Daily Norseman Community Guidelines

I'm going to be saving this as a separate page here on the site, but I'm also going to post it here so that everybody has an opportunity to see it straight away.
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In light of some things that have happened over the past couple of days, it appears as though a few rules need to be put into place here, as well as their consequences.

Now, I love me some free speech, don't get me wrong.  But I also want this site to be a community for people to be able to discuss Vikings' football and enjoy themselves.  I don't want this place to turn into the kind of cesspool that places like Purple Thoughts are.  With that said, the rules are going to be very few.  Most of what I'm going to say here is going to be common sense, but I'm throwing them out there anyway.

1) Racist and sexist speech and/or behavior will absolutely, positively not be tolerated

This is non-negotiable.  If I see a member referring to anyone in a racist or sexist manner, they're done here.  There will be no warnings, there will be no "strikes," and there will be no appeals.  I don't care if you're the newest member of DN or if you've been here since the beginning.  There's absolutely, positively no room for that sort of behavior on this website, and there never will be.

2) No politics.

This is a football community.  More specifically, a Minnesota Vikings football community.  If there are political issues that directly affect the Minnesota Vikings (which will, most likely, be limited to things like stadium issues), then discuss away.  If you want to discuss things like Presidential elections, tax issues, and so forth, there are approximately eleventy BILLION other internet sites that you can go to in order to get your fix.

Part of the reason that the aforementioned Purple Thoughts has turned into the cesspool that it's currently exists as is because they thought it was a good idea to put a politics forum up, and their "fair, impartial" moderators immediately decided to silence anyone that disagreed with their opinions.  I've put too much time and too much effort into this site to allow that to happen here.

3) Do unto others

I like to think of my fellow Viking fans as a fairly intelligent, if slightly masochistic, group of folks.  We know that some (not all) fans of other teams, particularly NFC North teams, feel the need to refer to the Beloved Purple as the "Queens" or the "Viqueens" or the "Biqueens."  These people do this because they have the mental capacity of the average second-grader.

Are you smarter than a second-grader?  Yes?  Then don't stoop to the level of those fans when they stumble their way over here.  If they're so insecure about their fandom and their loyalty to their teams that they can't even refer to our team by the proper name, then they're obviously too stupid to be rationalized with, and shall be dealt with swiftly.

By that same token, don't go to other team sites. . .particularly SBNation sites. . .and engage in that sort of stupidity.  Yes, I know you're all adults and can do and say whatever you want.  Just try not to embarrass Viking fans as a whole too much if you start smack talking. . .particularly if your mouth has written checks the Vikings couldn't cash in a particular week.

Fans of opposing teams, this goes for you, too.  If you want to come to our house and run your mouths about the "Queens" and so forth and just generally act like an idiot, expect your stay here to be short.  At the risk of sounding like a jerk, ultimately, this is my house. . .and I, personally, don't go into your house and do that crap, so don't expect me to put up with it here, either.

4)  Don't Get Personal

I fully understand that there are going to be disagreements between folks on this site on many matters. . .the direction of the team, coaching decisions, players, and so forth.  This will lead to debates, more spirited debates, and possibly flat-out arguments.  All of those things are fine, but if they're going to happen, attack the post, not the poster.  I'll give a little leeway here, because I know that things can get heated after games and so forth.  Blowing off steam after the game is okay, but don't attack fellow posters.  We're a community here and, ultimately, we all want to see the same thing for our team.

These guidelines can be amended as time goes on.  These are just the ones I can think of at the moment.  Honestly, the more I think about it, these guidelines should be more than enough.  But, if warranted, there will be additions, edits, and so forth.  I reserve the right to change these things at any time.

If you have any questions, the e-mail address is the same as it ever was (DailyNorseman AT Gmail DOT com).

Sincerely,
Christopher Gates
Webmaster/Head Blogger/All-Around Great Guy, The Daily Norseman