Updated 9-8-2011
(2011 Editor's Note): It's been five years since these have been reviewed, so I've made some cosmetic edits to this list (removed the obsolete and now completely inappropriate flaming reference from #3), and made one addition (#10). You can still access these rules under the Essential Links Section on the right sidebar. Oh yeah, about the comments with the subject line: back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, all comments had required subject lines. So please bear with the eye pain. I've kept the comments closed to prevent time-travel paradoxes.
(2006 Editor's Note) There's been a huge increase in readers of this blog since last winter. And while that's fantastic in the sense that more opinions makes for more interesting and stimulating dialog, there are some things which a larger community brings that we wish to stay away from.
- Political talk. This is a baseball blog, not a political one. Fans who read this blog come from all points in the political spectrum, but have one thing in common: they are Indians fans. That's the community we want to cultivate here at Let's Go Tribe: a group of diverse individuals who love talking to each other about the Indians and baseball. Political debate is not something we want to bring into this community.
- Personal attacks. In other words, steer clear of "you're an idiot" or "you suck." A good rule of thumb: attack a poster's ideas, not the poster himself/herself. We want this place to be somewhere where people can debate various topics with civility, not a demolition derby.
- Trolling/flame-baiting. Trolling shouldn't be too much of an issue now that registration is required, but I wish to avoid flame-baiting as well. Posting incendiary content in order to get a reaction out of other posters will not be tolerated.
- Profanity. Avoid the Seven Dirty Words, and you'll be fine.
- Snobbery. Users are not required to like Arrested Development — neither the TV show nor the hip hop group — and should not be badgered about it.
- Comment Spam. This is dumping a bunch of links into a comment in order to boost a site's search engine ranking. First offense: banishment.
- Sock Puppets. These are users with multiple accounts. This hasn't happened all that often, but we'd like to nip this in the bud before it becomes a bigger problem. If you've forgotten your password, e-mail us and we'll send you a reminder. Don't create a new account.
- Blatant Site Pimping. Don't miscontrue the title; we have absolutely no problem with users mentioning their sites/blogs here, and in particular posting a FanShot with a link to one of your articles. The larger the Indians blogoshere, the better for all involved. But please do not post content verbatim from your website or blog. Post a proper FanShot link, and you'll get traffic. If you've started a new blog and would like to be added to our Indians Blogroll, please e-mail either of us. Provided the blog (a) is relevant, (b) has original content, and (c) is updated regularly, we'll be happy to include it.
- Please do not make your first contribution a FanPost. We feel that it is best to start commenting before posting original content, if only to get a better idea as to what this site is about.
- Our readers should treat users from other SBN sites with respect, even if they happen to root for the Yankees. In other words, everything that applies to your behavior towards fellow Tribe fans should apply to fans of rival teams; ground rule violations towards fans of other teams will be actively discouraged and moderated just as vehemently as violations against regular readers
These ground rules are meant as a guideline only. Once in a while, we may find it necessary to ban someone from use of the site. Although we tend to be fairly hands-off as moderators, decisions about conduct and banning are entirely at our discretion, and the ground rules above may or may not apply to those decisions. We may suspend a user's account any time we find that, in our judgment, that will make the site more enjoyable, more successful and more fan-friendly overall.
If you have ANY questions about the items on this list, e-mail one of us.