DON'T DO THIS... DO THIS...
NOT Acceptable behavior:
Attacks at the writers/crew/actors. They bring us this show, and we are to treat them all with respect. Bite your tongue (or fingers) if that's a problem.
ex: "What drugs was so and so on when they wrote that piece of crap?" or "That
was the most pathetic acting job I've ever seen!" or
Acting like a child unable to get his/her way. I know there are quite a few posters who are stuck with their own ideals of how a character *should* be and can't seem to accept the character(s) for who they are now. Tough. Characters evolve. People evolve. If you're going to act immaturely because they evolve in a way that you didn't want them to, just don't even get into it.
ex: "How can Xander like her? The writers are wasting their time with this
relationship, no one's gonna watch it until he's with *this* person." or "Buffy
belongs with so and so. I'll never watch the show unless they're together!"
These are examples of Bashing:
"That episode sucks."
"Buffy and Spike are a stupid couple."
"I hated season 4."
"Buffy is such a slut for sleeping with Spike!"
"Willow's a stupid bitch for treating Tara that way!"
These are NOT Bashing:
"I didn't like this episode. It was the worst one I've ever seen."
"I really don't like Buffy and Spike together. The couple doesn't make sense to me."
"Season four was my least favorite season."
"I don't like that Buffy had sex with Spike. It lowers my opinion of her."
"I'm mad Willow was so mean to Tara. I didn't like seeing her character behave that way."
Phrases like these are okay and a good idea to use instead of harsher rude phrases:
- "I didn't like..."
- "This was disappointing, because..."
- "This didn't work for me, because..."
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION...
There will always be opinions that you don't agree with and don't like to hear. You may not see a character or relationship some way, but there will *always* be someone out there who sees it another way. As annoying as said comments may be, unless they are specifically rude and offensive to fans, they're not going anyway. STAY AWAY from them if they bug you. Don't start a fight every time someone brings it up again.
When you're going to express how much you don't like something, consider the people who actually like that something. Because trust me, there will *always* be someone who likes and dislikes every little thing. There will always be at least two sides to it and you need to consider the people you are possibly insulting. Pretend someone else was talking about *your* favorite character or couple or episode. Are you going to offend them with your comment?
Comments like:
"I think Spike's a serial killer." Sure, not everyone sees it that way. But it's not bashing. It's an opinion, however annoying it may be to those who don't like it. You only cause trouble for *yourself* alone when you reply rudely because you took offense to someone's opinion.
"I think Buffy and Spike are the best couple ever!" Again, not everyone see every relationship the same. If you're not a B/S fan, a simple comment like this does not read, "If you don't think Buffy and Spike are the best couple, tell me why!" Leave it be.
FLAMES...
Under NO circumstances will posts that contain the slightest hint of personal attacks be allowed. For those who don't get this concept...
Comments remotely like the following will get your post deleted and piss me off. (If you've ever done things like the following in the past, reconsider your plans for the future. Now that this is in writing, my tolerance will be even less.)
"Don't bother. All fans of *this* ship are blind to reality or truth."
"You support *that* relationship? That's sick!"
"Oh, but you're a fan of this ship, so you can't see it."
"Of course, someone like *you* wouldn't understand that."
"I'm right, your wrong. If you can't see that, you're obviously not watching the same show as me."
These are--by my own definition, if nothing else--FLAMES. A flame, in my opinion is any sort of an attack on other *fans* (or the actual people behind the show, obviously). I care far more about the way you all treat each other than I do the way the show is treated. Any comments that are the slightest bit hostile at each other, other fans or the works of fans will not be taken lightly. It takes very few incidents of these sorts for my patience to wear out. I will NOT put up with it.
I can't change the way people interpret other opinions, but I'm not going to side with everyone who gets insulted every time someone expresses a differing opinion. I have to listen to all of it, complaints, praise, whatever whether I agree or not. Everyone needs to take a chill pill and quit taking EVERYTHING so seriously. Whether you like it or not, this board is for ALL fans who enjoy the show and spoilers. Every shipper, every character fan, every episode fan, every season fan--every fan. If you can't deal with people expressing an opinion that isn't yours, stay away from those people/posts or don't come here.
Under no circumstances will any sort of flaming or attacks be tolerated for the following:
- Fellow fans. From this board or any other location. I don't want to hear it.
- The people behind the show. If you want to complain about the product, go for it. But do not attack the writers/actors/crew.
- Other boards or websites. Negative talk about any other boards or websites will not fly. Let the other boards and sites dis us all they want, sinking to that level by anyone here at the boards will only make us look bad and I won't accept it.
From NOW ON! This is giving a bit more control to thread/post starters.
If you start a thread about a particular character or ship and you are ONLY looking for people who agree with you, specify that in your subject.
ex: "For B/A fans ONLY. What do you like about the couple?" (I'm not going to
restrict non-B/A-shipper fans who want to chime in with positive responses, but if
this is specified in the subject, negative responses or "Here's what I *don't* like
about the ship" responses will be deleted.)
If you want to discuss a relationship but NOT turn it into a shipper discussion (i.e., B/S is nothing like B/A!), specify that in your subject. Or if you are not looking to compare ships, specify that in your subject.
ex: "Buffy and Spike fighting evil together. NOT a shipper discussion," or "The
Buffy/Spike relationship, no comparisons to other ships, please."
If you want to discuss an episode/character/writer/whatever, the same rule applies. If you're NOT going to want to hear a specific kind of response, specify what you are looking for and not looking for and the posts rudely ignoring the requests will be removed.
ex: "For Xander fans. What's your favorite characteristic?"
If you start a thread and you want to simply get an answer to a simple question, not start up a huge debate on an old issue, specify that in your subject.
ex: "Who likes W/T together. NOT a debate, just a simple answer would be fine."
These rules also apply to replies. If you're expressing your opinion on a specific topic and don't want a certain kind of response, put it in your subject. Anyone who replies against your wishes will be deleted unless their post is harmless. But, in the case you do want a debate and can keep a level head under the circumstances of other opinions that differ from yours, no need to do anything. :)
Point is, you do not have to read every single post on the board. If a post is not directed at you, don't read it. No matter how important you may consider your own opinion, hammering it into everyone's head on a certain topic every chance you get only makes you look bad and ticks me off. Now, if there are any questions about what is or is not allowed, please let me know. I will adjust these guidelines if there is any confusion to avoid any in the future.
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