Commenting at Blazer’s Edge

As the year flips to 2020, we at Blazer’s Edge, along with many in the Portland community, are aware that The Oregonian is getting rid of comment sections on their online site, effective January 2nd. We mourn the loss of interactivity. We are also aware of the issues that plagued the comments at the Oregonian for years and eventually led to the demise of the practice.

Anticipating that folks from the Trail Blazers sections of The Oregonian community might be testing the waters at Blazer’s Edge over the next few weeks, we’d like to clarify how our comment sections work and how they differ from the paper’s. This will also be a good reminder/explanation for longer-tenured members.

Feel Free to Interact!

Feel free to interact at Blazer’s Edge. You can leave comments under 99.9% of posts. You can also write your own Fanposts (usually article-length submissions, as if you were a site author) in the right sidebar. The Blazer’s Edge staff exists to bring you material to chew on. Discussing it together is half the fun of the site!

Comments at Blazer’s Edge are Moderated

We have one of the best, most experienced moderating teams anywhere. The least-tenured of them are headed into their 8th and 9th seasons with us. We do scan comments and Fanposts. We do remove material that doesn’t meet the standards of the site.

If you see an offensive comment, you can click the “flag” button next to the “reply” button under that comment. This helps our mods find potentially troublesome material quickly.

Common Sense Matters

As you can read in our site guidelines when you join, Blazer’s Edge does not allow demeaning language based on race, gender, orientation, religion, and other common sense categories. The site is meant to be safe and comfortable for people of all genders and diverse backgrounds. If a comment marginalizes based on inherent qualities or experiences, it’s removed.

Kindness and Welcome Matter Too

We’re all familiar with comments that don’t technically violate the obvious rules, but still aggrandize the author at the expense of those who read. Treading the gray areas is a trollish specialty. If our mods determine that the way you’re making your point comes at cost to your friends and neighbors at the site, it will be removed. The rules exist to serve great conversation, not conversation to serve people who want to manipulate the site to their advantage.

Please Refrain from Profanity

Blazer’s Edge is a non-swearing site. Yes, even this season.

The Golden Rule of Blazer’s Edge

The single concept around which comments revolve is simple:

Talk about basketball, not about each other.

You can make any basketball-centered point you care to. Want to trade Damian Lillard? Bring it up under a relevant post and tell us why. Want to make Hassan Whiteside team captain? Go for it. If your comment centers around the subject, all will be well, even if people disagree with you. The more words you spend—or grating tone you employ—implying that anyone who doesn’t agree with you is lesser than you, the more likely your comment will be removed.

There’s wiggle room in some of these areas. We usually allow more latitude in Gameday Threads than other places; we understand things get heated during the action. Following these guidelines will help keep site conversation gracious and will make your sure point comes across and stays intact.

We do not allow discussions about moderation in public threads (it sidetracks the discussion) but you can always address questions or concerns with moderation to me at the email address below.

—Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)