Updated and effective as of February 15, 2024
Welcome to Bleed Cubbie Blue, the home of Cubs fans on the SB Nation Network.
BCB is one of the oldest and most established communities at SB Nation, created February 9, 2005. As such, it has many long-time members who have participated in discussions for several years. If you are new to BCB, please take a few minutes to read these guidelines, as they should help you navigate the site; if you are a long-time member, please refresh your memory, as the guidelines and rules have been completely revamped.
BCB is intended to be a place for open discussion of the Chicago Cubs in particular and baseball in general. But since BCB is such a large and busy site, it's necessary to have a few rules in order to make the site safe and welcoming for everyone who participates. We ask that readers, just as guests in a physical home would be, to please be respectful at BCB, both to the site moderators and to the other guests here. There are really only two specific things that, if you keep them in mind while you're here, will let you and everyone else enjoy the discussion:
1. Be nice to your fellow BCB members.
2. No profanity except in game threads.
Here are some more details that will help. Please keep this in mind, something you agree to when you first sign up for the site:
When posting at this blog, please follow this one simple rule. Before hitting "post" to post your remarks, ask yourself: "Will this post be respectful to the others who could be joining me in this discussion?" If the answer is "no," then don't post. BCB encourages and welcomes all opinions, no matter how strong; however, personal attacks, vulgarity, and other uncivilized forms of expression are not welcome. Also, to avoid trolling and spam posts, and due to past abuses, there is a 24-hour waiting period before you can make your first post after signing up. Thanks for understanding.Under normal circumstances, posts or comments will not be deleted unless they are a violation of these guidelines. However, in such cases, the moderators reserve the right to delete posts or comments without notice.
Being able to post freely at BCB does not mean the right to say what you want, when you want, how you want, without being sensitive to, and respectful towards, individuals and the community as a whole, including the moderators and/or management. In a community, speech is not completely free; it comes with responsibility.
Claims of "Censorship!" are not relevant. Only the government can censor you. This is a community with rules; when you sign up, you agree to follow these rules. If you can't, you will be asked to leave.
A Short List Of Rules
1. Personal attacks on community members, directly or through mocking or sarcasm/belittling, via either comments, posts or user signatures designed for that purpose, are forbidden. Such posts or user signatures will be deleted without notice and anyone making such posts is subject to further discipline at the discretion of the site manager and/or moderators.
2. Comments or posts that are intolerant or prejudiced (sexist, racist, homophobic, discriminating on the basis of religion) in nature are prohibited. This is a SB Nation-wide policy; any such posts or comments will result in a warning. Repeated instances will result in a ban. Bans can be short-term or permanent.
3. Profanity is generally prohibited at BCB, except in threads that have the title "Game Thread," "First Pitch Thread," or "Overflow Thread." NOTE: Profanity in game preview threads, though attached to discussion of an individual game, is also prohibited. Fast-paced game threads have no content and are intended for quick reactions to game situations and in that case occasional profanity is understandable. Comment threads on game previews, game recaps and other articles with content are intended to be for more thoughtful and serious discussion and profanity is prohibited there. Profane comments in those threads are subject to removal without notice.
4. Posting personal information about anyone -- BCB member or not -- without his or her permission is not permitted. Such posts are subject to deletion without notice. In addition, threats of physical violence to others are not permitted. No, it's not a joke. Just don't do it.
5. Comments that bring politics or religion into BCB (which is a non-political, non-sectarian, non-religious blog) are also not permitted. That said, you might occasionally see a political advertisement on BCB. Running such ads does not imply an endorsement of the candidate or views expressed in the ad, just as any such ad on a TV station or network or in a newspaper does not imply endorsement by such an entity. Editorial and advertising at BCB are separate, and the site manager does not have control over advertising. Lastly, you might occasionally see an article on a Cubs or baseball topic that involves politics due to the nature of the content. In such articles, discussion of the political issue involved is not only allowed, but encouraged — but general, posting about unrelated political topics or comments is still prohibited.
6. Posts created for the purpose of advertising, self-promotion for your own book, website or other personal publication of any kind, or are thinly-veiled press releases or for any other commercial purpose will be deleted without notice. Further, all giveaways on the site of any kind for things of value must be sponsored and administered by Vox Media and cannot be posted independently by readers. Readers interested in posting giveaways should contact BCB management for information on possible co-sponsorship. Readers who want a book, website or other publication reviewed should contact the managing editor via the email address on the masthead, which can be found under More/About at the top of the site. Finally, individual ticket posts are not permitted.
