BASEBALL GAMES FORUM GUIDELINES
These guidelines for participation in the Baseball Games forum / e-list are presented in the interest of maintaining
a friendly and civil ambience, streamlining message threads, and reducing unwanted advertising. Please read them
thoroughly and respect them when posting, and we'll all get along great. This is a cordial forum for inquiry, occasionally
even jocularity, not a place for heated debate. The founders / owners / moderators of this forum are cranky old buzzards
looking to have some fun with this and provide some fun for you as well. They have neither the time nor the patience
for trolls and troublemakers who seek to disrupt the board by subverting or circumventing these few simple guidelines.
This forum is primarily for the exchange of information on antique, vintage, and collectible tabletop baseball
games, and for having a pleasant time in that pursuit. Off-topic posts related to the primary aim of the forum are
also welcome, providing they are harmonious with the general ambience of the discussion, and that the number or tone
of such topics, the repetitious raising of such topics, or the length of such threads, do not begin to overwhelm or distract
from the primary purpose of the forum / e-list.
Criticism or ridicule of any particular game, its designers, or its fans is sure to cause arguments and ill feelings,
and is therefore strictly limited by the moderators and subject to being edited or blocked entirely. Advertising is also
strictly limited according to the guidelines detailed below.
Courtesy to your fellow members is paramount, and courtesy to the forum's owners / moderators is appreciated.
If you do not extend the courtesy and respect expected in common discourse and as suggested in these guidelines,
you should not expect to receive it in return, and you will quickly get the boot.
That's the skinny. Below is a more detailed set of suggestions, most of which should go without saying, but may be
useful for some newcomers to this forum or for people who weren't never taught no manners.
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The owners / moderators do not enjoy taking a strong hand in attempting to govern discourse on the forum / e-list, and
seek only to encourage it to stay cordial and on-topic. As it would be impossible to anticipate every potential tangent of
conversation, these are presented as guidelines, not as a complete set of absolute rules. We trust that the sort of
common sense and common courtesy already shown by almost all the members of this forum will obviate most trouble.
If trouble arises, however, the patience of the owners / moderators has an increasingly short limit.
Membership is open to anyone. Consider this an open house to which you have invited yourself. Conduct yourself in
a friendly and respectful manner. If you spit on the floor in your own house, however, do not expect that sort of behavior
to be tolerated here.
Arguments that the request to abide by these guidelines restricts one's "freedom of speech" do not hold a drop of water.
Being a member of this forum is not a right. Freedom of Speech applies to the government, not to any online forum.
* One additional simple requirement for membership: if you join the group and sign in to receive forum messages
via e-mail (the "e-list"), you must have a valid, working e-mail address registered with Yahoo. You can sign in
to receive a daily digest (one single e-mail containing all the day's messages) rather than individual forum posts,
you can sign in to receive no e-mail at all, or you can hide your e-mail address if you like. But if you do choose to
receive e-mail from any Yahoo group to which you belong, your address must be able to receive mail. Don't worry,
we won't try to sell you anything. Odds approach certainty that we'll never contact you at all.
Messages are moderated, meaning they are subject to approval by the owners / moderators before being posted to
the forum / e-list, and as such may wait in queue for many hours before being posted.
* Yahoo forum software strips attachments from all messages sent to the forum. If you have photos or files that
might be appropriate for the group website and that you wish to contribute, please contact the owners / moderators
at [ baseballgames-owner@yahoogroups.com ].
* Messages posted in reply to previous posts or existing threads, and containing excessively long reiterations
of previously posted material, may be edited for space and / or relevance. Please be considerate of your fellow
e-list subscribers and the moderators, and edit the replied-to material in your message yourself before posting.
* Messages containing inflammatory, vulgar, obscene, patently offensive, or absurdly off-topic material will be
blocked, and anyone attempting to post such messages will immediately be banned.
* Messages in violation of the spirit of any of the guidelines described in this document may be edited or may
be blocked entirely.
* Bleating, whinging, and throwing tantrums about the moderators' oppressive methods will get you absolutely nothing
except a faster exit.
* Advertising of relevant items for sale with potential interest to the membership is allowed only under the following
conditions:
advertisers must be members of the group for 90 days before their for-sale announcements can be posted, and
only one such for-sale message may be made each month by any one member / advertiser, with a maximum of
100 words and one URL per post. Messages in violation of this policy will be blocked.
