It's been a couple of years since the last update, and with some heavy action coming up soon, a refresher on the rules should benefit all of us.
As always, all of the site rules, explained in detail, can be found here -
http://hfboards.mandatory.com/help/terms
Some of the most commonly broken rules will be outlined here:
- Flaming - Don't make your posts personal. If you're attacking a specific poster or group of posters in your response, it's flaming. Personal shots aren't tolerated here or anywhere else on HF.
- Trolling - Don't try and provoke a reaction out from others. If the goal of your post is to anger other posters, it's trolling, and will be dealt with accordingly. Counter proposals can qualify as trolling on occasion.
- Spam Posts - Posts containing only emoticons or images are considered spam and may be deleted as such. If there's no substance to your post, it will be removed. "Dominoes" is one example of this that isn't allowed. Please be sure to provide some actual content in each of your posts.
- Offensive Content - This site is PG-13, and is moderated as such. If you wouldn't care to explain a joke or show an image to children, it most likely isn't appropriate for HF. Do not attempt to circumvent the profanity filter by altering how a word is spelled or typed. Doing so may result in an infraction. Let the filter do its job.
And to follow up on that, some more Trades Board specific rules:
- Prefixes - As many of you already know, every thread on the Trades Board is required to have a Prefix to help categorize it. If you're creating a thread, please be sure to select an appropriate prefix. There are more than enough to go around, but if you aren't sure which one to choose, feel free to PM a Trades Board moderator. If you're posting a rumor or a piece from a specific source, a link is required - the thread will be closed until one is provided. This will be outlined further in the next bullet.
- Links and Sources - All rumors, confirmed transactions, and articles require links to be posted on the Trades Board. If one of these is posted without a link, it will be closed until one is provided. Please be very careful about what your source is. There are hundreds of fake Twitter accounts that will post fake tweets as true - do not post these here. We have a list of vetted sources that can break news - be sure any kind of confirmation is from one of those sources.
- Outlandish Proposals - Please try and keep any proposals at least somewhat realistic. This isn't to say you can't make a proposal involving Crosby or Ovechkin, but if you're shipping out half of one team for half of another, it's probably better off unposted. Outlandish and lopsided proposals will be closed at the moderator's discretion. Also, as before, if your proposal involves more than three teams, it will be considered outlandish. We don't allow "30 Team Trade" threads - we haven't and we never will. This isn't to keep you from enjoying proposals, but simply putting caps on either end of the spectrum to prevent things from going sour quickly.
- Mega-Threads - Occasionally, when a significant player has a large amount of talk surrounding their name, a mega-thread will be opened up to condense all discussion involving said player into one series of threads. This makes it easier for everyone to read through, and it keeps all of the information in one place. Please keep all discussion involving that player there - if it is found elsewhere on the Trades Board, it will be closed or merged. Mega-threads are high volume, so most active ones will usually be found on the first page or two of the forum.
- Validity of Sources - Please do not post in threads simply to bash the source. Critiquing the validity of the source is fine, as long as it is civil and the post does not simply flame the writer and/or source. For example, posts such as "Eklund is trash", "Dreger is stupid", etc. are not allowed, but you can criticize the validity of the source as long as you are respectful and on-topic. Do remember that you do not have to click on any links or read through any threads - you do so on your own accord. If you are caught bashing the same source multiple times and providing no actual content, you may be subject to warnings, infractions, and forum-bans.
That covers most of the basic rules. This thread may be updated periodically, depending on the rules and the time of year, so please check back every so often. As always, if there are any questions, feel free to PM any of the Trades Board mods. We're happy to help address any concerns.
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Update:
The Eklund tag is not there to endorse or represent Eklund as a reputable source of rumors.
The tag is there so posters can easily identify threads with Eklund as a source and decide whether or not they want to participate in the discussion. If folks don't care for this thread the forums are filled with thousands of other discussions they can participate in. No one is forcing you or anyone else to read these threads.
And the folks that like to come into these threads and spam them with anti-Eklund comments are doing a disservice to their follow HFB members by making it harder for them to have an on-topic discussion.
Complaining about the tag and/or that Eklund rumors are allowed does nothing but derail discussions, which detracts from what useful dialogue might actually take place while simultaneously adding to the workload of the moderating staff.
If you can't keep yourself from doing it, we reserve the right to issue infractions, thread bans, and/or forum bans as needed until the problem goes away.
Yeah Sullivan Sucks, but Dubas needs to be talked about too...
