can you elaborate on this?

Part of it is the way I write articles, often attacking people in a way that suggests it is OK to do the same thing here to others.

You just made a statement but no reasoning behind whether it’s okay or not? Is it okay to do that or if you’re trying to stay away from it, why do it yourself?

I don’t like doing this kind of stuff, but “jerk” comments here aren’t going to last long. NYKings comment above is a good example of a solid comment.

 This blog has definitely changed in the last year from a group of regulars, where really we all sort of knew what the limits were, but we all posted often enough, and even the occasional insult was generally not taken that seriously, and we all had our defenders.

Unfortunately the price of fame is that you now have a lot of people who have different ideas about boundaries, and I don’t recognize a lot of the posters anymore. So we need rules, so we can rule off the trolls without anyone claiming BBS is being arbitrary.

BBS trashing someone in an article is a lot different that insulting a blogger for his post. People in the public forum who set themselves up as ‘experts’ better expect to take the heat. That is not true for people offering an opinion in a discussion the way a blog is.

In this case I think the rules are a good idea, as all of us in this now big community will know what the boundaries are.

(and does anyone else miss Terry are favourite Cowboy troll?)

I have no problem with setting some boundaries on posting comments, just be sure the minority doesn’t rule the majority as we all have seen in other circumstances.

Comments are one area, but I also encourage any of us who initiates a story, Fan Post, or Fan Shot to do so in a respectful way. You can be passionate, biased or downright homerish, but the post can still be presented in a professional way that doesn’t immediately put the reader on the defensive (e.g., “if you don’t agree, you haven’t been breathing for very long,” or “if you don’t see it this way, you don’t know anything about football”).

Just because it is YOUR perspective, it is not required to be the perspective of anyone else on the planet. This is one of the freedoms I hold dear to my heart, and which (at least for those of us who live in the U.S.) is unrivaled in most other countries of the world.

So that nobody believes this comment itself is a “shot” at anyone in particular, I’ll state that I hold myself accountable to avoid such statements as I believe I have done all along (with the possible exceptions of my football rants and some anti-Pats comments, but I’m even working on those… though some waters run very deep).

The comments here are very helpful everyone. Please keep them coming.

I think having the ESPN blog send links to this site greatly increased the number of people on these message boards. I like how the SB comment sections normally lend themselves to conversation and debate rather than insults and nonsense like you find in PFT’s comment section.

But while your at it, how about a limit on the number of LOLcatz and FAIL pictures?

Wanted to make another quick point (comments are all very helpful everyone, keep them rolling): This community guidelines page is not a result of any poor or negligent work on Cass’s part. Cass has done a very good job working in a very heated community using outdated rules and guidelines that aren’t written down. In many ways, he’s had to do a thankless job without any real structure. His continued efforts are very appreciated and, hopefully, the guidelines will make his life a bit less stressful.

I find the lolcats tend to be funny and light-hearted, not insulting. On the other hand, the fail pictures tend to be more like public ridicule. This is my first comment in a while for that exact reason. I felt that someone was making a point that I was not a member of “the clique.”

I would submit the following examples (correct me if I’m wrong):

I have zero respect for this person.

Perfectly fine. A 100% factual statement about my opinion of a particular person. Ideally I would follow up with reasons why but it’s still an acceptable statement on its own.

I wish this person would fall into an open sewer and die.

BZZZT! Too far. Fantasizing about someone’s painful death isn’t cool and I probably don’t actually mean it. Unless I’m a total sociopath, in which case I’m not wanted here anyway.

This person’s comments are totally lazy and uninformed.

Fine. Presumably these assertions can be backed up with facts. If the person isn’t saying anything new but just repeating what dozens of others have said, I could be justified calling the comments lazy. If the comments are clearly at odds with reality, I can call them uninformed.

This person is a complete jackass.

BZZZT! It’s a safe bet that I don’t really know someone from just what I’ve read on the Internet. A sample of their writing doesn’t give me standing to make broad negative character judgments. Oh, and the profanity doesn’t help either.

Let’s move on to football…
I believe the comments above have said everything about this whole thing (which I think is the offseason’s fault).

“…When we put aside our differences, we see we’re kind of the same. Let’s be friends. I know we can do great things, together.”
- Tugg Speedman (Tropic Thunder)
Sorry, I know its dumb, but couldn’t help it.

There, I said it.
I love you all
Even the douchebags and schmucks.
You lovable little Colty Colt fans =X

since hte day i was born.

Just deleted some more comments because, quite honestly, they aren’t helping move the conversation forward. The point of this is to discuss what you feel is right or wrong with the community comments and to offer ideas on the guidelines, not to (once again) take unsupported shots at the blog’s writers, myself included.

To some of you who often say I attack the person and not their ideas, I keep coming back to this: If I always attacked people first, no matter who they were, before attacking their ideas, I’d see your point. However, when a specific person consistently keeps putting forth dumb idea after dumb idea, I feel at that point the ideas aren’t the problem. It’s the person.

Sure, I like Peter King. And, perhaps, maybe insulting his weight was over the top. But, with people like Jason Cole, or Tom Curran, they seem to consistently push forward stuff that is pretty obviously bullshit that, at some point, attacking the opinions seems to make the argument weak. The simple truth is the person, in my estimation, is an idiot. It’s not because one or two of his ideas are dumb.

Pretty much all of them are.

At that point, how can it not be “just the ideas” and not a reflection of the person behind the idea?

Also, I’ll re-iterate what bluegirl said, these guys put themselves out there and expect to get hammered on their ideas. It’s part of their job. However, rarely, if EVER, do these guys read comments in their own articles. However, when a blog writes “Jason Cole makes himself look stupid, again” that gets their attention. Sure, it’s a shot against them, but we’re not here to play nice. We’re hear to get accurate, informed information about the teams we know and love, and if someone like Cole (who is paid a ton of bread to watch football games for free) seems to consistently write bad, sloppy stuff, at that point it is no longer an issues with his ideas. It’s an issue with him. He’s simply unqualified to do the job he does and to get paid the money he does.

Again, that’s just my opinion on things like this.

I don’t agree with your opinion about 70% of the time, but they’re always good reads and the BBS (and other people) bashing is disgusting. I look forward to an official community guidelines page.

Does this mean that Titans fans can post here without BBS calling them a “Vince Young ball-washer?”

If so, I’m all in favor.

(but you can still call us wrong, or tell us that our team or QB isn’t as good as yours, that’s all fair.)

its u blog u can do what u feel its right i like that u are not sared to say what u feel