Saturday, January 3, 2009

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.

46 comments:

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Anonymous said...

So Royce, what happens to those that don't follow the guidelines?

Are you going to ban them?

You could start with the trouble maker(s) who made the three previous posts.

Anonymous said...

Royce, I completely agree that you should ban anyone who uses vulgar or offensive language. But it's unrealistic to think that you can prevent people from saying things like "you are an idiot." That's part of the fun of the internet, to be honest. If you honestly expect 100% clean, friendly discussion, then you will be sorely disappointed. I challenge you to find a single NBA-related blog with entirely respectful discussion. Even sonicscentral.com has stupid bickering matches every once in a while.

Royce Young said...

You see Samuel, there's a difference between what goes on at a few other NBA blogs and what goes on here. You and I both know that. I don't care what sonicscentral.com has. I borrowed and used things from a few other great NBA blogs. My comment policy isn't at all different than what's at Forum Blue and Gold, Blazer's Edge or Blog A Bull. I don't think it's too much to ask for people to try and be friendly. The main goal initially is to clean up the total crap that's going on here. Once we get past that, things might loosen a bit. But for now, enough is enough.

Anonymous said...

I think the reason the comments are so out of control is that the blog is so completely devoid of content. You don't post anything for people to comment on, so they resort to gay attacks.

Royce Young said...

You and I both know that's not true. I have something up at least once a day, a preview for most every game and a recap of most every game. And in between, I've got three to four features a week. It's more that people choose not to read and discuss the topic at hand, but instead want to argue about childish crap.

Thanks for reading.

Anonymous said...

I applaud you Royce. I look forward to seeing the trolls dry up and will respect your comment guidelines.

Anonymous said...

Good Job Royce... Good Job!!!

You do a heck of a good job and this site has just become that much more enjoyable...

Anonymous said...

Royce, you have said "You and I both know that's not true" in your last two posts. That's a great rhetorical technique when you really just want to brush aside someone else's point. I know that you post a LOT, but it's about quality, not quantity. You have no opinions (except "Gee the Thunder are great!") and your grasp of statistics is laughable. Anybody with an internet connection can start a blog, link to articles around the Web, and write zombie-like summaries of every box score. You don't add anything beyond that. I would be willing to bet that 75% of your readers come here just to go straight to the comments section and rip on Seattle/OKC.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should try to write posts that engage your readers and promote basketball discussions; that would go a long way toward resolving the mess in the comments section.

Royce Young said...

Well, I appreciate your critique and I'll consider that as I move forward.

I find it a little funny that you're trying to counsel me on the mess in the comments section when 90 percent of what you have said here has just been fuel to the fire.

My suggestion for you: Start your own blog. You say anyone can do it and obviously you think you can do it better. So go ahead and get on with it. And do you maybe think, just a little bit, that your opinion of me as a writer is slightly skewed because of your hatred of the team I'm writing about? Or am I way off?

Anonymous said...

1) I don't have a team to blog about. Nor do I have time to write a blog. It's much easier to just write snarky comments on your blog.
2) I thought the comments section was just good-natured fun until that guy started spewing gay hatred.
3) No, my opinion is not skewed - you are just a really bad writer.

It will be interesting to watch your visitor count plummet once you start banning Seattleites from posting sarcastic comments about your team and city.

Anonymous said...

This is you blog, Royce and you get to make the rules. Samuel is obviously here just to antagonize and belittle and his motives are evident.

He would have already been banned if he pulled this stuff on Sonicscentral.

Just ban him and his kind and lets move on.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know any good anti-OKC blogs?

Don't worry Royce, I'm not trying to instigate anything I just want to leave here with a better place to go. I dislike OKC and I'd like an outlet. Nothing against you personally but over the years the okies have upset me ad I like to go places that hate OKC as much as I.

Any blogs for the okie haters out there?

It might seem petty but I know there are a lot more of me than okie lovers.

Anonymous said...

Royce I'd love to see an article about why okies live with that weird "we are the best and loudest fans" vibe.

Why is it that no other NBA fan base does this except okies?

Serious replies only.

Anonymous said...

Royce, maybe you could write some articles about the "home court advantage" and why OKC's best fans in the world don't seem to be translating into wins. That would be an interesting read.

Anonymous said...

see... you guys are still stuck on the Seattle Vs OKC thing... It's over with... It ended awhile back... and really... there was no point for it then... and there really is no point for it now... It's old and boring... move on...

Hate all you want... but it will change nothing...

Anonymous said...

AD, you are like a little Buddha. Thank you - you just solved all my problems. All the pain that resulted from seeing my childhood obsession stolen away has just been erased by your sagacious advice.

