FAQ

Q: How do I get one of those nifty little pictures next to my comments at Redleg Nation?

Easy. Instructions are here. Remember to use the same email address as you used to sign up with RN. The avatar (that’s what that little picture is called) will follow you around to a wide range of sites, and will show up next to your comments.
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Q: Why do I have to log in/register in order to comment?
Just because. Actually, in early March 2010, the editors decided to require registration for commenting. We had held out for more than five years, but a rash of trolls convinced us that we needed another layer of protection in order to allow RN to continue being a place where we can discuss the Reds in a civil fashion.

Also, our software has improved enough since the early days that registration is quick and easy now, and once you’ve registered, you are registered forever.
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Q: Why aren’t my comments showing up?
If it is your first post, the comment must be approved by one of the editors. So be patient; one of the editors will be along shortly. After that first comment is approved, further comments by registered users should be posted immediately (without moderation).

Occasionally, however, Redleg Nation‘s spam filter will catch otherwise legitimate comments and send them to the moderation queue. We use a robust spam filter that has made everyone’s life easier. The price we have to pay is that, every once in a while, a non-spam comment gets grabbed when it shouldn’t have (perhaps you’ve used one of the spam buzzwords; frankly, I don’t know why it happens sometimes). Again, just wait for an editor to drop in and approve the comment.
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Q: Why has my comment been deleted?
The answer to that question is probably contained within the commenting guidelines, which all of you should read before you begin posting at Redleg Nation. While there are other items relating to this question in the guidelines, the vast majority will fall under this relevant portion:

We encourage lively debate, and even arguing various points among ourselves. However, this is not a public street corner. While we are rabid free speech supporters here at RN, your natural right to self expression does not require us to publish your opinion and spend bandwith and resources doing so.

We will ban for any reason and for no reason. In order to ban people who are lame, we will inevitably end up banning people who have done nothing wrong. There’s no appeal process. Bans may be permanent, and they may be adjusted to better target specific people, or repealed entirely.

Seriously: no reason will be given. No explanations will be given on who’s banned, why, or when. (Although, if you feel you’ve been banned unfairly, email us; sometimes the spam software catches good commenters by mistake.)

The “no reason” section done, here’s my guess at the kind of things that will get people banned.

Abusive behavior towards others. When you post in reply to people, pretend that you are arguing with an umpire.
“You blew that call, he was safe by a mile.” = Okay
“You blow.” = Ejected

Or, if we had a Redleg Nation get-together, we were all eating pizza and drinking beer, having a good time, would yelling your comment get you punched, then or later?

As with anything relating to tone, this is obviously a subjective and lame standard. It will be applied inconsistently: you may see someone get away with something one day and the next week someone’s gone for the same thing. It’s going to happen.

Possible reasons for deletion or banning

What else… posting illegal copyrighted material, spamming links in the comments, whether it’s your site or whatever (pointing to other sites is fine, and even pointing to related articles on your own site’s been tolerated sometimes, but “come eat at Joe’s” isn’t). Speculation on any player’s use of steroids, that’s going to be gone as soon as we come across it in almost every case. Speculation about another person’s motives for taking a particular position, particularly in a negative and derogatory sense. I hate first/last/nth-comment posts, so just don’t do that. It’s really annoying.

Again, though, that’s a non-inclusive list and is intended for you to get a general sense of what kind of comments get sent to the great message board in the sky. There will be posts that seem to violate these guidelines that are up, and posts that are deleted that seem innocous. If you can’t live with that, then this is not a place you’re going to be happy posting at.

With all that said, this is not freep: I do not intend to ban anyone from commenting because they disagree with anyone else, everyone else, or specifically the viewpoints of any (or all) of the authors. You’re not even required to like me, or Bill, or Chris, or any of the editors, though you should like all of them because they’re great guys and I highly recommend them. All you’re required to do is be civil.

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Q: Why can’t I comment on my iPhone, iPod Touch, etc?
I don’t know. I am trying to figure that one out, and once I get a work-around it will be implemented immediately. RN’s mobile site is outstanding for the vast majority of users, but Apple wants to make things screwy for some reason. I’m working on it.
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Q: Do you want to make more money?

Sure, we all do. Oh, sorry. That question was actually intended for Sally Struthers.
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Q: Who are you giving my email address to, after I register?
No one. Ever. Period. In fact, no one here ever looks at those email addresses. They are just a requirement, and we promise to keep our software’s security updated so that there is no chance those emails will be given to anyone.
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Q: Who are you guys?
Just some guys who love the Reds and wanted an outlet to discuss the team with other passionate fans. The editors’ bios are here.
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Q: What’s the story on that graphic that says you are part of the Cincinnati.com Blog Network? I thought you guys were just independent fans?
On March 3, 2010, Redleg Nation entered into a partnership with the Cincinnati Enquirer to provide Reds content. The announcement is here.

The quick and dirty version is that the Enquirer will feature RN at their Reds page, giving them more Reds-related content, and Redleg Nation gets a wider audience plus the ability to do some things (eventually) we’ve been wanting to implement (more on this in the future; is that cryptic enough for you?).

What does this mean for you, the loyal citizen of the Nation? Nothing, really. Things aren’t going to change around here. We’re still going to try to have as much fun as we can following this team, whatever that entails. The Enquirer has absolutely no editorial control whatsoever over what we publish here. Period. I’m the only person with that authority, and we’re going to keep on keeping on, as the truckers are so fond of saying.

I am adamant that RN should remain an independent voice for all Reds fans (that includes you and me), so we’re not migrating over to their servers or changing the content. For their part, the Enquirer has been equally adamant that we shouldn’t change a single thing. They recognize what we’ve built here, a site that is professionally-run (except on those days when I get too excitable and Bill has to reign me in) and a community that has developed into a place where people can talk about the Reds without the nonsense that you see in too many other comment sections.

So far, it has been a great partnership, and we have remained an independent voice. We’re still Redleg Nation.
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Q: What are all these crazy newfangled stats you guys talk about sometimes?

We’re big fans of advanced baseball analysis here at Redleg Nation. A primer for the latest in baseball analysis — also called sabermetrics — can be found here.