Code of Conduct

[clear observer]

We here at HabsRus believe we have one the finer Internet message boards around, and we would like to keep it that way. We have all seen what happens to sites with low moderation, low respect and low intelligence, and we do NOT want to see that happen to our quaint little site. Many of us are refugees from sites like those, and have found that the attraction of HabsRus is its respectful, intelligent degree of discourse.

Having said that, battle lines are often blurry, and sometimes what one person deems as acceptable behavior or conduct, is not considered so by others. This often happens to new refugees from those other boards, who are perhaps not used to the civilized and intelligent way we conduct ourselves here.

In that vein then, we here at HabsRus have devised a set of rules that must be followed by all posters, at all times. There are no exceptions. By accepting and following the rules listed below, you will help ensure that HabsRus remains the quality site that it is. Plus, you will live longer, lose weight, and have a better sex life.

[clear observer]

THE RULES:

1. Do not talk about Fight Club. You may talk about HabsRus, and in fact we encourage it, but do not talk about Fight Club. Go ahead, tell your friends about our great little site, or e-mail your defense partner that little article you read on the message board, or call up your grandmother and regale her with the responses you got to your brilliant analysis of Czech prospect Tomas Plekanec. But do not talk about Fight Club.

2. Do not flood other sites with invitations to visit HabsRus. The Internet is a very large and fluid community, and we here at HabsRus are not in competition with any other site, Habs related or otherwise. We like our community, and we are sure that other sites like their communities as well. If you would like to invite someone to visit HabsRus, someone you think can become a valued and respected member of our community, please do so in private, either via e-mail, private message, or carrier pigeon. It is rude and disrespectful to the owners of other sites to post open invitations, and we do not want our community associated with such behavior. Plus, when you post an open invitation, you become responsible for all the people who read your message, and subsequently visit our site. Some of those people are, well, riff-raff, and they are extremely difficult to get rid of. HabsRus has changed its web address several times now, and HFTO still manages to find us all the time, because somebody, somewhere, posts our new address. Please keep that in mind.

3. Do not flood HabsRus with invitations to visit your site, no matter how spectacular, sexy or interesting it may be. Should you wish to advertise your site on this board, please contact the site administrator (he’s the big, ugly guy), before doing so.

4. Please refrain from personal insults. This seems like a no-brainer to most people, but the definition of “insult” can vary from person to person. Keep in mind that this is a visual medium, and thus the tone of your post can be easily mis-read at times. “You’re crazy, you’re nuts, you’re insane, your mother wears army boots” are just some of the insults that will not be tolerated.

We realize that this is a fine line that is often crossed, particularly by those bozos who think they run this site, and we also realize that this can be quite fun and entertaining. But you must be absolutely certain that person, or any other person for that matter, will not be offended. If you are not sure, do not do it.

Think of it this way; you do not know what the person is really capable of in real life. We all know that Disgruntled 70’s Hab is insane, but would you call him so to his face? Would you run up to a rabid dog, screaming, “you’re rabid?” Of course not. That’s just dangerous. Disgruntled 70s Hab is, well, disgruntled, and he is a 70s Hab fan, meaning he is old, with not much time left to live, and therefore nothing to lose. Are not the scariest words in the English language “Disgruntled Postal Worker?” Anybody who uses “disgruntled” as his main name should be feared and respected. Disgruntled 70s Hab has access to a very impressive array of heavy weaponry, and he works for the government, so therefore he knows where you live. Knowing this, do you really think it is wise to annoy him further? Please treat all other posters with the same amount of fear you should have for Disgruntled.

[clear observer]

5. By definition, an opinion can never be wrong. Do not say it is. There is a certain poster on this site, we’ll call him BadCompany, who once stated that he believed that Patrick Traverse would become the Habs #1 defenceman. Strange as it may sound, he is right. He did believe that Patrick Traverse would become our #1 defenceman, silly man that he is. However, a belief can never be wrong, because, well, it’s a belief. If BadCompany says that he believes Patrick Traverse is a #1 defenceman because he once scored 40 goals in the NHL, then you can tell him that his fact is wrong, Patrick Traverse never scored 40 goals, and you can then hope he changes his belief. But there are no right or wrong opinions, and we do not want to see you saying so. Unless you are discussing a very specific fact, we suggest you avoid the use of the phrase “you are wrong.”

6. Please mail all dirty lingerie to one of the moderators. Don’t ask why.

7. Please refrain from sweeping, or general comments about race, nationality, religion, language or political affiliations. The members of our community come from all walks of life, from all continents, religions and languages. We have blacks, whites, French, English, federalists and separatists. We even have Leafs fans. If you absolutely feel the need to insult or put down any group for any reason, you must do so in a humorous tone, and you must make sure that everyone knows you are being humorous. We have smiley faces for this very reason. If you are not very good at making jokes, then we suggest that you not make them. At all times, jokes of a sexual, racial or vulgar manner will not be tolerated. No exceptions. Many people like to read this board with their children. Keep that in mind when telling the joke “about the blond, the boss, and those funny carpet stains.”

8. Do not bring issues from other boards onto our site. When you enter HabsRus, you enter with a clean slate, and you are judged only by the comments, personas and opinions you post on this site, not on others. HabsAddict goes by many names, on many sites, including “BeerAddict,” “PornAddict”, and “JellyBeanAddict.” What HabsAddict does on those sites is his own business, and has no relevancy or bearing on what he does on HabsRus. If HabsAddict says something nasty about your pet dog on www.doggrooming.com, do not bring it up on HabsRus. We don’t care.

9. Do not bring up spelling, grammar, or literacy issues. Fans of the Montreal Canadiens come from all over the world, and for many of them English is not their first language. How good would your grammar be, posting on an Uzbekistani web site? We do not care how dumb you think the poster is, pointing out just how dumb they are will not be tolerated. What counts, is that people make the effort to contribute, and that is all we are looking for. Doc Holiday needs to get his 7 year old son to type out his messages, because he still hasn’t figured out where the letter “e” is on the keyboard (“Why won’t they put the keys in order??” he keeps asking), but we don’t care, and nor should you.

10. Contribute. This is your site. It is not a site you merely visit. Post your thoughts, your ideas, your opinions. They are all welcome. If you want to write a column, you can do that too. It doesn’t have to be Pulitzer Prize material, it doesn’t have to be grammatically correct, and it doesn’t even have to make sense. Ever read that Keith Marion’s articles? Incoherent gibberish at best. Length is not an issue, and if you can say what you want to say in a mere two or three paragraphs, go ahead. Unlike in other areas of life, size does not really matter. We realize that many people are intimidated by the idea of attempting to put their thoughts down on paper, and we fully accept that it is a difficult and demanding exercise. For that reason we admire and respect – and appreciate – any and all contributions you make to this site, columns or posts, or site suggestions. It is your site, you make it what it is, and you have the power to make it what you want it to be. Please do so.