Anonymous said...

but that's just it...

stolen...

it wasn't stolen...

it was sold...

by Mr. Seattle Howard Shultz...

Does Starbucks have a blog?...

Anonymous said...

To quote Royce: "You and I both know that's not true."

Anonymous said...

Oh, and to the poster above who asked about a good anti-OKC blog: check out benditlikebennett.com. It is outstanding.

Anonymous said...

Now the pressure is on you Royce. You may actually have to write something interesting or fair. How about a piece about why the rest of the world hates Oklahoma? What about a story about how inexperienced and ridiculous the fan base reacts to the simplest things while knowledgeble NBA fans react intelligently? How about a realistic view of the struggles this franchise will continue to have to attract good players and coaches and how the fan base will wear out and get tired of losing? Why not something about how inexperienced the ownership group is and how they make mistake after mistake which feeds the fair and exagerated stereotypes that haunt your town?

Anonymous said...

I do like benditlikebennett, but I was looking for something even more biting.

Benditlikebennett is awesome, and I check it out every single day. But I'm looking for something with a little more back and forth. I wanted to join okcnbafans but they won't let me, turns out they are against free speech, unless you want to talk smack one way towards Seattle or New Orleans.

If you are looking for some fun the Dolphins and Heat blogs are very funny. They are taking shots at the yokels from OK that are in Miami for the BCS game. Looks like okies are not loved no matter where they go. I guess you just can't dress them up and take them out.

Anonymous said...

I sent the Sportsguy a link to this blog and he answered replied that he would never ever acknowledge OKC or any of it's blogs. LOL

Looks like Royce's hero hates him, his town, and the Thunder. LOL

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Anonymous said...

Heres an interesting topic, the lack of OKC humility versus their arrogance. OKC should be thankful for getting the opportunity to temporarily host the Hornets. Without that they would not have had the opportunity to apply the window dressing the NBA needed to use them as leverage agaisnt Seattle. Instead Okies show no class or thankfulness. They treat everyone like garbage and have a false sense of entitlement. OKC is not a valued or preferred NBA market. Okies should be gracious but they just can not do it. Run with that Royce.

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Anonymous said...

You have a good blog, Royce and they are hellbent on ruining it...so here's a simple solution. Just turn off the comments section. You don't owe these haters a forum to spew their poison. People who enjoy reading your blog will continue to read it and understand.

I'm so glad that Seattle lost their team. They really deserved it and thanks to Frank Chopp, they won't be getting another one any time soon. Poetic justice.

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Anonymous said...

Royce if you are going to be a big league city you have to be willing to handle the criticism. Are you trying to say that Oklahoma City is too sensative to hear what others think about the Thunder and where they play?

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Anonymous said...

Nope, I can't take credit. Unfortunately.

Royce Young said...

I assumed some of you could act like adults and just follow the new policy and move on. Evidently not. I don't have time to cliick refresh to watch every little stupid thing you people say. I have a life.

So now I will moderate every single comment and it will go through me for approval. I didn't want to do that because it discourages actual discussion, but I guess it's necessary.

At this point, Blogger doesn't allow banning but at my new blog home (which I will be moved to in a few weeks), I believe I can. Please, for the love of Barry Switzer, just move on and take your trolling somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

Agree with u Royce, we are not here to abuse somebody, we are just talking basketball.Let's make Thunderblog a better place

Anonymous said...

Is it true that the Thunder have the lowest TV ratings and merchandise sales in the NBA? I read that on another blog and was wondering if it was actually true. I guess I won't get a straight answer on this blog anyway.

Anonymous said...

Bravo!!!

I like to talk about basketball and not have to sift through a pile of hate.

Nice.

Joe

Anonymous said...

pretty lively discussion here today, Royce. nice work. great contribution slade, your knowledge thunder basketball is astonishing.

Anonymous said...

Royce, great decision. I get sick of the hateful comments and really just want to talk about how the Thunder can improve!

Anonymous said...

As of November 26th the lowest five teams for Local market ratings were:

Bobcats

0.43
Nets

0.52
Clippers

0.85
Wizards

1.04
Knicks

1.30

I don't know what they are now, but that's how it looked a month ago.

Anonymous said...

Comments have been deleted, but Slade's references to "Fruit City" remain. So, the policy of allowing gay-bashing remains, as long as you don't curse or trash your blog?

And admit it, you love the attention you're getting in the comments. If not, you'd disable comments, right? ;)

That said, I like your blog and I appreciate your dedication and passion. Thank you.

Royce Young said...

I'll say this one last time: In the future, if you have a question or a concern or a statement about me personally, the guidelines, the blog or anything else, please email.

royceyoung41@gmail.com