Community Guidelines

After receiving numerous complaints in the past several weeks -- both here on the site and through private email -- we're instituting some community guidelines.

For no apparent reason, many threads are turning into flame wars. This is unacceptable. I haven't written this site for nearly two years so a couple of readers could dominate the conversation with constant bickering. When I began, I promised to be very relaxed on the moderation tip, mostly because the biggest Kings community online is led by heavy-handed blowhards who squelch conversation for the hell of it. I don't want to be that.

But I also don't want to submit myself and my readers to repeat annoyance in the form on unrelated comments in threads, flamewars, and diaries that have to do with nothing. When I see myself getting discouraged by the level of discourse, I can only imagine how those less associated with the site feel. These transgressions undoubtedly hurt the site, and they must stop.

So with the help of Louismg, I'm instituting community guidelines.

• No personal attacks on other members of the community. One warning, then one ban. Name-calling and direct disrespect will not be tolerated.
• Stop the thread-jacking. I hate to say it, but... When a thread is about a rumor placing Scott Brooks as the next coach of the Kings, it's not a place to dump on Eric Musselman or Rick Adelman. We have plenty of opportunities for that. These topical threads about something else are not the place. It'd be fine if the criticisms came in a way in which furthered the discussion of Brooks. By my count, in the 47 comments on that thread (plus the several Louis deleted due to personal attacks), Brooks was mentioned twice. If you want to talk about Muss or Adelman: open a diary (which we're less likely to mod) or wait for a Muss/Adelman thread. We do not write these threads for you to crap on.
• Make your comments readable. Most of us use punctuation. This isn't an IM conversation or an AOL chatroom. It's a semi-professional blog which earns advertising dollars and gets media attention. It's not hard to hit shift or . every once in a while. I'm not asking for perfect grammar or flawless spelling -- good God, I'd be banned if that was the case. But what good will your points be if no one understands them or feels like deciphering them? Make it legible.

I'm sure one or two community members will feel like this is directed at them. I'd be lying if I said the actions of one or two members didn't directly lead to this. But be clear -- it's the actions that are the problem, not the users. Stop doing this crap and you'll be fine. Keep it up and there's a banhammer waiting for you.

I'm closing comments for this thread.