A Community Guidelines Refresher

When I first took over at Shakin’ The Southland almost 3 years ago I wanted to update the community guidelines. The idea was to have a standard set of rules to police the community. By abiding by the rules we could have some proper discussion. I wanted to repost them as well as modify the community guidelines going forward. Anyone that comments in the STS community is going to be expected to adhere to these guidelines. They are an extension of the official community guidelines of SB Nation which can be found here.

1) Insults and personal attacks are not welcome here

We all are going to disagree eventually. But resorting to personal attacks isn’t the answer. As we’ve said before, attack the argument, not the person. If anyone attempts to insult or make jokes in an unflattering way about other members of the community they will be dealt with appropriately.

2) Sexist, homophobic, and other similar comments are not allowed

This is the big change from before. In the past we’ve allowed certain comments, especially images, to slide that should have been policed. That’s on me. But going forward they aren’t allowed. That means no photos sexually objectifying people (Women or Men) and no comments about the looks of players, wifes, girlfriends, cheerleaders, fans in the stand, etc. The same goes for homophobic pictures/comments and other similar groups. STS is going to be a community that is all-inclusive and these types of comments are hostile.

3) No Religion and no politics

It doesn't matter if everyone agrees, no one has fun discussing these topics on the internet. Even worse is discussing them on a board devoted to sports. Keep it elsewhere. Occasionally a topic, such as Title IX, will come up that is relevant to Clemson athletics. At those times there will be a note in the comments that the topic is ok to discuss. But even then it must remain relevant to Clemson as well as remain respectful.

4) Back it up with facts

Don't just say Kelly Bryant is a terrible QB. Back it up with some actual information. Anyone can say something is good or bad, but it is the why that is important. Same with stats, use them intelligently, don't just throw them out for kicks and giggles.

5) No linking or directing to illegal streams

We preview every match here at STS, and in that preview we include a link that provides streaming and television information. If you aren’t entirely certain if something is legal, it’s probably not a good idea to post a link in our comment section.

6) Trolling is not acceptable behavior

First and foremost, this is a community for Clemson fans to discuss all things Clemson. Does that mean you won’t be free to join the discussion even if you aren’t a fan of the Tigers? Of course it doesn’t, but it does mean you’ll be expected to be civil and be aware that you’re commenting at a blog with a heavy pro-Clemson bias.

There’s a flipside to this as well, as SB Nation has blogs dedicated to many of our rivals. STS community members are encouraged to check those sites out, but "trolling" in any of those communities will not be looked at any more favorably than a rival fan doing so here.

7) Profanity

Go ahead and use it, just don't use it at other commentors.

8) Please be clear and concise

I am going to admit I'm not the best with grammar, but please do your best to type in full sentences and use actual words, no textspeak. No need to say u, b4, or any other nonsense.

9) Have fun while you’re here

We are all Clemson fans. Some of us grew up with Death Valley in the background and others got their first glimpse as a freshman. Regardless we all love watching the Tigers in any sport. Enjoy your time here and have some fun, this isn't serious business despite what Nick Saban might say. And we did beat him for the natty after all.

If you see something that you feel violates any of these rules hit the little flag link under the comment and say why. We will take a look to determine if the comment breaks the rules and if so what action will be taken. Please do not attack the person who made the comment, even if it is a clear violation. Leave it alone and we will take care of it.

Now for what happens when you violate these rules, it depends. A lot of this will either result in a warning. Sometimes comments will also be hidden to prevent piling on. If someone is obviously here to cause trouble they will be banned, either permanently or for a period of time. This could be immediately or after several warnings depending on the severity of the infractions.