Forum Rules

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the 'I agree' checkbox and press the 'Register' button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

Although the administrators and moderators of TheScoreBoards will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of TheScoreBoards, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

The Score Boards Community Standards

Respect: TSB promotes an atmosphere where it is expected that posters will behave in a respectful and mature manner towards each other. This means that posters should treat each other with a basic courtesy. Harassment, personal attacks, flaming, baiting, and generally disruptive behavior are prohibited. All parties involved in actions of this nature will face suspension or banning.

Maturity: TSB is a place where fans of all ages gather to discuss their favorite teams. As a result of this diverse audience offensive materials are prohibited. This includes profanity, veiled profanity, and sexually explicit content.

Community Ground Rules:

• Post on the board for the topic you wish to discuss. Threads will be moved to the proper boards by moderators. If you choose to post it is expected you will be respectful of the time of others by posting meaningfully.
• Duplicate threads will be merged or closed.
• Signatures and avatars should be of a reasonable size and are subject to all other rules.
• Usernames which are offensive are prohibited. This includes those incorporating veiled profanity.
• Solicitation and spamming are absolutely prohibited. Posters engaging in this behavior will face suspension or banning and all spam will be removed immediately by moderators.
• All rules as stated apply the private messaging system as well. It is private but will not be allowed to be used as a vehicle for skirting the rules. Abuse of the PM system will result in the removal of private messaging privileges.
• One username is allowed per poster, please do not register multiple names. If this behavior is discovered the accounts will be merged.
• A banned poster may not avoid the ban by registering another name, if this is discovered the new name will be immediately banned and an IP ban will be initiated if necessary.
• Posters are free to, and encouraged, to visit fellow team boards. It is expected that posters will treat fans of other teams with the same respect as their fellow fans.

Copyrighted Materials You may post quotes and such from outside sources but these must always be accompanied by a link. The maximum amount of copyrighted material that may be posted is two paragraphs or 10% of the total article. Exceeding this is a violation of the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright law recorded at 17 U.S.C.A. § 107. Posts in violation will be edited or deleted.

Moderation:

• Violations of the rules will result in warnings, suspensions, or bans. Moderators may issue yellow or red cards. A yellow card is a warning but a red card carries with it a suspension. On the issuance of a third yellow card a red card wil be issued. The first red card is a 3 day suspension and further red cards invoke longer suspensions or total banning from TSB for repeated major infractions. Violators may receive warnings for violations but in appropriate cases will be suspended or banned without a warning.
• Moderators enforce these rules and it is their decision on what constitutes a rule violation. Moderator decisions should be discussed via PMs to the moderator in question and can then be appealed to the SuperMods.
• Questions regarding the reason behind a moderator’s actions are to be handled via private messaging. Any issue in regards to moderation that is brought up on the boards will be deleted. If you have an issue you cannot resolve with the particular moderator please contact a Community Moderator.
• Moderation including disciplinary action and editing/deletion of posts and threads happens at moderator discretion and we are not required to issue warnings of impending moderation.
• Moderation will be standard across the various boards. A major goal is uniformity in rule application to make this a community and not a series of islands. There will be no special treatment for any poster, everyone is equal under the same rules.
• This is not a pay site and the moderators are not paid. Moderators do their job because they want to help make this community be the best it can be for the posters. Please provide them the respect they deserve for volunteering their time for the community.

Definitions:
Harassment: This category includes actions which are less than personal attacks but clearly intended only to irritate a fellow poster. Insults, veiled insults, internet stalking, and abuse of the PM system to irritate another poster are considered violations. We are here to talk sports and be part of a community, not to act childish and devote our time to irritating others. The basic rule is what most of our parents taught us, if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all. Harassment not only includes individuals but also can apply to insults against others teams, players and groups of The Score Boards members. Repeated critical, condescending and/or sarcastic posts toward a forums team and/or forum members can also constitute harassment.

Personal Attacks: Attacking another poster in any manner is considered a personal attack. This includes implying or stating that someone is a liar, calling them names (yes things like idiot and moron count), and any other personal derogatory comments. This is sports talk, leave the personal stuff off of our boards and PM system.

Disruptive Behavior: Disruptive behavior is anything that disrupts the conversation in a post or forum. This includes posting meaningless posts, multiple posting of the same material, and off topic posting.

Flaming: Flaming is going to a board and posting messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting just to cause anger in others. A flame may have elements of a normal message, but is distinguished by its intent. A flame is typically not intended to be constructive, to further clarify a discussion, or to persuade other people.

Baiting: Baiting is making posts which are intended to draw other posters into a fight. For instance if you know a poster reacts badly to a certain topic and you post about it intentionally trying to draw him into a fight that is baiting.

Spamming: Spamming is posting the same message over and over on multiple boards.

Solicitation: Do not use these boards or the PM system to attempt to sell items, advertise products, advertise other websites, or to attract posters to competing boards. There may be times when the board ownership or even the community itself determine to advertise specific products through this forum. This is not a violation of the rule. If one wants to participate in such a system please contact board administration.

Please bear in mind that these are only guidelines; there is always a "grey area" and we understand that. Use your best judgment. If you have any questions about our Community Standards as they apply to specific cases, you can always Contact Us or ask a Moderator. Note that if you would like to express a concern about the judgement and enforcement of Community Standards by any particular Moderator, please contact Administration privately.

Thanks for reading our Community Standards! Now, we invite you to join our community of thousands at TheScoreBoards.com!