Forum Rules and Code of Conduct

Registration to this forum is free! We do insist that you abide by the rules and policies detailed below. If you agree to the terms, please check the 'I agree' checkbox and press the 'Register' button below. If you would like to cancel the registration, click here to return to the forums index.

Although the administrators and moderators of Hockey Fan Zone will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this forum, it is impossible for us to review all messages. All messages express the views of the author, and neither the owners of Hockey Fan Zone, nor Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. (developers of vBulletin) will be held responsible for the content of any message.

By agreeing to these rules, you warrant that you will not post any messages that are obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws.

The owners of Hockey Fan Zone reserve the right to remove, edit, move or close any thread for any reason.

Metroboards Code of User Conduct

By registering for an account at Metroboards.com, you agree to the policies in this Code of Conduct.

Respect
We require that all of our members respect each and every other member on the boards. Note that "respect" does not mean "agree 100% with"; we know that in a community such as this, people will have differing opinions, and that's OK. All we ask is that you treat other peoples' opinions with respect.

Post Etiquette
Please remember that any post you make on the boards not only reflects on you, but also on your team, your community, your family, and any number of other groups that you might belong to. Profanity is not allowed anywhere on the site; most of the bad words will be edited out by the server, but if a word is not, a GM may (at their discretion) edit the word manually. Masked profanity is generally OK, as long as it's in moderation and within the context of the discussion (in other words, it's OK to post "F**k!!!!!" in huge letters if your team just missed an open net to tie the game with 20 seconds left); don't take advantage of this, however.

Also, please try to use complete sentences with correctly spelled words and proper punctuation. Overuse of abbreviations make your posts hard to read and your point(s) can be lost. A little is fine but a lot of abbreviations like using "u" for "you" make your posts less credible. Also please remember that typing in all capitalized letters is considered shouting. Please don't overuse shouting either.

Following these rules will make your posts easier to read and create the higher level of hockey talk we strive for on this site. We also ask that you try to keep your posts relevant to the topic of each thread. Threads will naturally have some variance or evolving topics, but try to stay as close to the topic at hand as possible. GMs will split, edit, or close threads if necessary.

Respect for GMs and Commishes
We're not in the business of censoring what people can say and to whom they can say it on these boards. However, we expect that while you might not always agree with a GM's or a Commish's decision in regards to COC discipline, that you respect it. Please understand that we have assigned GMs to uphold this Code of Conduct and it is your responsibility to follow it and to accept any consequences that come about as a result of COC violations. If you feel you have been wrongly moderated or reprimanded and can't work it out with the GM, you have the right to contact the MBGMs/Commishes via the feedback form at the bottom of each Metroboards page. A MBGM will look into the matter. If a GM has violated the COC then by all means please report the post(s), but under no circumstances should users respond to a violation with another violation, because two wrongs do not make a right.

Metroboards Instigator Rule
Any incidents of a user going onto a board other than the user's home board and making posts designed to incense or rile up the users of that board will be punished more severely than any user of that home board that retaliates. Retaliation that does not violate the Code of Conduct will be punished at the discretion of the forum GM or Metroboards GM, while retaliation that violates the Code will be punished more severely. However, the instigator of the trouble will receive the most severe punishment of those involved.

Conduct while Suspended
If your account has been suspended by a Commish or Metroboards GM, you are excluded from posting on the boards for the length of time specified by whomever suspended you. Any attempt to circumvent a suspension by registering a new name will result in permanent banning from the site. Upon the expiration of a suspension, you must PM a Commish or Metroboards GM to request your account be re-activated.

Avatar and Signature Picture Appropriateness
Please keep in mind that Metroboards is a site open to hockey fans of all ages, and as such we ask that all avatars, signature pictures, and profile pictures be appropriate to all age groups. Exceedingly explicit or raunchy pictures are not appropriate, and a Commish or Metroboards GM reserves the right to change or remove any picture deemed overly explicit. Except in the most extreme circumstances, users with explicit pictures violating this policy will be sent a PM before any non-elective action is taken on their account.

Post Padding
Post padding is defined as making a post with no real purpose -- in other words, a post that only exists to increase a user's post count. With the exception of game threads (or in response to a question when a one-word answer is apropos), pads may be deleted at the discretion of a GM with no prior warning.

Solicitation
Advertising your site is generally acceptable, as long as it's been cleared by a Commish or Metroboards GM. This includes advertising a site of another message board(s). However, it cannot fall into the next category...

Spamming
Spamming is defined as the posting of identical or nearly identical messages on more than one board, in addition to advertising a site without prior permission of a Commish or Metroboards GM. Any instance of spamming will result in the offending posts/signatures/and PIM's being deleted; in addition, the spammer will receive a 5-day suspension. We mean it -- this is the number one way that a message board can go down the toilet, and we will not allow it to happen. If you don't believe us, go check out the ESPN boards.

In addition, spamming of other sites on behalf of Metroboards is not condoned in any way by the Metroboards administration, and don't expect any support from us if we receive complaints from another website. The first instance of spamming elsewhere that we find out about will result in a 5-day suspension; the second, a two-week suspension; and on the third instance your account will be terminated.

PM Contents
Unless it's been consented by both the sender and receiver of a private message, PMs are not to be posted anywhere on the boards, nor may users reference PMs in posts. (After all, this sort of defeats the purpose of PMs, no?) Violations of this policy will result in a one-week disabling of the user's PMs.

Article Posting
Newspaper and online articles are very important in hockey, but as in all disciplines proper credit must be given for all reposted information. Reposting a complete article is generally not acceptable, unless you've received permission from the author to repost the information. Reposting portions of an article is acceptable as long as the source is clearly posted along with the portions of the article. For online articles, a URL is sufficient for source documentation, but if it comes from a print publication with no Web visibility please be sure to include the author's name and the name of the newspaper, magazine, etc. This isn't really a legal thing -- an argument could be made for protection of articles under fair use, since we're not making money off the articles ourselves -- but is good common courtesy and should be followed at all times by all Metroboards members.

Harrassment
No harrassment toward or discrimination against any ethnic background, sexual preference, religion, age, or gender will be acceptable anywhere on the site. Violation of this principle will result in an immediate, indefinite suspension.

Personal Attacks, Flaming, and Baiting
Personal attacks, flaming (a post designed to elicit a hostile response), or baiting (a post designed to elicit a personal attack at some point) will not be tolerated anywhere on the site. Violation of any of these principles can result in a suspension at the discretion of an Commish or Metroboards GM.

Metroboards Privacy Policy
Metroboards utilizes cookies to identify users to the database. These cookies are only used for tracking post times, remembering logins and user preferences, and other associated functions. At no time does Metroboards collect any information about a user from that user's cookie. All we know about you is what you provide in your profile. Metroboards will never ask for personally identifying information such as your name (unless you provide it in your profile), your social security or other government-issued ID number, your address, or telephone number. If approached by someone claiming to be from Metroboards that requests any of the above information (or any other information that you do not feel comfortable giving out), please contact the admins immediately.

Commissioners and Metroboards GM Reference
For your reference, a list of all Commishes and Metroboards GMs, as well as a list of all individual forum GMs, is available here. Also, the Commissioner can be reached via email by using the link at the bottom of each page.