All,

Please read the following regarding new policies and procedures for game threads. Boss, GIK, and the rest of the moderator staff have worked hard to set this policy and have agreed to the below.

Game Threads can be an important part of a baseball or any sports-related message board. In the past, RZ game threads were a source of information and opinion through thoughtful posting, game play-by-play, solid writing, and general camaraderie through the posters. Game Threads of late, however, have been a stew of bile towards players, managers, & posters, which violate the general guidelines and principles of what the basis of Redszone was founded on in 2000. So, in an effort to improve the quality of the game threads, the moderation staff has collaborated on a set of guidelines for Game Thread Etiquette.

First of all, the resumption of game threads will be Monday, May 12. The Reds begin a home stand with the Florida Marlins.

Second – in addition to the regular moderator staff, there are game thread moderators that have agreed to monitor the threads. The “Game Thread” moderators are RedlegJake, Tommyjohn25, Red In Chicago, Caveat Emperor, & Tom Servo. Those posters have the same abilities as the other moderators to enforce the regulations and potentially remove posts and posters alike.

Here are the new guidelines to follow –

1 – All game threads will be started by a moderator 15 minutes or so before every game. If starting lineups are posted prior to the 15 minutes, the thread will be locked and be re-opened. Be patient. We'll let you in the gates before the game starts.

2 – All seven general redszone.com guidelines are in force with special attention to the following instances. All instances are left to the discretion of the moderation staff whose decision is final.
- Excessive criticism of players, staff, management with regards to all baseball-type plays, lineups, management styles, etc. Say it once and forget it.
- Personal attacks and inflammatory statements to entice personal attacks (a.k.a. “baiting”) against other posters, and moderator staff.
- Topics that have been discussed ad-nauseum with no end in sight. (Beating a subject to death.)
- Profanity masked or intentional. You know the words, you don’t have to look cool and type them out. Say it out loud at home and type something else.

3 – All infractions levied are at the discretion of the moderation staff. Each moderator is a unique human being. Some moderate differently than others and each has his or her moderating style. Do not complain publicly about a certain moderator’s decision. You may PM a moderator to voice an opinion.

4 – Infractions are given out as follows. There will be no more warnings issued. We have warned and warned until we have been Tommy Lasorda-like blue in the face. Consider the past April as your warning.

1st Infraction – Immediate removal from the game thread. We’ll see you tomorrow.
2nd Infraction – Immediate removal from the game thread and a 24-hour ban from all of redszone.com (including game threads).
3rd Infraction – Immediate removal from the game thread, permanent season-removal from game threads, and a one-week ban from all of redszone.com

These infractions accumulate and will not reset until the end of the season. Also, the moderator staff, at any time reserves the right to go over the guidelines for egregious offenses.

A few general suggestions from your friendly neighborhood moderation staff –

First - When you post – ask yourself the following questions -
- Have I said this before?
- What am I adding to this discussion that is new or relevant to the thread or to my point?
- Am I being excessive?
- Is my agenda showing through?

Raw emotion is ok, but posts of “Awwwwww crap” or “Dunn Sucks” or “WOW” or other one-to-two word posts add nothing to the substance to the thread if you don’t describe what happened to deserve your emotion. Take the time to think first than type. You aren’t getting paid to scoop other posters. Make a thoughtful, reasonable post. If you think that what you are going to type might get you an infraction, chances are that it probably will. If you see something that you think might be an infraction, alert a moderator by using the "Report A Post" feature. Be a part of the solution, not the problem. There is, however, a fine line between tattle tailing and letting us know.

This is an opportunity to increase the quality of this site. This is not a trial-basis. This is the real deal. If game threads hold to the higher cause, the board and its posters are better for it. Don't blow it. This is NOT an attempt to limit participation, but to regulate it. Basically, if you all can’t play nice, you give the moderators reasons to talk about this again.

Bottom line, most of us are Reds fans and want to see the team do well. Try to get along, ok?

Any questions, please PM a moderator with any questions or you can post them below.