New rules and how they relate to the Sports and News board

After some feedback from users, I feel some clarification is necessary in regards to our rules and guidelines for this site, which can be found here http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/42952/

The Sports and News board is designed to be for a somewhat serious discussion of sports topics and news events. Threads should remain on topic. If you wish to post something that is not on topic and does not relate to sports and news, please take it to the Anything Goes board.

As we progress with following these new rules, I encourage you to consider the following when you are posting new threads or responding to current threads:

1. Am I contributing to the discussion?
2. Does anyone really care about the thread I'm about to start?
3. Is the subject line clear enough to describe exactly what the subject is (please refrain from subjects that say "Oh wow!" or "This is cool".. give some detail)
4. Have I checked or searched to make sure the thread I am starting has not already been started by another user?

Please do not just copy stories from the wire or other web sites and post them as a thread without a comment from yourself. By offering your comments or insight it offers some substance and direction on the topic.

I think everyone gets the idea...

I hope this offers a little clarity to things.

If you have specific questions, you may ask them on this thread and I will try to answer them.

 

I understand your wanting to keep things on topic, and no one would oppose that, certainly. But some of the best moments on the board have come when a thread has taken a little bit of a side turn. Are all threadjacks, no matter how minor, going to be stomped on, or will they be tolerated as long as they don't violate other rules and are only a temporary sidetrack? I'm not talking about obit threads or stuff of that ilk.

 

In general try to remain on topic. A post here or there is fine, but we don't want threads that are 5-10-20 pages long rambling on about absolutely nothing related to the topic.

 

Playing devil's advocate, why not? Somes a certain topic runs its course, but the thread continues because people are off on side topics, or tangents, or simply being silly.
Those can be pretty funny.

 

I disagree. If someone sees a thread of interest and wants to read it yet it's full of pages and pages of crap, then that's not cool. This is not junior high school.

 

I respect your opinions. However, to me, they clearly show the difference between the mindset of myself as a reader and you guys as moderators.
I hadn't really thought of what you are saying, because what does that stuff matter to me? Either I'll read the extra stuff, or I'll just give up on a thread. No big deal.

 

I'd add something about thread titles. I'd appreciate it if people would look at thread titles as if they were headlines for their newspapers online. It should at least tell people what it's about. Sometimes the thread titles only remotely tell you what the thread is about.

 

I concur.

 

What do we do with stuff pulled directly off the wire, when no link is available? Is it OK in those instances to post the entire article?

 

Almost everything on the wire is available on other sources such as Yahoo or ESPN. If it is a breaking story and not yet out on the web, most a couple paragraphs and leave it at that.

 

I simply can't imagine anyone NOT caring!!