Terms and rules
Posting Rules:
1) Flaming: Critique the opinion, not the person. Personal attacks against members are not permitted. Report flaming, do not respond to it. Counter-flaming is also prohibited.
2) Trolling: Do not make posts that could be interpreted as though they were made to cause an argument or provoke others. Making generalizations about other posters is a common form of trolling. Posting questionable content on team boards, particularly those of rivals, is likely to be seen as trolling.
3) Spamming: Posts that advertise anything without the authorization of site Administrators may be considered “spam”. If you wish to advertise on HFBoards please contact [email protected]. No money leagues are allowed in the Fantasy Talk forum. Do not post the same content multiple times, whether on the same forum, or across multiple forums.
4) Threadjacking/OT/Politics: Posts that waste space or time on the site, annoy users due to characteristics or repetition, disrupt the site functionality, or cause threads to veer off topic may be considered “threadjacking/OT”. This also applies to signatures, user titles, avatars, profile fields, and so forth. Stay on topic as much as possible. Post new threads in the appropriate forum only. Political discussion is not permitted on the forums except within the narrowly defined scope of hockey-related matters.
5) Offensive Content: This is a site for ages 13 and up. Minors will be viewing our content, and threads are searchable on the web. Do not post slurs and stereotypes, sexually-oriented material, gore (human or animal), or any other potentially objectionable material. Our users are diverse in all ways so please respect that. Do not circumvent the profanity filter with alternate spellings/characters. Simply type out the word and let the filter handle it. Wishing injury on players or other persons is considered offensive.
6) Streams/Copyrighted Material/Illegal Topics:
Do not post any of the following:
• Links to or requests for links to illegal streams
• Discussions of illegal streaming services or proxies
• Large portions of ANY article. The reader must have incentive to visit the source.
• Excerpts from any publication without providing editorial commentary
• Discussions of piracy techniques
Promotion of anything illegal is strictly prohibited. See our separate section on copyright infringement for additional information.
7) Forum Management: Threads and posts that are redundant, in the wrong forum, or deemed unnecessary per the assessment of moderators are subject to being merged, moved, edited, deleted or closed. Thread titles must be as specific and informative as possible (no clickbait) and first posts must provide relevant commentary (“discuss” is not enough, for example). One account is allowed per user and you are responsible for what’s posted from your account. Please check the sticky threads at the top of each forum for any forum specific rules. If a moderator gives you a specific instruction in a warning, and you blatantly disregard it, you are subject to an account review.
8) Claims of Insider Information/ Rumors & Hearsay: If you're an insider, contact us with proof BEFORE you post. These posts will be allowed/rejected at the discretion of administrators after consulting with other posters, moderators, and relevant sources. Deference will be given to veteran members who have established credibility. It's not acceptable to post that you heard someone has a drinking/drug/sex/personal problem from a "good" source. Do not post information that can be considered defamatory without a link to a credible media source. Other forums, personal websites, amateur/unvetted blogs, hearsay, and personal testimonials are not considered credible.
9) English Only: For the purpose of rules enforcement the entire site is considered “English Only”. Moderators may remove any posts made in languages other than English.
10) Warnings are issued anonymously. If you believe a warning is unjustified use the Contact Us form to tell us why. Do not attempt to excuse your behavior by pointing at others. Be respectful and courteous. You will only receive a reply if your complaint has merit.
11) No Disclosure of Personal Information: Do not disclose any other member's email, real name, address, phone number, IP address, private communications, or other personal information. Do not post publicly about your moderation history or the actions of moderators.
* Please note: rules are interpreted and enforced at the discretion of Moderators, Moderator Supervisors, and site Administrators. Violations deemed severe enough will be reviewed by the administrators.
** If you see a post that violates any of the above rules, use the report post feature. Using this can bring it to the attention of all active moderators and it will be addressed as quickly as possible. Once a post is reported, leave it alone and let the mods do their job. Do not respond to the post, tell the poster they were reported, or chide people for violating the rules.
Warning System:
When a rule is violated a warning may be issued. Users can only view their own warnings. Standard warnings expire between 45 and 90 days time. There are 3 Levels of punishment that incrementally disable user functionality. Privileges are restored as points expire. Moderators may issue warnings for zero points which serve as reminders to adhere to the rules.
Level 1 (10 points) = The following are disabled: search, poll posting, attachments, email to a friend, profile editing, invisibility, signature, username changes, sportsbook privileges, post editing and loss of "Likes" use. PM's reduced to one recipient.
Level 2 (15 points) = Same as Level 1 + loss of ability to start new threads.
Banned (20 points) = You will not be able to use your account to post until the oldest warning expires and brings you under 20 points. If you are given 20 points all at once your account will be under review. Attempts to register new accounts while under a temporary ban may result in additional warnings. Serious or chronic offenses may result in 20 points.
Bans are incremental. The first ban is 90 days (maximum). If you are banned a second time it is for 180 days. A 3rd ban is indefinite.
Account closures are honored by removing access to The Web Site. It is your responsibility to ensure that personal information and pictures are removed from the forum before submitting your request.
If you are interested in becoming a moderator you can send us a note and explain your situation/interest by emailing [email protected]. No experience is required, but you must be a member for a minimum of six months.
