The Rules of the Clubhouse

Here at the Baseball Clubhouse, we have just one main rule in the forums, aside from having fun talking about baseball, and that is to act like a gentleman at all times.

What this means is that while we may debate, argue, and present conflicting information about issues and topics, you shouldn'' take things personally, or attack other posters personally. Also, you shouldn't stray totally off topic on a post (tangential notions are fine, in fact, baseball is great because one topic can lead into another ) however if the thread is a discussion of the 1919 White Sox and then you bring up the 1962 Cubs' College of Coaches for no apparent reason, then that's a problem.

Since baseball attracts fans of all ages, we should keep the language to a fairly clean level. Please refrain from using the word "sucks" when describing a team or player, because that lowers the value of the discussion and is ungentlemanly. If you need to say a player is substandard, use more creative language, such as "Neifi Perez is offensively challenged".

Don't be rude or snotty - sarcasm at times is OK about an idea but not a poster. Please watch the tone when you addressing another poster. We've all learned the hard way - a harmless jab to you may not be taken that way.

As far as links, posting copyrighted material is very ungentlemanly. Post a link to a story and a synopsis in your own words. If the site requires registration, then say so in the post. If it is a premium service (on Baseball Prospectus or ESPN) then please state that as well. If you don't point out the registration or premium service, then the post will be yanked. And if you link to your own site - ask permission first. We don't want people to just link to their site without contributing to the discussion.

And please, if you have issues with the co-founders or the mods, email them. Don't post them on the board. Airing dirty laundry isn't the way to solve issues, and we'd like to keep the focus on the discussions at hand, and not on the board itself or how things are run.

The moderators are here to make sure the discussion is flowing, and that everyone is playing by the rule.

The mods have power to warn people if they are becoming ungentlemanly, and if something serious happens then they will have the power to suspend or permanently bar someone from posting. You will see your warning level by your name on the boards.

Example: Stating the Mets suck (without any other thing in the post) would just be a warning. Stating the Mets suck again after the warning would probably lead to a suspension. Saying that the Mets suck and all Mets fans should be boiled in oil, especially the ones on this board, will lead to permanently barring the person from posting here.

Also, please refrain from hot button topics such as politics and religion. We want to focus on baseball, with some other sports and pop culture thrown in for good measure. There are other forums around for discussing controversial issues. The only controversy we want in here is a good ol' fashioned rhubarb about Czar Bud!

Again, thanks for visiting the Clubhouse, and following the Clubhouse rules. Now pour yourself a beverage, get some nachos and post away in the forums!