially interesting topic to turn into a dead-horse beating session, or for you to become known on the forum as "that guy who is obsessed with Player/Issue X." This includes posting the same basic thought in multiple threads or repeatedly within a single thread. It can also include authoring a significant percentage of the posts within a given thread. Site staff will lock or merge threads that they believe duplicate an existing discussion.
  
• If you want to respond to multiple messages in a thread, try to do it with a single post, rather than a bunch of consecutive posts. The latter gives the impression you haven't read the earlier posts.
  
• Go light on 'one-liner' posts. Sometimes a one-line post is appropriate, but a constant stream of snarky one-liners detracts from the forum's quality. For example, messages that say nothing beyond "I agree," "Ditto," etc., add nothing to a discussion and are candidates to be hidden by moderators. Don't chime in on every thread just because you can; instead, pick your spots for posting, and add something back into the site. Less can be more.
  
• Please give members who post "inside info" the benefit of the doubt. If we continually attack the credibility of those who offer that information, chances are we will stop receiving it. Expressing skepticism about the information in a civil manner is fine; outwardly challenging the member isn't.
  
• If you are an "insider" providing information, please don't use the topic as an attention grab. Followup posts should be for the purpose of answering questions and providing additional information. If someone questions your credibility, blow it off. Attempts to defend yourself don't help your cause.
  
• If you're trying to sell something, use the Trading Post forum. If it's obvious that you're a spammer, broadcasting your advertisement on multiple forums, you will be immediately banned.
  
• Copies of copyrighted material (including television and radio broadcasts) cannot legally be distributed without the expressed written consent of their originators, so we cannot allow them to be sold, traded, or distributed here. Posts that ask about unauthorized copies of such material put Brewerfan.net at risk of cease-and-desist action by MLB or other copyright owners - so don't even bring up the topic.
  
• Do not post entire articles or re-post subscriber-only material from sites like Baseball America or ESPN Insider.
  
• If you quote material from elsewhere on the internet, cite your source with a link.
  
• Rickrolling anywhere outside of the Off-Topic forum will be deemed as trolling. Even in Off-Topic, Rickrolling should be a rare occurrence.

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[h1][ap=language_not_allowed]What kind of language is not allowed?[/ap][/h1]

Language use is critical in any online forum, and in this regard Brewerfan.net aims to be more genteel than other sites.

 

Most major cuss-words are filtered out with a string of asterisks (*****). Also filtered out are some words which are not strictly 'cuss' words, but are widely recognized as derogatory.

 

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• It is every member's responsibility to preview posts before sending, and to edit language that is filtered out in the preview screen. There are many ways to make a point without profane language. If it's something you wouldn't say around your neighbor's 9-year-old, don't say it here.
  
• Do not use acronyms, abbreviations or creative spelling to avoid the cuss filter. This includes replacing letters in cuss words with characters or spaces. As an example, the use of "BS" is not allowed when intended to stand for a cuss word ("what a load of BS"), but is allowed when intended to stand for non-cusses (Ben Sheets, blown save, bachelor of science, etc.).

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Please note that our language policy also applies to the chat room.

 

Other language notes:

 

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• Pay attention to spelling and grammar. We're not your English teacher and we aren't grading you, but language errors can make your post incoherent to others, which does not advance the conversation. We want to be able to tell what you're saying.
  
• Don't use excessive punctuation in your thread titles and posts, such as '???' or '!!!'; and don't use all capital letters either. Both make it look like you are YELLING.
  
• Thread titles that are ambiguous ("Uecker") or that are essentially 'teasers' are annoying. If you start a topic, make your subject line clear and to the point, so readers don't overlook it, or waste time on a topic that doesn't interest them.
  
• Use paragraph breaks regularly in long posts. Starting a new paragraph every five lines or so (hit enter twice to start anew) makes your post easier to read.
  
• Use emoticons [image] sparingly, so they don't lose their meaning.
  