* $p@m of any sort will not be tolerated. This is a moderated forum, so $p@m messages will never reach the
membership, and anyone attempting to $p@m the message board / e-list will immediately be banned.
Again, the main purpose of this forum is the exchange of information on antique, vintage, and collectible tabletop
baseball games.
* Questions and answers concerning the history, manufacturers, graphics, contents, mechanics, repair, availability, and
market values of older and out-of-print / out-of-production baseball-themed board games, dice games, card games, dart
games, action games, mechanical, electrical, and pinball games are typical and most welcome topics for posts.
Results and statistics, from tabletop baseball games played by the use of such games, and / or from tabletop leagues
formed around such games, and opinions on those games' "playability," are likewise welcome. It is recommended that
you browse the Message Archives, starting with Message #1, and familiarize yourself with the temperature of the room
before posting to the forum / e-list for the first time.
* Similar topics of discussion are also eligible concerning tabletop baseball games currently or recently in production
(including, but not limited to, Strat-O-Matic, APBA, All-Star Baseball, Big League Manager, Negamco Major League
Baseball, Sherco Baseball, Pursue the Pennant / Dynasty League, Replay, Statis Pro, Sports Illustrated Baseball,
ABC Table-Top Baseball, All-Star Baseball Card Game, ASG Baseball, Ball Park Baseball, Baseball Classics,
Bases Loaded Baseball, Bench Coach Baseball, Box Seat Baseball, Dugout Dreams, Extra Innings, Great Play!
Baseball, Inning-A-Minute Baseball, MLB Showdown, Nine Inning Classic, Triple Play Baseball, Triple Threat
Baseball, and When the Grass Was Real), providing that the questions, answers, and opinions offered are
respectful of those games' many current players and enthusiasts, and of their designers.
Some of the many fans of those games and several of the inventors / developers of those games are among the
membership of this forum / e-list. Nothing related to the main focus of this forum is more certain to start a fight than
suggesting someone's favorite game is flawed, a fraud, or a failure. You are welcome to say you do not enjoy a
particular game and why, but say it once and be done with it. Belittling or berating any game, its fans, or its makers,
nor repeated complaints and criticisms about a particular game, nor insinuating remarks in such a vein cravenly
attempting to masquerade as innocent inquiry, will not be tolerated here. Almost all of the games named above
have their own corporate websites or fan forums, and you have every opportunity those afford, and afforded by any
number of other tabletop sports gaming sites and forums, to proclaim the superiority of your game of choice and
the inferiority of any others.
* Once more, off-topic posts (including, but not limited to, computer baseball, "real-life" baseball, tabletop versions
of other sports, and so on) related to the primary aim of the forum are welcome, providing that they conform with
the general ambience of previous discussions, and that the number or tone of such topics, the repetitious raising of
such topics, or the length of such threads, do not begin to overwhelm or distract from the primary purpose of the
forum / e-list. The forum allows a fair amount of latitude for such stuff, and veteran members of the forum who have
amply demonstrated their interest in the forum's main focus, and their respect for the topic and for their fellow
members of the forum, will naturally be allowed a bit more latitude than a disruptive newcomer.
* Your moderators may be slow, but they're not entirely dim. Messages, no matter how politely or circuitously
worded, that are calculated to spark an argument, to attack, insult, or undermine the opinions, character, products,
ideas, or tastes of another member, to alter the fundamental focus of the forum, or to bicker about these guidelines,
will not be permitted. Come in here with a smile and spread it around. This is supposed to be a happy place.
The owners / moderators have enough conflict and controversy to deal with in the real world, thank you, so
contribute something other than negativity. Come in here with a smirk or a snarl and you will be shown the door.
If you have come here mainly to agitate, aggravate, criticize, antagonize, or advertise, you can take your agenda
and leave right now.
* These guidelines are not set in stone, and may adapt as unforeseen situations develop.
* These guidelines apply to all members, but not necessarily to the owners / moderators, who are a law unto themselves.
* How much did you pay to get in here?
* No pepper.
Forum Policy -- Butch & Co., Baseball Games, February 2006
edited November 2008, September 2009
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