Discussions are discussions!!!! let the fans talk about whatever they want to. If you don’t like someone’s post then don’t respond. When you become a “contributing writer”….then you can tell everyone what they are and aren’t suppose to post. Leave it up to JScott, Bull Gator, and CraigT to make those calls or start your own site and run it the way you want to.

I agree with UNFNOLE. Dont bash him for saying what i think many people are thinking. It seems like in the past couple days there have been like 3-5 Fanposts all discussing reporting the same idea or concept. The site has become less organized. Nothing against any of the new people, considering i am fairly new, but put some effort into what youre thinking and typing instead of just FanPosting the first random thought that comes to your head.

…we are all fans of this site (at least I hope so). I wouldn’t write here and you all wouldn’t continue to come back if you weren’t. And although FanPosts give anyone the opportunity to speak their mind, I feel we do need some organization. Here are the two main issues I see that can EASILY be resolved…

1. Copying and Pasting Articles – We will DELETE any FanPost that has an article copied into it. The reason behind this is because it can be considered copyright infringement. Most major sites don’t mind being linked to. In fact, they love it. It gives them more viewers and in turn, more advertising dollars in many cases. They are very adamant against having their stuff reproduced elsewhere though because it doesn’t give someone any incentive to hop over to their site to read it. Even if you give credit to the site/author, why would someone click the link if the entire article is posted here? Therefore, do NOT do it. We will delete posts of this nature. I know that may seem harsh, but that’s the reality of it in these situations.

2. Breaking News – Everyone wants to be the one to break news to the community and there’s nothing wrong with that. I get my own little pleasure out of being the first one to hear about something. We like – and sometimes even rely on – news you find. We all have day jobs and can’t be the first to find out everything, so it’s an added bonus when you all post something that happened and we can then formulate it into a post on the main page – or even promote your post. However, just check what’s already been posted before you do so. Derrick Ward is a good example. 3 FanPosts popped up breaking the news that Ward had been signed. Do a quick check before you post something to see if it’s already been covered. If it has, feel free to add your comments to that post instead of creating an entire new one. It’s help keep good discussions about a specific topic in one place making it easier for all of us.

And a third point for good measure…

3. Spelling, Grammar, Etc. – I happen to be a stickler for layouts, but that’s partially because part of my day job revolves around proofing items. However, I do understand not everyone is going to have perfect spelling or grammar. I don’t think we necessarily need to mandate anything in this department, but the key point here is just try to think about what others will see. Long posts with no punctuation are hard to read and generally, I’ll skip them. Throw in a period here and there. It’ll only help those reading your stuff. And after all, if you posted it in the first place, you obviously want us to read it.

Anyway, there you have it. None of us that run the site want to be disciplinarians and I hope this didn’t come across as such. We just want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to use and enjoy Buc ‘Em, while making sure we aren’t pissing off other sites by “stealing” there stuff at the same time. Just food for thought.

I happen to completely agree with you on this one. I bunch of disorganized FanPosts are going to turn people away from the site. It makes Bucem look like a poorly written gossip column instead of a place for news and information.

A few tips for FanPosters out there –
-If you have a breaking story, ALWAYS cite and link the source.
-Write as if you want people to read your story. This is not a text message or a tweet. The more informative and researched you are, the more likely people will read your posts in the future.
-Look at other people’s FanPosts before you post. If there is a post out there similar to the one you were going to write, then comment on the other one.

Thanks to all those who already do these things and I encourage others to start.