So, yes, I should have done this sooner. But Nate left with basically no warning in the middle of a work day, and I simply haven't had the time until now.
Basically I just want to go over a couple items.
One is that I don't know who will manage this blog in the long term. Right now it's me, because there's no other choice, but I simply don't have the time or energy to do it permanently. As far as I know, there's no timetable for getting a new manager or even new editors.
Second, as most of you have seen, I did change my user name. This was done because, as I am now the longest-tenured (and for the moment, only) editor here, SBN and I both decided it wasn't good for me to be anonymous the way I was, particularly in the sense of hopefully getting more of our content out to affiliate sites. In practical terms, it won't matter much internally. It's mainly for those on the outside looking in.
For simplicity's sake, you can call me just Key. Or Key Dae. Or keep calling me Oceanary if you want. Not a big deal.
(For the record, I made that original name with the intent of posting basically never, and only to avoid MyName30398024. Hate that)
Third, the rules. Nate did not like to moderate, and that was fine. It was his blog. That said, SBN has asked us repeatedly to moderate more (which Tim and I deferred to Nate, which he mostly chose to ignore). I won't put it all on them, since I personally think we need to be a tad stricter as well, but yeah. There is one item here that's going to change.
For the record, Nate did post two guideline from the very beginning, even if he didn't enforce them much.
The second rule in the guidelines is 'Keep it clean'. This breaks down into two parts.
The first is obviously, no pornography. Aside from the fact it's just distasteful, there's also the issue that we are not an age-gated blog, so it would be pretty much illegal to host porn content, even in the comments section.
The second part is don't go overboard with the swearing. Most blogs have a strict no-swearing policy, even in a hidden F*ck you sort of way. I don't like that, and I'm not going to make that a rule. Moderate swearing isn't an issue.
That said, if reading your posts makes me think I'm watching a Mark Wahlberg film, you will get in trouble. Repeated incidents of this will get you suspended. Further repeated incidents will get you banned.
So far, except for one random spam account a couple years ago, we have not had any problems with this stuff. Some of the pics you guys post are weird (and in PD's case, occasionally creepy...) but I've never seen anything I've deemed offensive, and Nate and Tim never told me they saw anything either.
The second rule in the guidelines is 'Don't be mean'. This is where the change will happen. Nate did not mind if you guys went at each other as people (well, he did, but he chose not to stop it) I do.
I do not have a problem with disagreeing and debating a topic. I don't care if you guys want to talk about something other than basketball (when we get more editors, I plan to continue Nate's non-basketball threads) I don't mind correcting inaccurate information. Lord knows you guys have corrected me plenty over the years.
What I DO mind is when the arguments stop being about the topic and start being about the people. Saying something like "Wes is unlikely to be a successful player because of x,y,z" is acceptable. Saying "You're a moron for even thinking Wes could be good" is not.
This rule, in plain English, is as follows: No personal attacks. Do not attempt to bait, insult, ridicule or belittle a fellow commenter. Discuss the topic respectfully.
As I said previously, people should feel free to state what they want, within tasteful limits, without being bullied. Don't attack the person as a part of the argument, or in place of the argument.
This is not like a wall. It won't be like, oh you made a casual insult, now you're gone. What WILL get you in trouble is if you intentionally, repeatedly, and maliciously attack another person's intelligence or worth. That's grounds for a suspension/ban.
I know not everyone will be happy with this. This is not the "we're the local dive-bar" setup Nate ran. But, to put it bluntly, Nate left because this place can't be what he wants it to be, and this is part of it. Having given it thought and spoken to SBN and other blog editors, I've decided it's not out of line to ask you guys to be decent to each other. You guys should be doing that in everyday life as it is. You're free to leave comments here about not liking it, you're leaving now, calling me a dictator/sell-out/insecure. It's not going to change my mind, and I'm not going to spend 600 comments explaining/defending this position any more than I already have.
Big picture is, other than this one thing, I don't plan on changing this place. I'm not going to institute a ton of rules like other blogs have, I won't stop you guys from talking politics/movie/music/whatever, I'm not going to chase anyone around or monitor it 24/7. These two rules are it, unless it becomes absolutely necessary to add more (considering we haven't had to in the 4 years I've been here, I don't expect to have to going forward) You shouldn't feel like you're walking on eggshells here. Unless people in your everyday life think you're just an absolute dick at all times, you'll probably have to go well out of your way to make me think you've gone to far.
I'll be adding this to the guidelines section later so it's clearer what the rules mean. Again, I know this is going to ruffle some feathers, but it needs to be out there.