BCB is intended to feel primarily democratic, and most of the unwritten rules come by way of self-government by the community. These few official guidelines have been created and exist for a singular purpose: to help make BCB a place that is safe and enjoyable for everyone who participates. However, I would also like to remind you that BCB is my home on the Internet. Just as you wouldn’t go as a guest to someone else’s physical home and throw dirt all over the walls, please be respectful as a guest in my online home, both to me and to the other guests here.

Free Speech on BCB

At BCB, I believe strongly in free speech and in having a diversity of people participating, and sharing ideas that are relevant to the community. As a BCB member you are, in general, free to express your opinion without fear of retribution. The diversity of personalities, beliefs, and styles is exactly what makes BCB the strong and vibrant community that it has become. As proprietor of this site, I want to keep BCB free and open to everyone. However, I will remind you of what you all agree to when you first sign up for the site:

When posting at this blog, please follow this one simple rule: Before hitting "post" to post your remarks, ask yourself: "Would I be embarrassed to say this in front of strangers who were physically present in the room with me and could respond to my face?" If the answer is "yes," then don't post. BCB encourages and welcomes all opinions, no matter how strong; however, personal attacks, vulgarity, and other uncivilized forms of expression are not welcome. Also, to avoid trolling and spam posts, there is a 48-hour waiting period before you can make your first post after signing up. Thanks for understanding.

Under normal circumstances I will not delete posts, and will not "censor" in any way, shape or form unless it is a blatant violation of these guidelines. However, in such cases, I reserve the right to delete posts without notice.

Since BCB IS a community, you should know that free speech does not mean the right to say what you want, when you want, how you want, without being sensitive to, and respectful towards, individuals and the community as a whole. In a community, speech is not completely free; it comes with responsibility.

The following are simply not acceptable on BCB (excepting, in some cases, for obvious humor between people with an existing rapport) and are subject to sanction as outlined below:

1. Posts created for the purpose of advertising or other commercial purposes will be deleted without notice.
2. Further to the above, posts created by users who have joined the community, not participated in discussions, and made their first (or among their first) posts self-promoting for their own book, website or other personal publication of any kind, will be deleted without notice. BCB does not exist to provide free advertising. If you want your book, website or other publication reviewed, contact the managing editor via the email address on the left sidebar.
3. In addition, posts that are thinly veiled press releases will be deleted without notice. If you want attention for your project, email a press release to the managing editor; all will be considered.
4. Gratuitous profanity is not permitted. I realize that in the heat of a game thread, occasional blue language may slip through. Please try to keep it to an absolute minimum.
5. Creating multiple user names for the purpose of trolling or disrupting the community is not permitted. Persons creating such user names will have those names banned and/or deleted without notice. Further, user names created that contain profanity or drug references are not permitted; those will also be banned. Finally, posts made for such purposes will also be deleted without notice.
6. Personal attacks on community members, directly or through sarcasm/belittling, e.g., "You're an idiot", "You don't know what you’re talking about, moron", "Apparently, you've never seen a baseball game, or you'd know?", "My Chihuahua knows more about baseball than you do", etc.
7. Comments that are intolerant or prejudiced (sexist, racist, homophobic, etc.) in nature, e.g., "Why don't you go play with your dolls?", "The Cubs shouldn’t sign black players", "Doesn't Damon look like a fag?", etc. are not permitted
8. Harassing/baiting of users, e.g., "How about that Heilman; isn't he great?" posted five consecutive times after another Heilman homer allowed, "The Cubs will never win this game" posted 10 times in 3 minutes, etc. is not permitted.
9. Comments that bring politics or religion into BCB are also not permitted (which is a non-political, non-sectarian, non-religious blog), e.g., "Obama/Bush/Clinton ruined this country by", "Check out this link about the war in Iraq," etc. That said, you may occasionally see a political advertisement on BCB. Running such ads does not imply an endorsement of the candidate or views expressed in the ad, just as any such ad on a television station or network or in a newspaper does not imply endorsement by such an entity. Editorial and advertising at BCB are separate, and I do not have control over advertising.

Consequences for Violating BCB's Community Guidelines

Complaints about possible violations of the Community Guidelines should be directed to Al for review and consideration. My email address is prominently posted on the left sidebar. Feel free to contact me at any time.

I will aim to balance a high tolerance for the importance of free speech and low tolerance for minor or petty complaints, with enforcement of the stated guidelines on behalf of the entire BCB community. Here is the general procedure; there may be exceptions to this, at my sole discretion:

If you think a violation has occurred, either contact me, flag the post, or mention it in the thread. I will then contact the offending user privately, either by email or by issuing a formal warning on the site. No other action will be taken.

If a second violation is made by the same user, I reserve the right to take more serious action, up to and including a temporary ban (i.e., asking you to stay away for a few days).

A third violation through this process means some sort of action will definitely be taken. That might be as simple as another temporary ban -- or, it might result in you being permanently banned from BCB.

In the event it seems clear to me that you have as your primary motive disrupting and/or upsetting specific individuals or the community as a whole, as noted above, I reserve the right to ban you before going through this process.

Procedure For Lodging An Official Complaint

If you believe a user has violated these guidelines and you want me to have a look at the situation, send an email to the address on the left sidebar, and also flag the post using the tools available on the site itself. Please include the following information:

• Your BCB user name
• The BCB user name of the user about whom you are complaining
• The URL(s) of the post(s) in question

The last part is really important – this is a busy site, and if you can direct me directly by URL to the specific post you are making a complaint about, that makes dealing with it much easier. I’ll try to get back to you and at least let you know I received your complaint.

Finally, please don't take any of these guidelines to mean that I am "clamping the hammer down" or any such thing. As noted above, BCB is intended to be a place for freewheeling exchange of ideas about the Cubs and baseball. Almost anything goes, if you are respectful of others.

FanPosts and FanShots

The guidelines for posting a FanPost are:

• A FanPost must be at least 75 words long or it is considered to be unsubstantial and will not be accepted by the site.
• A FanPost must in some way belong on BCB -- in other words, it must relate to the Cubs, or to baseball, or to BCB, or to an existing thread, etc.
• You can’t post more than 2 FanPosts or FanShots (you could have two of each, though) in any given day.
• It is not permitted to use FanPosts, FanShots, comments or signatures for advertising. Anything posted in a FanPost, FanShot, comment or signature that contains commercial advertising is subject to deletion without notice.

Tips on writing good posts:

Some of the qualities that the most popular FanPosts often have in common are:

• They expand upon the main idea with supporting examples, or statistical data, or a link to a relevant article, or a "thinking question" for others to consider, etc. -- something beyond just the main idea itself. Don’t just post a large quote from an article and say "What do you think?" Post your own opinion, too.
• They explore a topic, idea, or question that has not been explored recently, or at all, at BCB. Please check both the FanPost and FanShot recent post lists to see if your topic is already being discussed.

Keep in mind that if your post contains only one point or idea that is not developed, expanded on, or supported with arguments or data, it is really not a FanPost -- it is a comment that should be posted in an existing thread, or posted as a FanShot. For more information on how to construct your posts, please see this post containing some suggestions and ideas on FanPosts and FanShots.

Disclaimer: These guidelines are intended to help you understand the policies, procedures, and processes generally used by me at BCB. While you are using BCB, which is a part of SB Nation, you are also subject to the SB Nation Terms of Use. Also, please take note of the SB Nation Privacy Policy, to which this site subscribes. Both of the above links are also available at the bottom of BCB's front page. Finally, it is entirely at my discretion as to how to interpret and implement these guidelines, which are subject to change at any time without notice.