7. Creating multiple user names for the purpose of trolling, posting spam, impersonating a public figure (or well-known member of this community), returning after you have been banned, or disrupting the community is not permitted. Any such user names will be banned without notice. Further, user names created that contain profanity or sexual or drug references are not permitted and will also be banned. Finally, posts made for such purposes will also be deleted without notice.
8. Posting lists of random songs by random artists that are in no way related to baseball is not permitted.
9. In very rare circumstances, if an individual is upsetting the majority of the members of the community or BCB management, for various reasons, it might become necessary to ban an individual from the site for the sake of the greater good.
10. Important note: if you have a problem with something the site manager or any moderator or editor has done, please email them privately rather than ask via a comment on the site. Email addresses are publicly available on the site by clicking on "About>Masthead". Any comments made regarding the way the site is run are subject to deletion without notice.
Procedures for Reporting Violations of BCB's Community Guidelines
Complaints about possible violations of the Community Guidelines should be directed to Al Yellon for review and consideration. An email address for Al is available on the masthead. (More/About at the top of the site.)
If you think a violation has occurred, contact Al and flag the post. Please include the following information in your email:
Your BCB user name
The BCB user name of the user about whom you are complaining
The URL(s) of the post(s) in question
The last part is really important – BCB is a busy site, and if you can direct us directly by URL to the specific post you are making a complaint about, that makes dealing with it much easier. The specific URL to any post or comment can be found by clicking on the date and time of the post or comment. We'll try to get back to you and at least let you know your complaint has been received.
We will then contact that member privately, either by email or by issuing a formal warning on the site. No other action will be taken.
If a second violation is made by the same member, we reserve the right to take more serious action, up to and including a temporary ban (i.e., asking you to stay away for a few days).
A third violation through this process means some sort of action will likely be taken. That might be as simple as another temporary ban -- or, it might result in a permanent ban from BCB. In many circumstances temporary bans can and will be lifted if the violator is willing to meet conditions given by the site manager and/or moderators.
In the event it seems clear that the individual's behavior is disrupting and/or upsetting specific individuals or the community as a whole, as noted above, the site moderators reserve the right to ban any such individual before going through this process.
Finally, please don't take any of these guidelines to mean that we are "putting the hammer down" or any such thing. As noted above, BCB is intended to be a place for an open exchange of ideas about the Cubs and baseball. Almost anything goes. Just be respectful of others.
FanPosts and FanShots
FanPosts are strongly encouraged. It's a way for you to participate in the community by writing a blog post on a topic of your own interest that might not be covered on the front page at BCB. In general, it's strongly advisable to join in the conversation in the community before you make your first FanPost.
FanPosts should in some way belong on the site – in other words, related to the Cubs or to baseball in general.
As noted above, please don't use FanPosts, FanShots, comments or signatures for advertising, or for the purpose of selling or buying tickets. If you have extra tickets to sell (including season tickets) or are looking to buy tickets, posts will be provided for that purpose in the Ticket Exchange section. All posts for ticket sales at BCB must be for face value only.
Tips on writing good posts:
Some of the qualities that the most popular FanPosts often have in common are:
- They expand upon the main idea with supporting examples, or statistical data, or a link to a relevant article, or a "thinking question" for others to consider, etc. -- something beyond just the main idea itself. Don’t just post a large quote from an article and say "What do you think?" Post your own opinion, too.
- They explore a topic, idea, or question that has not been explored recently, or at all, at BCB. Please check both the FanPost and FanShot recent post lists to see if your topic is already being discussed.
Keep in mind that if your post contains only one point or idea that is not developed, expanded on, or supported with arguments or data, it is really not a FanPost -- it is a comment that should be posted in an existing thread, or posted as a FanShot.
Further information: These guidelines are intended to help you understand the policies, procedures, and processes generally used at BCB. While you are using BCB, which is a part of SB Nation and Vox Media, you are also subject to the Vox Media Terms of Use. Also, please take note of the Vox Media Privacy Policy, to which this site subscribes. Both of the above links are also available at the bottom of BCB's front page. Finally, it is entirely at the discretion of management as to how to interpret and implement these guidelines, which are subject to change at any time without notice.