Threadiquette

With new success comes new challenges. We have new folks joining the site all the time, and we’re thrilled to have new people joining our conversations! The playoffs also bring heightened emotions, and community members both new and old can get out of line. Last night’s game thread had several issues, and we appreciate those of you who took the time to flag those comments so we could deal with them. We may not always respond to a flag immediately, but we will get to it.

So with all that said, it’s time for a little refresher on the site rules.

No personal attacks

If you disagree with someone, that’s fine. Disagreements are healthy and a big reason why discussing sports are fun. But if you resort to name calling or insulting people, that violates site rules.

Language

We are not as strict as some sites. We do allowed swearing in threads. Especially in game threads we know emotions run high. That said, there are certain things that simply aren’t allowed when it comes to language. Anything excessively vulgar isn’t allowed. Any hate language is specifically forbidden, no language targeting any individual or group based on race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

You are not a moderator

One of the benefits of participating in our comments is that you are not burdened with the task of being a moderator. This means it is not your job to tell people how to be a fan. It is not your place to tell someone when they’re breaking a rule. It is not your place to discuss your agreements or disagreements with the site rules.

If you see something you feel is inappropriate, flag it and move on. Flagging comments make it much easier for us to see issues, especially in big threads, and we will handle the comments as warranted.

If you receive a warning, don’t get mad. Complaining about a warning in the comments is a quick way to get another warning or to get banned. My email can be found in the masthead. Reach out to me if you have a complaint.

No Politics

This community has proven time and time again that we are incapable of discussing politics without the conversation going off the rails. Certain stories naturally involved some level of politics, such as when games were shut down due to political protests a few years ago. In those threads we do our best to allow the natural conversation, but those are one-off circumstances. In general, no politics are allowed in the comments.

No Trolling

Trolling, simply put, is commenting to create arguments. That is different than commenting to create discussion. Trolling is also when you post the same complaint over and over in each thread regardless of what that thread is about. For example, if you comment in every thread about how the Kings should have drafted Player X instead of Player Y, even when the threads are about Player B, you’re just trolling.

Don’t troll.

Conclusion

Be respectful. Site moderation isn’t easy and we do make mistakes sometimes, but we always err on the side of caution and try to make the comments a respectful and inclusive community. Violate these rules and you’ll receive warnings, timeouts, or be banned at our discretion.

Remember that we’re all Kings fans and while we may disagree on the path to get there, we all want the result.