Irridium said:
[HEADING=2]Have Respect for the Site and its Content[/HEADING]
We put a lot of work into the content on the site, and if you've just shown up to trample on that hard work, we will remove your comments and ask you to leave. Constructive criticism is welcomed; negativity for its own sake is not.
Thats the one part I have an issue with. The way its worded, it seems that unless we say we like the show/article/whatever or offer advice on how to improve it, we can't say anything.
That's pretty much correct. If you have nothing constructive to contribute, then don't post anything at all. Here are the reasons for this:
Negativity encourages others to be negative, which we don't want on our site.
Unless a reason why and/or a way to improve is included, we don't really care.
If someone doesn't like a particular piece of content, they don't have to watch/read it. If the content doesn't get traffic, it goes away. That's how it works. Posting negative comments doesn't impact the content at all. In fact, watching and posting just to complain actually does the exact opposite.
More importantly, directly insulting or making derogatory remarks towards the
people behind the content will be dealt with harshly. Just because they put themselves and their work out there doesn't make them a target, and we're tired of seeing that kind of behavior.
But just because its free doesn't mean it shouldn't be subjected to the same amount of love and hate as everything else.
You wouldn't insult someone when you're a guest in their home and still expect to be invited back, would you? The same rules apply here.
The entire point of this section is to draw attention to the fact that we expect the content that gets posted to be treated with the same respect that we expect other posters to be treated. It has been an assumption from some posters in the past that, although we obviously don't let people tear into other posters, it was acceptable to attack/berate/insult the content or the people that create or star in it. It's not.