Fish Stripes Community Guidelines

Ed. Note: With the trade season underway, site traffic naturally increases, new faces pop up and it creates a good opportunity to talk about our site policies. Below is a commenting style guide and a site rules list. If you have any questions regarding any of these, at any time, please contact us at fishstripeswriters@gmail.com. You may find a link to the larger SBN community guidelines here. - TB

Commenting Style Guide

It should be noted that the suggestions in the commenting style guide are indeed suggestions and violations will not be subject to bans (but could nevertheless be contacted by a moderator).

• Please try and use proper punctuation and spelling whenever possible, it makes reading your comments that much more enjoyable for everyone involved.
• Please try and use the subject line in your comments. It makes them stand out better as a standalone comment, rather than appearing as a continuation of the comment above.
• We have no rule against “off-topic” conversations in any article or game thread. That being said, please heed any suggestions from moderators or other commenters if they indicate your conversation is causing a distraction away from the primary purpose of said articles and game threads, which is to discuss the Miami Marlins.
• Use that rec button! If you like something someone said, rec it, no need to say “+1” or “rec’d” or “THIS.” The button is there for a reason, show them some love!
• We have no rule against profanity. Emotions run high, particularly in game threads, and swearing can be therapeutic. Hell, you may see the occasional curse word in written article. That being said, do try to not abuse the privilege. Excessive swearing for the sake of swearing can get tiresome and is visually unappealing.
• GIFs/images are welcome, to a point (more on that below). Excessive image posting or super-sized images may get you contacted by a moderator, as not everyone has devices capable of handling a bonanza of loaded images.
• This is a blog that, at it’s core, believes in the soundness of sabermetric principles. You are welcome to make inferences and observations based on non-advanced stats, simply be prepared to be challenged and defend your stance. We believe that the best way to handle an ill-informed comment is to let it stand and be hacked away at by those who know better.
• There is another button available to you, the flag button. Flagging a comment brings it to a moderator’s attention. You can flag something if you find that it’s a violation of the site rules, and a moderator will respond as promptly as they can. If you find a person’s comments to be annoying and stupid, you can flag those too, but we’ll probably just ignore the latter.

Site Rules

These are the hard and fast rules that everyone must abide by. Violating these will get you the boot.

Disciplinary steps: If you are a frequent or blatant offender in regard to any of these site rules, you will get one chance to cease and desist, otherwise known as a warning. If the actions continue unabated, we drop the ban hammer without remorse. You are certainly welcome to plead your case in an attempt to return, but we make no promises! Following rules means you have shown the ability to be civil and a good member of our community, demonstrating otherwise by getting banned puts you outside of the circle of trust.

1. No political/religious discussion. There are many places on the internet to discuss politics and religion if you so choose. Fish Stripes is not one of those places. This also goes for any political/religious memes/images/GIFs or any allusions to political/religious topics. Seriously, just don’t bring it up.
2. No personal attacks. Disagreement and debate are healthy and encouraged; making it a personal issue is not. If you think someone is an idiot, let their stupidity speak for itself, or dispute the individual’s comments in an intelligent and respectful manner. Do not call them an idiot.
3. No trolling. Fans of any team are welcome to chat on Fish Stripes. Banter between blogs is bound to occur, but there is a difference between light ribbing and being mean. If you don’t know the difference, we’ll be happy to teach you. This rule applies to those who would come over to Fish Stripes from other blogs, and those who call Fish Stripes their home who would go over to an opponent’s blog. Don’t troll, anywhere.
4. No advertising for products and services. Fish Stripes is not a platform to promote your personal blog or business (unless, of course, you’ve paid SB Nation for the privilege. In that case, welcome our well-funded friends!)
5. No graphic images. We encourage humorous image/GIF sharing, particularly in game threads. What we do not encourage is any image/GIF that is overly violent, gory, contains nudity, or we otherwise deem inappropriate for our readership’s consumption. A good rule of thumb is if the image makes you wonder if it’s going to violate this site rule, then don’t post it.
6. No violating the -isms. As in racism, sexism, ageism, etc. We’re not going to debate with you on meaning and usage; if we tell you to stop something, stop. You get one warning.