• Don't use "AOL-speak," such as U for "you" or 2 for "to." It smacks of pre-teen and makes your posts harder to take seriously. Also, our membership includes a wide range of age groups, and frankly, not everyone will know what you're saying if your posts read like a text message.
  
• Quoting multi-paragraph blocks of a message previously posted in a thread is not reader-friendly. Neither is quoting a string of a multiple nested replies. Please see "Quoting messages: please be brief" for more detail.
  
• Many posters use blue text to indicate sarcasm in a post. While this is not an official bf.net rule, we include it here as a heads-up and potentially useful suggestion. For your convenience, a "sarcasm" button (which produces blue text and a "Sarcasm" tooltip) is included in the post editor.

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[h1][ap=blog_website]Can I mention my blog or website here?[/ap][/h1]

Brewerfan is glad to hear about your blog or website, under these parameters:

 

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• Feel free to advertise your blog or website in your signature or profile, but keep it tasteful.
  
• If you have a blog entry or website content that is relevant to an existing topic, feel free to post a link. However, please include a synopsis of your content and indicate its relevance to the discussion.
  
• An occasional new thread regarding your blog or website is fine. Repeated new threads will be deemed as spamming.

[/list-sp]

[h1][ap=signature]What am I allowed to have in my signature?[/ap][/h1]

Ideally, signatures should not be longer than your posts, nor should they distract from the content of your post. A good rule of thumb is that if your signature is longer than 3 lines (including paragraph breaks), it may be distracting.

 

Please do not include images or videos in your signature; and note that site rules for language, politics, religion and sex also apply to signatures.

 

[rurl=ucp.php?i=profile&mode=signature]You may add or edit a signature here.[/rurl]

 

 

[h1][ap=images]What images am I allowed to include in posts or put in an avatar?[/ap][/h1]

Members have the ability to include images in a post, and to [rurl=ucp.php?i=profile&mode=avatar]set up an avatar[/rurl] (a small image that appears by your screen name in posts).

 

Please keep images and videos tasteful, and note that site rules about keeping politics, religion, and sex out of the forum apply. If an image or video is not suitable for work or family viewing, post the link with a warning instead of the image/video itself.

 

If your image is large, post a link instead of the image itself, or reduce the size before you post it, so that readers don't have to scroll sideways to see it or other posts on the page.

 

 

[h1][ap=crossed_line]How will I know if I've "crossed the line"?[/ap][/h1]

Moderators or site staff will contact you if you have done something that is considered a violation of site rules. We prefer to contact you privately whenever possible - either by a private message, or an instant message in the chat room.

 

Site staff reserve the right to immediately ban posters when circumstances warrant.

 

Conduct that results in an immediate ban includes, but is not limited to:

 

• Racist or prejudicial comments
  
• Harassment of other posters (in a forum, chat room, or via private message)
  
• Trolling
  
• Spamming

 

Private messages appear in your inbox. New message notifications appear on the left hand side of the navigation bar at the top of every forum page. If you don't respond to a private message from staff, we may have to post a warning in public, or ban you temporarily, to get your attention.

 

 

[h1][ap=whatswith]What's with all the rules?[/ap][/h1]

The Brewerfan.net audience includes players, players' relatives, members of the media and employees throughout the Brewers' organization. These groups choose to use our forum in part because of the atmosphere we provide.

 

Brewerfan has more and stricter rules than most sports message boards; this is the choice of site ownership and staff. The Internet has plenty of message boards that tolerate swearing, serial griping, personal attacks, trolling, etc. Brewerfan occupies a different niche, and it is not for everybody. If we're too restrictive or "square" for you, it's probably best for all involved if you post elsewhere.

 

We welcome all Brewers and baseball fans who respect and agree to follow the rules as listed above. We are also open to suggestions for improvement to the forum atmosphere, and other facets of the website. To contact staff, visit the About Us page, or [rurl=ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose]send a private message[/rurl].

 

Thanks for your interest, attention and understanding.[/faqborder]