Thunderworld commenting guidelines

And now for the post you've all been eagerly awaiting: comment guidelines.

The whole goal of the blog is to have smart, clean and thoughtful discussion about Oklahoma City Thunder basketball. For some of you, I realize that is impossible. You've made it your goal in life to stop by, say something horribly inappropriate, click "submit" and be strangely proud of yourself. From now on, your comments must adhere to the following guidelines -- and that goes for Oklahoma City folks, Seattle people or anyone else for that matter. Every single other team centric blog has a comment policy and it's high time for this one to join the fold.

1. No profanity. If you wouldn't say it in front of your grandmother, don't say it here. If you have any question about a specific word, don't write it. It's probably bad. Also no pseudo-swears -- using symbols (#$&%) or putting an asterisk (*) in the middle of the word aren't acceptable. I don't care how much cursing is part of your everyday life. If you want to comment, you won't do it. This should be a place all ages can enjoy. I'm not going to list all the offensive words that aren't acceptable, so use your judgment. If you didn't hear it in Toy Story, it's not going to fly.

2. Like every other conversation site on the planet there will be no obviously offensive comments based on race, orientation, religion and anything else in that realm. (For the most part) this blog is about basketball, so check your politics at the door. And your hate.

3. As Dave from Blazer's Edge says, don't be THAT GUY. Write in complete sentences. Maybe proof your comment once. Don't use unfair and confrontational tones. I realize we all have opinions on lots of things, but as long as you're being fair and not arrogant or abusive, everything is good. If you think you're the authority on everything, start your own blog and write your obviously correct opinions there.

4. Absolutely no personal attacks on other commenters or writers. If someone misspelled something or forgot a comma, don't go grammar police and point out everything and disregard anything they said based on that fact alone. We're all our own editors. People make mistakes. If somebody thinks Earl Watson should be an All-Star, don't call them a moron -- call them a moron and explain WHY. Not really, just disagree, make your point and move on. Instead of saying, "You idiot, Earl Watson could never be an All-Star," say instead, "Earl Watson could never be an All-Star." It's actually pretty simple to be nice.

5. We're writing and talking about a GAME that grown men play in shorts and tanktops, not things that are actually really, really important. Remember that.

If you can't follow these simple guidelines that every other team blog has established, then find another one that allows it. If you want to cuss OKC, talk about our dust and tepees or make fun of our intelligence then check out Bend It Like Bennett or start your own message board. If you want to argue with former Sonics' fans and instigate and rile them up, then follow them wherever they go from here. This place is supposed to be about Thunder basketball. It's meant to be a place to encourage lively discussion about OKC basketball and a place to read somebody's thoughts on the team. We're all here to have fun. Try to -- in the cleanest way possible. Please don't make me waste my life screening every single comment. We're all adults. Let's all try and act like it.

Thanks for reading and if there are any questions or concerns about the guidelines, feel free to email and ask. Oh, and the policy goes into effect... right... NOW.